Andy gets a helping hand
Posted by: Sam Borden - Posted in Notes on Apr 08, 2010 
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When you try to pick an MVP for the Yankees from tonight’s win, there are a few options: Curtis Granderson is certainly at the top of the list, with Chan Ho Park and Andy Pettitte among others worthy of consideration.
But how about Steve Donohue?
Donohue is the Yankees longtime assistant trainer and he joined Joe Girardi in rushing on to the field after Pettitte collided with Jacoby Ellsbury at first base on the first hit of the game. Pettitte gutted through the rest of that inning but then retreated to the clubhouse, complaining of “whiplash,” he said, that left him with a nasty headache and stiff neck.
Donohue didn’t hesitate. First he started massaging Pettitte’s neck to loosen him up, and then he gave the pitcher “a few pills,” according to Pettitte, that softened his headache. Although Pettitte was “in survival mode” for a few innings, by the third inning he said the headache had improved and he was able to stay in the game and match John Lackey pitch-for-pitch. Six innings, one run in heat so bad that Pettitte needed ammonia water towels wrapped around his head between innings to stay cool? That’s a legit outing.
It was a gritty performance from a 37-year-old whose body may well be barking at him tomorrow morning, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Donohue, who is leading the training staff in place of the ailing Gene Monahan. On this night, the Yankees might not have won without him.
“I wasn’t coming out of that game,” Pettitte said. “There was no way I was coming out. I wanted to pitch. Stevie did a great job.”
—
Courtesy of Chad, here are some other post-game notes:
• Joe Girardi and Derek Jeter each said John Lackey did not intentionally hit Jeter in the sixth inning. “It’s a 1-0 game,” Girardi said. “I don’t think he was hitting him on purpose, that’s for sure. Especially when you’ve got two strikes.” Jeter said Kevin Youkilis actually joked with him that Lackey was going to hit him as retribution. “When (Youkilis) got hit in the head, he said they were going to hit me,” Jeter said. “He was joking around and then… They hit me.”
• Girardi’s plan was to use Chan Ho Park for no more than two innings tonight, but his pitch count was low enough that Girardi sent him back for a third inning. Park had been fighting a stomach virus the past two days — he went into fairly graphic detail to explain it — but Girardi was confident he could pitch multiple innings. “That’s one of the thing that made him so attractive to us,” Girardi said.
• Solid point from Alex Rodriguez: “We won two out of three, and Tex and I really didn’t do much to help out,” he said. “The bottom of our lineup did a great job all three games. They came up big for us.”
• It’s only three games into the season, but Nick Swisher and his hit-for-a-better-average approach seems to be working. He tied the game tonight with a two-out single and he hit .364 this series.
• Both Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada hit .417 this series.
• Jeter on Granderson: “Curtis is a good guy. I played with him in the WBC so I got a chance to get to know him a little bit. Outside of the fact that he’s a good player, he’s a good person, so he fit in perfectly. And he’s done that so far.”
• Rodriguez on Park: “Chan Ho was great today. Threw the ball very well. Threw four pitches, all for strikes. Great rhythm. Great slide step. He’s going to be a big asset for us, too. That’s a big key for us, pitching and defense. Yesterday Ace was outstanding for us to help us win that game, and today Chan Ho was huge.”
• Here’s Granderson talking about his game winner and his first series with the Yankees.
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—-
Great job from everyone tonight and all series. Lots of comments and passion, which is excellent. Off day tomorrow while Chad heads to Tampa, then back in action on Friday night from The Trop. Thanks for reading.
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Pettitte seemed a little giddy in the post game. I’d like to get some of those magic pills for myself.
matsui now 3-4.
how long can nick johnson survive on walks alone? just throw him batting practice fastballs and make him prove he can hit.
Minor League Ball starts tomorrow (Thursday)!
Thank you, Steve Donohue and thank you, Andy Pettitte….I didn’t see the collision and I’m glad I didn’t. What an attitude -Joe would have had to kill Andy to get him to come out.
Park did a great job, no doubt.
I’m just thrilled for Granderson, who’s going to be an amazing addition to this team.
The sign of a good team is when some players fail, but others pick up the slack.
Thanks to Sam and Chad!
“# Bob April 8th, 2010 at 12:32 am
matsui now 3-4.
how long can nick johnson survive on walks alone? just throw him batting practice fastballs and make him prove he can hit.”
He’s been hitting a lot of balls very hard, but they’ve been right at outfielders. Just bad luck at this point.
Yeah, Bob, the Yanks re-acquired OBP Jesus not knowing if he could hit. That’s just what they did.
Dan, I concur. Hard-hit balls will eventually find their way.
Bob, BP fastballs to Nick the Stick? He’d pulverize ‘em.
