Today’s lineup: Teixeira trying to get back on track
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Lineup on Apr 10, 2010 
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Without Jorge Posada in the lineup, Nick Swisher has moved up to the No. 6 spot while Curtis Granderson stays in the No. 7 hole.
YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF
Francisco Cervelli C
CC Sabathia LHP
RAYS
Jason Bartlett SS
Carl Crawford LF
Ben Zobrist 2B
Evan Longoria 3B
B.J. Upton CF
Willy Aybar 1B
Pat Burrell DH
Kelly Shoppach C
Gabe Kapler RF
RHP Wade Davis
Swisher being bumped up to sixth is obviously the biggest change to the Yankees lineup, but the most important change could be production from Mark Teixeira who is 0-for-16 this season.
Teixeira also started his career 0-for-16 before finally doubling off Mark Mulder.
“It’s always turned around,” he said. “It’s always turned around really, really well.”
Here’s Teixeira’s session with the media last night.
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That’s an Associated Press shot of Alex Rodriguez’s RBI triple last night.
Chad, thanks!
It’s hilarious to read people saying “javy will be fine.” He has ALWAYS had the tendency to lose it all of a sudden and not be able to get it back. Someone yesterday said he “maximizes the damage”. That is the perfect way to describe Javy as a pitcher. If you are looking for a repeat of what he did last year in the weak-hitting NL, you are going to be in for a shock.
Don’t any of you subscribe to MLB Extra Innings? Javy has been getting under that fastball, causing it to ride into the fat part of the bat, for years now. That pitch to Pena was the same speed and location as the one Damon rocketed out of the Stadium for the Grand Slam
Blake, you know what I meant, lol. We didn’t have to use the better relievers……..
Trolls are back I see…
bat Swish lead off
w/NJ batting 2nd, the pitcher will be at 30 pitches by the time Tex has his 1st AB.
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports.....WpmsNQm6DK
CC Sabathia confirmed that West made him change shoes in the second inning of the Opening Day game at Fenway Park. West told Sabathia he had to change his gray shoes because there wasn’t any Yankees blue in them, though the gray shoes matched the gray Yankees road uniforms.
The next night West told Marcus Thames he had to take tape off his wrist because it didn’t match the uniform. And West stopped reliever Joba Chamberlain on the way to the bullpen to check his shoes, but told Chamberlain his cleats were OK because there was blue in them.
***********
Am I missing something? Since when do the Yankees or ANY MLB team have to wear items that have the team’s major color in them ? Who is this jerk, George Blackwell? He’s talking about the Sox and Yanks being pathetic and embarrassing? Pot, meet kettle.
…and Joe West would have a coronary attack.
i was wondering why cc switched out of his sick cool grey xi’s
this guy West thinks he’s bigger then the game or something
Why is CC starting again tonight?
When is Hughes going to get his first start?
Hughes will make his first start on Thursday. Sabathia is pitching because he’s already on five-days rest.
Good news on Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland:
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....ty/?page=1
Chad, is Phil’s “game” in progress now? All I care about is that he emerge healthy….
Thanks!
Tex and Vasquez will be fine, Tex will hit and Vasquez will log 230 innings and be a bit better than 500 which is ok for a no 4 starter. What won’t be ok is lf, all thee guys stink. If we were not to sign Damon then we needed a right handed bat. Gardner should have been sent packing, can’t afford both Gardy and Grandy vs leftys. So what does Cashman do, he keeps Gardner, signs Winn who can’t hit leftys, and signs Thames who makes Reggie Jackson look like Willie Mays in the outfield. Left field is a joke and don’t tell me it’s early, lousy players and has beens are what they are. They should have signed Damon. It comes down to this, althouth Grandy is an upgrade over Melky he can’t hit leftys(and please don’t tell me it’ll get better he’s 211 lifetime) and we lost Matsui and Damon who both hit leftys well with both power and avg and replaced them with Johnson who’s a downgrade in the 2 hole vs Damon because he can’t run as well as Johnny and hasn’t nearly the power of Matsui, and with the wonderful trio of Gardner, Winn, and Thames who all stink and couldn’t hold a candle to Damon. Cashman orchestrated a poor lf position and bench and we’ll spend a lot more than it would have cost us to just sign Damon than to fix this mess later, count on it.
