Johnson confirms surgery
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on May 17, 2010 
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Nick Johnson has confirmed that he will have wrist surgery, most likely tomorrow. He’s expected to miss four to six weeks.
“This is not a quick fix,” Joe Girardi said. “This is going to be a while.”
Jorge Posada is also banged up. He’s out after taking a foul tip off his right foot. Girardi called him day-to-day, and he’s not available today.
There you go. Swish’s arm is still hurt and Posada’s foot. My guess is they would be in there if they weren’t hurt.
These injury pileups are getting obnoxious.
M, I think so, but now I’m confused because it was dated with today’s date……and Kim mentioned on Twitter yesterday that he was taking questions, so it can’t have been filmed in Detroit. I’m not sure, but either way it’s a good interview.
Injuries suck
Please dont attack Betsy. She is just concerned about Jorge. That’s all.
Betsy
Jorge is fine. Or as fine as a 38 year old catcher who’s been starting 120+ games for over a decade can be.
He’s nicked up, and the abuse that a catcher goes through takes its toll.
If this were a playoff game, Jorge would be in the starting lineup.
“Posada day to day after taking a foul tip off his right foot. Swisher felt biceps again. also day to day.”
But the geniuses on this bored want them both to play hurt
The only thing i do agree with all the complainers about here is with everyone down, why DH ARod and take a more power bat away from the lineup.
4-6 weeks my ****!
You can’t come back from wrist surgery that fast, especially this guy.
He’s done for the year but the Yanks don’t want to broadcast that since they are buyers now. Once they get a replacement, then you’ll find out that Johnson is done for 2010.
Really shows you what they think of Miranda that he is not in the lineup against a righty and wasn’t yesterday against a righty.
He would rather play Thames vs, a righty and Winn over Miranda.
“why DH ARod and take a more power bat away from the lineup.”
There must be a reason, which worries me.
Cashman gets an F for this past postseason. He should have anticpated that Johnson would get hurt. He’s been hurt every other year. Why would this year be different?
BloggingBombers Johnson won’t be able to pick up a bat for 4-6 weeks, so don’t look for him to return any time before the All-Star break.
It was a bizarre move when he was signed and it’s an even more bizarre move now. The idea that Nick Johnson made more sense than Hideki Matsui at roughly the same price was just wrong. I’m not one of these doom and gloom Yankee fans that thinks that this is going to stop us from winning the division, World Series, etc. but, despite that, am not so blinded by Yankee optimism that I am above criticizing a move that bothered me as both a fan that is invested with his heart and a fan that wants to see his team make the right moves.
Both for sentimental and logical reasons, signing Nick Johnson over Hideki Matsui was an angering decision and one that I won’t soon forget. To question Matsui’s health is one thing, but to put it up against Nick Johnson’s is another.
i agree it doesnt show much confidence in Miranda. Can Thames even play Right Field?
“Jorge Posada is also banged up. He’s out after taking a foul tip off his right foot. Girardi called him day-to-day, and he’s not available today.”
Hope this shuts some people up now. He isin’t even available today to pinch hit, how is he supposed to catch?
Daniel, Matsui signed with the Angels long before NJ signed with the Yankees. I think the Yankees wanted Matsui and would have paid him the 6 M, but he didnt wait around for it.
See folks, panic for nothing once again.
Believe it or not, Joe Girardi actually does want to win games. He doesn’t play with the lineups just to cause you harm.
If guys like Posada and Swisher are dinged up but are NOT hurt enough to be put on the DL, why do some of you want him to push these guys through games on May 17?
It makes no sense.
Sometimes, you have to play shorthanded. Its certainly not the desired situation but, that’s the way it goes. You suck it up and play. All you can do.
All the reports this weekend at least were that it would take 4-6 weeks of total shutdown following the surgery, then Johnson would be able to begin baseball activity again. So a realistic timetable, if there are no setbacks, would be 10-12 weeks, meaning late July or August at the earliest. That is not the whole season but it certainly isn’t 4-6 weeks.
Betsy,
I think it’s Detroit because they were talking about the big, spacious park being a good thing. i don’t think they were talking YS.
BloggingBombers
Posada took a foul ball off his foot on Sunday. X-rays were negative, but he can’t play today. He’s day-to-day.
He would rather play Thames vs, a righty and Winn over Miranda.