Betsy, this one’s for you:
Johnson can’t hit like Matsui or Damon just check out the ops comparisons. Johnson doesn’t have much power, far less than Matsui and less than Damon and can’t run. He will be a fencepost at 1st base in April because Tex always starts slow. He won’t kill the yankees the problem is the leftys at the bottom of the order. Curtis will be fine, an upgrade over Melky, the problem with the leftys is we also have Gardner who’ll do no damage against tough late game leftys. We needed a right handed hitting left fielder or at least a righty bench bat they think they have with Thames but I don’t. I would have rather seen Dye who is still unsigned.
Great victory tonight!
Chuck, how’d you do that? Is there an emoticon site you got that from? That’s the kind of smiley they have on NYYFans.com… Thanks (and I love it)!
# stuckey April 8th, 2010 at 12:23 am
Giuseppe (and Betsy):
Just playing devil’s advocate.
Do you agree that players such as Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson and Carl Pavano have been received differently that players like Matsui, Damon, Teixerira?
If so, how does one describe it exactly?
The sentiment has been used more to describe when fans fully embrace new players.
—————-
Of course I agree some players are received much differently by the fans than others. But they are still Yankees whether we the fans embrace them or not.
Hell, it took A-Rod five so-called years to be embraced by the fans as a True Yankee! The standard for him was World Series Championship or bust. Here’s a guy who won two MVPs for this club.
That’s ridiculous. Don’t forget, A-Rod was trashed as fiercely as ever just one year ago after the steroid hoopla. And Pete Abe fed into it as much as anyone.
That’s why it’s stupid. I don’t recall the media and the fans of other markets ever griping about whether this guy or that guy was a “True Cubbie,” “True Met,” or “True Cardinal.”
I know you were not advocating the term. I just get annoyed when I hear crap like that, especially someone from the media like Flaherty.
It just dumbs down the audience when it’s been dumbed down too much already.
Just noticed that Chan Ho Park is a guy with 3 last names.
Can anybody make the case that NJ is a better hitter than Matsui?
You’re welcome, Betsy. Glad ya liked him.
The Green Guy is : mrgreen : and remove the spaces.
I came by mine here and there, no sites [although there
ARE sites - one of my friends sent me a smiley dancin'
Scotsman, complete with kilt, via e-mail. Cracked me right up!]
How long before the Sox release Big Pop-Up?
Bob, assuming both Hideki and Nick stay healthy, Matsui should hit for higher average as well as power. That’s the key. Even if he stays healthy, Matsui is older. When does he fall off the cliff? I don’t know, either. It’s a gamble.
Gotta scoot!
Work always comes too early.
Goodnight, everyone.
Ken Davidoff
A priest, a rabbi and a duck walked into a bar, and they quickly agreed: The #Yankees will go 97-65, the #Mets 80-82.
56 minutes ago
Pat
Just watched Parenthood. LOL. Minka was great, the Peter krause and wife scenes were HIGHlarious!
__
# Salty Buggah April 8th, 2010 at 1:04 am
NESN suggest Lowell DH against left handed pitching ouch for Ortiz!
LOL @ at the Sleaze Ortiz!!!!
__
LGY
What’s even more incredible about the Pettitte performance tonight was the fact that he was getting cheated (squeezed) all game, and was forced to get more than 3 outs in multiple innings.
IPK struck out 8 in five innings of work.
Yanks will really miss Matsui this year…unless Nick Johnson proves us wrong. We shouldve kept Matsui until the last day he can walk on those knees. The guy was a stud hitter and the damn World Series MVP and we let him walk.
# mike April 8th, 2010 at 1:09 am
IPK struck out 8 in five innings of work.
5 innings? Put him in the bp.
# Bob April 8th, 2010 at 12:53 am
Can anybody make the case that NJ is a better hitter than Matsui?
————
Dude, when are you going to let it go?
I wanted Matsui back as well, but Cashman went in another direction.
Just relax and watch this team play or you’ll miss what could be another very special season.
are people REALLY still complaining about Matsui? REALLY????
Bob, wOBA is supposed to measure a player’s overall hitting. Lifetime wOBA
Nick Johnson – .371
Hideki Matsui – .368
Beyond that, they’re both slow and injury prone. Matsui can’t play the field at all. Johnson can back up Teix at 1B. Matsui is more of a risk to decline because of age. OTOH Matsui has been a very good clutch hitter and has done a lot better than Johnson in the post-season (wOBA .397 vs. .291). Overall, I think they’re pretty close in value.
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Man, we came so close to sweeping Boston’s so-called “3-Aces”.
I am just so glad we have the top notch trainers who know what they are doing, as opposed to the other team across town whose training staff got the loudest boo at opening day~
“Man, we came so close to sweeping Boston’s so-called “3-Aces”.”
The RS have 12 aces, or maybe 13 or 14. Every pitcher they roll out there is an ace no matter how they have pitched before they put on the RS uniform.
Great win yanks could of easily swept them. I thought getting that extra run after Granderson homerun was huge especially in Fenway.
