Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Today in the Journal News on May 16, 2010 
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Andy Pettitte is pitching as well as ever this season, and in his return from a mild elbow injury he led the Yankees to a second straight win at home on Saturday. Pettitte pitched 6.1 scoreless innings before Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada went deep to put the game out of reach.
The Yankees remain hopeful that a cortisone shot will be enough to be enough to bring Nick Johnson back from a wrist injury that’s had him on the disabled list for the past week. The notebook also his items on the rotation, Nick Swisher, Chan Ho Park and Curtis Granderson.
Out in Detroit, former Yankees prospect Austin Jackson is taking full advantage of an opportunity to play everyday in the big leagues.
Today’s Guess The Line Up is Now Open for Business
I will accept lineups from now until 10 a.m., or until the first lineup appears (via Twitter).
Good luck!
no offense to mitre, but he relly has no shot today against thetwins lefthanded power.
the yanks have to smoke nick, but if they lose, they won the series
GTLU
Jeter SS
Gardner CF
TEX 1B
Alex 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Swisher RF
Miranda DH
Winn LF
what a great win yesterday…Andy continues to amaze, great defense (Swish made espn top plays) great offense as Po continues to hit and Tex/Arod heat up.
I’ll play Doreen
SS Jeet
CF GGBG
1B Tex
3B Alex
2B Robbie
C Po
RF Swish
DH Miranda
LF Winn
thanks!
I won’t be here for the game but here’s my lineup.
ss jeter
cf ggbg
1b tex
3b a-rod
2b cano
c posada
rf swish
dh miranda
lf winn
Thanks Doreen. Enjoy the game. Just remember that when you unscramble the Mitre code name you get “Merit” .
ok that must be the winning line up!!! Girard, take notice!
GTLU
Jeter – SS
Gardner – CF
Teixeira – 1B
Rodriguez – 3B
Cano – 2B
Posada – C
Thames – LF
Miranda – DH
Golson – RF
As long as Tex and Arod keep heating up then they can carry this team until NJ and Grandy come back..
For some reason I am intrigued by Berkman if NJ has to have surgery down the road. A backup 1B and DH like NJ and a proven hitter..
and many thanks to the Tigers for burning out the sox bullpen before they come to visit
Berkman hasn’t been the same since microfracture knee surgery.
Lot of money to take on for a player with health and diminishing skills issues.
maybe the Yankees can get Hinske back…he is the WS charm after all (j/k)
Teixeira should enjoy a banner day, today. He’s a career 6-6 against Blackburm and Jeter is more than a .420 hitter with Rodriguez more than .330 career.
http://www.baseball-reference......as=pitcher
Not much history between Mitre and the Twins. Only four have ever batted agaist him. Thome and Hudson have done damage.
If I were Vazquez, I?d be relatively p.o.?d that I was being skipped another start. Man won?t be able to get any rhythm or groove going, especially after a positive start like his last.
Mistake in personnel management.
Yanks will be fine but if they want him on track, this ain?t the way to do it.
I’m just sitting down to read it, but it looks like Brett Gardner has finally arrived – a feature article by Marc Carig in today’s Star Ledger!
No reason for him to be ticked off.
The Yankees have four games against their biggest rivals coming up. Add to it, they want to avoid using Andy in a NL park where he would have to bat to protect his elbow.
By setting up their four best arms to go against their two biggest rivals, they keep four guys on regular rest, Andy from batting, and have Javy pitching against a NL team.
Seems to me this is in the teams and Javy’s best interests on all fronts.
SJ, the nephew has some pretty impressive numbers for what amounts to a half a season.
He seems to do well with throwing out runners. what’s the story on the errors? Throws or like Romine, a lot of interference calls?
http://www.baseball-reference......nche001ton
Much run support for Mitre is the key in today’s game. Also a fine tuned bullpen for the upcoming 2 series.
Gtlu
gtlu in the house,, thnx D
2b jete
cf Brett
1b tex
3b a-rod
2b cano
c posada
rf swish
dh miranda
lf winn
I get a little sick every time I see ajax name
Jeter SS
Gardner CF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Swisher RF
Miranda DH
Winn LF
Austin Jackson looks like he’s finally coming back down to earth:
April – avg .364, obp .422, ops .917
May – avg .276, obp .311, ops .674
He’s 3 for his last 25 (6 games against NY and Red Sox).
GB,
The errors came from trying to play through a wrist and shoulder injury. Thankfully, no catcher interference issues.