Is that serious? The ump telling CC he can’t wear gray shoes. That’s crazy. Wow!
Matsui already has two HRs. All Nick Johnson has done is walk. I said it during the offseason. We are going to miss Godzilla.
Trevor, scary, huh? Francona is worried about West targeting the Sox and I wouldn’t be surprised if Joe privately (or Cash) felt the same way. I just don’t think there is any way this guy can be allowed to umpire a Sox or Yankee game ever again. Ooh, I really feel like slugging this guy, lol.
I really hope Girardi stops using Thames..The only reason should be a lefty off the bench…If Gardner is the starter then let him start…I am convinced he would have made that diving catch that led to those 2 runs scoring
‘I really hope Girardi stops using Thames.’
I agree.
If Thames was a middle-of-the-order type bat, it would make more sense.
If he’s batting 8th, is it really worth sacrificing defense?
I would have won GTLU today if it wasn’t a weekend. lol
I am SOOOOO excited to see Cervelli catching! I am predicting a win, partly because I think he has an amazing ability to work well with all of the pitchers. Of course CC’s ability to pitch doesn’t hurt!
Betsy I see the trolls made it back also. It seems Pete had more success with keeping the litter off the board on a permanent basis. But he had a lot more experience with it. Hopefully Chad, Sam, and Josh will be able to have Jeff the tech guy ban by IP address and then most of them will be dead in the water.
Two things will impact this forum negatively. One will be the overrun by trolls. You see already that people leave when some of those total losers are posting, especially during games. The other is poster negativity. But with the second, it appears that regulars will come back, just don’t want to be around during games. With trolls, I have seen regular posters just leave and not return. I hope that our guys pay close attention to the trolls. If other trolls see that they are serious about not allowing intentional disruption and stupidity, they will be more reticent to post and especially to post the way Dan and California have been posting.
Talk to you in a bit.
Nick Johnson .143 AVG .400 OBP Hideki Matsui .368 AVG .400 OBP….who would you rather have???
trisha – OPPC member who sees, hears, and knows all. 28 is on its way!!!!! April 10th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
I am SOOOOO excited to see Cervelli catching! I am predicting a win, partly because I think he has an amazing ability to work well with all of the pitchers.
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You’ll have to let me know how he does!
trish, I’m disappointed I’m going to miss Cervelli today-because it’s Saturday Fox day, I’m stuck with the Milwaukee/St. Louis game.
4 game stat line comparisons? lol
And folks wonder why some of us laugh at this stupidity.
2009 Yankee vs Phil world series special is now on ESPN.
‘who would you rather have???’
whichever one has an interlocking NY on his jersey.
# SJ44 April 10th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
4 game stat line comparisons? lol
And folks wonder why some of us laugh at this stupidity.
How many games will it take you to wake up and realize Matsui is better than Johnson??
“whichever one has an interlocking NY on his jersey.”
Exactly. When are some you going to get over the fact that Matsui and Damon are not Yankees. This endless comparison is old news. And after 4 games, is just plain dumb.
A lot more than four and it’s not about comparing individual player comparisons. It’s about TEAM success.
Go back to your sandbox and play. Clearly, baseball is too tough a sport for you to understand.
Peter Gammons, king of predictions, predicted that Granderson and Nick Johnson will hit 65HR’s combined this season.
If that one somehow happens or comes close, no one will be thinking of Damon and Matsui other than fondly remembered Yankees.
# SJ44 April 10th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
A lot more than four and it’s not about comparing individual player comparisons. It’s about TEAM success.
Go back to your sandbox and play. Clearly, baseball is too tough a sport for you to understand.