Good quote from A-Rod
“We won two out of three and Tex and I really didn’t do much to help out,” Alex Rodriguez said. “All three games, the bottom of our lineup came up big for us.”
This lineup is crazy especially when A-Rod and Teix get going. 100 plus wins no doubt about it.
Bostondirtdogs.com was already funny about Tuesdays loss, asking if Pedro and Schilling were
available. I can’t wait for Thursdays edition.
Cy-Ho Park!
Go Yanks.
PeteAbe’s blog… game thread has 41 comments.
LHYB, with Chad & Sam… game thread has 1,133 comments.
Guess my 10:1 ratio guesstimate was a bit off.
to the people clamoring for Matsui:
cut your bullsh*t.
there were only a very small number of NYY fans who had his back before the 2009 season, and it is evident you were not among them. RAB, Nom@@s, and nearly everyone on this blog, wanted Matsui traded to the Giants or sent back to Japan, before the 2009 season began.
For those with interest in the Scranton Yankees, here’s some news that I hadn’t seen. Kei Igawa is being moved to the bullen, at least that’s the plan.
Here’s a short article on Scranton’s #1 pitcher in the rotation.
http://www.timesleader.com/spo.....-2010.html
None of the minor league rosters have been released, yet, for some reason, though Trenton’s is close. No reason given on the delay.
Here’s what’s listed as the “Almost Scranton Roster”.
http://blogs.thetimes-tribune.com/yankees/?p=3684
With Huffmam being added to the roster, I’d guess that either Gorecki or Weber is gone, though Gorecki could end up in Trenton.
PJ Pilittere and Jorge Vazquez open on the DL.
Either Zach Segvia or Kevin Whelen will be added to the pitching staff.
This is from 5 April, but, nothing has changed.
Either Zach ***Segovia*** or
So far, Granderson is doing a good job replacing Damon. As for Nick Johnson replacing Matsui, not so much. Someone does need to speak to Curtis though. Mariano Rivera isn’t one of the best closers in the game. He IS the best closer in the game. Curtis will figure that out as the season goes on.
After a slight hiccup in the opening game, the bullpen shined. The bats of Teixeira and Alex will ignite soon enough. All 3 starters pitched well.
After leaving the dilapidated excuse for a ballpark, the Yankees head indoors where the Ray have distributed 10,000 extra large cowbells to add to the already smaller ones. Break out with the earplugs.
“Kei Igawa is being moved to the bullen, at least that’s the plan.”
Interesting development. Makes you wonder if they are hoping to get something out of Kei at the ML level as a 2nd lefty in the pen.
Great first series to the season, in both results and entertainment value.
The Starting pitching was virtually a wash in the three games but the Yankees appear to have two significant advantages over Boston…one is the bottom half of their lineup and the other is bullpen depth. That’s the biggest difference in the teams right now…I also think the Yanks have an advantage at the back end of the rotation but that wasn’t a factor in this series.
Its unfortunate that this series was so early in the season when the starters are just buidling up strength..altho all 6 starters certainly kept their teams in the game.
I am so happy for Curtis, hopefully this answers some questions about “clutch”, and makes fans miss their idealized versions of Johnny/Sui a bit less.
It’s possible that they are trying to get something out of their worst mistake since signing Steve Kemp, pat. I’m still not that sold on Ring or Logan. Maybe they’re trying to increase his value as part of a trade to an NL West team, like the dodgers. If he produces much of anything, that’s the place it would be. still interesting that they make the move after 3 years. I suppose they feel that with McAllister, Nova and others almost ready, they feel like they have plenty of minor league insurance.
I forgot that Scranton has added Robbie Hammock, a catcher/3rd baseman/1st baseman/outfielder to their roster. He has some ML experience.
http://www.baseball-reference......ro01.shtml
Quite a few adjustments to be made, it seems.
Nice article about that lazy Robbie and that selfish Alex trying to overcome Robbie’s RISP struggles from last year.
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports.....A00zpiuQHM
GB
I guess the thought is no need to “waste” a starting slot on Kei because no one views him as a ML starter- either other teams through trade or the Yankees.
pat -
Thanks for linking that article. Love to read things like that. From all accounts Robi will always put in the work to address a weakness.
A lot of people are going to jump all over the “Rodriguez is undermining Long” stuff and trying to insert himself crap, but, this is just the sort of thing that he needs to do. The media and a lot of fans may think of him as trash or as unnecessary, but, a lot of players feel just the opposite, in particular, the younger Latin players and guys like Teixeira. Long can smooth out flaws, but, Rodriguez has produced in tose RBI spots and maybe that sets firm in Cano’s mind. Whatever the reason, it can be a big experience for both players, Cano in rethinking his at bats and Rodriguez as a mentor. That can spell big trouble for the rest of the AL.
Hey folks – good first series.
The folks on the radio have been killing Park for 2 days based on his performance opening day – wonder if they’ll sing a different tune today.