–
They are DHing A-rod for whatever reason and Miranda doesn’t play the outfield.
Pena is truly atrocious though. 3.54 P/PA, 79% contact percentage, 72% strike percentage (pitchers are cliff lee vs Pena) 5% XBH percentage. 5% walk percentage. 16.5% K percentage. Hits more fly balls than ground balls so he doesn’t take advantage of his speed.
Doubt Johnson’s back before August. Make due for the time being with a Miranda/Thames platoon at DH when Swish is back healthy in a day or two. Possibility of calling up a Winfree or Curtis (when healthy) to contribute at that spot as well. Could see a trade made in June.
Ledger_Yankees Girardi says Swisher should be available to ph right handed; Posada is a gametime decision on whether he can pinch hit.
Alright I can accept that Posada is hurt. It makes sense he’s not in the lineup today. But why did he only catch on Sunday? He DH’ed Saturday? If he can only catch 1 out of 3 games he shouldn’t be on the active roster.
And why the heck is A-rod DH today?
Girardi just isn’t a very good manager.
No replacements for a while… it will be Miranda/Weber/Winfree before they go out ans waist money or chips on a LH bat…
Well, Brian, even you would have to admit that the Damon/Matsui situation was totally botched.
Thank you.
I didn’t like the NJ signing …..youth doesn’t matter when you can’t stay healthy…..what could have been Johnny Damon
I’m guessing Arod is DH’ing because he also may be hurting and they don’t want to tell anybody.
If he wasn’t, Miranda would be DH’ing and Arod would be at third.
They don’t disclose every injury. Especially from the guys who are in the lineup.
Johnson can still help in the playoff run. No matter what, we cannot argue with his OBP. The man gets on base.
Nick Johnson should seriously consider start playing beach volleyball and give up on baseball. Next thing you know he’s gonna injure his persona.
The Yankees didn’t want Matsui back. They never even contacted him. His agent contacted them and asked what the story was. Cashman said he needed time. Time for what? The guy was the World Series MVP. He was a run producer the entire time he was in pinstripes. He should have been their first phone call.
I’m well aware that Matsui signed with the Angels long before Nick Johnson signed with the Yankees. Quoting a timeframe doesn’t do anything, really, to help to reduce the stupidity of the move.
If you think that Matsui did not give the Yankees the chance to sign him, then you are wrong. They decided not to and rewarded his fantastic success over his career here by waiting around to see if Johnny Damon would eventually sign as a DH here, which he did not. As a result, they had to turn to a back-up plan: Nick Johnson.
I really could not care less who agrees with me, but at least I’ve been consistent since the day Matsui was signed away from the Yankees that it was foolish. Furthermore, I’ve been against the signing of Nick Johnson since the minute it happened. Horrendous decision making.
just another wonderful offseason signing by Cash!
congrats to job well done!
I agree with Wave.
The only real concern when looking at this lineup is Alex.
Everything else has a pretty easy explanation.
Girardi is a good manager. He cannot help the injuries around him and i bet there is a reason we dont see why Jeter and Alex are DH more than usual. 2nd best record in BASEBALL, WITH all the injuries.
Yeah, Girardi really really sucks.
Go away.
The Yankees are 24-13 and people are rioting that Girardi is giving semi-banged up players a little extra rest.
Ridiculous.
As for DHing A-Rod, maybe A-Rod said something that he needed more rest. Remember last season when A-Rod returned and was playing every day? He wound up missing a few games due to “exhaustion”. DHing him this often is fishy, but as long as its preemptive I see no wrong
Additionally, it could just be that Girardi wants to rest the guys that need it most before the TB series. Which lets face it, the TB series matters more than Boston at this point
DFA,
Yeah man Hideki would solve all our problems! The guy who can’t play the field and is hitting .241/.320/.406
SJ -
Any incite into the decision to DH ARod while being so short-handed elsewhere? Thought they could have used Miranda at the plate instead of Pena…
# Betsy – Hughes rules (Pleading the Fifth) May 17th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Patrick, and he’s not playing today.
SJ did not tell it like it is, but then it’s easy when you’re not on the other end of it. Odd that I get less problems from trolls.
==============================================
Ingrate.