He’s 100% healthy now and has been throwing much better.
So far, so good. He’s just worked his way through his first hitting slump of the year and has been making much better contact the last few days, even though he doesn’t have much to show for it yet.
GTLU for 16 May 2010:
Jeter SS
Gardner CF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Golson RF
Thames LF
Miranda DH
GTLU
Jeter SS
Gardner CF
Tex 1B
ARod3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Miranda DH
Winn LF
Golson RF
WHAT? a catcher that can’t deal with wrist and shoulder issues? Say it ain’t so.
That’s good that he’s through that problem.
what surprises you the most…the high contact and patience, the power or high average? I’m impressed with the high walks and low strikeouts for a power type catcher. In your estimate, is he a Romine type prospect? Or Santana type?
Best of luck to him on his season and career.
GTLU
Jeter SS
Gardner CF
Tex 1B
Alex 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Swish RF
Miranda DH
Winn LF
looking at what would be good from vazquez’s point of view, i see nothing that makes sense skipping him after he finally pitched a good game.
if someone is healthy, skipping a start doesn’t help anything.
vazquez could be off in his next start simply from pitching only twice in four starts.
the guy is in a walk year, so this really has to make him unhappy which unless they think he needs to be put in his place for some reason again makes no sense to me.
i would think that it’s more important to get vazquez going than it would be to increase the team’s chances to win the first game at boston.
and whenvazquez pitches next friday, because of not pitching for so long, he probably has less chance of winning.
so it seems to me the move to skip vazquez increases the chance to win monday, but decreases the chance to win on friday and in the process sets back vazquez which decreases his chance to win his start after that.
he loses the chance to build on his last good start and must start all over again on friday.
if they wanted to send him a message that he’s on the outside looking in and not an important part of the team they couldn’t think of a better way.
i would have started him tomorrow because the guy could be a difference maker.
this move is right up there with all the weird decisions they made with wang last year.
I have lineups from the following people so far this morning:
Northy
upstate kate
MTU (aka GBURL)
Chris
Abe Peterham
yankswin27
Dave in VA
Westchester Dave
UnKnown
If money were no object then Berkman would give them a professional type hitter to fill in for NJ. Problem is that money is an object these days and I just can’t see the Yanks giving up players and taking on the payroll to add another oft injuried player….I like Berkman though.
sj44-
how did tony hurt his wrist and shoulder ?
Pushing Vazquez back allows Sabathia to pitch against the Red Sox at the stadium, and against the Mets at CitiField. Two of his best starts last year came in those exact situations, AND he’s our best hitting pitcher, so why not take advantage of getting him into the Subway series?
The way our rotation sets up now, we’ve got a solid pitching matchup in every game for the next week. I’m especially excited about the Mets series, where we’ll see Pelfrey v. Hughes and Santana v. Sabathia
Doreen,
Good morning. I’ll play. Here is my line-up:
Derek SS
Gardner CF
Tex 1B
Alex 3B
Robbie 2B
Posada C
Swisher RF
Miranda DH
Winn LF
Thanks for hosting
randy – absolutely.
Pitching is all about rhythm and routine – Vazquez doesn’t have it now and it doesn’t bode well for his next start. Delaying the other starters one day for their next starts will not have as much negative impact as a proven major league veteran pitcher having to skip another start. Bad decision. If anything, giving the other fellas a day of rest would benefit them later.
Jeter SS
Gardner CF
Tex 1
I like the way the Yankkes have set up the rotation for this week. Right now Javy is the #5 starter. The #5 starter is the one that usually gets moved around and skipped over if there is a day off/rainout, etc.
Of course that would be Yankees.
Whoops. Two-year-old daughter…
Jeter SS
Gardner CF
Tex 1B
Arod 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Swisher RF
Cervelli DH
Winn LF
Guess The Line Up Is Now Closed for Today. Thank you all for playing!
We’re going to NYC today – Promises, Promises is the destination.
Let’s Go Yankees!!
Berkman’s not Berkman anymore.
By pitching Vazquez tomorrow, it throws off the rhythm of everybody else and forces Andy to bat at Citi Field. Something they want to avoid because of his elbow.
This is an instance where doing what’s best for the other 4 guys in the rotation overtakes what may be best for Vazquez at the present time.
The rainout also didn’t help.
Tony hurt his shoulder and wrist on HBP’s on two HBP’s and a collision at home plate.
It all happened over a 4 day span earlier in the year.
He got hit by pitches in the shoulder and wrist on back to back nights.