Like the Huffman pickup – as Mike Axisa says – Kevin Towers’s fingerprints are all over it. He’s another player in the Greg Golson, David Winfree mold – high upside player who just hasn’t put it all together yet.
I agree with GreenBeret that Goreki is a goner and Weber probably goes when Jorge Vazquez comes off the DL.
Where I disagree with him is that I think moving Igawa to the pen is less about trying to get something out of Igawa and more about freeing up a rotation spot for someone who may help the team at some point. I mean if you look at their rotation right now of: Mosley, Hirsch, Nova, McAllister and Sanchez I don’t know that I would put Igawa in ahead of any of them. Mosley and Hirsch have both had some success in the majors and the other three are pretty decent prospects. Igawa will probably be the Sergio Mitre of the Scranton pen.
GB7 -
You think people will do that? I am really naive, I guess. I just see it as supplemental to what Long did, and Cano just wanting even more guidance. I would think that Long, as dedicated as he is, can’t work 24/7.
pat, that’s about it. I don’t know how much he’s changed since his time in NY, but, he cannot pitch upstairs with his stuff. Maybe you’ve seen him, but, I haven’t seen him in a couple of years. Personally, the sooner they find him a new home, the sooner NYY can move somebody in with a future.
nice article Pat. IIRC Robbie and Melky have spent time working out w/ Alex for awhile…I think they were described as puppy dogs following him around.
I’ll sign up for this team performance 2/3′s of the time. I will.
Regarding Igawa – I don’t think the Yankees need to move him.
He’s not taking up a 40 man roster spot anymore; and they won’t get anything of value back for him and will end up paying most of his salary anyway – so what’s the point in dealing him?
I can’t say the Yankees have an advantage over the Sox in terms of the back end of the rotation because we have no idea what Phil will give us. I expect Buchholz to be good/very good, though I admit Dice K and Wake are a bit up in the air due to age/injury. Oops, well if Javy is the 4th starter and not Andy, then yes, the Yankees have an advantage, but I admit I was thinking of Javy as the 3rd starter.
We didn’t see Beckett and Lester at their best; they, along with Lackey, make for a very formidable top 3. Of course, we didn’t see CC and AJ at their best, either.
I don’t get why Curtis has to be measured against Damon. What, if he slumps it means he’s not doing a good job? He’s going to have a fantastic year………
Reinforcing. That’s the word I was looking for. Long works with Cano and I think it speaks volumes that Cano would seek out Alex to reinforce what he and Long have worked on.
I have been amazed at how many people, not just fans but media members, tried to make more out of Game 1 of a baseball season than they did Sunday night.
It was incredible to read some of the nonsense.
Park is a bust. NJ is a bust. Granderson is a bust. The Yankees have “serious problems” and “no bullpen”.
That’s not just trolls and bloggers. That stuff was also coming from the media. Mindboggling to me.
Anybody looking at these games objectively, regardless of the results, can see the Yankees have more firepower and depth than the Red Sox.
Spin aside, the Red Sox lineup is short. Especially if Ortiz doesn’t hit.
Its a lineup that will have trouble scoring runs on the road.
Their bullpen is short. Bard and Papelbon and that’s it. Everybody else is either very hittable or a non-threat.
Joba, Robertson and Park blow away anything the Red Sox have in their pen.
We aren’t even counting Aceves. The Red Sox don’t have an Aceves in their pen.
The two teams rotations? A wash. No clear advantage for Boston in that area.
The Yankees, if they remain healthy, are the better team.
What’s going to be interesting is to see how the Red Sox handle their issues. In particular, Ortiz, Lowell and perhaps Papelbon, if he slips more during the year.
The Yankees don’t have those problems. They just need to stay healthy and play good baseball.
Doreen, I put nothing past some fans and the media where Rodriguez is involved. The only person that he’s ever really hurt is himself. Can’t answer for his family situation, but, from all outward appearances, neither he or his ex-wife were a perfect married couple.
The pettiness of the media and some fans never ceases to amaze me. The one thing that cannot be denied is his drive to win. He has about 6 years to become a NYY legend and I believe that’s what drives him. He’s always been a name on other teams, but, never a legend. I think he’s looking at Monument park, which is fine by me, if it makes him better and gets more wins. Monument Park may be his HOF unless there is a change in the thought processes of the writers.
GB, I don’t see Alex getting into Monument Park; the steroids thing will always hang over him, for that as well as the HOF (though because he’s in the middle, and not the end, of his career, he may get in eventually)
As far as Cano goes, if he starts pulling the ball more, which I hope he doesn’t, the strikeouts will go up. Perhaps that’s what Rodriguez was working on…driving everything without pulling everything. Be more like Rodriguez and Teixeira instead of like Damon and Jeter, drive instead of flip the ball in RBI spots.
Also, Alex may not age well; he’s not young anymore….