Quoting the Yankees record as some kind of proof that Girardi is a great manager is absurd. The Yankees win because of the massive amount of talent on the team, not because Girardi’s genius lineups.
the bottom 3 batters are awesome for this $200m team!
Good God that lineup sucks. I know that Hughes is pitching for us and they get to face Dice-K, but does anyone honestly think we’ll win with this lineup?
…. oh well, we’ll manage. Go Yankees!
Patrick,
Do you remember how much people criticized Matsui during the early portion of last year?
Yeah, how did that work out?
M, lol – I missed that part. Well, I guess there’s another new one on tonight then ….yay!
NJ fat frame doesn’t help w/ all these injury issues, ughhhhhh what a mistake…
GM Daniel is in the house. Yankees 2nd best record in baseball. Angels (with Matsui), 3rd in the crappy AL West.
I think i’ll stick with Cashman and his occassional mistake.
Tampayank- I agree with you 100%
Further more in case there was confusion, I am not tampayank
Matsui would have had a problem with a big pay cut from the Yanks, just like Damon did. When you try to reconstruct the past, don’t forget to include the inconvenient facts.
# mick May 17th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
# Betsy – Hughes rules (Pleading the Fifth) May 17th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Well, thank you for that little scold and that little lecture, SJ; I will be sure to take it under advisement…….maybe. Are you kidding me? You keep telling me to calm down everytime I express an ounce of concern, but this one takes the cake.
=========================================
SJ…In my humble opinion you should not waste your time on Betsy anymore.
You have talked her off the ledge(unless it’s all an act) so many times, now she rebels against you.
Matsui is getting progressively worse as the season goes on. Whether it he be old or hurting over the grind of playing every day, he’s just not as young as he used to be. To assume that he would produce like he did from 2003-2008 post-knee surgery would be a ridiculous notion.
Do you remember how much people criticized Matsui during the early portion of last year?
Yeah, how did that work out?
—
What the hell are you talking about? People are saying that Nick Johnson stinks and Cashman should have gotten Matsui. But the fact is, Matsui has been pretty poor for the Angels. I don’t see how that’s a big difference, at least Johnson got on base when he was healthy.
I didn’t say Matsui would solve all problems. Those stats you quoted are probably better than what Johnson had. Isn’t he batting .150 or something? Yeah, he walks all the time. He also strikeout a lot too. Matsui didn’t play the field at all last year and as I remember, he had a very successful season. There’s no reason to believe that he wouldn’t have done the same thing this year.
In the last 12 games, A-rod has:
2 days off
2 DH (including today)
That seems like a lot. Its not as much as I thought, but it still seems like alot.
Jeter is worrying though!
2 days off
3 DH
How is players being injured and needing to rest now an indictment on Girardi’s ability to manage the team? If you are unhappy with Pena playing 3rd it’s one thing but I don’t see how that translates immediately to “Girardi is a terrible manager”. You also have no idea what is going on with A-Rod to just say he should automatically be in the lineup at 3rd.
# miggs May 17th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
“Betsy,
You are setting a world record for whining today. Calm down. ”
If I had made this comment I would have gotten destroyed by the blog police.
Let’s see how people react when the most respected poster on the blog speaks what is the obvious truth.
==============================================
Not really Miggs…keep telling lt as you see it.
Wait, I think I’m the GM for having an opinion? This is hilarious.
They have the second best record in baseball… They’ve been playing very, very well. I just said that I’m NOT a doom and gloom fan that considers every little mistake or injury to be the end of the world. Regardless, the Matsui situation was horrendously, horrendously botched.
I find it funny that you’re using the Angels’ third place standing as showing that signing Matsui would have been a bad idea. By that logic, we almost certainly should sign Pat Burrell because his (former) Tampa Bay Rays are first overall in the league.
Dumbass.
Yeah because Girardi is soooo forthcoming about injuries, we would know for certain that A-Rod is banged up… give me a break.
You think Girardi WANTS to put a sub-optimal lineup out there? You think he wants to put Pena, one of the worst hitters in the league in the lineup against Boston?
Think, people. Just because no one in the media has picked up on it ,doesn’t mean A-Rod isin’t banged up. Perhaps it is something lingering from a couple of weeks ago when he had a stuff hamstring.
Mick,
Good point.
Patrick,
Given the injuries today, what lineup would you put out there tonight?