Well lets never keep stats then..Be real bro, individual player stats make the team succesful. Dont be a goofus
I don’t even look at BA or any other rate stat until at least 80 at-bats into hte season
“How many games will it take you to wake up and realize Matsui is better than Johnson??’
Pl
How many game will it take for you to wake up and realize that Matsui plays for the ANGELS and Johnson plays for the Yankees.
Since nobody knows for sure who will have the better year, why continue this debate? Which team and player do you root for?
4 game stat comparisons!! LOL
For all we know, Matsui could bat .406 for his first 20 games, and then be out for the year!
Well it’s too bad the 4 game season is over and unfortunately our beloved Yanks finished without a postseason berth.
And those Giants with a perfect season. Who knew?
4 game stat keeping is what’s doofus.
It’s amazing you can’t see that.
Tarheelyank April 10th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
100% Yankee fan. I understand Matsui is gone, i just have such a profound respect for the man. He did everything right and I wish we had him but we dont. I wish him the best as I do every Yankee player this year. Even Nick Johnson.
Interesting.
So, according to the high and mighty silly SJ, individual play and stats don’t matter. Hmmm…
# SJ44 April 10th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
4 game stat keeping is what’s doofus.
It’s amazing you can’t see that.
Not stat keeping just an observation. And its goofus
Team foolishly discards a clutch, proven veteran run producer in favor of an often injured player from another team.
The Angels are such a bunch of idiots. What were they thinking!!!)01!!!
Vladamir Gurerro – Texas Rangers:
.600 .625 .867 1.492
That underachieving Hideki Matsui:
.368 .400 .737 1.137
Wake up folks and smell the coffee!!#1!!!! The Angels just gave up a .600 hitter!! They gave up a player who is 1 1/2 times better than Ted Williams!!
That no good matsui is hitting 232 points lower than Vladdy !!00)!)!!!! How do you give up the guy who is leading the AL in hitting after he’s carried your team for years!!
No wonder the angels are under .500 and tied for last place in the worst division in the AL. How do you sign that Matsui and give up 232 points.
What were they thinking??
The Giants are 4-0?!?!
Nick in SF must be excited!!
I know some here like to sniff SJ’s smelly rear end, but how knowledgeable can the guy be when he compares Thames to Chad Curtis, who in reality was a nice role player for the Yanks. He got some key base hits (and HR’s), and played good, solid defense, a far far cry from the butcher Thames in LF.
PL
Ok, now you are talking. I too wish he came back, Damon as well. It didn’t work out, time to move on. Trying to make the loss of Matsui some how more palatable, by putting down Johnson is a losing proposition.
What part of 4 game stat keeping do you not understand Hank?
Is the concept that NO stat matters this early in the season too difficult to understand?
I’m not high and mighty.
I will say though that ANYBODY using the first 4 game stats of a baseball season to draw ANY conclusions is a moron.
# Tarheelyank April 10th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
PL
Ok, now you are talking. I too wish he came back, Damon as well. It didn’t work out, time to move on. Trying to make the loss of Matsui some how more palatable, by putting down Johnson is a losing proposition.
Yes, just a bit of sour grapes i guess. I will get over it and probably learn to appreciate Nick Johnson for the OBP man he is
My favorite thing about CB and SJ is that they call out the ridiculous comments so we don’t have to.
Nick Johnson is a very good player and he gets on base a lot, even when he’s not hitting. The good news is – wait for it… wait for it… he is a .291 hitter who gets on base more than anyone in baseball, minus Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer.
And what’s that you say? He’s batting behind two players who are a lock for 35-45 homeruns every year? My god. Let’s get rid of the bum!
I’d rather have an oft-injured aging veteran who may or may not have some left in the tank. Long live Godzilla.
And that Granderson guy? He’s awful. I want Damon back. He’ll score you a bunch of runs on offense! (loses half of it on defense, but cmon, he’s got a nice smile, right?)
At this rate Vernon Wells will hit 162 HR’s although that achievement may be overshadowed by Placido Polanco’s 324 RBI’s.
And there’s like 20 guys poised to break Ted Williams BA record. This really could be a historic season.
