The number five
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Apr 16, 2010 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Two key decisions this spring: Who to bat fifth and who to start fifth.
It was the fifth starter decision that generated the most buzz — and on Thursday Phil Hughes looked like the right choice — but the No. 5 spot in the lineup was not a given. Curtis Granderson and his 30-home run power might have worked in that role, but Joe Girardi had other ideas.
Robinson Cano, the guy who struggled with runners in scoring position last year, got the job and has been terrific.
“He can hit a lot of pitches, even when they’re not strikes,” Derek Jeter said. “He seems to get better each and every year, and he knows he can hit, so I didn’t have any concerns about him.”
That picture on the right is the Associated Press shot of Cano’s fifth-inning home run last night, one of two Cano homers in the game. He leads the Yankees in home runs, RBI and total bases. If you don’t count Marcus Thames’ seven at-bats, Cano also leads in batting average.
Here’s Cano talking after last night’s win.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
trisha
Tim Donaghy – backed by the FBI in this statement – said that the NBA referees have biases against certain players and make calls accordingly.
I’d love for the games to be fair, and for bias to not exist as well. Unfortunately, it’s just not so.
___
blake
It’s a testament to how the good the Yankees are this year, and were in last year’s playoffs.
The umpires can only do so much without being outed for looking completely obvious.
Robbie Cano….don’t ya know.
Repost:
The idea that the umpires are out to get or “cheat” the Yankees is so mind-numbingly stupid that I can do nothing but shake my head when the topic comes up time and time again.
There’s a big difference between cheating the Yanks and simply making bad calls. Umpiring around the league seems to have deteriorated significantly the last several years.
Umps make bad calls all the time. And those calls don’t always go against the Yanks.
Love the picture!!
GF, I agree – except I do seriously question Joe West’s integrity. I don’t want him umpiring any Yankee or Sox game. To be honest, I had serious doubts about the umps after the Yankees responded to West; you know how “tight” the umpires are. I don’t think that anymore, though; I think they’re just bad.
Murph, from the previous thread, Phil handled his being “squeezed” very well. I think it’s asinine that umps have different strike zones for different pitchers…..or just on different days – but he’ll eventually get those calls (I hope, lol).
It’s equally mind-numbingly stupid for referees to have biases against players and make calls according to those biases….
But the FBI backs Tim Donaghy’s claim that it is true!!
I give Cano a ton of credit. I was very skeptical of giving him the #5 spot, but Joe’s trust in him as been rewarded. It’s early, but Cano could have a special year.
Rule 2.00 – The Strike Zone
The Strike Zone is defined as that area over homeplate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap. The Strike Zone shall be determined from the batter’s stance as the batter is prepared to swing at a pitched ball.
———————————————————————————————
That’s a rectangle. A fixed 17? wide and what? maybe 21-25 inches high? It depends on the height of the batter and the amount of the crouch he sets at.
The reality is something way different though. It would seem that MLB umps view it closer to a square.
The upper limit of the zone has been ignored for a long time. And last night, Phil wasn’t getting calls at the knees.
Pathetic…embarrassing.
Nolan Ryan on WFAN – I love this guy (and his accent, lol)
Is anyone else seeing those weird symbols in the middle of posts?
Giuseppe Franco:
Conspiracy theories are for people who don’t like facts. Invincible Ignorance can only get a person so far.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.....ce_fallacy
Agree with you GF. This umpire conspiracy against the Yankees talk is plain ridiculous and without anything close to foundation.
That said, the strike zone does seem to get ever smaller for EVERYONE. I’ve got nothing to prove it, but just looking at boxscores for the 1st week, the number of bases on balls seems extraordinarily high.
For those that dont believe it, just watch Game 6 of the 2009 World Series again….and again….and again.
It’s not a conspiracy. There is no conspiracy against the Yankees. It’s a matter of competence. Some of the umpires working today, as many as 50%, according to some of the players I know, simply aren’t good at their jobs.
The entire industry knows it. Unfortunately, they aren’t doing anything about it.
Another example of the failed regime of Bud Selig.
Didn’t realize Tim Donaghy and his pals were umpiring Yankee games.
One guy (in a different sport, no less) engaging in criminal acts doesn’t make everyone in his profession guilty of those game criminal acts.
CR9 April 16th, 2010 at 11:50 am
For those that dont believe it, just watch Game 6 of the 2009 World Series again?.and again?.and again.
*******************************
Don’t believe what-how awesome Hideki Matsui was?
“The reality is something way different though. It would seem that MLB umps view it closer to a square.”
Or a smaller rectangle. Maybe about the size of a garden variety toaster oven?
“The upper limit of the zone has been ignored for a long time. And last night, Phil wasn’t getting calls at the knees”
True enough, but nobody was getting calls at the knees. Not Hughes, not Kazmir, not anyone.
So, if Park goes on the DL, will we see Melancon in the Bronx?
Hope so. He’s ready for the big time.
That’s the perfect way to describe this lunacy, Murph.
I just wanted to point out that we can all get thrown out of the blog for arguing balls and strikes
“referees to have biases against players and make calls according to those biases”
Different Sport, Same Concept.
Unfortunately, engaging in biases against certain players was not among the list of criminal acts that Donaghy engaged in. It was one of the legal acts that him and his fellow referees did engage in.
SJ, since you’re around, I might as well ask. What did you see from Phil that you liked and what did you see that you didn’t like? In other words, how did you evaluate his performance? Were you ok with Joe bringing him out for the 6th?
“So, if Park goes on the DL, will we see Melancon in the Bronx?
Hope so. He’s ready for the big time.”
Or maybe Boone Logan. Maybe he’s not a LOOGY
Bud doesn’t care about umpire incompetence and that’s the scary thing; the commissioner of our sport cares more about fixing cosmetic things (like speeding up the game) instead of dealing with more substantive problems.
Hopefully this is only a minor hamstring issue, but then – is there really such a thing? I hope this doesn’t linger as Park was doing a fine job.
Giuseppe Franco don’t waste your time on CR9-he’s genuinely crazy. I stoped reading his posts after he came on here and posted that he was yelling racial epithets at the T.V. after the Eagles beat the Giants.
Regardless of us disagreeing, umpiring and refereeing costs teams games and opportunities at championships numerous times.
It’s a problem in all sports, and it’s tiresome.
A team like Rob Morris got cheated out of its ‘one shining moment’ against Villanova this past tournament.
It’s sad.
Manchester United basically lost the Premier League on one offsides goal a couple games ago, and got booted out of the Champions League on one cheap red card.
Referees and umpires have too much of an effect on outcomes.
___
As for the ‘lunacy’ of my opinion, Sir Alex Ferguson (one of the greatest football managers of all time) and other great managers as Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez say HELLO!!
Because they all think that their teams get cheated!!
I dont see a need to for this argument to get personal.
It’s just an opinion, as your opinion that the umpires are not biased.
None of us have know the complete facts. All we can do is speculate.
Just watched Phil’s half-innings.
A real mixed bag!
I counted 2, maybe 3 hard-hit balls from Hughes that were actually put into play.
His stuff was really moving.
The Angels have some really good hitters, and Hughes had them fooled at times. That 1-0 pitch to Hunter in his first at-bat made Torii look like a rookie.
Leiter is a lot smarter than Kay.
The ump squeezed Hughes. He may have been looking at movement of glove on 2 of those 3-2 walks.
While he was not challenging hitters at certain times, he did avail himself quite well.
You take that from your #5 any day.
Most importantly, though. We won the series. In part to some good pitching. And in part to the offense taking advantage of Kazmir.
Betsy,
I thought he did a good job in his first start. Clearly, the walks are an issue but, that’s something that can be worked on.
Yes, he got squeezed but, he also didn’t attack the lefties, particularly Matsui, as much as he should. Again, something that can be worked on.
I LOVED that Girardi sent him out for the 6th inning.
My feeling has always been that Phil was babied too much coming up through the organization. They were so worried about injuries, he didn’t get pushed the way he should have gotten pushed coming up.
That’s why he seemed so shook as to how to handle certain situations on the mound in 2008. He’s much tougher mentally now than he was two years ago.
Its evident because he didn’t get rattled by Layne’s strike zone. That’s a big step for a young pitcher to take.
Girardi pushed him last night and that’s great to see.
He’s a big boy now, certainly capable of throwing 110 pitches per start. I’m glad Girardi sees him that way.
He will become more economical as he goes along.
Overall though, he had an impressive first start for a #5 starter.
I’m sure the Yankees are pleased with what they saw last night.
Racism stinks.
It stinks silently in the heart and in the mind, and it stinks – and really, really harms – out loud.
Anyway, time to move on from that subject. Hughes looked excellent last night, and Robi’s work with ARod is really paying off.
SJ,
I, too, was thrilled that the kid gloves came off last night.