I’m guessing Arod is a little dinged up which is why he is DH’ing.
There aren’t a lot of options this evening. Kind of hard to rip Girardi on the lineup when a Granderson and Johnson are on the DL and Swisher and Posada are dinged up and unavailable to start this evening.
Quoting the Yankees record as some kind of proof that Girardi is a great manager is absurd. The Yankees win because of the massive amount of talent on the team, not because Girardi’s genius lineups.
___
Then exactly how do you judge how good a manager is?
Managing the record with all the injuries? Keeping the starters and the pen fresh?
You whine and whine day after day and boo hoo this and boo hoo that. And then you complain about the lineup even though this is all we have.
And to the person talking about $200 M for this lineup, get over it. When 5 guys are hurt, you dont get all star backups at each position.
You people are incredibly stupid.
The Angels promised Matsui that he would get to PLAY OUTFIELD, which is what he was requesting from teams that were interested in him. Do you think anyone in their right mind would let him play outfield, especially with the state of his knees? No way.
It was the right move at the time to not sign Matsui, and is still the right move now. 35+ year old DH’s with bad knees are a dime a dozen nowadays, and if healthy Nick Johnson was the better option. He’s not healthy now, but he was last year so what can you do? Look at what Matsui is doing this year by the way. Even Thames/Miranda could put up these kinds of numbers:
.241/.320/.406 5 Hr 19 RBi
I think there’s something going on with Jeter, too. He seems to me to be getting very slow starts on balls hit to his left. I may be wrong but that’s how it looks to me.
You people are forgetting what lineups can do. Put Matsui in our lineup and I bet his results are better than what he’s doing in LA.
Patrick:
What the hell are you talking about? People are saying that Nick Johnson stinks and Cashman should have gotten Matsui. But the fact is, Matsui has been pretty poor for the Angels. I don’t see how that’s a big difference, at least Johnson got on base when he was healthy.
In response to that…. I’m saying that people were VERY critical of Matsui at this point last season. He was playing horrendous baseball. He ended up coming around. So I’m not sure how his current stats should really be used to question how important he could have been to this team this year.
I guess a good manager makes banged-up players healthy.
Clearly, Girardi is not a good manager until he heals Nick Johnson with his magic wand.
SJ
It must be hard for Betsy to ignore as she has something to say about everything and so demonstratively.
mick, miggs
Betsy is not, nor is she ever on a ledge. She is just concerned. That’s it. If I had to guess, she has all the belief in the world in the Yankees. It’s just her natural inclination to worry.
OK, I understand that Georgie and Swish are hurting but why DH Arod and not Miranda? DH ARod when either Swish or Georgie are back in the lineup. I don’t normally complain about the lineup but Pena over Miranda only makes sence if ARod is hurt too…
Daniel, my point is that we are still good even though we dont have Matsui. I agree with you that i’d rather have matsui or damon than Johnson, however you are going further than that and attacking Cashman, who has a history of getting us what we need.
he took a chance on Johnson, and failed so far. Correct.
Also, HE WANTED DAMON!!!!!! 2/14. A fair offer. He chose 1/8 instead. Not really much you can do about that.
Tex and ARod need to rake tonight.
Jerkface, thanks for finding those numbers. Jeter has had 2 days off and 3 days at DH in the last 12 games? That’s ridiculous.
Either Jeter and A-rod are both hurt and nobody is talking about it (including the writers). Or Girardi loves Ramiro Pena and it was planned from the beginning to play him this much.
Option A bugs me because it’s the writers job to find this crap out. Option B bugs me even more because it would mean that Cashman and Girardi are stupid for thinking Pena can handle this much playing time.
“NJ fat frame doesn’t help w/ all these injury issues, ughhhhhh what a mistake…”
Another thing that people tend to overlook- NJ is not in good shape. Does this guy look like a baseball player? He isin’t build like a slugger (a la Ortiz or Fielder), he is just fat.
That may be why he hurt his wrist – he is not in good shape. Also explains his back spasms problems.
Maybe Cashman should have considered that when he let go of someone as dedicated to his body as Matsui over NJ.
Oh Mick, come on. I don’t need to be lectured by SJ. He thinks I’m overreacting, but he won’t call others out on the same thing. He thinks I’m overreacting when I show the slightest bit of concern……If he doesn’t want to bother with my posts, ok – then fine. You and I have been crossing swords for a long time, so the fact that SJ now sides with you tells me a lot.