Sat out a game, came back, and on a collision at home plate, hurt the same wrist. Messed him up for a few weeks.
GB,
I think he is more like Santana than Romine. He’s major league ready defensively. I haven’t talked to a scout who has said otherwise. The bat, and gamecalling experience still need work. However, both are coming faster than anybody has anticipated.
I am surprised at his patience at the plate. He is doing a great job of pitch recognition and being disciplined not to chase breaking balls out of the zone. A weakness of his at Boston College.
Dave Howard, the Bradenton hitting coach, has done a great job with him.
Thanks for the info, SJ. It’ll be enjoyable tracking another young player outside of the organization……one with Lohud connections. Maybe you can arrange an on line interview after the season is over…an insider’s view of other organizations would be unique, I’d think.
I understand why they are skipping Javy this time. Hopefully they can get him on a regular schedule next time through the rotation because I do believe getting him on track is really important…not only because it would give them 5 strong starters but more importantly as insurance in case of the other 4 get hurt.
and the lineup off twiter:
BryanHoch Yankees lineup: Jeter 0 Gardner 8 Teixeira 3 ARod 5 Cano 4 Posada 2 Thames 9 Winn 7 Pena 6 Mitre 1
5 minutes ago via txt
Before the lineup complaints start….
This is the lineup you put out there when you have won a series and have the Red Sox and Rays coming to town in the next 4 days.
Give Swisher a day to see if that helps his biceps.
Give Jeter a half day to DH.
Because of the injuries, its better to play Winn and Thames in the same game after you have won a series than if you need a series win or against the Rays and Red Sox.
If the 1st 6 hit like they can them the last 3 don’t matter nearly as much. Would be nice to get the sweep but they have a tough week coming up.
“Pitching is all about rhythm and routine – Vazquez doesn’t have it now and it doesn’t bode well for his next start.”
How’d it work out in this LAST start? When he was terrible, skipped a turn, and THEN made his best start of the year?
Not sure I get these arguments made in a vacuum, ignoring what JUST happened.
Vazquez may be great next start. He may be terrible. But I DO know this rest of his year isn’t hinging on what happens the next 6 days.
Anyway we can avoid the argument that turns games and handful of days as season-long tipping points? Because they almost NEVER are.
Isn’t this the third time Jeter has been DH the last 10 days or so?
He might be battling a nagging something or other…
YESKimJones Didn’t realize Sox lost in Detroit last night. Must read Boston.com now. RT @PeteAbe Pedroia was in the #redsox lineup and scratched.
2 minutes ago via web
SJ,
That’s a very logical explanation of the line-up. However, a lot of times logic plays no part in poster’s rantings
“This is an instance where doing what’s best for the other 4 guys in the rotation overtakes what may be best for Vazquez at the present time.”
sj44-
you could be right, but it’s not a casual decision as part of the ebb and flow of a season. in effect vazquez has been demoted to the fifth starter who does get skipped every now and then.
i guess i’m really saying that it’s not a no brainer decision to just skip him. there are a lot of implications to the decision.
like i said, i wouldn’t have done it because i don’t think it’s how you treat a guy who is that caliber of pitcher.
of course, if hughes wouldn’t have suddenly done his best job at imitating an ace this season with vazquez doing his best imitation of a really bad pitcher, vazquez wouldn’t have been pushed back either.
anyway tough call.
glad to hear tony’s injuries were impact related and not something that just came from throwing. catchers do have to learn to figure out a way to get the job done when they are not 100% because they hardly ever are. sounds like he’s learned a lot playing through the injuries.
even at a good division one college like BC , very few opposing pitchers have a really good breaking ball, so when a hitter comes across one ,he hasn’t had much practice with that quality of pitch.
now that he’s in pro ball with his ability to learn quickly, it’s not surprising that he’d improve rapidly as he sees more and more quality breaking balls.
Does anyone know what the roster move will be for the Yankees to add Chan Ho Park today? I’m hoping the Yanks send Boone Logan to SWB. He pitched 2 innings yesterday and is worthless today. With Mitre getting the starting nod the Yanks will need to get at least 5 innings from the bullpen. I’d rather they keep Ivan Nova for one more day than Boone Logan…but thats just my preference.
Sunday Game on My9? Odd.
Maybe the want to also have a couple intense bullpens with Javy like last time.
I wasn’t able to watch his last start but wasn’t his velocity still a little down?