M, I can’t listen to Kay anymore – and not when it comes to Phil especially. I like Leiter a lot – he didn’t do many games last year as he was mostly with MLB. I hope that changes this year; I enjoy hearing his perspective as he was a very good pitcher.
I think a problem is that these home plate umps make an early mistake with the strikezone, and then instead of making the correction, they just keep on calling it the same for the sake of appearing consistent.
And these guys are supposed to be the best of the best but I feel many passed their prime long ago. It’s a physical job that requires stamina and quick reflexes. Mental and physical.
For some reason these guys are regarded like commercial airline pilots. Like age and experience equate to excellence. But no ones landing a freaking jet on the Hudson River here. I’m not saying they should just arbitrarily kick the geezers out but they should be expected to maintain their weight. How are you supposed to call 200+ pitches squatting if you can’t even touch your ankles?
I think these guys should have set positions as well. The cream of the crop stays behind the plate. Keep the chubby ones at 3B.
The only reason we think umpires are worse is because we have like 20 camera angles on every play. We see things that people used to never see.
Just accept that they’re human and that technology isn’t going to be officiating baseball.
They do pretty well. I wish they had a little bigger strike zone sometimes, but that’s life.
bodhi
Since I am not a racist, I was ashamed that I used the racial epiphets at the television. That’s why I came on here and merely said that I had done this.
People are entitled to make mistakes and second chances. I made the mistake, and it hasn’t happened again.
So glad the # 5 spots are resolved ,both players picked are great choices that make the Yankees better.
Annibal Sanchez vs Roy Halliday tonight.
Sanchez is 2-4 , 5.40 era lifetime against Phillies
Halladay is 0-1, 5.00 era against Fla (while with Toronto) They meet for the fist time tonight, should be good!
Betsy,
Not even on personal opinion kind of stuff.
I forget which player it was, but it was in the later innings. A lefty. 3-2 pitch called a ball. The CF view it looked borderline, but more strike than ball. Then they showed the 3B dugout view. Clearly at the knees.
Kay is trying to argue that it still looked low. “The CF view showed it low”
And Leiter had to explain to him that the CF view is higher and he had to telestrate that the ball was right at the knees.
And Kay still didn’t believe him!
Oh, and Kay graded him like a B-. Leiter told him, “That’s still too low.”
SJ, Phil once said that when he hit is pitch count in the minors, even if he was throwing a no-no, he’d be removed. I think that’s a terrible way to build up a pitcher’s stamina; really, if a team is that afraid of a pitcher being injured, they shouldn’t send him to the mound.
Last night, I wasn’t happy with Joe’s decision, but as the night wore on into morning, I was absolutely thrilled (and as a bonus, Phil got to be serenaded off the field, lol).
I’m not worried about the walks because Phil wasn’t wild, just slightly off (and he was squeezed). I do wonder – how does he go about improving against lefties?
His stuff was really good last night; even if you chalk the 94′s up to his being amped, I believe he was still consistently 92-93 the whole night.
I too see the weird symbols in the posts. I think I need to hire a symbologist to see what secret message is being communicated. A secret message is about as likely as the umpire’s striving to cheat the Yankees. Some umpires are just not very good.
Has anyone else been following The Lineup on MSG network? Or playing their interactive game on msg.com? If not, you gotta check out both. Its pretty sweeeeeeet.
http://www.msg.com/lineup/
People are entitled to make mistakes and second chances. I made the mistake, and it hasn’t happened again.
====
Agree whole heartedly. We’re all flawed. Albee wrote in Zoo Story that we need to know (weigh) the effects of our actions. I would also say ‘our words.’
Oh, and I LOVED that he didn’t get rattled last night. I’m not sure what I loved most – that part, his swing and miss stuff, his being able to use all pitches effectively (the change will come) or not being rattled. It was really exciting to see him out there again…
LOL A B-? Look, I’m biased towards Phil, but every Yankee fan knows that Kay has a “thing” against him. There is no way you can give him that kind of grade…..not that it matters. I haven’t heard from Eiland, but Joe was very pleased last night.
“I forget which player it was, but it was in the later innings. A lefty. 3-2 pitch called a ball.”
I think you’re talking about Abreu in the 7th. I thought the pitch was a strike. Certainly too close to take with two strikes.
“Umps make bad calls all the time. And those calls don’t always go against the Yanks.”
Joe Mauer’s non-double says hi!
It has nothing to do with camera angles. They aren’t as good as they used to be.
That’s why a bunch of them “retired” last year. They were pushed out and they even changed some of the supervisors because they felt they were too buddy, buddy with the guys on the field.
They aren’t good at their jobs anymore for a variety of reasons.
Many are lazy. A good number of them are overweight (some by as many as 40 pounds) and can’t get into position to make the proper calls.
Some, like Joe West and Angel Hernandez to name two, believe they are part of the show and continually try to bait players into arguments and upstage the game.
Some are simply been in the game too long, are just mailing it in, and no longer have any pride in their work. Its like the guy in the work cubicle with a red marker crossing off days until his retirement on his office calendar.
When you have as many as half of the umpires getting below average grades, which happened last year, its a problem that needs to be addressed.
Betsy,
It’s pretty funny how a lot of people were looking forward to Phil’s outing. (some of us planning our day around this particular game, lol) I think everyone was pleased, even the nitpickers.
But Kay brought up the point about Hughes still being a year away from being fully developed (repeating the party line).
And it’s absolutely true and showed last night.
I think his last step is to challenge the hitters more. He needs to trust his stuff, and trust his defense. The bullpen will thank him for it.
Today’s Guess the Line Up is now open for business.
Good luck!
Remember, if you want to see the previous day’s winner(s) and winning lineup and the standings, just click on my name.
SJ,
?? I was just mentioning how Leiter had to explain to Kay how the LF line camera angle was better than the CF camera angle because it was at eye level.
As far as the umps and low strike calls (basically at the knees), are they out of position? Now crouched enough?
In real time it’d be difficult to see how bad you are. But if they see it on DVD, they would clearly see why we’re all up in arms!
M, that’s what Carig wrote in his article yesterday – and that’s fine; after missing two years of development and then being put in the pen last year, there’s no way Phil could be fully formed. I actually am glad because we can see him evolve from a youngling to a Jedi to Young Master Phil.
Phil was awesome the first time the Yankees ever put him in a game. He was well on his way to a no hitter, before he got hurt, if memory serves me.
You know the saying “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you”?
I think it is extremely high-handed and also pretty unkind for you guys to take off on CR9 for voicing an opinion about which none of you has any first-hand knowledge. I’m not saying that any of the umpires are practicing anything beyond incompetence. What I am saying is that nobody on this forum knows that for sure, so to belittle a person for voicing that opinion could end up with all of you doing the chasting being the fools and CR9 and anyone else suggesting intentional wrong doing being correct.
I would bet that most NBA fans would have been voicing the same position in the same imperious way if one of the fans had the audacity to suggest that there could be intentional cheating. And along came Tim Donaghy.
All possibilities are on the table. Saying you strongly doubt a certain possibility is one thing. Saying you know for certain is just wrong. Nobody here knows for certain one way or the other.
Hughes start was far from perfect – and walking Reggie Wilites even once, never mind twice is terrible – but on the whole Hughes was very good last night.
With any pitcher, you have to take is first appearance of the season with a grain of salt. And to me, many of the negatives last night looked like they were related to it being Hughes first appearance after a long delay. I was expecting his command to be off.
That said – his stuff looked very good and over the long haul of the season that’s really what matters.
Hughes fastball had a great deal of life on it. One of the biggest questions for hughes this year is whether he can maintain similar life on his fastball as he showed last year out of the pen. He doesn’t need the same velocity he had out of the pen – but you would like to see similar life.
And he had that last night. That’s critical. He definitely tired over the course of the game but he’ll build stamina.
The second big thing from last night was that the curve Hughes showed last night was one of the best we’ve see from him as a professional.
Rather than the slow looping curve Hughes often goes to, he used a hard breaking curve that hitters weren’t identifying or picking up well. I’d like to see him continue to use that kind of curve ball and only mix the slower big breakers in now and then.
His cutter is still inconsistent in it’s action – but at times it was very, very good.
Hughes obviously can’t walk as many hitters as he did last night. But on a night when the ump just wasn’t going to call low strikes – Hughes didn’t fall apart. He didn’t give in and allow a big inning.
So the results in terms of control weren’t great.
But his stuff was excellent. At times he was able to dominate a good fastball hitting team with his fastball. Other than Matsui’s homer, the Angels couldn’t really square the ball up and had a lot of trouble making consistent contact.
And at this point in the season, how Hughes’s stuff looks and what kind of poise he shows out in the mound are probably the most important things he can demonstrate.
“For those that dont believe it, just watch Game 6 of the 2009 World Series again….and again….and again.”
An admission of a fixation is there ever was one.
It’s crazy, in the quite LITERAL definition, to do something again and again and expect a different result.