Oh Hank, twerps like you are a dime a dozen on here.
At least be creative on the namecalling.
You aren’t bringing your A game.
I will say though that ANYBODY using the first 4 game stats of a baseball season to draw ANY conclusions is a moron.
No one is drawing conslusions over this.. Clean out your eye sockets and read it for what it is. It’s a simple observation. Take a xanax. At this point Matsui is playing better. I know its four games but thats the truth. Matsui may go 0 for his next 23. Johnson may go 16 for 35. Thats why they play the game. But at this moment in time Matsui is off to the hotter start. Good Lord
I’d rather have an oft-injured aging veteran who may or may not have some left in the tank. Long live Godzilla.
Wait Johnson is the posterboy of health?
SJ,
The fact of the matter is that you are a prick. And you treat trolls and “good posters” exactly the same. You belittle and insult instead of agreeing to disagree. You even try to intimidate someone like Betsy, who seems like a genuinely nice person.
Even someone as “connected” as you post ridiculously inaccurate things. For example, you called Granderson one of the best players on the Yanks. That is idiotic. He still can’t hit lefties. From Price and Lester….two good pitchers….to a scrap heap castaway like Schoenweiss, his plate appearances have been dreadful and look the same as last year. Granderson will hit some HR’s vs righties, no doubt about it. But he will also be an automatic out vs left-handed pitching.
And if you think NJ will come close to Matsui’s production as a DH, then you will be proven wrong yet again.
A little better on the namecalling but still light.
Grow a pair Hank. It seems you are short in that area.
this may be the swan song for the Rays (their owner claims payroll will be slashed next yr).
if it is, they’re going down fighting. if J.P. Howell comes back healthy and effective, they could be much better than the ’08 version.
Nick Johnson has only two hits through four games, yet still has an on base percentage of .400.
Why? Because he already walked five times and one HBP.
When Tex and A-Rod start to mash, and they will, this team will begin to steamroll other clubs, partly because they have a two guys hitting in front of them who will get on base 40 percent of the time.
Nick Johnson is a vital member of this club. He stays healthy, and yes that is a bid “if”, this is without a doubt the best lineup in baseball.
Granderson got a hit off Lester the other night and is one of the better players on the team.
Try again.
# SJ44 April 10th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Granderson got a hit off Lester the other night and is one of the better players on the team.
Try again.
As you said who keeps stats after one game
SJ44,
is Granderson better than MVP and RoY Austin Jackson?
Granderson is 1-8 vs lefties with 5 strikeouts. Not good.
Try again, SJ.
Your buddy was whining about Granderson facing Lester. I reminded him he got a hit off of him.
Are we now ripping players who get hits?
If you “seem” to realize that stats over four games can qucikly turn on a dime then why bring up how Matsui and Johnson are performing at this point anyway?
The point, which has been made, is that it’s absurd to point out how players are performing over a 4-game span in April as a way of saying one player is better than the other.
Matsui’s knees look fine. No?
Was good enough the other night.
What he does as a Yankee is what matters.
Clearly, too deep a concept for you to understand.
You are ripping the guy who won the Sox series for them.
How stupid.
# Chris from NJ April 10th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Matsui’s knees look fine. No?
Who knows. But I heard he wants to play LF this year
Regardless of Teixeira’s early batting woes, he deserves props for never taking it on the field where his minset stays on his good play at 1st base.
Everybody knows that his batting rhythm will soon surface and make him a force in the lineup to protect Alex.
# Alan April 10th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Regardless of Teixeira’s early batting woes, he deserves props for never taking it on the field where his minset stays on his good play at 1st base.
Everybody knows that his batting rhythm will soon surface and make him a force in the lineup to protect Alex.
Thats a great point the guy is a defensive artist
After it is all said and done, Matsui will have more hits, RBI, runs scored, and homeruns than Granderson and Johnson combined this season.
Book it.
So, the Rays are slashing payroll next year? Is that in direct response to Carl Crawford wanting to
play for the Yankeestest free agency?Heck, austin Jackson will probably have more hits than Granderson and Johnson combined.