The only nagging thing Jeter might be battling are complaints about lineups. As long as there’s an open DH spot, why not fill it with a 36 year old shortstop and save him some wear and tear before the long hot weather gets here?
I’m sure Girardi wants Jeter to play SS the next 7 days against the Red Sox, Rays, and Mets, so that’s why he’s resting today. Hopefully Swisher feels better soon, because I don’t know how many lefties the Yankees are scheduled to play in the upcoming future (certainly not anyone on the Sox, since Lester just pitched). Maybe he can come in to pinch hit against a lefty.
No winner in today’s GTLU.
Since I’m going out today, I won’t be updating standings until tonight/tomorrow morning. Enjoy the game everyone.
Peter:
“Got on the hotel elevator yesterday and there were two guys and a girl all wearing cowboy hats. Each of the guys had a case of beer (Miller cans) and the girl had a tattoo of crossed pistols on her lower back and was holding a back of Marlboros. God Bless America.”
“How’d it work out in this LAST start? When he was terrible, skipped a turn, and THEN made his best start of the year?
Not sure I get these arguments made in a vacuum, ignoring what JUST happened.”
stuckey-
pettitte also skipped a start and pitched great, but surely you wouldn’t advocate skipping starts on a regular basis for a pitcher to get the best results.
sj’s logic is also that it’s better for the other four pitchers to stay on their normal rhythm and have only one guy go off his.
that’s a different argument than it doesn’t make any difference to skip starts. it of course does in the long run . in he short run, of course anything could happen.
vazquez may not be affected for the worse at all, but conventional wisdom is that a pitcher should pitch on a regular schedule.
to say it doesn’t matter, goes against all ideas about getting the best out of your starting pitching.
my only complaint about the line up is that he didn’t pick mine!
YankeesPR In an on-field ceremony today, the Yankees will present National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum President Jeff I http://twitpic.com/1ocmyy
6 minutes ago via Twitpic
I’m guessing Logan is the move for Park today since he would be unavailable anyway after throwing 40 pitches yesterday.
I would think they would keep Nova here to shadow Mitre’s start in case they need him.
The Red Sox lineup looks ugly today. No Pedroia or Martinez. The Tigers lineup doesn’t look so hot either, but at least Galarraga might have a chance.
Pedroia has a sore knee which is why he is out of the lineup today.
Good match-up: Cliff Lee vs. Garza today in Tampa.
upstate kate May 16th, 2010 at 10:52 am
my only complaint about the line up is that he didn’t pick mine!
———————————————————————————————————————-
Makes no sense for Girardi to pick your’s and make you happy when he can select his own and make many more unhappy. Personally, I think he does that for the entertainment value he gets from all of the complaints.
Doing what’s in the best interest of the team overall and putting players in the best position to succeed were Girardi and Cashman’s message going back to the 5th starter discussion in ST.
Having Javy pitch against the Mets in a pitchers park and Andy avoid swinging a bat sounds like a repeat of that message to me.
Kate,
Funny. I had the same complaint
oh, and stuckey, after looking at the new depths the blog was testing last night, your contrariness just for the sake of opposition while sometimes personally annoying is a breath of fresh air because you actually disagree about baseball issues.
i don’t know you religion, sexual preferences, or who you voted for in the last election.
well done.
NYYs are catching a break when they play Tampa…no Garza and no Price.
ESPN.com is reporting Javy might be used out of the pen today to piggyback Mitre.
“As long as there’s an open DH spot, why not fill it with a 36 year old shortstop and save him some wear and tear before the long hot weather gets here?”
Well, there is a 35 year old 3rd baseman standing 15 feet away from him that had major surgery year and 1/2 ago but Jeter seems to be on the one getting the DH breathers.
Why is a fair and reasonable question.
For anyone who thought Boesch was suddenly going to turn into a scrub vs. the Red Sox — yeah, not so much.
That kid has a beautiful swing.
Randy still thinks that voting for Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only way to pull the country out of the depression/recession.
oops- link
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-yo.....out-of-pen
“oh, and stuckey, after looking at the new depths the blog was testing last night, your contrariness just for the sake of opposition”
Advancing the notion that the history of Javy Vazquez’s 2010 season isn’t being written in the next 6 days isn’t contrarianism, it’s common sense.
I think it’s intellectually dishonest to stake out an illogical position early and then accuse anyone who dares say so of arguing for arguing’s sake.
Arod DH’ed the other day. Girardi seems to be spreading out the half days fairly.