Even forgetting the “debate” (in the loosest definition possible) about whether sports officiating more more due to incompetency or nefarious intent, the ONE thing I can say for certain is none of us can control it and whatever the cause, it’s not going to change anytime soon.
To spend your time each and every night fixated on this issue that you can’t change is unhealthy, genuinely.
We in the midst of a historic run of excellence, a true treat for baseball fans, but some people only want to focus on petty issues, and it’s effecting the discourse here.
I don’t imagine CR9 you’ll ever be convinced of anything different than what you’re already convinced. It’s clearly a very significant part of how you think and function in general, but I think you’ll find quite a few people here that don’t care for you infecting EVERY game thread with your one-note fixation.
Doreen
Went to your site to check the standings. Saw you were pictured in a Cleveland restaurant. Which one? In Cleveland for a Yankee game?
A couple of random observations from the first week and a half:
-Joba is not the same pitcher he was in ’07 and first half ’08, whether he is a starter or reliever. I was always a Joba starts guy, but his stuff is relatively pedestrian now compared to the past. He should have more success in the pen because he only has to face batters once.
-Arod and Tex will probably have better stats than Cano by the end of the year, but he is their most dangerous hitter. If he produces consistently in the 5 spot, that will be the biggest advantage of this year’s lineup over last year.
-In terms of pure hitting talent, Cano may be the most talented Yankee hitter since Mattingly.
-I was not in favor of Winn, but the Yankees are using him just right, right now. Pinch running, occasional start, and late inning defense. When he, Gardner, and Granderson are in the outfield, there are few outfields better defensively.
-As much as I liked the Granderson deal, seeing him everyday, he is much better than I realized he was. He brings a lot to this team that they haven’t had for a while. It seems that every game he does something different to help the team.
-Torii Hunter either had an unusually bad series defensively, or he is starting to slip. Don’t see him enough to know which one. That said, he is probably still in the top 5-7 CFs defensively.
“Nobody here knows for certain one way or the other.”
Yes, we do.
The results are indisputable. The Yankees won the World Series fairly easily last year. To suggest anyone effectively cheated them or tried to – is absurd.
I’m not sure if Selig is listening to the suggestuins of Steve Palermo or not, but, he surely can’t be pleased with the job being done by umpires in the majors. I’d like to see John Hirshbeck brought back and work with Palermo. In the last 30 years, they were probably the most consistant even tempered and almost invisable umpires in the business.
Treat the umpires like players. If you’re not getting the job done get rid of them or send them back to the minors for retraining and reevaluation…..at minor league pay. Money has a strange way of correcting issues in job performance. If the MLB chiefs are seriously using instant replay and sensors in double checking the calls, fine, but, if they aren’t using it to correct the problems, then Selig’s group are missing the boat. Perhaps use bonus incentives for the best umpires based on conditioning, correct ball and strike percentages, control of the game, plays on the bases. You can’t let sensors and cameras be used to make the calls, but, you can use them to evaluate the umpires. and, it needs to start in the lowest levels of the minors.
On another note, I found out today that I cannot prosecute criminal cases for the SPCA. It’s about liability, which I feared would be the case. (Not that I personally am a walking liability though some would argue otherwise.) A municipalty’s insurance wouldn’t cover the liability for an attorney not on the municipality’s payroll. And since any ensuing lawsuit would be against the municipality, the insurer wouldn’t indemnify the municipality against damages brought on by a private attorney.
That dream down the toilet – or at least on hold.
CB, thanks for the great analysis. I definitely figured Phil would be off in his command and even though he’s been pitching, there’s no way games against 5 or 6 hitters in extended ST can possibly come close to the adrenaline rush of a major league game.
I never had a doubt that Phil could maintain the late life on his FB as a starter because we’ve seen him dominate major leaguers before in at least 3 starts (2 in Texas, one in Detroit). He had good stuff as a starter in general last year…
Do you agree with SJ that Joe made a good move in bringing him out for the 6th?
Phil definitely tired; I wonder if some of that could be attributed to the fact that he was probably pitching on pure adrenaline early in the game – that’s hard, if not impossible, to maintain throughout 6 or 7 innings.
Mark, I love Cano, but he’s not Alex…….
Actually, it was 3 hard hit balls. Matsui’s obviously.
But A-rod and Cano each had a stellar defensive play.
GB, I don’t like the idea of having to bribe umpires to do their best, so handing out bonuses doesn’t appeal to me, but I love your other ideas (about sending them down for re-training and/or re-evaluation).
John Hirschbeck is very good; Steve Palermo was the best.
Couldn’t agree more about Joe West and Angel Hernandez thinking they are part of the show and how they go out of their way to bait the players. I’ve watched it go on for years. Hernandez’ hair trigger temper is as legendary as it is ludicrous. It’s like they think they are the “faces” of umpiring, like Jeter is the face of the Yankees. Their “look at me” behavior is too obvious for Selig’s dogs not to have noticed. Apparently Selig thinks this too is good for the game. There are tens of thousands of people who wouldn’t mind being professional baseball umpires at the MLB level. Only the best players in the world are signed to play at the MLB level. Shouldn’t the objective, impartial arbiters of the game be “the best of the best” as well?
Hey Bud Selig: Open up the talent pool and get us athletic, well mannered and professional umpires before the time-honored umpiring tradition is destroyed by your negligence.
John and Susan were talking last night about one of the drills Long did with Robbie.
Long put up a screen on the outer half of the plate and told him he wasn’t allowed to even nick it with his swing. This was in an effort to teach his mind/body to stop rolling over on the outside pitch and better turn on the inside pitch. Something like that.
Torii Hunter’s defensive stats over the past few years have been ugly. This series was not an aberration. People see the occasional over the wall catch and think he’s still great…but it’s been a while since he’s been even good.
Why is Cano doing so great this year…no Melky no distractions. I love Melcky but I am sure the nightclubs loved those two….and now Cano seems more focused.
“I think it is extremely high-handed and also pretty unkind”
Trisha, one more note. The person you’re defending here has a track record of consistently threatening violence against and saying inflammatory, dehumanizing things about sports officials.
I don’t buy into the notion that it’s okay to refer to people like celebrities, athletes politicians, sports officials in ways that wouldn’t be tolerated if it was directed towards a participant on this forum. That’s not a double-standard you should be defending, in my opinion.
Phil Columbus -
It was the Blue Point Grille. It was recommended to us a special occasion restaurant and we were celebrating my daughter’s 21st birthday. We loved it.
Wish the Yankees were in town, but alas, we had to settle for the Orioles playing the Indians. This was part of our summer vacation in 2008 – we drove to Toronto, Niagara Falls, Sandusky and Cleveland. Had a great time, mixing in ballparks and theme parks.
“Conspiracy theories are for people who don’t like facts”
———————————————————–
nevermind the fact that conspiracies have existed, dating back to Julius Caesar and Jesus Christ.
ignorant statement.
murphydog
The road to to becoming a MLB umpire is a long one that doesn’t pay well. There may be many people that would do better than the current crop of umps, but are they willing to pay the price.
“Yes, we do.
The results are indisputable. The Yankees won the World Series fairly easily last year. To suggest anyone effectively cheated them or tried to ? is absurd.”
Really? Well unless you were able to get into the minds and hearts of every umpire in the league during every game in the season and with every call made during the season, I’d say you don’t know what you’re talking about.
If one umpire made one intentionally incorrect call during one game of the season, then someone effectively cheated the Yankees.
I personally am not taking any position on the matter though the way I’ve seen the way Angel Hernandez operate with the Yankees always gives me pause. My point is that you have no personal knowledge, only what CR9 has – an opinion.
“I don?t imagine CR9 you?ll ever be convinced of anything different than what you?re already convinced. It?s clearly a very significant part of how you think and function in general, but I think you?ll find quite a few people here that don?t care for you infecting EVERY game thread with your one-note fixation.”
I haven’t been following the back and forth on this, and I don’t know the genesis of your apparent disdain with CR9, but I would suggest that CR9 has as much right to post opinions here as you do. You don’t have to agree with them.
CB,
I saw the same thing with the curve. Had much better bite and was more of a power curve than that big looper…I don’t really like the lollypop curve, its fine every now and then but it really just gives good hitters too much time to see it.
His fastball had tons of life on it and he got many swings and misses on it….he can live 92-94 on that fastball and be just fine with his other pitches…I think he will learn to use his cutter more to pitch to contact and get quicker outs eventually.. I thought it was a great first appearance after the long layoff.
CB, Hughes isn’t the only one that seems to have trouble getting strikes called on Willits. In 53 plate appearances against NYYs, Willits has walked 13 times with 3 hits, plus 1 sac fly. In his ML career, he’s walked over 13% of his plate appearances. That’s huge for a .265 career hitter with 0 home runs.
I think it’s absurd to think that any umpire made a wrong call on the yankees on purpose. As SJ44 said, it’s more a matter of incompetence.