The real question is, are those Matsui snuggies knee-fluid repellent?
“You are ripping the guy who won the Sox series for them.”
If you bothered to read while you were frothing at the mouth, you would have seen that I said Granderson will hit HR’s off of righties. What you fail to understand is that you cannot be an elite player if you are incapable of being adequate vs lefties. You want ignore this season so far, fine. But there is a whole body of work that shows Granderson is a deeply flawed hitter and will be extremely vulnerable to any lefty matching up against him late in a game (not to mention left handed starters).
Someone is ready to declare one player better than the other because of four games in April, another picks Austin Jackson to win the MVP and another guy says Matsui will have better stats than Johnson and Granderson combined.
Wow. Just..wow. This truly is a banner day for morons on this site.
# m April 10th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
So, the Rays are slashing payroll next year? Is that in direct response to Carl Crawford wanting to play for the Yankees test free agency?
Having said that, do you think Crawford would potentially be a good fit for the Yanks? He doesnt have an extremely high OBP and thats what the Yankees seem to going for lately, but the guy is a speed demon and a great defender. He also seems to get big hits.
m,
No. It’s more their finances and cash flow. I believe they really over extended financially this year just to get the payroll over $70M.
Sternberg said it was something they could do once in a while but not consistently.
As such, this year is probably the swan song for this group of rays.
They really do have a good club. Their one deficiency is the bull pen and that is really the area where their limited budget is killing them (although I still think they should have Jeremy Hellickson up in the majors to help them win this year…)
Price was just electric last night. If he’s taken that step forward, then the AL East just become that more uncomfortable.
Zobrist and Bartlett also look good after their career years last year.
Hard to believe they also have the best outfield prospect in the minors right now stashed away in AAA.
Lot’s of talent down in Tampa.
Enjoy the game everyone. Let’s see if CC still, for some reason, keeps nibbling.
Game at 3pm instead of 4? Glad I checked the TV Guide.
If Fox can plan for a 4 hour window for the baseball game, one would think Joe West could too.
I want a crystal ball! Can someone tell me where they got there’s?
Anyone know who calling the game on Fox? Is it Joe Buck and Satan today?
Granderson Truthers?
Heres what i mean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xdTYVxzEwI
“Matsui’s knees look fine. No?
Who knows. But I heard he wants to play LF this year”
————–
He’s already played LF for them.
Did Matusi have any mobility or put outs?
there’s = theirs
Rays seems to be taking an approach similiar to what the Marlins have done.
Build it up, make a run and trade it off when payroll becomes an issue.
CB,
That’s the crazy thing. They can lose Crawford and Pena and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they’ll still be a better club in 2011.
Price will have another year under his belt, Wade Davis as well… Hellickson, Jennings, Brignac, and more. McGee and Beckham might not be too far away either.
“although I still think they should have Jeremy Hellickson up in the majors to help them win this year…”
CB
Totally agree. Hellickson has somy nasty stuff. I wonder if that decision was made for monetary reasons, by not starting the clock?
I understand the financials of it, what I don’t understand is the public acknowledgement.
So, are they not getting their new stadium/field?
i was wondering why cc switched out of his sick cool grey xi’s
this guy West thinks he’s bigger then the game or something
*******
Yes it does seem like Curtis Granderson is going to be the guy whose weak spots are obsessed over and picked to death all year.
Michael Kay seems to have made it his pet issue. And an inordinate number of Yankee fans are paying a tremendous amount of focus on this issue.
And it’s not even that Granderson doesn’t struggle against lefties – he does.
But he was just arguably the best player on the field for either side during a boston-yankee series. He literally was the best player during that series.
Under most circumstances that would automatically qualify a new player as some kind of hero.
But with Granderson that hasn’t really happened. People keep focusing on a handful of bad at bats he’s had.
To bring up Granderson looking bad last night against Price is just strange. Price made the entire yankee line up look pitiful. He destroyed Robbi Cano. He made Jeter, Tex and even ARod look silly at times.