SJ44 May 16th, 2010 at 10:53 am
I’m guessing Logan is the move for Park today since he would be unavailable anyway after throwing 40 pitches yesterday.
I would think they would keep Nova here to shadow Mitre’s start in case they need him.
“““““““““
Good guess. Hopefully Nova will get some work to keep him on track for his next start at AAA and also keep some fresh arms for the Yankee bullpen this week.
“Randy still thinks that voting for Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only way to pull the country out of the depression/recession.”
actually i’m mostly ticked off that i’m actually at work as i type and gb7 is still collecting his World War 1 pension as he types
I guess you missed Rodriguez DHing during the double header. They both DH’d that day. I’d venture to say that Jeter expends more energy at short than Rodriguez at third. It’s hardly an issue. Jeter DH’s for the first time 12 days ago…for the first time this year.
I don’t think the Yanks are doing Vazquez any favors by skipping him again but then again he certainly hasn’t pitched himself into their good graces.
The whole “we don’t want Andy swinging the bat” excuse sounds a little shallow though. So, don’t have him swing the bat then. If they’re counting on the starters for some offense next weekend then they got bigger problems than Andy’s elbow anyway. Does anybody really want to see Phil or CC hacking away up there?
randy l. May 16th, 2010 at 11:10 am
“Randy still thinks that voting for Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only way to pull the country out of the depression/recession.”
actually i’m mostly ticked off that i’m actually at work as i type and gb7 is still collecting his World War 1 pension as he types
———————————————————————————————————————-
LMAO. I love the jealousy.
What the hell happened to SoSH?
Their new format is lame.
“pettitte also skipped a start and pitched great, but surely you wouldn’t advocate skipping starts on a regular basis for a pitcher to get the best results.”
No, but for a pitcher with a 10 ERA and who pitched BETTER coming off extended rest last time.
I think I can make THAT argument with a straight face, yes. Rules are not absolute. Smart manager like Girardi recognize and exploit the exceptions.
“that’s a different argument than it doesn’t make any difference to skip starts.”
I’m not making SJ’s argument, which stands fine all by it’s self.
“vazquez may not be affected for the worse at all, but conventional wisdom is that a pitcher should pitch on a regular schedule.”
Conventional wisdom took an butt-kicking with Javier Vazquez for the first 6 weeks … os kind of the point here.
“to say it doesn’t matter, goes against all ideas about getting the best out of your starting pitching.”
We can ignore the larger point all day along in favor of traditional baseball axioms – the larger point being we’re not talking about a month-long, or season-long plan. We’re talking about a guy who’s mechanics were completely screwed up, RESPONDED well to the extra time last start and is going to REPEAT his last successful routine.
There is no worthwhile argument to suggest this is or will be a problem.
The Cashman quotes from Chad’s article were much “softer” than the ones I found in the Daily News. Chad has Cash mentioning “other avenues” if the shot doesn’t work.
Other avenues? Maybe Nick’s got a visit lined up to see Tor Eckman?
http://tinyurl.com/34rmsos
Thames, Winn, and Peña? Gross.
*Pena
Pettitte hurt his elbow in Houston swinging a bat.
YESKimJones Further proof Jim Leyland is a genius: When Carlos Guillen returns, he’ll play 2B. Brennan Boesch isn’t going anywhere. That kid can hit.
3 minutes ago via web
” Jeter DH’s for the first time 12 days ago…for the first time this year.”
And has DH’ed 3 times since, which historically speaking, is highly unusual for him.
I never said it was an issue, just something unusual worth nothing. I’m perhaps (along with Trisha) that less reactionary “concerned” fan here. YOU’RE making more of it than I was.
Now whether you’re right and in 2010 Joe Girardi has made a fairly noteworthy (but possibly astute) adjustment to how he used Derek Jeter, or you’re wrong and perhaps he is nursing something minor, BOTH would be perfectly appropriate to discuss on this forum.
Him DHing 3 times in 12 days IS unusual, and in fact, I’d actually say YOUR explanation would be the bigger “story” as to why.
stuckey-
hey, that was as close to a compliment as you’re going to get from me. seriously. i appreciate the fact it’s a baseball argument.
that said, you’re the one that seems to be taking the odd position that a starting pitcher isn’t better when he’s on a regular schedule though you’re not exactly saying that. what you’re saying is so convoluted i’m not sure what you’re saying.
simple question to get back on track. is a starter better when he’s on a regular schedule or not on a regular schedule?
i think he’s better when he’s on a regular schedule.
i think that girardi thinks that this is also true and doesn’t want to mess with four guys schedules.
i doubt very much that girardi is saying he doesn’t think it matters if vazquez is on a regular schedule or not. it looks to me that he’s saying he ‘d rather mess with one guy rather than mess with four guys.
and as you say, there is the possibility that vazquez will pitch fine in his next start on friday as he did in his last start where he skipped a start.
but over time , he’s not going to pitch as well if he’s skipping starts on a regular basis.