“nevermind the fact that conspiracies have existed, dating back to Julius Caesar and Jesus Christ.
ignorant statement.”
Good for you vinny-b. I wonder if people looked askance at the family of Julius Caesar when they suggested that what happened on the Ides of March may have been part of a conspiracy.
“As much as I liked the Granderson deal, seeing him everyday, he is much better than I realized he was. He brings a lot to this team that they haven’t had for a while. It seems that every game he does something different to help the team.”
AMEN!!
___
Thanks, Trisha. Sad to see your dream put on hold
By the way, is your fantasy team doing any better?
Also, I’d like to point out that while I have been deemed paranoid — regarding sports — by many, I find myself believing game in and game out, and year in and year out, that the Yankees will be treated fairly, and actually look for fairness, so I can point the fairness out.
As I’ve stated before, we got treated fairly much of last regular season by HP umpires. However, that was not the case when it came to the playoffs.
Personally, I’d like to see the rulebook strike zone enforced for both teams. But, since we are never going to see the rulebook strike zone enforced at all, I could care less if HP umpires make poor ball/strike calls in both directions. It’s only when it’s one-sided that I take issue.
Mark in Tampa – I had the same thought about Torii Hunter, and I think LGY did also. Not seeing him play everyday, I wasn’t sure, but the change from what I expected of him was dramatic. Is it related to age? He’s 35 years old, he’s getting up there.
Phil broke out that curve last ST; maybe he just likes to fool the scouts by throwing that loopy one, lol. Man, I love a good curve ball.
lol
The magic bullet theory says HELLO!!
Betsy – Hughes rules (Pleading the Fifth) April 16th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
GB, I don’t like the idea of having to bribe umpires to do their best, so handing out bonuses doesn’t appeal to me, but I love your other ideas (about sending them down for re-training and/or re-evaluation).
John Hirschbeck is very good; Steve Palermo was the best.
———————————————————————————————————————-
Performance bonuses are used in almost every business. ML players have performance bonuses. Factory workers have an hourly wage plus piece work – performance bonuses. Even the military has performance bonuses for certain things. That’s not bribery.
It’s an acknowledgement of a job well done. Everybody wins.
LOL Francesca on FAN yesterday was dumbfounded at Hunter dropping a ball the day before. He kept saying “I can’t believe it……I’ve never seen this”; it was actually pretty funny. He loves Hunter…
GB, that’s true, lol. However, Bud doesn’t seem overly interested in the competency of his umpires.
Doreen
The Blue Point was a great choice. Progressive Feild is a nice ballpark. Did you wear any Yankee colors? Indians fans hate the Yankees, maybe more so than Red Sox fans. Goes backs to th 40-50′s when the Indians had good teams but kept finishing 2nd to the Yanks. I wear a Yankee t-shirt to Indians game that says” James 23 “on the back, just to remind them he is a Yankee fan. Good way to piss them off.
I like Hunter too as a player but he’s lost a step in the outfield…I never noticed it until this series. He’s still really good but he’s not what he used to be. On days when they have Matsui, Hunter, and Abreu out there there will be a lot of balls falling in.
Hunter gets by on his reputation at this point in his career. He hasn’t been a true plus outfielder since 2003
The following person has submitted a lineup for today’s GTLU:
Erica
(Come on guys, I rushed through food shopping to get home in time for this.
)
Don’t be discouraged by yesterday! Will it be Posada catching? Or Cervelli? Does Winn or Thames get another shot or does Gardner get his chance against a lefty?
GB,
Steve Palermo is getting phased out. He had the “nerve” to question authority, namely Jimmy Ray Solomon who oversees the umpires, and MLB is phasing him out.
Its a shame because Steve is PRECISELY the type of guy the game needs to oversee its motley crew of umpires.
Solomon is just an enabler.
That’s why I predict as the weather warms and tempers because shorter, you are going to see more aggressive confrontations between players and umpires than we have ever seen before.
Players are really ticked off at these guys now in the wake of Joe West’s comments and I don’t think they are going to take as much as they have in the past from these guys.
When Mariano Rivera goes public re: the umpires, you KNOW its a topic de jour among the players.
Its going to be a long, hot summer for the boys in blue.
“The road to to becoming a MLB umpire is a long one that doesn’t pay well. There may be many people that would do better than the current crop of umps, but are they willing to pay the price.”
I swear if I ever won the lottery, I’d do it. It’s always been a dream job of mine.
I especially enjoy listening to the old umps tell their tales.
“murphydog
The road to to becoming a MLB umpire is a long one that doesn’t pay well. There may be many people that would do better than the current crop of umps, but are they willing to pay the price.”
I’m all for a revamped MLB Umpire career/salary/benefits package. How much money could we really be talking about compared to all the cash spent on the darned World Baseball Classic? Besides, an objective, impartial and effective application of the rules is fairly fundamental and should come before dubious attempts to interest the rest of the world in a game they are never going to suddenly buy into.
SS Jeter
DH Johnson
1B Teixeira
3B Rodriguez
2B Cano
RF Swisher
CF Granderson
LF Winn
C Cervelli
Thanks Doreen!
stuckey, I admit I haven’t read the posts. If CR9 is guilty of recklessly maligning then I have to agree with you. My only point was that nobody here has indisputible proof that umpires may not be making bad calls intentionally and I felt bad that there appeared to be a gang mentality in belittling CR9′s suggestion that it could be happening. None of us knows for sure one way or the other.
My guess and hope is that it’s more a question of incompetence. But I admit that I can’t know for sure so people suggesting otherwise are suggesting a possibility that could exist.
That’s my only point. And the fact that it did happen in basketball when nobody had a clue it was going on (or would have thought it was a possibility) has to alert you to the fact that those things can and do happen. And to really malign someone for suggesting it as a possibility just has to fly in the face of a reality that’s been acknowledged, albeit not in baseball.
A poster named William asked about getting Yankee tickets last night.
I forgot to mention another easy way to save a lot of money going to the games, so I hope you see it.
You can bring any type of food and water bottles with you to the game in a plastic bag (shopping or ziploc for example). I always bring my dinner/lunch to the stadium and it saves a ton of money on the total expense. I live near Carl’s so I even brought one of their cheesesteaks with me one time instead of buying the overpriced ones at the stadium. lol.
Phil Columbus -
At the time I personally did not own any Yankee wearable items. I have since remedied the situation and would wear it if I went to another ballpark. However, I am very respectful of another team’s “house.” If the Yankees aren’t the opponent, I’ll root for the home team, but usually I find it a great opportunity to actually keep score, since at a Yankees game (or Trenton Thunder game), I too involved in the game itself to be able to keep up with the scoring!
Good, I look forward to the players letting the umpires have it. However, it’s a darn shame about Palermo.
SJ – that would be very disappointing for me, as a fan, because I don’t go to or watch games on TV to see fights or arguments. I want to see quality baseball (and Yanks winning, of course). But I agree, for Mo to speak out like that, followed by Jeter, says a lot about players’ feelings. I think a lot of people were surprised by Mo and what he said.
blake,
It may have just been a product of it being his first start and Hughes running out of gas, but I thought he went to his cutter too much as the game progressed. Or at least I was surprised to see him go to the cutter so much and it did leave me wondering why.
Last night he had the kind of fastball that a pitcher should just ride. Here it is – hit it.
It looked to me like he had a plan that second time through the order I’m going to change my pitching pattern and throw more cutters.
Again – this might have been due to the fact that he was tiring and looking for quick outs. Or that he was tiring and concerned about throwing a flat fastball.
To get quicker outs I think he should have just stuck with his four seamer last night. It was dominant. That’s what he did over the first two innings and his pitch count was ok. He really started to throw a lot of pitches when he started mixing in the cutter more.
The underlying issue was probably stamina, but if he can maintain that kind of life on his fastball for 7 innings or so that’s the weapon that will get him efficient outs.
The value of the cutter for him right now is highly dependent on the quality of his four seam fastball. His cutter isn’t consistent enough yet to be the kind of pitch he can use to as a primary weapon.
I can’t believe you guys are arguing back and forth about the umps.
talk about childish.
“Its going to be a long, hot summer for the boys in blue.”
I agree. With all the various MLB video out there, it’s just a matter of picking the right event to “expose” an umpire. Really the MLBPA and MLB ought to try to nip this in the bud, so to speak, because I really do see ugly confrontations coming up otherwise. The respect for umpiring has gone way down and West and Hernandez are targets no. 1 and 2 respectively. Girardi especially seems like the kind of guy ready to fight over this unfair crap.
Here you go Doreen!
Jetes – SS
NJ – DH
Tex – 1B
Alex – 3B
Mr. Robinson – 2B
Swish – RF
Curtis – CF
GGBG – LF
Cervelli – C
Jay Z is suing The Big Pop-up.