But the guy getting ripped is Granderson. It’s just strange.
When Paul O’Neil came to NY he wasn’t close to the player Granderson was. He couldn’t hit lefties at all either.
But there was never this hyper focus on O’Neil’s weaknesses. Those were quickly looked past and he was embraced rapidly.
It’s just very strange.
Joekuh – 1 -1, 160 left!! April 10th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
i was wondering why cc switched out of his sick cool grey xi’s
this guy West thinks he’s bigger then the game or something
*******
I was cheering so damn hard when i realized what they were. I hope he breaks em out again at some point.
*********
if im not mistaken he wore some version of the iv’s after that
I think Granderson gets a standing ovation April 13th
Why was Joe West picking on our players uni’s? I thought that was Bob Watson’s job. I’ve never heard of such a thing as an ump doing that to a single player, let alone 3. West is an idiot. All sorts of backlash going to come out from his comments.
The players/umpires had a sort of an unwritten agreement to keep quiet on things. When you have Rivera & Jeter “lashing” out at West, all bets are off. The umps may pick on players all the time about unis, but pdds are that we don’t hear about CC’s wardrobe change if West didn’t start the dust-up.
Tarheel,
I can only guess it is financial. For a long time many people have thought Wade Davis would be more fit for the bull pen as it was. He doesn’t have a very deep arsenal and his fastball is pretty straight. His command isn’t great. But he’s got a big arm.
They could have put Hellickson in the pen directly. Or they could have put hellickson in the pen and moved davis to the pen.
I have to think Hellickson is at least partly financial. He really is a guy who doesn’t have much to prove in AAA. How good he’ll be in the pros is an open question, but AAA hitters are not going to hit him.
Detroit winning 2 – 0 already.
Things just seem to be so easy for other teams.
It’s awefully early in the season to predict how productive a year Matsui will have. He’s a very “streaky” hitter, and the big question mark with him is whether or not his knees will hold up. Sure, his knees are okay after 4 games, but lets see. Not including post season, that leaves 158 games to go.
“Yes it does seem like Curtis Granderson is going to be the guy whose weak spots are obsessed over and picked to death all year.”
how quickly an extra inning game winning homer at Fenway and solid defense are forgotten. As CB said, Lester and Price aren’t very good barometers to measure his progress vs LH’ed pitching. It will be something thats evaluated of the course of the season. People have to have someone to nitpick at I guess.
CB,
I’m glad you guys brought this up. The huge question for Tampa is its bullpen. You’d think they have enough talent in their system to build a bullpen (sans closer) inhouse.
Time to get Brett the Jet back in there.
CB
I saw some ugly swings by Scranton against Hellickson. His change-up in particular during the International league championship was very effective.
“Lester and Price aren’t very good barometers to measure his progress vs LH’ed pitching.”
And the thing is Granderson made great adjustments against Lester in that game between his first and second at bat.
That hit he got off Lester was not some kind of get lucky bloop. He squared it up pretty well and looked much, much better than he did his first at bat.
But instead of the story of that game being the improvement between at bats and the hit – it’s still the negative.
It doesn’t make much sense to me. Granderson literally was the best player on the field during the match up of what are arguably the two best teams in baseball.
And I honestly don’t know how anyone can draw any conclusions from last night’s game. Price had no hit stuff last night. He was just electric. Time and time again yankee hitters – great hitter – were frozen at the plate just based on Price’s fastball command and you could tell they were just praying that the pitch just missed because there was no way they could handle it.
Alex Rodriguez has one of the great swings in the history of baseball. He got overpowered by Price last night.
There’s no generalizable lesson to be learned about Curtis Granderson running into a buzz saw. He bled. So did the entire team.
if im not mistaken he wore some version of the iv’s after that
***
Let’s see what he’s got today. Jeter must be giving him quite the Jordan hookup. I love his black 11 cleats.