The Rodriguez/Cano Mentor Program must have been a topic of conversationin the clubhouse yesterday… from Bob Klapish’s column today:
“There are plenty of reasons why Cano has apparently learned to swing only at strikes, but the most compelling explanation could be a conversation he had with Alex Rodriguez in mid-March.
“I told Robby he’s no kid anymore, he’s closer to 30 than 20,” A-Rod said of the 27-year-old second baseman. “At this point in his career, with his talent, he should have one MVP (award), maybe two.
“The thing is, on any other team he would be the guy, but here, he’s surrounded by a lot of talent. But I said, ’don’t let that hold you back. It’s time to go get it.’ We’ve all said the same thing to him. I think Robby gets that. I think Robby’s finally maturing.”
Betsy -
I expect Phil will be able to at least match Buchholz.
Otherwise, I do agree that we can’t be positive about who has an advantage over whom at the back end of the rotation.
I think the Red Sox and Yankees are fairly evenly matched. I think the difference comes into play in road games – the Yankees tend to play almost as well on the road as they do at home and this doesn’t appear to be so with the Red Sox.
But every year is new.
I like our team this year. To think they took 2 of 3 from Boston with CC and AJ not being in top form yet and with ARod, Tex, Jeter and Johnson not yet hitting their stride. There is so much talent in the lineup that many nights they will be able to win even if key members don’t contribute. On the nights (days) that everyone is contributing – watch out!
SJ -
You’ve been around long enough to know that the media is going to say whatever they think will get them noticed by readers. It’s their job.
Additionally some people will use any hiccup to advance a particular agenda. For example – George King thought that Hughes and Joba should both be in the pen, so after the first game when the pen faltered he wrote an article about how the sooner Hughes chokes as a starter the better off the Yankees will be…Heyman wanted the Yankees to bring back Damon and so when Granderson struck out in a big spot against a lefty, boom, the Yankees miss Damon against left handed pitchers.
And so it goes.
Here’s a nice bit on Cano:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/.....-1.1851852
BOSTON – When Joe Girardi settled on Robinson Cano in March as his No. 5 hitter, he said he expected the second baseman’s approach to stay about the same as it always was.
“We expect him to be the good hitter he’s always been,” Girardi said then.
Two games into the season, Girardi’s choice has made him look good.
“First two games, his approach has been outstanding,” Girardi said after the Yankees’ 6-4 victory Tuesday night at Fenway Park. “And actually maybe his approach has been more patient. Every RBI situation that he’s had, he’s done the job.”
That wasn’t the case last season, when Cano struggled with runners in scoring position, hitting .207, including an 0-for-22 stretch. It was a confounding number because he hit .320 for the season.
“That’s my biggest concern, doing my job with men on base,” Cano said before last night’s game. “I was frustrated a little bit with that last year. Now it’s a different year, I’m trying to put everything behind and go out there, swing at strikes and get something that I can drive.”
So far so good.
On Sunday, Cano went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. He was 2-for-3 Tuesday with a home run, a walk and two RBIs, including a sacrifice fly in a three-run fifth inning that produced a 4-3 lead. He said that was more memorable than the ninth-inning homer that made it 6-4.
“The home run, we were up,” Cano said. “The sacrifice fly, we weren’t up.”
In talking last night, it became clear that his difficulty with runners in scoring position ate at him last year, so he made it a priority in Florida to correct it. His manager noticed.
“It really started with about two weeks to go in spring training, his approach got a lot better,” Girardi said. “It was after the game that he faced Brett Myers [of the Astros] in Kissimmee [March 20]. He’s done everything that you’d want from a fifth hitter.”
Said Cano: “The only thing I’m doing is trying to swing at strikes. Just try to see the ball and make a good swing at it and pretty much not do what I did last year, chasing pitches, swinging at everything. I’m just trying to be more patient.”
He’s been about as patient and selective as a hitter can be. According to one statistical service, Cano has not gone after a ball out of the strike zone against the Red Sox.
“I’d say yes,” Cano said when asked if he was surprised to know he’d swung only at strikes. “You guys know I’ve been one to swing at everything. But I’m being more patient. I have to give credit to myself, the way I’ve been working at it, the things K-Long has said, A-Rod has talked to me sometimes. That’s something I want to keep doing the rest of the way.”
Cano is shorting himself somewhat in terms of past pitch selection. Although he did tend to chase balls out of the strike zone last season with runners in scoring position, it wasn’t a problem overall. He struck out 63 times (in 674 plate appearances) in 2009, second fewest behind Melky Cabrera (59) of the Yankees’ regulars.
Cano said he “loves” hitting fifth but also knows the spot brings extra responsibilities.
“Especially being a guy behind those two guys, [Mark] Teixeira and Alex, and then [Jorge] Posada right behind me,” he said. “It’s an [important] spot on this team hitting fifth.”
The steroid thing won’t keep Rodriguez out of Monument Park if he stays clean and continues putting up the sort of numbers he has. He’s already in the team’s top ten in a lot of areas.