Ok Doreen, I don’t want to disappoint you! I’m going to get creative with this one.
Jeter SS
Johnson 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Swisher RF
Granderson CF
Thames DH
Winn LF
LGY,
Incidentally, Do you know why they always ask to see your cell phone upon entering the stadium?
The answer is kind of ridiculous.
http://www.kotulas.com/webapp/.....ite=101031
“I can’t believe you guys are arguing back and forth about the umps.
talk about childish.
Fundamental unfairness and incompetence at umpiring a game is OK with you?
Doreen –
1. Jeter SS
2. Swisher RF
3. Tex 1B
4. Alex 3B
5. Cano 2B
6. Posada C
7. Thames DH
8. Granderson CF
9. Winn LF
CC P
Bronx,
I did not know that. Wow that is really funny.
SJ, that is really a sad state of affairs. Palermo was as even handed as any could have. what’s more, he had the respect of players, managers and virtually everyone else. The saddest thing about it is, he’s exactly what baseball will be looking for as a replacement. Never sure exactly what Soloman’s qualifications were in the first place. I hate the sound of this, but, he appears to have been a token appointment.
Doreen
Growing up a Yankee fan in Tribe country and taking the abuse, I feel the need to give it to them in thier house. Nothing better than getting the “Lets Go Yankees” chant going in Cleveland. The lady of the house just got on her Facebook Page yesterday and one of high school friends was starting a “I Hate the Yankees ” thing going at some bar here in Columbus. May have to take a Yankee flag to hang there.
Bronx Jeers and Patrick – each creative in their own way.
Thank you guys. I can feel useful again!
“Jay Z is suing The Big Pop-up.”
Yeah and it actually sounds like a legitimate lawsuit. Jay-z has several clubs named 40/40 in NYC and elsewhere around the country. Papi is opening a club in the DR called Forty-Forty. Sounds like trademark infringement to me…
“Never sure exactly what Soloman’s qualifications were in the first place.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon
Among his gifts was great wisdom
That 1:05 post IS NOT ME!!!!!!!
Phil Columbus -
Well, you are in a TOTALLY different situation. You gotta do what you gotta do!!
“I wish all referees and umpires the harshest criminal punishment, the death penalty.”
This is what you just defended Trisha.
“I hate the sound of this, but, he appears to have been a token appointment.”
The day after Jackie Robinson Day, I don’t like reading such comments either.
Well whatever Robbie’s doing right now, he should keep it up. I can barely believe I’m looking at the same hitter.
That 1:05 post IS NOT ME!!!!!!!’
———–
Bummer I thought you had finally grown a sense of humor, that was pretty funny
murphydog April 16th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
“Never sure exactly what Soloman’s qualifications were in the first place.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon
Among his gifts was great wisdom
———————————————————————————————————————-
Wise enough to suck up to Selig? Bob Watson is another one who could have done a lot in baseball, but, having him as baseball’s head warden in charge of punishment isn’t the best idea anyone had.
CB,
Agreed, that first inning he was just dominant…throwing fastballs right by people. I meant I hope eventually he will learn to use the cutter kinda like Halladay does. Halladay gets a ton of quick outs just mixing 2 seamers and cutters….guys have no idea which way its going to they just swing and it misses the fat part of the bat.
I can close my eyes and see Hughes being that type of guy…whether he will ever become that type of pitcher who knows but I think the tools are there for him to be.
“Has anyone else been following The Lineup on MSG network?”
I’ve seen 2. Personal biases of the panel aside- HoJo is better than A-Rod? – it is a fun discussion and they have some good stories.
Is there any truth to the rumor that the Cubs are thinking about releasing Alfonso Soriano?
SS Jeter
RF Swish
1B Tex
3B Arod
2B Cano
DH Thames
CF Granderson
C Cervelli
LF Gardner
Thanks
“Is there any truth to the rumor that the Cubs are thinking about releasing Alfonso Soriano?”
OMG, Id LOVE Alfie back! Why would they release him? Injuries?
Crawdaddy April 16th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
“I hate the sound of this, but, he appears to have been a token appointment.”
The day after Jackie Robinson Day, I don’t like reading such comments either.
———————————————————————————————————————-
The timing of the statement has absolutely nothing to do with it. He was never involved in baseball as anything. He was never an umpire. He’s a lawyer. What are his qualifications?
“Is there any truth to the rumor that the Cubs are thinking about releasing Alfonso Soriano?”
They still owe him $90M so I doubt it.
Doreen,
Here is my line-up. I think Cervelli will catch so I got a little creative:
Derek SS
Johnson DH
Tex 1B
ARod 3B
Cano 2B
Curtis CF
Swisher RF
Cervelli C
Gardner LF
Thanks
In terms of pure hitting talent, Cano may be the most talented Yankee hitter since Mattingly.
===
you don’t say.
Doreen – 2010 GTLU April 16th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Is there any truth to the rumor that the Cubs are thinking about releasing Alfonso Soriano?
———————————————————————————————————————-
That was just some “writer’s” thoughts. The wicketts just bought the team, so, I can’t see them eating an $80 mil contract as their first duty.
“Really? Well unless you were able to get into the minds and hearts of every umpire in the league during every game in the season and with every call made during the season, I’d say you don’t know what you’re talking about.
If one umpire made one intentionally incorrect call during one game of the season, then someone effectively cheated the Yankees.”
That’s all fine and good Trisha, but what you’re seeing is a broader than that.
This has been taken to a level that ALL umpires are out to cheat the Yankees EVERY night. Not to mention the press and MLB itself are all acting on concert conspiring against the Yankees.
I understand the point you’re tying to make, but contextually, we’re not discussing the same thing.
“I haven’t been following the back and forth on this, and I don’t know the genesis of your apparent disdain with CR9, but I would suggest that CR9 has as much right to post opinions here as you do. You don’t have to agree with them.”
Again, it always comes down to the “right” issue. I believe he has every right to post anything with in the boundaries of the ToS, and I’d be the FIRST to defend his right, vigorously.
But conversely, I also have the right to put into words the ridiculousness of his conduct here, and encourage other posters to be proactive in encouraging the type of discourse we want to see around here, and discourage the type we don’t.
Wouldn’t you agree?
Instead of talking about the lengths of Yankee/RS games, maybe Joe West and the rest of the umpires should try to get the calls right.
As far as calls going against the Yankees, I don’t think so. The umpires calls are so bad they go against every team. No team escapes their incompetency.
————————————————————-
Hughes will have a big year.
“The timing of the statement has absolutely nothing to do with it. He was never involved in baseball as anything. He was never an umpire. He?s a lawyer. What are his qualifications?”
You’re the one that opened your big mouth and brought race into it by suggesting he was a token hire.
youngtimer April 16th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Well whatever Robbie’s doing right now, he should keep it up. I can barely believe I’m looking at the same hitter.
====
He’s evolved as a hitter, But there was always greatness in the bat. One swing – one – confirmed that.
Ah, thanks for the feedback on Soriano. I saw a blurb on my Facebook page from MLB XM radio. Funny thing is, they said the internet was abuzz with that rumor, but I know if I don’t see it here, how can that be???
hughes got a good amount of swings and misses on his fastball yesterday. And he threw about 80% fastballs in the start (4seamer + cutter).
Matt (DC)
I enjoyed your latest article about who is for real. How about Robbie Cano? He is a notoriously slow starter but has been knocking the cover off the ball. Is this his breakout year?
Jayson Stark (1:22 PM)
He’d have been another one on the FOR REAL list. He’s always had impact-hitter kind of talent. What you’re seeing now is that he’s starting to get to that next level, because you’re seeing more day-in, day-out focus and passion than ever before. This guy has a chance to be the best second baseman in baseball at some point. I’m still giving Chase Utley that trophy at the moment, though.
SS Jeter
RF Swisher
1B Teixeira
3B Rodriguez
2B Cano
C Posada
DH Thames
CF Granderson
LF Winn
An unbiased comment from Jayson Stark!!
Never thought I’d see the day
Crawdaddy April 16th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
“The timing of the statement has absolutely nothing to do with it. He was never involved in baseball as anything. He was never an umpire. He?s a lawyer. What are his qualifications?”
You’re the one that opened your big mouth and brought race into it by suggesting he was a token hire.
———————————————————————————————————————-
I’ll ask again? What are his qualifications to be in control of MLB/MiLB umpiring? None. He’s about as unqualified as you and I are?
Thanks Doreen!
Completely off-topic: Just read that members of the hall of fame were present to “collect historical artifacts” at Stephen ‘s first minor league game. Scott Boras truly is the MVP of this generation.
GTLU,
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Randy Winn LF
Francisco Cervelli
Thanks Doreen
Good thing Arizona turned us down when we tried to “get” them to “take” Cano in the Randy Johnson deal.
the ump yesterday was squeezing both pitchers. But this goes to the argument that the games are longer because the umps are just not very good. Call more strikes and the game moves faster.