Arod played every game in April. He DHed once.
Arod has only missed 1 game in May and he DHed 1 game last week during the doubleheader.
Just because guys are on the DL or guys are nicked up and are not playing doesn’t mean that the vets should play every game. That would be a mistake which could cost them in the long run.
The season’s a marathon. Girardi’s doing what he feels needs to be done in order for the Yanks to finish the race near the top.
You people are forgetting what lineups can do. Put Matsui in our lineup and I bet his results are better than what he’s doing in LA.
___
Why exactly?
The Angels don’t throw scrubs out there. Last year into August all 9 starters were over .300. This year, they have a good lineup with Matsui in the middle. So i dont see how others in the lineup make a difference.
These injuries are getting out of hand with this team.. I remember a few years ago this team had alot of injuries and we were all over Kevin Long for this, but I guess the team is getting older and crankier..
Bronx Jeers-
Quit being logical
tex’s friend,
I am really not debating about whether or not we’re a good team. I think we’re a great team. Again, that does not mean that under no circumstances should fans be able to criticize or question a GM’s decision-making.
Gee Mick, this is a blog; I’m not allowed to post? I swear, you make Miggs look like a sweetheart. Why don’t you and SJ conduct a private email correspondence about how much you hate when I post instead of clogging this board with that crap? Do you think people want to read this stuff?
Betsy,
Here’s my uninformed opinion. They really believe in this good luck charm junk, and don’t want to jinx things. So they put up video that was filmed before his last start.
I know it doesn’t makes sense. But that’s the only logical explanation why there was no video posted last week, and they’re just posting it now.
Really SJ, you should definitely ignore her as it brings the blog down when you constantly indulge her whining.
It’s all about attention.
I don’t know how you criticize Girardi on this lineup when none of us have all the facts.
A ton of stuff goes on behind closed doors in that locker room that none of us are privy too.
NJ, Granderson, Swisher, Posada were all out of the question for tonight. When close to half your opening day lineup is out, there is not much you can really do. Do you really think Girardi wants to be playing Pena this much?
The Yankees have the best starter in the AL on the mound tonight and are going against a team in 4th place with their worst starter on the mound. And even with a depleted lineup, no one in baseball can touch their 3-4-5.
Call me crazy, but given the circumstances I cannot get that worked up about this lineup.
Well, I see the dreaded Matsui/Damon/Johnson debate is in full force. Since I am observing radio silence on the matter, I’ll come back after things calm down.
So the Johnson signing looks bad now, and two starters are dinged up and can’t play. Big deal, injuries and bad signings happen to each and every team.
Funny how that became an automatic indictment to the “idiocy” of the Yankees GM and manager, the same guys who guided the team to a WS only a few months ago.
A-Rod has played 3B 18 out of the last 21 days. The Yankees have played 19 games during that time. The only game during that stretch he didn’t play 3B was when he DH’d in the first game of the doubleheader in Detroit. With the lack off days in the upcoming schedule, I imagine Girardi just wanted to try to continue getting A-Rod a break about once a week.
There was an argument for letting Matsui go. The choice to replace him basically came down to Damon (who could DH and give you some OF depth) and Nick Johnson (who would only DH and has always been one of the most injury-prone players in baseball). Cashman and Prince Hal wanted to save a few bucks and send a message to Boras. Sorry, but the Yanks look like total idiots on this one. Cut off nose, spite face.
SJ44,
If A-rod and Jeter are dinged up (as their playing time would suggest) and I were the manager of the team I’d insist on a backup infielder that can actually hit. So if A-rod is so hurt he can’t play the field I’d make the lineup:
Jeter SS
Gardner CF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez DH
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cervelli C
Winn LF
Russo 3B
Yeah, I’d make Swisher hit righty. He can’t be worse than Thames batting R vs RHP. Plus he’s a better fielder.
That’s at least a respectable lineup, and we’ve seen Russo play third. He’s not a gold glove out there but he can get the job done.
concern……If he doesn’t want to bother with my posts, ok – then fine. You and I have been crossing swords for a long time, so the fact that SJ now sides with you tells me a lot.
=========================
What does it tell you?
Arod played every game in April. He DHed once.