Doreen, I’m hedging my bet with Phil. You know I think he’s going to be a stud, but Buchholz is more experienced….
You can’t compare Matsui as he was offensively two or three years ago to Johnson. The right question is a comparison of Matsui versus Johnson in 2010 and 2011. That one is a real no-brainer. Matsui is done. I hope he has a good year this year and doesnt totally embarass himself, but either way, make no mistake, he is done. Johnson on the other hand, is in his prime. Only injury will change the fact he will be far superior over the next two years than Matsui.
Alex will get into Monument Park and the HOF when all is said and done.
He’s only 34 and has always taken great care of himself.
Chances are, he will age well because of that.
He certainly looks great so far this year. He’s moving around better than he has in 3 years.
Wow, I LOVE that quote from Alex. I look at it like this: Kevin Long, Girardi, the staff – they are like parents whereas teammates are like your siblings/friends. Your brothers, sisters, friends – sometimes they can reach you in different ways than your parents. Alex has the perspective of a great player, which Long does not have; he recognizes the difference between a great talent and a great player and wants Cano to be the latter. I think Alex is wonderful for taking time to mentor Robby and other young players.
The whole A-Rod thing has always fascinated me.
Some fans have an unhealthy commitment to the Yankees – these are the people who think that if they change their socks the team will lose. They also believe that Derek Jeter loves each and everyone of them. Alex and Jeter have a tiff over a magazine article, and so if Derek doesn’t like Alex, they don’t like Alex.
Alex comes to the Yankees and they feel that rooting for Alex is cheating on their love for Derek and so Alex becomes the most hated Yankee by Yankee fans since Jose Canseco or Kenny Rogers.
As for the media – they pick up on the fact that Alex is a hot button issue among Yankee fans and so everything he does becomes news so that they can sell more papers.
People get into Monument Park and the HOF for 2 reasons- Legend and Legacy.
Alex has the legend part covered and time on his side to work on the legacy.
Doreen, I thought coming into the season that the Yankees were solidly ahead of the Sox and I still basically think that. I just have the highest respect for their top 3 and the team as a whole (and the Rays as well). I think the division will be a dogfight.
I think the HOF/steroids issue is a TBD thing for all the players in this era. There will be a resolution of sorts, I believe, that will end up being better than just leaving everyone out.
As far as Rodriguez and a monument – if he continues to be the player he has been, I say, why not? Especially if after retirement he remains a fixture in the Yankees system (like Reggie). But that’s getting way ahead of ourselves.
Pat -
Exactly what does Alex have to do to fill out that Legacy in your eyes?
Personal achievements? Check
Team achievements? WS ring; and oh yeah, the best short stop in the game was willing to move to 3b to be a part of this club.
GB, I love Alex, so I hope you’re right. I wonder what the reaction will be if (not saying when because you never know with injuries) Alex breaks Bonds’ record. He’s no longer clean; will baseball celebrate it?
pat April 8th, 2010 at 8:27 am
The Rodriguez/Cano Mentor Program must have been a topic of conversationin the clubhouse yesterday… from Bob Klapish’s column today:
“There are plenty of reasons why Cano has apparently learned to swing only at strikes, but the most compelling explanation could be a conversation he had with Alex Rodriguez in mid-March.
“I told Robby he’s no kid anymore, he’s closer to 30 than 20,” A-Rod said of the 27-year-old second baseman. “At this point in his career, with his talent, he should have one MVP (award), maybe two.
“The thing is, on any other team he would be the guy, but here, he’s surrounded by a lot of talent. But I said, ’don’t let that hold you back. It’s time to go get it.’ We’ve all said the same thing to him. I think Robby gets that. I think Robby’s finally maturing.”
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word must have gotten around pretty quick. I like that it’s Cano doing most of the talking about it instead of Rodriguez. Looks like both Rodriguez and Cano are maturing. Rodriguez as the elder statesman/mentor. who would have guessed?
It makes you wonder if the Yankees moved a pretty decent player in Cabrera to break up the compadre clique and force Cano to grow up.
It makes you wonder if the Yankees moved a pretty decent player in Cabrera to break up the compadre clique and force Cano to grow up.
I think they moved a pretty decent player in Cabrera to get Javy Vazquez. Anything else is just gravy.
Boston Herald is reporting, sux tried to get Granderson once the postseason started (we know this was too late because Cashman called once he turned in the postseason roster,) Tigers wanted either Ellsbury and prospects, or Clay and prospects. Sux deemed it too steep an asking price bwahahah!! So they are saying Granderson was “Yanked” away.
A second outstanding “team” win. Starting pitching was egg-cellent. Bullpen, great. Bottom of the order: wonderful. MO was of course, MO. Makes you anticipate just how important the bullpen will be in the head to head with Boston this year. Not sure The Sox Pen will match the Yankees. Once Teix and Alex get warm, they’ll go on a nice run with that pitching leading the way.