“I?ll ask again? What are his qualifications to be in control of MLB/MiLB umpiring? None. He?s about as unqualified as you and I are?”
If you question his qualifications then that’s where you should have kept your argument to, but no, you had to introduce race into your ranting and then when you’re call on it, you try to shift your argument back to where it should have been from the start.
Also, the umpires don’t report directly to him anyway. Isn’t there a ML official with baseball experience that directly supervises the umpires. I thought Mike Port worked for him and had the umpires under his control?
I need one ticket to Saturday’s game, will be in the for the weekend. Any suggestions? Should I just show up at the ticket window or stubhub
“Is there any truth to the rumor that the Cubs are thinking about releasing Alfonso Soriano?”
OMG, Id LOVE Alfie back! Why would they release him? Injuries?
___
Because he is just not very good anymore and the Cubs have had it. The fans have really had it. Did i see Pinella pull him out of LF in the middle of the inning the other day?
“Ah, thanks for the feedback on Soriano. I saw a blurb on my Facebook page from MLB XM radio. Funny thing is, they said the internet was abuzz with that rumor, but I know if I don’t see it here, how can that be??? ”
They may have confused fantasy with reality. Most fantasy baseball people are advocating dropping Soriano. In real life, as noted above, the contract makes it very unlikely. There are, however, rumors of Sori and Piniella knocking heads, so the Cubs may be willing to swap onerous contracts with somebody.
How odd that Cano is finally being touted as a pstient hitter that works counts and can hit with runners in scoring position. he’s still what he’s always been. A very talented hitter that will never draw a large amount of walks and a guy that can knock in runs from first base and play stellar defense. By the way, he’s 3-12 with RISP. He’s always been a run producer. The difference this year is that fans have a new target since they can’t whine about Rodriguez any longer. Cano’s the best hitter on the team now that the other big guns are starting off slow. The newest target of anger is Vazquez.
Here is a link to a former scouts take on Hughes start yesterday and some stuff about Joba.
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/0.....sing-joba/
Always enjoy this guys stuff about the Yanks minor leagers.
NE England- I would always go with stubhub. You know exactly what you’re getting, you can pick your section, and if you wait until the last day or two before buying, there will always be a race to the bottom among those who can’t go (I’ve had to do that myself many times). As of right now, you can by a $27 ticket behind home plate for $24. Have fun.
Yes, Cano (almost) for RJ should be cautionary to those who believe the “not since Mike Lowell” line means the Yanks can’t make a mistake trading a prospect.
Frankie Piliere piece from 12/04 on Cano; sometimes things work out:
http://yankees.scout.com/2/327948.html
GTLU:
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Nick Swisher RF
Marcus Thames LF
Curtis Granderson CF
How about the 3 hole? Teixeira should be way lower in the order every April. Dude is never himself that month. So why not let him extend his spring training, in a sense, batting, say, sixth?
Pardon my ignorance, but is there a stat that measures success with RiSP, as opposed to getting a hit with RiSP?
I consider getting a runner at third with less than 2 hours in with a flyball or groundout as asuccessful AB, we well as moving a runner at 2nd over to third with no outs.
I agree there should be separate measurements for different kinds of success (getting a hit, or a sacrifice-type result), just saying avg with RiSP doesn’t tell the whole story.
I didnt know that Alfie wasnt good anymore. I really dont follow much baseball outside of the Yankees and rivals.
Ben, Thanks
Ben-
When using stubhub, do you pick up the ticket or do you print it out?
tex’s obp is at least around .300. So he is walking. He and Alex will turn it on at the same time and it will be the other teams worst nightmare. 6-3 with no power from 3-4 hole. Not bad. Hughes pitched well considering the strike zone, Cano is unreal, even thames had 2 hits.
GB
I’ve been chuckling about the same thing for days now. The bandwagon fills and empties around here way too quick.
Yeah-
He’s got to get past that at some point in his career, so I don’t think moving him down for a month would help. He’s still getting on base at .302, so he’s not a total disaster. Also, it’s worth remembering that his April troubles haven’t always existed – he had good Aprils from 04-06.
NE England Yankee.
It’s doubtful there are any cheap tickets left but if money is no object then go to the Yanks website and there will be some very good seats available at face value.
If not, go to Stubhub tomorrow morning. Prices will be at their lowest between 10:30- 11:00. The cutoff is at 110:00 though so don’t wait too long.
That’s an 11:00 am cutoff time. Sorry
stuckey -
That is always my private “whine” about hitting with RISP. It’s just one part of a story. Doubling in a guy from 1st doesn’t count; and as you said, scoring a runner from third on a “productive out” doesn’t count. But single a guy from second to third, that’s a hit with RISP.
Jay Z is suing Big Papi…
http://pitchfork.com/news/3851.....vid-ortiz/
I always thought that Cano had the potential to be a good #3 or #5 hitter. As he was starting out he wasn’t there yet (not patient enough, bad RISP numbers) but it looks like he’s getting there now. I really hope he has a big year.
No concerns about Teixiera’s slow start. That guy will definitely be there. Add a normal year for A-Rod and you’ve got a really serious middle of the order.
Posada batting 6th and Graderson batting 7th (with his power) should plate a higher-OBP Robbie Cano hitting from the 5-spot quite a lot too. Instead of being called ‘Ribbies’ would these RBI’s be called ‘Robbies’?
I don’t see the Cubs just releasing Alfonso Soriano, he has 5 years left on his contract at $18 mill per year. Notwithstanding his current slump, and trending down hill slide over the last 3 years(juicer?)
Terry-
Stubhub has gotten much better lately and has worked out great deals with MLB so you actually download the ticket instantly, up to 2 hours before the game. I know that they used to have a feature where you could get the tickets in the mail or pick them up at the box office, but I think that’s largely gone by the wayside now with the more convenient methods. The Yankees actually have a nice system where you can log into your my yankees account and sell them right through there. I always had a partial plan, but was worried about getting a larger one because it used to be hard to sell the extras if I couldn’t make it. Now I buy tickets for whatever games I’d like to go to, and then sell the extras if something else comes up that day.
Maybe Phil wanted to use all his pitches and just felt the cutter was good for him? He clearly likes the pitch…. Maybe he’s too young and inexperienced to realize that he can ride a couple of pitches if they are working for him?
“Here is a link to a former scouts take on Hughes start yesterday and some stuff about Joba.
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/0…..sing-joba/
Always enjoy this guys stuff about the Yanks minor leagers.”
Some good and spotty in there, and some inconsistent thoughts.
The good:
“The beginning of the emergence of Phil Hughes’ began last year. He took to the bullpen role beautifully, but more than anything else it was about getting Hughes in meaningful situations night after night. By doing that, Hughes got more and more confident in using his fastball and attacking hitters. Prior to last season, we consistently saw a more tentative Hughes who leaned on his curveball as a crutch. His mechanics are now more in sync and he loves to use his fastball.”
What some have been arguing all along. 2009 wasn’t a lost year in Hughes as a starter, it night have been the best thing that ever happened to him.
The inconsistent”
“Chamberlain still has above-average stuff, and he can be very effective pitching late in games. But let’s not pretend his stuff is what it used to be. On Thursday night, the big righty pitched at 91-93 mph, broke off some very sharp sliders and for the most part was spotting the ball quite well. In other appearances early this season, he has pitched at 93-95 mph. So, yes, he still does have two plus pitches and can be effective. But it might be time to accept that the days of days of pitching in the upper 90s are a thing of the past for Chamberlain.”
Now read the two paragraphs back-to-back.
Anyone want to tell me what though Piliere didn’t quite manage to connect?
Terry – Wasn’t there some question a few years back about Soriano’s age, like there was with El Duque? Does anyone know?
Bronx Jeers April 16th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
what kinda tickets do the yankee sell on their site?
Phil, thanks for posting! Frankie said what I’ve been feeling about Phil for awhile…. this is really an exciting time for Yankee fans.
pat April 16th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
GB
I’ve been chuckling about the same thing for days now. The bandwagon fills and empties around here way too quick.
———————————————————————————————————————-
pat, that’s pretty much what I was getting at, just not quite so eloquently. Robbie Cano has always been the same player, but, he’s matured…one year at a time. That’s the only difference. How odd that he’s patient with one walk this year. What he seems to have learned, at least so far, is how to foul more pitches of rather than putting them into play. It will be something to watch as the season progresses. He’s not going to hit .395 all season, so, I expect the criticism to return.
ben April 16th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Thanks for the info. This sounds like something I want to do next season. I always wanted to get a high end partial plan, but I hate to eat the cost for the tickets I give away.
Do you ever have trouble selling your extra game dates? Do you atleast get the face value back? does stubhub charge you a fee for selling the tickets?