My first reaction was that I thought Javy should pitch, not least because it looks like the Yankees have no confidence in him….plus, he’s now going to be pitching on over a week’s rest against the Mets. They absolutely need to get him going, but pushing everyone off schedule wouldn’t be ideal either and once Javy pitches against the Mets I guess the schedule will be set up as normal. However, if this means that Phil is the #4, how do you skip him and manage his innings? The Yankees have to treat him the same way as they intended to do no matter how well he’s pitching…..
If the Yankees are afraid of their pitchers hurting their elbow, then they should instruct them to go up there an not swing; the same thing that happened to Andy could happen to Phil, Javy or CC. At least the latter two have experience; when’s the last time Phil had to run the bases? High School?
Thames, Winn, and Peña? Gross.
———————————
Actually, Gross plays for Oakland.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....yerId=5418
Let’s remember that the Yankees never said what Hughes innings limit is? If it’s 180 innings then the Yankees with offdays and the All-star break have opportunities to realign the rotation again to limit his innings. It’s May 16th, a lot of season left before worrying about innings in the second half of the season.
The Yankees are afraid Pettitte hurting his elbow not the rest of the pitchers.
They probably won’t let Javy pitch at the stadium till they know he’s really back.
new signature
Oh yeah, Steve. You’re most certainly right big guy.
I usually am.
Did I also mention I’m exceedingly modest?
Another day, another utterly atrocious bottom third of the lineup.
Thames, Winn, Pena. Wow…
Craw, after what happened to Wang, I can’t stand interleague anymore……….I don’t see anything good coming out of it. Not only is the novelty gone, but asking AL pitchers to do things they don’t ordinarily do ( the WS is a different story) is asking for trouble. Also, I despise how teams in the same division don’t even play the same schedule – it’s not fair.
Craw, good point about Phil.
Phil, if true, that’s pretty sad. I think Cash didn’t (not that he should) take into consideration how much Yankee fans truly hate Vasquez when he made the deal.
“simple question to get back on track. is a starter better when he’s on a regular schedule or not on a regular schedule?”
Simple general answer: Most of the time.
Specific answer: Javy Vazquez was NOT responding to being on a regular schedule. So when the usual isn’t working, and the unusual winds up having positive results, you don’t immediately fret about going straight back to the usual, and further compounding your error by suggesting by NOT going immediately back to the usual, you’re somehow negatively effecting the remainder of the season – which was being done, and is specifically what I was responding to.
Whether Vazquez “needed” or would have responded to being immediately placed back on regularly routine, or whether another extended breather will be a good or bad thing, we can say something with a fair measure of confidence. All the talk is about what will happen on Friday.
THIS week’s events will have no carryover effect in July, August, or September.
“i doubt very much that girardi is saying he doesn’t think it matters if vazquez is on a regular schedule or not. it looks to me that he’s saying he ‘d rather mess with one guy rather than mess with four guys.”
I’m fine with that. Again, I was specifically responding to the notion that being skipped this week will have long-term negative ramifications.
If you don’t disagree with me on that, then it’s likely best we move on.
“but over time , he’s not going to pitch as well if he’s skipping starts on a regular basis.”
I don’t believe anyone is arguing THAT point with you.
Quit complaining about bottom 3rd of lineup. We have Granderson, Swisher and NJ out. What do you seriously expect?
Hit and run to ask a question. Last night someone mentioned Berkman in reference to the Sux. Is there supposedly a deal in the works or are people just speculating? Just curious. I don’t get to read the posts here a lot of the time so may have missed out on some back story if there is one.
Thanks.
Later.
The last lineup I b-tch’d about had Tony Womack and Tony Clark in it.
I take back nothing.
“Quit complaining about bottom 3rd of lineup. We have Granderson, Swisher and NJ out. What do you seriously expect?”
Saw this just after mine posted.
GOOD FOR YOU Bad Scooter! Less whining and complaining and more understanding and support goes a long way and also makes for a happier person.
Another thing about Javy – the Yankees were not going to skip him this time around, but they were forced to consider it after the rain out on Tuesday.