One more thing:
# PL April 10th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
I will say though that ANYBODY using the first 4 game stats of a baseball season to draw ANY conclusions is a moron.
No one is drawing conslusions over this.. Clean out your eye sockets and read it for what it is. It’s a simple observation. Take a xanax. At this point Matsui is playing better. I know its four games but thats the truth. Matsui may go 0 for his next 23. Johnson may go 16 for 35. Thats why they play the game. But at this moment in time Matsui is off to the hotter start. Good Lord
That’s true. But does it mean Nick wont have a better year? No. We’re not even 10 games into the year and people are already crying and grinding teeth? C’mon son(in my Ed Lover voice). Seriously?
That’s true. But does it mean Nick wont have a better year? No. We’re not even 10 games into the year and people are already crying and grinding teeth? C’mon son(in my Ed Lover voice). Seriously?
Again, I am not saying he will have a better year. Im saying as you bolded at this moment in time, nothing more. No one knows who will have the better season. But, if you want my opinion I think it will be Matsui. That California sunshine will do him some good.
“His change-up in particular during the International league championship was very effective.”
Tarheel,
The change up was the pitch for him that really took off in AAA. There is no way AAA hitters are going to hit a good change – that’s why they are in AAA. All you have to do is look at Edwar Ramirez’s stats in AAA to see that.
That said, the issue with Hellickson has always been that while he has great command and throws three pitches he doesn’t have a true “out pitch” and doesn’t have plus velocity.
Perhaps his change has developed into that out pitch. But up to now the criticism of him is similar to what it was of Ian Kennedy. Hellickson is better than Kennedy and throws a tick harder than kennedy (and showed better command in the minors…) but that’s the general category Hellickson has fallen into.
That said, there’s a very strong chance he’s better than Mike Ekstrom.
re: Curtis Granderson- I think some people care too much about being right. They have their minds set and that’s it. I hope race is not a factor in it, as it seems to be Robbie Cano.
True enough that the Rays are what they are but they’ve been a real headache for Boston over the last 3 years and there’s bad blood between the 2 teams.
When all is said and done, the Rays are more of a concern for the Yankees than Boston.
CB, I actually think its kinda encouraging that they scored 3 runs off Price last night when he was so dominant. Had Vasquez been able to hold on to his command they could have had a chance to win a game that really they should have had no business winning. There is always a silver lining if you look hard enough.
Grandy is just the new guy and the media has one obvious flaw to exploit, nevermind all the other things he does well.
I think Granderson needs a Papi rant. That would give him some badassness
I could be wrong, but after 2 at bats, Austin Jackson has a double and a homerun.
Joe in Long Island,
There is zero evidence that race is in anyway a factor in the concerns of CG, but thanks for your projection of race as a concern.
“I actually think its kinda encouraging that they scored 3 runs off Price last night when he was so dominant. ”
I thought it was a bit, let’s call it “fortunate” because them scoring the three runs seemed to me to be more of an issue of a young pitcher over thinking the game, it being his first start and the rays pen getting worked the game before because Niemann got hurt.
I might be completely off on this, but I though Price showed the yankees line up too much respect last night the second time through the order and did the yanks a favor changing up his pitching pattern.
It looked to me like Price and the Rays had a game plan and stuck to it – but almost too rigidly. Second time through the order let’s start mixing it up with the curve ball, then the change, etc.
Price was throwing lasers last night. That was the best I’ve ever seen him throw. He could have stood out there and thrown that fastball and no one was going to hit it. He looked so fluid out there. Everything was working in coordination and everything was locked into throwing the ball explosively and with precision. He generated a fantastic downward plane on the ball and his command down in the zone was so impressive.
Now it’s very possible that he physically wouldn’t have been able to continue throwing that kind of heat all game – especially in game one. So perhaps that’s why he went more to the off speed stuff.
But otherwise I think he did the yanks a favor.
Also at the end of the game when he was clearly tiring – Maddon normally would have gotten him out of there but the rays pen was shot from the night before.