If you look at Cano’s detailed batting stats from last year, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
http://www.baseball-reference......-bat.shtml
Last year he only scored 13% of the baserunners that were present when he came to the plate. That was 2% lower than his career (and the MLB) average of 15%. That’s low, but the numbers tend to jump up or down by a few points each year. To put it in context, Jeter was only at 14% last year.
With less than two outs and a runner at 3rd, he scored the runner 50% of the time, slightly below the league average of 51% and below his career average of 58%. With a runner at second and no outs, he advanced the runner 54% of the time, well above the league average of 43% and slightly below his career average of 56%. Again, for more context, Jeter’s numbers in those categories last year were 57% and 46%.
It was a slightly down year, mostly blown up by the fact that it’s a small sample set. I’m not concerned in the long run.
GB it wouldn’t be a surprise if Cano has a cold streak or two. Not ready for an average in the high .300′s but he should have one of the best (or the best) batting averages of his career if he can be more patient and raise that OBP. I think the lack of walks may be because he’s just hitting well and being aggressive. More walks or at least seeing more pitches would be nice to see from him though … maybe a bit early to tell where he’s at with that.
joba looked so dejected having to come out last night with 2 out in the 9th. Caught a couple bad breaks there with Jeter botching the grounder. I think everything right now is how it should be except for NJ/Tex/Alex , their averages/power, which will come in time.
Terry
Basically there’s about a half dozen links to ticketmaster.
There are 5 dollar obstructed view bleacher seats available for tomorrow.
I can definitely see that Joba’s mechanics are inconsistent, hence the fluctuating velocity. Isn’t going to Scranton a better environment for working on his mechanics then going tot he bullpen? have the yankees given up on his potential as a starter? what a waste of a prospect.
hope I didn’t miss the gltu deadline?
ss jeter
dh johnson
1b teixeira
3b rodriguez
2b cano
rf swisher
cf granderson
lf thames
c cervelli
thanks, doreen!
It could get really ugly at “The Friendly Confines” on Waveland and Sheffield today. Carlos Silva is pitching with the wind blowing out at 12-15 MPH.
Terry-
If by high end you mean “lots of games,” I think it’s a great idea. If you mean more expensive seats, I don’t know too much about that. I stick to bleacher and grandstand seats because I know that they tend to sell for (at minimum) something within the range of their face value. I’m not sure if that carries over to the $100 seats. The risk is also much lower – a 40 game, 2 seat bleacher package costs a grand total of $800.
I very rarely have trouble selling tickets, but there will definitely be games where you will lose some money. For the thursday game against the angels, $20 grandstand seats were selling for $5. However, that’s usually more than made up for by the Red Sox tickets which sell for $80. You’re not going to get rich off of this, but if you play it safe, you can do alright. Over the past three years, I’ve pretty much paid for all of the games I’ve attended by selling the extras and the things that come with it (all-star game tickets, etc.)
GB7
If Park is put on the DL, do see Melancon or Logan coming up? I know you follow SWB closely and it seems like Mark is throwing well and is throwing 2 innings at a time.
Ben.
Do you have a 41 game bleacher package?
He’s not going to Scranton because the Yankees see him a a vital part of the bullpen.
He’s actually pitched decently out of the pen and is getting better. He’s just not going to throw 98 anymore.
People have been posting on here for six months wanting him to go to Scranton. It isn’t happening.
Not this year, next year, or the year after.
He’s in the bullpen because that’s where he belongs to help the team win.
The sooner the folks accept that, the better.
Bronx-
I’ve actually got a few of the smaller packages, mostly in the grandstand. I was trying to upgrade to one bigger package somewhere this year, but the ticket reps didnt get back to me in time. Next year I’ll probably do the 41 game though.
The following people have submitted lineups for GTLU today:
Erica
Erin
NYY626
Patrick
Joe from Long Island
Phil Columbus
Fran (the original)
RayVT
Dave F
BBFan
muffinstump
Lineups will be accepted until 3 pm or until the first lineup appears on Twitter, whichever happens first.
Phil Columbus April 16th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
GB7
If Park is put on the DL, do see Melancon or Logan coming up? I know you follow SWB closely and it seems like Mark is throwing well and is throwing 2 innings at a time.
———————————————————————————————————————-
I don’t think all that much of Logan as far as getting out right handed hitters, so, getting multiple innings from him would be a risk, I’d think. It’s about time to see what Melancon does on an extended basis, but, I like Hirsh a lot more for multiple innings and spot starts. I guess the only fair thing to do is flip a coin on Melancon and Hirsh. Hope that didn’t confuse anyone.
Robbie will finally get his just due this season
“Isn’t going to Scranton a better environment for working on his mechanics then going tot he bullpen? ”
Read the paragraph about Phil Hughes’ 2009 again…
GB – Wouldn’t Hirsch have to be added to the roster? They will likely call up Albie before him.
I guess the decision depends on how long Park is out – if at all.
SJ – Why is Joba’s 98 not coming back? Mechanics, conditioning, other?
GB7
I see that hirsh is starting for SWB tonight. What is his stuff like, compared to Melancon?
I think Chamberlain’s been just fine. Last night could have gotten away with him, but, that 8th inning job that he did on Kendrick was a work of art. Only once (in the 9th) did he seem to get out of his element when he overthrew a 3-2 count on Napoli. The Wood hit was a little up, but, not a bad pitch. He’s at this point in his career where he should be. At know time since his first year would I have been comforable seeing him come in with 1 out and two runners on in the 8th inning. That 3 pitch sequence was what he needed. Much better than trying to strike out two hitters before they could score a run.
Ben,
I think the 41 game bleacher is probably the most desired affordable option as it offers the best postseason opportunity. I would kill for one. Good luck next season.
Probably all of the above.
He hasn’t thrown that hard in 2+ years. I think he will max out at 95-96 this year, still PLENTY good enough, to be an effective relief pitcher.
His mechanics just aren’t the same as they used to be and neither is his stamina.
Its why I think he’s in the perfect role for himself and the team.
Everybody wants to talk about his half dozen dominant starts. However, the other 37 starts were mixed and offered less than more from him.
He’s clearly a different pitcher than he was in 2007. I think Frankie Piliere’s story is spot on.
It doesn’t mean Joba still can’t be very good. I just don’t think he’s what fans THINK he is because they keep thinking its Joba 2007.
That ship has sailed.
It is really too bad what happened to Joba. His first year in the majors had all of us salivating thinking of his future. Now we have a confused out of shape something. He’ll never be a dominant closet or a dominant starter.
My friend actually ran into him at a Penguins game the other day. They slammed a few light beers and then Joba ordered a sandwich with no bread. At least he’s trying to cut some carbs……
Yeah, Hirsh would need to be added, so, somebody like Albaladego would have to be dropped. Hirsh is nothing like Melancon. He’s tall and sort of gangly, but, in control of himself. Maybe like a Jared weaver type…not quite that big a fastball…92-93 MPH with good off-speed stuff. his whole career has been injuries. That’s been his problem. He was one of the best pitchers to come out of his draft class in 2003 as Houston’s 2nd pick. He’s finally out of the high altitude and healthy. I’ll be watching the game tonight, along with the yankees.
Joba’s pitched ok in the pen; I wouldn’t say he’s been more than fine or good.
I still don’t understand what happened to his velocity (not that I’m one to obsess about velocity). I don’t understand because there is no reason for Joba to have lost that 2-3 MPH off his FB. When Phil was injured in 2007, I remember saying (when everyone was jumping off the bandwagon) that talent doesn’t just disappear. There was a reason why Phil lost velocity and why he was on shaky ground. What happened with Joba? It’s like the disappearance of the colonists from Roanoke; will we ever know what really happened?
Unless there’s a real emergency or something changes, I think we have seen just about the last of Albaladejo in NYY pinstripes.
SJ and Gb – thanks.
Yeah, I would take 95-96. It will be interesting to see if he gets his swagger back like Hughes seems to have.
BTW I asked a question of Frankie on another site re. Christian Garcia. Frankie said that he thought Garcia was more advanced than BOTH Hughes and Chamberlain. It is an amazing shame he can’t stay healthy.
We should start seeing Kontos and Marshall coming back in the next few weeks. We’ll see what they look like post surgery.
SJ, I was just curious about the discussion earlier regarding Phil against lefties. Is there something special he needs to do to improve or is it just a matter of experience?
Betsy – he had an arm injury two years ago which probably precipitated the change in mechanics etc.
Joba can still be a dominant closer once he gets it going again. He needs to just settle into the role and they need to stick with it.
Good thing that blowhard SJ44 didn’t have his way. Otherwise Cano would have been traded
Betsy,
He just needs to attack them more with the fastball. His fastball is plenty good enough. You get beat occassionally? That’s baseball.
However, the more he uses his fastball to set up his other pitches, the more effective he will be against lefties.
Its all part of his evolution as a starting pitcher.
This is an example of where going to the bullpen helped him GREATLY. He’s now in attack mode from the first inning on. That’s what you get from going to the pen.