Twins bottom 3rd yesterday
Harris, Punto and Butera
Sox bottom 3rd yesterday
Drew, Hall, McDonald
Tigers bottom 3rd yesterday
Laird, Sizemore, Everett
Rays bottom 3rd yesterday
Upton (.214), Navarro, Kapler
Oh and by the way, their #6 hitter is hitting .180. Carlos Pena.
See what I’m getting at? And the Yanks have injuries as their excuse, as do the Sox (Cameron, Ellsbury), but the other contenders have no injury excuse I believe.
“I don’t see anything good coming out of it.”
You should look at attendance figures and TV ratings. The novelty may be gone for you, and that’s perfectly legit, but the game still benefits from it.
“but asking AL pitchers to do things they don’t ordinarily do ( the WS is a different story) is asking for trouble”
Actually, it isn’t, and this one of those times one has to weight the actual facts against the anecdotal and your personal preference, which you’re entitled to.
What happened to Wang sucked, but freak injuries happen all the time. MLB has over a decade of inter-league play to determine whether AL pitchers have been at a greater risk of injury during inter-leagues games, and I’ve seen no such study to suggest THEY HAVE been or in fact, can even recall many instances beside Wang to support the notion.
So you can say it’s “asking for trouble”, but considering since 1996 there any really been any significant “trouble” outside the normal curve, the argument doesn’t really hold up.
Betsy, how does this set up Phil as #4? Javy pitching against the NL Mets is absolutely the right move. Let him get his confidence back against a team with no DH and the pitcher batting instead of vs the RS.
Not that it’s that important and can’t be changed but it looks like they are treating Phil like the #1 he has been, Andy as the #4.
Javy will do just fine. The idea was to have him start the Mets series all along, and get him as many interleague starts as possible. When you’re 1-4 with an ERA around 8-9, you try everything.
They should keep Cervelli in as much as possible since he’s hot during this injury stretch. When Granderson comes back and Swisher’s biceps fully heals, then go back to Posada as catcher. Egos should take a backseat here. I think Jorge understands that he needs to DH more than usual for the next few weeks.
Joelsherman1 #Was told Yankees not activating Park til tomorrow, feel need keep Nova on roster as long man with Mitre starting, limited to 80Ps today
2 minutes ago via web
Maybe not, Stuckey, but what about the argument that it’s ridiculous for teams in the same division to play different schedules?
betsy-
i didn’t hate the deal at the time, though i didn’t like giving melky up.
vazquez has some seriously good numbers on his baseball card.
would the yankees have made the deal knowing that the lackey deal wouldn’t have pushed the red sox over the top coupled with hughes doing so well?
probably not.
the yankees are so loaded it seems that even when they make missteps they are still better than anyone else. i think in the long run they’ll be 5 games better than the rays.
There’s no deal for Berkman in the works, Trisha. It’s just speculation.
Javy shouldn’t complain about anything.
He created the situation that led to him being dropped in the pecking order.
Every other starting pitcher out of spring training has shown up and pitched well. Javy didn’t. He has to earn that trust and respect back from the team.
And quite frankly, pitching Andy in Citi Field would be moronic. He’s our oldest starter. You want him running the bases? I don’t.
After what happened with Wang a few years ago in Houston, I would send the pitchers up to the plate without a bat and hope the opposing pitcher threw strikes and didn’t walk them.
I know CC can hit, but I don’t want to see him trying to run the bases at all.
Mick, I just assumed that Javy pitching Friday would put things back on schedule in terms of: CC, AJ, Andy, Javy, Phil……………..I suppose it really doesn’t matter at this point except in terms of managing Phil’s innings. Just based on results, there’s no doubt that Javy right now is the #5……….but hopefully he will start pitching up to the back of his baseball card.
Somebody in front of me at DD said that If the Yankees play .500 ball the rest of the way they’d have 99 wins. Is that right?
From Tony Womack to Robinson Cano. That’s the type of move that moves organizations forward.
Where do people get this idea that Jorge not DHing has anything to do with his ego? Is this just completely made up or are people actually pulling this from somewhere.
I have seen this line repeated over and over again from Yankee fans for years.
Maybe, just maybe the Yankees think that having a HOF catcher actually catch is best for the team. It seems to have worked out pretty well so far…
Today’s press and game notes and stats. Enjoy.
http://pp.soundenterprises.net.....hp?d=50806
It’s not right. By my math, they’d have 87 wins.