–
April also had 5 off days built in. Try again!
It’s not hard to figure out, folks.
With the DH open for the next several weeks, it is going to be used as a waist station for the old players. One day Jeter gets off, one day Alex, one day Jorge. Soon Cano/Tex will get their days as well.
There is not one set DH. As much as the prospect huggers think Miranda is the next Morales, the Yanks clearly know more than the fans. Thames is not going to hit enough to DH.
Since we don’t have an ideal DH who can hit well, Girardi is going to use it to to rest players and play a good defender (a la Pena) in the field.
“Another thing that people tend to overlook- NJ is not in good shape. Does this guy look like a baseball player? He isin’t build like a slugger (a la Ortiz or Fielder), he is just fat.”
Is this post meant to remind us all that today is the 12th anniversary of fat guy David Wells’ perfect game?
Also, I think at this point, Ortiz is just fat. Too many cans of Big Papi-brand Chili.
Laura • There is NO Sayid! May 17th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Well, I see the dreaded Matsui/Damon/Johnson debate is in full force. Since I am observing radio silence on the matter, I?ll come back after things calm down.
**********
I tried that. I slipped. Oops
CR, forget Miggs and Mick. I’m starting to prefer the former, frankly. Anyway, thanks for the defense, but they’re not interested and I don’t need to justify my feelings. This blog is simply intolerant of opposing points of view……that’s what it comes down to.
I am really not debating about whether or not we’re a good team. I think we’re a great team. Again, that does not mean that under no circumstances should fans be able to criticize or question a GM’s decision-making
___
I wasnt questioning your need to question the GM. We all agree this was not a great decision to let matsui and/or damon go for NJ. What i am saying is that calling cashman a bad GM because of it is not right.
You find me a GM who has not made a mistake or many, even with the resources.
Bronx Jeers May 17th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Arod played every game in April. He DHed once.
Arod has only missed 1 game in May and he DHed 1 game last week during the doubleheader.
*************************
Thank you!! I was just thinking that I don’t remember him being DH much lately. I fail to see the big deal w/him DHing tonight.
NJ is made out of rice paper and looks like a slug with a mustache. But I hear he is a hell of a cook.
tex’s friend, Matusi hitting behind A-Rod is quite a different story than him hitting behind Abreu or Hunter.
Jerkface May 17th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Arod played every game in April. He DHed once.
?
April also had 5 off days built in. Try again!
************
That actually backs up the argument that he needs more DH days
May has two offdays. Two.
Okay.
Say Jeter and ARod ARE hurting.
What do you propose other than what Girardi is doing – giving them some DH time and some off time? What would you do? Neither one is probably hurt enough to go on the DL, but EVEN IF THEY WERE, who would call up to play?
With the DH open for the next several weeks, it is going to be used as a waist station for the old players.
—
Haha what?
All GMs make mistakes. Cashman just took his turn.
Changing ideas, Kevin Long and Co need to make sure the yankees take take take. And watch out for breaking balls. DiceK doesnt have a great fastball, but the breaking stuff is good and i see Thames and pena in particular having problems with those pitches.
seriously, Yankees’ offseason signing track records have been pretty poorly for last N years.
The good ones? CC, AJ…, be honest, they are easy to do.
M, maybe so, lol…..because I know this aired before last start; a couple of posters mentioned that Phil mentioned being a Sox fan.
BloggingBombers Joe Girardi said he plans on using the rotating DH spot in Johnson’s absence.
Imagine that.
I agree with SJ and mick, it has become tiresome every freakin day to read the same whining.
Also, NJ was a mistake and we all know it.
Patrick,
Really, do you think Joe Girardi is so enamored with Ramiro Pena, he’s going to play him over Arod at third base. Seriously?
If guys like Jeter and Arod are dinged up, but can play, there is no way Girardi is letting anybody in the media know about that.
All you have to do is look at usage patterns to see something is up. The guy didn’t lose his mind. Something clearly is up.
Betsy,
It wasn’t the a little concern. Seriously, go back and read the 10 worry posts you put up in record time.
I get the fact you worry about everything Yankees. That’s ok. At some point, though one or two posts, instead of 10 saying the same thing is sufficient.
Especially when all this is about is making sure you are comfortable with the lineup they put out there for Phil Hughes.