As long as he stays healthy, he’s going to give the Yankees a lot as a fifth starter. Its the perfect way for a kid to break into this rotation.
Looks like SJ has another little secret admirer. You just seem to have that magic something, SJ.
Good thing you don’t know what you are talking about.
I said trade him IF he continued to loaf his way through his career.
Big difference don’t you think?
Its the problem with you some of you gutless children. You excel on namecalling but are light on facts.
He played like a dog two years ago. Even HE admits it. To his credit, he has matured and improved. That’s why he is still in NY.
“Blowhards” like Brian Cashman almost traded him two years ago because they weren’t happy with him. I was not alone in disliking what I saw from him.
Now go back to your sandbox and finish recess so you can do better at remedial reading.
Whats the open container /closed container law in the bronx for tailgating in the parking lot before the game?
thanks
“They slammed a few light beers and then Joba ordered a sandwich with no bread.”
That is not a sandwich.
You’re a blowhard SJ. Who happens to be wrong most of the time. Good thing Cash blew you off about Cano. Major fail. You wrote about that daily for 2 years blowhard.
GB,
Its probably the same “admirer” who ripped me the other day because I called Granderson one of the better players on the team. Imagine that?
They like to change their names because it would take some guts to post the same drivel under the same name.
What can you do GB, kids today! lol
Who stole Carlos Si;va’s uniform? Striking out the side 1-2-3 in the 2nd?
“Whats the open container /closed container law in the bronx for tailgating in the parking lot before the game?
thanks”
Don’t.
SJ, thanks! Do you think Phil got too caught up in using all his pitches instead of realizing that his FB /curve were sufficient?
“I still don’t understand what happened to his velocity (not that I’m one to obsess about velocity). I don’t understand because there is no reason for Joba to have lost that 2-3 MPH off his FB.”
People need to understand throwing in the high 90′s is literally pushing the limit of what a human being is capable of doing with a baseball.
The higher you get, the precariousness of maintaining that velocity increases exponentially. It’s not the same as a pitcher going from 90 to 87. Going from 97 to 94 is a completely different equation.
Mechanics are more forgiving as velocity decreases, sort of like how the handling of your car becomes more forgiving at lower speeds. The arm-speed required to throw that hard is simply harder to maintain.
And you are a gutless little twerp so, what’s your point?
I’m more right than you about a ton of things on here.
Then again, you know that, that’s why you are playing the namecalling game and not even playing it well. Try and get some new material.
If you are going to be a twerp, at least be good at it.
SJ44 April 16th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
GB,
Its probably the same “admirer” who ripped me the other day because I called Granderson one of the better players on the team. Imagine that?
They like to change their names because it would take some guts to post the same drivel under the same name.
What can you do GB, kids today! lol
———————————————————————————————————————-
I’m a big believer in feeding sharks. They’re not especially picky.
I see that Tony s. is off to another hot start. Has he said anything about his pitchers not being able to hold runners close, either the ones he caught in ST or on his team this year? It seems to be a lost art.
Just a reminder that no lineups will be accepted after 3 pm for GTLU.
Thanks!
Betsy,
No. He just pitched his game that’s all. Its a first start and something to build on.
The Angels are a team known for hitting changeups well. Ask Edwar Ramirez.
The book on them is to go hard in on most of their hitters and that’s what he did last night.
He’s going to pitch to the scouting reports, as he should.
Mark,
You’re right lol he ordered deli meat and got smashed on light beer.
wOBA to date:
Granderson .456; Matsui .427
Nick Johnson .376; Damon .292
So far, the two new guys are outhitting the two guys they replaced. I’m not surprised. Giving Damon’s and Matsui’s ages, and given the effect of Yankee Stadium, I expect that same relationship for the full season. (However, I must tip my hat to Matsui. He’s getting off to a great start.)
GB,
Holding runners is definitely an issue at his level. Guys sometimes get so focused on throwing strikes, they forget about the baserunners.
I don’t see a lot of the pitchers in A Ball using slide steps. Most do at the major league level. I think that’s the biggest difference and why its tougher to throw out runners at the A Ball level.
He’s taking his lumps a bit in that area and that’s a good thing. Its the only way you get better.
SJ,
You do attract your admirers.:)
The Overshare?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1474481/
“Whats the open container /closed container law in the bronx for tailgating in the parking lot before the game?
thanks”
You know if you pour it in a plastic cup (not clear) and don’t leave the empties in plain sight, you should be OK.
I got cited once. But that was because some stupid girl that we were with threw a bottle off the top tier of the garage. Cops don’t like that. I didn’t care for it too much either.
So that was 1 day in court and I plead guilty. 20$ fine. Which I don’t think I ever paid.
If Phil can pitch like he did last night without the change, I’d like to see him when he does use it.
Interesting, he threw his change when he faced Matsui the first time. Wonder what the strategy was for him. It obviously worked, outside of the HR where he missed location, Phil – like all Yankee pitchers in the Angels’ series – handled Matsui well.
I said trade him IF he continued to loaf his way through his career.
Big difference don?t you think?
Its the problem with you some of you gutless children. You excel on namecalling but are light on facts.
He played like a dog two years ago. Even HE admits it. To his credit, he has matured and improved. That?s why he is still in NY.
__________________________________
That’s a load of crap. Cano said it bothered him that people said he was loafing because he would never do that. You got it wrong. He never said he played like a dog. You said he played like a dog. Big difference.
You know if you pour it in a plastic cup (not clear) and don’t leave the empties in plain sight, you should be OK.
—————————————————————————–
They’ve become more strict about that as well.
Jason Voorhees says…
…use caution. That should be evident with everything that has to do with Jason Voorhees.
Today’s GTLU is now closed. Thank you all who played!
The Lineup on MSG network
http://www.msg.com/lineup/
You can always drink your bladder full of beer in the local bars under the El (Stan’s) and up the hill toward the courthouse (Yankee Tavern) for example.
On balance, the extra $ paid to drink indoors is about the same cost as a summons and a day lost in court.
SJ44 April 16th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
GB,
Holding runners is definitely an issue at his level. Guys sometimes get so focused on throwing strikes, they forget about the baserunners.
I don’t see a lot of the pitchers in A Ball using slide steps. Most do at the major league level. I think that’s the biggest difference and why its tougher to throw out runners at the A Ball level.
He’s taking his lumps a bit in that area and that’s a good thing. Its the only way you get better.
———————————————————————————————————————-
I’ve seen that at all four minor league levels and from all the teams, too. You barely see the pitchers even throw to first base, and, it should be part of the learning process. I know they want the kids to concentrate on the pitching part, but, they come to the majors totally unprepared to help the catchers. That’s one reason I don’t pay much attention to the catchers’ caught stealing percentages. I figure if they’re above 16-17 percent, they can throw. That’s one of the things that impresses me about Bleich…his ability to check the base running.
He got benches for loafing by Girardi. Girardi admitted he should have done it earlier in the year.
So, tell the manager he is full of it because he felt the same way.
Here’s Michael Kay, poo pooing away
I wonder if people are going to start blaming the Melk Man for Robi’s play in the past, because of their bff relationship.
dan-
If you’re someplace like the parking garage or a lot, if you keep it in a cup you’ll probably be fine. Even if you’re not, the ticket is just a $25 parks department violation that you can pay online. Well worth not going to a hole like Stan’s.
what have you been right about SJ the Blowhard? We all heard for 2 years from you that we should trade the lazy Cano. Don’t rewrite history
SJ:
“He got benches for loafing by Girardi. Girardi admitted he should have done it earlier in the year.
So, tell the manager he is full of it because he felt the same way.”
You’re trying to teach a pig to sing, my friend. Reasoning with those sworn to remain ignorant is a losing proposition. I know because I do it every day. And every day more of them go to jail longer than they have to because they are “ig’nant.”
He got benches for loafing by Girardi. Girardi admitted he should have done it earlier in the year.
So, tell the manager he is full of it because he felt the same way.
____________________________________
Noone’s talking about Girardi. You said Cano said something he never said.
For tickets, I use http://www.fansnap.com. It aggregates a bunch of different broker sites, including Stubhub and Ebay. It shows you locations and gives you the best prices. Highly recommended! Never have had a problem with the tickets I’ve bought from there and I think I bought tickets to about a dozen games through the site last year.
SJ, do you think if Joba does well out of the bullpen, he’d be in contention for the 5th spot next year?
What happened to staying on topic? Geeez….
Wow, it’s frustrating to watch Tex struggle, Johnson batting at .150 etc., but I’m watching the Mets tonight. I’m spoiled. They can’t hit, I mean they really can’t hit. They’ve got 4 tonite, scored 2 runs in 20 innings last nite to win, and wasted a good start by Ollie on Friday. I couldn’t imaging watching this lineup hit every night. Omar has done a job only Isiah could appreciate.