And are we really going to see a second day ofthe Nick Johnson can’t hit idiocy? In the Middle Ages they called that kind of thinking “heresy” and the penalty was, quite appropriately, DEATH. Nick Johnson heretics please take note.
wait, what??? Derek Jeter doesn’t love me??? And the Yankees will win if I don’t wear my lucky hat??? can that be right???
seriously, I hope GGBG got some love from the fans. What a great job he did in getting Papelbon rattled, leading to the insurance run.
Two things about Rodriguez. First he is the most disliked Yankee by media and fans since Roger Maris and for the same reason. They look at both of them as interlopers….there to steal the light from Mantle and Jeter. They were traded to NYY, not signed FAs. Rogers, Whitson and Canseco aren’t even thought of as Yankee players, anymore than Kevin Brown is.
One reason that Rodriguez moved to third, besides the Jeter legacy was because most thought that he would make the better third baseman of the two. Much better arm and range, better hands.
Um, wow?
http://www.northjersey.com/spo.....ball_.html
Shut up, Joe West; I’ve never seen this before in my life, an umpire ripping two baseball teams? I’m absolutely speechless; it is not this moron’s place to be commenting on teams and frankly I wonder how professional he’ll be when he umpires games the Sox or Yanks are involved in. I despise Bud Selig – he’d rather have poorly officiated fast games than well-officiated slow games?
Ugh
I’m loving all of these Cano articles this morning! Great stuff.
It’s great that Alex has really taken him under his wing
The segment of Yankee fans hating Arod is shrinking each season. I never understood that segment of Yankee fans as I don’t hate any Yankee player that trys his best on the field of play.
Joe West is one of the worse umpire I have have seen, who cares what he says.
Super finish to the series, to take 2 out of 3 in that joke of a ballpark. Yankees have a team that has all the makings of not only a repeat, but 3 or more in a row. I LOVE hearing all the haters come out of the woodwork about the Yankees buying their championships, but the fact remains that they spent 1.37 Billion Dollars between 2001 – 2008 and earned ZERO World Championships over those 8 years. How about if the Cubs win the World Series this year ? Their opening day payroll was just over 135 million, if THEY win it all, they BOUGHT it this year, right ? Boston spent 143 million in 2007 and won it all…they BOUGHT it, right ?…they also spent 125 mil in 2004, another PURCHASE ! Teams playing well for 162 games, THEN when all the pressure is on in the playoffs, win EVERY series, including the World Series EARN championships…..and that is a fact, haters !
Chip
To me, Legend covers the between the lines stuff like MVPs, WS win, records, etc…..Legacy is what you do with the gifts you have- both on and off the field.
Alex has the chance to take a huge negative and turn it into a positive. By all reports, he’s started to do that.
He’s speaking with children in his commitment to the Don Hooten Foundation and has allowed no press coverage of it.
He’s taken a more active role in being a good teammate and mentoring the “kids” on the club.
He’s increasing his charitable works in the area of childrens nutrition and fitness.
“I put nothing past some fans and the media where Rodriguez is involved. ”
GB7 I was a glutton for punishment and listened to WFAN after Alex’s 15th inning HR against the Red Sox. A listener called in and said its obvious A-Rod isn’t (thought of as) a great player or they wouldn’t have pitched to him.
I almost died. Even the producer for the show said, “I told you. I told you someone would call in and find a way to rip him tonight.”
Betsy – West must be cranky because the teams play so long it interferes with his snacking schedule.
Seriously though – it’s not hard to figure out why the Yankees and Red Sox play long games. They have the most selective hitters – which means they take pitches – which means long innings. And the pitchers have to give more thought to what they throw. Also they play nationally televised games and so the commercial breaks are longer.
Should Nick Johnson go up there hacking because MLB wants to speed up games?
How about this for speeding up games – have the umpires call real strikes.
iChip
As much as I like Melky, he and Cano were too dependent on each other. They will produce better separated. Melky’s plate discipline was a repeated flaw. Melky will be ok, if he improves he knows the Yankees can always bring him back.
I will use Joe West’s own words to describe my opinion of his umpiring ability.
“It’s pathetic and embarrassing.”
We can’t just rely on fluke extra inning homeruns off of the game’s best closers and gift walks and errors. Also, can we really expect Chan Park to pitch the game of his life every time out? It’s sad that he is our best pitcher at this point in the season. I think we are very fortunate to be where we are at this point.
If umpires like Joe West called the strikezone as it states in the rulebook, the games would be a lot shorter.
The biggest problem with length of games is not the players stepping out of the box, its the strikezone.
Too many pitches are thrown in games because too many umpires, like Joe West, have postage stamp strikezone.
That makes players take more pitches and the length of games grows.
Call the strikezone as it is in the rulebook and guys would have to put the ball in play more and the games would be shorter.