Players whose success — from at bat to at bat or inning to inning — will be obsessed over and/or used to needle Yankee fans:
Austin Jackson
Johnny Damon
Hideki Matsui
Melky Cabrera
Ian Kennedy
Phil Coke
Brian Bruney
Chien-ming Wang
Anyone else?
“But there was never this hyper focus on O’Neil’s weaknesses. Those were quickly looked past and he was embraced rapidly.”
No internet at the point in time. At least not to the point that it’s at today.
Maybe it’s time to take a vacation from the lunacy that is the LoHud…..
“Everything was working in coordination and everything was locked into throwing the ball explosively and with precision. He generated a fantastic downward plane on the ball and his command down in the zone was so impressive.”
Its hard to tell without standing up there against him but it also looks like he hides the ball pretty well and has enough funk in his delivery to provide some deception. If he commands like he did last night then the sky is the limit for him.
Robertson and Swisher are on a fishing show on ESPN right now….awesome.
I don’t think race is a factor. Kay has proven to be an equal opportunity idiot.
We’re back to wishing Matsui and Damon were still Yankees? I think as long as people keep posting updates on their games, no one is going to be able to let go. They were great Yankees, but they’re not on the team anymore and we should support NJ and Granderson AS MUCH as we did Matsui and Damon. The idea that those two are the only clutch players ever and that they were perfect is beyond insane.
That’s a good point, raymagnetic. I remember screaming “O’Neil?? O’Neil??? Are they kidding?? He can’t hit lefties to save his life! He’s going to kill all hope of creating a new dynasty and will never be good enough to have his own banner when they finally build a new stadium!”
My dog gave me a dirty look but otherwise no one knew.
“There is no way AAA hitters are going to hit a good change – that’s why they are in AAA. All you have to do is look at Edwar Ramirez’s stats in AAA to see that.’
That’s it in a nutshell. It’s real easy to get hyped over someone who dominates AAA.
I will admit as a fan who goes to a fair amount of AAA games, it is very hard for me to translate how a player will do in the big leagues. The AAAA types get me every time (except Igawa lol).
Nick in SF,
lmao. I do enjoy a Saturday afternoon comedy.
Swisher just stood up on the front of the moving boat and yelled “I’m the king of the world”.
# blake April 10th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Swisher just stood up on the front of the moving boat and yelled “I’m the king of the world”.
lol i saw, that movie was like 12 yrs ago…O swish
“Its hard to tell without standing up there against him but it also looks like he hides the ball pretty well and has enough funk in his delivery to provide some deception. ”
Agreed. He does. He reminded me a bit of Chapman last night. Price last year looked like he was throwing much more with his arm. He looked very different last night.
But he did look like a guy who was hiding the ball well. Hitters were not picking up his pitches and it wasn’t only the velocity. His pitches had a lot of life, were well located and the line up wasn’t seeing the ball out of his hand.
Price could still tighten up his curve – but it was better than last year (those first two pitches he threw Swisher in that at bat where Nick walked were much more reminiscent of Price’s curve from last year). But with that fastball from the left side it’s not going to matter.
CB is right – Granderson is the whipping boy this year. First off, all of a sudden Austin Jackson is Mickey Mantle? I don’t want to hear it. He’s off to a nice start, but fans now wish they had him instead of a PROVEN All-Star? Give it up – the Yankees made a terrific trade. I refuse to listen to Michael Kay anymore – I just won’t. I don’t listen to his radio show and I’ll probably mute him on YES games. This way, I won’t get aggravated. Second of all, can we please give Curtis a chance to improve before we attack him? Holy cow…..
“No internet at the point in time. At least not to the point that it’s at today.”
No doubt that’s a big part of it. At the same time I don’t remember the print media focusing on it as much nor do I remember broadcasters bringing it up over and over.
It’s just curious. The guy dominates a series in Fenway and much of the story is about what he can’t do.
Do people really think Johnny Damon was going to touch David Price last night?
CB is very level headed.
You know what your saying is incredibly stupid if he mocks you.
Come on! LET”S BEAT THE RAYS!!!