162-36 = 126
126/2 = 63
63 + 24 (current win total) = 87
Randy, unfortunately the majority of Yankee (or so it seems – maybe it’s just a loud minority) really hate Vasquez and blame him solely for 2004. First it was Alex and now it’s Javy – they need a respository for their hate.
As to the trade, well I do think the Yankees would have made it had they known about Phil’s start. It’s only 6 starts – there’s still a long way to go in the season and Phil has never started and completed a whole season. What will his stamina be like? He’s young and he’s fresh now. In July and August, he’ll still be young – but will he be fresh ? Will he be fatigued? These are all questions that we don’t know about. He will have his struggles – every pitcher does; how will he handle that? His confidence is at an all time high, but when he starts getting hit, how will he react? You know I think he’s an absolute stud, but on his way to getting there, these questions will have to be answered.
As to Lackey, he’s going to be better than he has – or so I believe – and the Sox are not far behind us.
So, I do think the Yankees would have made the deal knowing what they know now. I just don’t think they knew the fans would hold this much hostility towards Javy.
“So when the usual isn’t working, and the unusual winds up having positive results, you don’t immediately fret about going straight back to the usual, and further compounding your error by suggesting by NOT going immediately back to the usual, you’re somehow negatively effecting the remainder of the season – which was being done, and is specifically what I was responding to.”
stuckey-
i was all for skipping vazquez in boston because a change was needed. to say that worked so do it again , i’m a little sceptical.
that said, i’m also in agreement that the season doesn’t rest on any one decision like this. i was more pointing out originally that it wasn’t a matter of fact decision for girardi to make. i can see why girardi did it though.
i just wouldn’t have, and i also believe that the rest of the season wouldn’t likely have been impacted negatively by having vazquez start on monday as scheduled.
as i said to betsy, this team is so loaded compared to other teams many decisions could be reversed and the team would still dominate this year.
some really bad things would have to happen for the yankees not to make the playoffs his year.
So the Doctrine of Dunkin Donuts Infallibility is false?
You are correct Steve K.
At 24-12 now. 126 games left. 63-63 would be .500. Add that to their current record and have 87-75.
GLove, sounds good to me; I don’t want any of our pitchers running the bases.
Joelsherman1 #Was told Yankees not activating Park til tomorrow, feel need keep Nova on roster as long man with Mitre starting, limited to 80Ps today
2 minutes ago via web
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Rishi, thanks for posting this. This is probably a reasonable tactic, but if they were going to do it, I would think the Yankees would be better off if Ivan Nova got the start today with Sergio Mitre backing him up. I feel that an unscouted Nova would be more effective against the Twins than Mitre.
Tom in N.J. May 16th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Somebody in front of me at DD said that If the Yankees play .500 ball the rest of the way they’d have 99 wins. Is that right?
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Not even close. That would add up to 87 wins.
See what they think over at Krispy Kreme.
FYI, Mark Teixeira batting a clean 1.000 against Nick Blackburn in his career
TylerKepner Sunday afternoon at home against the Twins in May. Of course David Wells is in the house. No Beanie Baby giveaway, though. It’s Bat Day.
3 minutes ago via web
Interesting idea about starting Nova instead. A plus with that would be if he gets through 5 solid innings and Mitre doesn’t need to back him up in relief, we’d have Sergio available for the next series. Whereas now, even if Mitre has a solid start and Nova isn’t needed to pitch, he’s leaving the team after the game anyway.
Yeah, I heading over to starbucks nowto get their take on the matter.
GB-
I didn’t think so either, but my lack of coffee made me slow on the intake.
Starbucks? Bring a baby.
Correct…if the Yanks played .500 baseball the rest of the season then they would finish with 87 wins. However if they continue on their current pace they will win 108 (which is close to the pace they have been on all season)…and that’s with a ton of injurires and stars not performing to their usual levels yet. I’m not saying they will win 108 games…but I think barring further injuries its certainly within reach.
Tom in N.J. May 16th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Yeah, I heading over to starbucks nowto get their take on the matter.
GB-
I didn’t think so either, but my lack of coffee made me slow on the intake.
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I guess the guy that told you that was probably a sabermetrician. They always use flawed information to come up with numbers to suit their claims.
Last time I went to starbucks I got into an argument about Jane Eyre with some sort of stay at home mom book club.
“So the Doctrine of Dunkin Donuts Infallibility is false?”
i knew there was a reason why duncan donuts is my last choice for coffee.