Pat -
I don’t know if I buy that. I think that if Alex keeps on the performance path that he’s been on, and retires a Yankee with maybe another title or two under his belt or all the personal records etc…then he will wind up in the monuments and 13 will be retired regardless of whether or not he does community stuff.
Much like Reggie in that regard.
Please, ignore the trolls!
How any writer can draw any conclusions after one game is beyond me as well.
Its not going to change though until fans start dismissing their opinions and stop reading them. As long as people read what they write they will keep writing the same kind of nonsense because it sells papers.
People must understand many of these guys are qualified to report what happened in the game only..not analyze it.
If Cano ever wins a batting title/MVP award, Joe Morgan will talk about it on every broadcast until the end of time.
Cameron,
I’m not saying that splitting Cano and Melky up won’t have an effect on Cano. My point though is that the Yankees didn’t say “hmmm…we have to split up Cano and Melky, I guess we should just trade Melky to split them up.”
They traded Melky to get a very very good pitcher. If the trade of Melky helps Cano then that’s great, but it wasn’t the motivating factor in the deal. It’s not like when the Yankees moved guys like Mel Hall and Roberto Kelly because they thought it would help Bernie Williams.
Boston Globe admitted they thought the loss of Matsui and Damon would be the Yankees gaping holes, but now see Granderson put that notion to rest. It does feel great knowing you have the 1 player who has hit more runs off of your rivals closer!
Its even more amazing how well both guys pitched last night considering the strike zone they had to deal with. Lackey and Pettite were both outstanding.
Odd that NYY has dropped berween $6-10 Mil from last years payroll and all that’s discussed is their spending and Boston adds nearly $30 mil and they are considered fiscally responsible.
Chip
I agree with you completely.
Betsy -
Hmm.
Since it’s mostly just when the Red Sox and the Yankees play each other that the games go on (and on and on), why does it bother all of baseball?
This could get interesting (in an ugly sort of way).
Perhaps if the umpires paid attention on some of those check swings that weren’t called strikes, the game could have moved along quicker, too. Or if the strike zone remained consistent from pitch to pitch, inning to inning, batter to batter, game to game.
Sometimes the hitters do step out too much, I will grant you that. But to call the Red Sox and Yankees, two of the best teams and most competitive teams in either league, a disgrace to baseball? yeah, right.
I didn’t see it mentioned here, but during the Mets game on Monday (I had it on radio, so didn’t see it myself), a pitcher stepped off the mound, put his hand to his mouth, and then took the mound. A balk was called. Apparently there is a refinement to the balk rule that states if a pitcher steps off the mound and licks his fingers or whatever, he must then rub his hands on his clothing before stepping back on the mound. Okay.
Chip
Legend should be enough but legacy might make it more palatable for some.
SJ -
I don’t know if you heard it, but Mike Francesa had some of the dumbest “suggestions” I’ve ever heard about speeding up the games:
1. No stepping out between pitches
2. Catcher only gets to make 1 trip to the mound per inning, a second visit and the team needs to bring in a new pitcher.
3. A pitcher can only throw to an occupied base twice, the third time the runner gets the next base.
How about:
1. Call a legitimate strike zone
2. Use instant replay to eliminate the idiotic arguments between teams and umps on bad calls
3. I agree with the not letting batters wander around thing, but also pitchers shouldn’t be able to take strolls.
back on boston pen
oki still solid, ramon ramirez is ok, but delcarmen is shot
The Yankees and A-Rod are tied at the hip as a result of their nearly $300m investment. There is no way, barring another unassailable PED revelation, that he won’t have his number retired and be honored in Monument Park as the greatest HR hitter of all-time.
New Post: Today in The Journal News
Doreen, have you ever seen the length of the NYY/ Baltimore and the Boston/Baltimore games? A couple of years ago, NYY and Baltimore had the 3 highest 9 inning games on record. Those are three teams that take a lot of pitches, foul off a lot of pitches and have pitchers that go into deep counts. Baltimore has also had pitching staffs that walk the ball park, while Boston and NY have pitchers that are always in the top 2 or 3 in strikeouts. If they really want to speed up games, cut the commercial timeouts/breaks from 3 minutes to 2 minutes. (That won’t happen because of lost revenue)
new post
Gardener really was a distraction to Papelbon on the mound. He more pick-off attempts to him than pitches to Jeter. Andy was relentless on the mound, and with a headache. no less
GB7 -
So Baltimore is a culprit, too.
I had forgotten about Baltimore, mainly because the discussion always seems to be more prevalent when the RSox and Yankees play each other. There’ve been some legendarily long games. Remember, that 1-0 extra inning game last season was moving along so quickly most of us thought it’d be over in 2 and half at most. And then, of course it goes 15 interminable innings.
Doreen, NYY/Baltimore just plays forever. I think they had a couple of 9 inning games that were like 4 hours and 50 plus minutes….in the same series. These weren’t even the typical 17-15 scores, either. You’ve got three divisional rivals and a lot of pitching changes.