As you can now see, Posada is hurt which is why he isn’t in the lineup.
Stuff happens during a baseball season. A little worry is fine and all of us on here are cool with it.
Going off the deep end, which you did in the other thread? Seriously, enough is enough because something tells me if Hughes wasn’t pitching tonight, the panic posts from you would have been cut in half.
Betsy says the lineup is crap; Jorge should be DL’d because he can’t play and Phil will have to do it all by himself tonight.
SJ44 points out that Jorge was probably hurt yesterday with ball off his foot; which as we read above turns out to be true.
But SJ is the jerk, no, SJ was right. Awaiting Betsy’s posting “my bad” I over re-acted.
It gets real old with the poor poor victim act and please stop attacking Betsy. Guess any opinion contrary to Betsy should be sent to CR9 and he/she can decide if it gets posted or not.
tex’s friend, Matusi hitting behind A-Rod is quite a different story than him hitting behind Abreu or Hunter.
___
Why? Abreu and Hunter and Morales get on base? If he was hitting before ARod that is one thing. But after?
The trophies they give out for being the team with the best record at the end of May must be really something to have all you guys calling for Rodriguez, Posada and Jeter to be played as often as possible in order to keep the lineup as close to 100% intact as possible. I value seeing their names in the lineup every day in the last 3 months of the season than I do if they are in the field every day in April or May.
That actually backs up the argument that he needs more DH days
May has two offdays. Two.
–
Only in the assumption that A-rod needs more days off. As he gets futher out from hip surgery he should be getting stronger. A-rod is a strong worker and should not need this much time off.
Now if this is going to be the drill for the next 3 years (going out beyond that is getting into DH territory) then the contract they signed for him was not good.
In May he has already had:
3 days off
2 DH (including today)
Up coming on the 24 we already have 1 day off.
If you need to rest A-rod 6+ times in a month, then … wow 30 mil for that?
The players that get to free agency are usually of the hit and miss variety. Otherwise, well, they wouldn’t be free agents cause their team would have already locked them up.
Helps explain the numerous botched FA signings in the extension era.
so this series doesn’t have as much excitement as usual, the biggest series this week is the 2 game set against the Rays
“April also had 5 off days built in. Try again!”
Ok? … The Yanks played 22 games in April and Arod played in 22 of them? Does that suffice?
I’m not sure what the issue is.
Is he supposed to play on their days off? Intramural softball in the park?
“BloggingBombers Joe Girardi said he plans on using the rotating DH spot in Johnson’s absence. ”
HA! I was correct!
You’d make Swisher hit righty. I’m forgetting which side it is that bothers him, but you’re either saying he should risk getting hurt or you’re saying he should hit from the un-usual side, which could mess him up totally?
Ay ay ay ay ay.
Kim Jones on with Francesa.
“I fail to see the big deal w/him DHing tonight.”
The big deal is that it chooeses Pena over Miranda. The question is why couldn’t ARod’s day off from third waited until Posada could play? I suspect there’s a reason, but if the real reason is that the Yanks’ prefer Pena to Miranda then there are real issues.
BloggingBombers Joe Girardi said he plans on using the rotating DH spot in Johnson?s absence.
–
Holy crap this is the worst. Play Miranda, or get someone
I’ve thought for a while now that Alex is hurting. He has 4 HRs on May 17th. That’s all the proof you need.
pcaldera Nick Johnson camp looking at late July/early Aug. return after surgery.
Betsy
SJ knows the inner workings of the game, and especially about catchers, because his nephew is a rising star at the catcher position.
You made a simple comment, and because you’re ‘known’ as a ‘worrier’, everything you say gets blown out of proportion.
Why cant individual comments be recognized individually of every other comment, is my problem.
I dont know if you know or not, but I’d guess that you do, but a Catcher (aside from a Pitcher) is the most physically demanding position to play. And Jorge is a 38 year old. He needs more rest and gets dinged up easier than a 25 year old catcher, for instance. For example, if Frankie was a starting catcher and got hit yesterday as Posada did, he’d probably be able to start today with no problem.
“Going off the deep end, which you did in the other thread? Seriously, enough is enough because something tells me if Hughes wasn’t pitching tonight, the panic posts from you would have been cut in half.”
That is absolutely what it comes down to. Same if AJ is pitching
If that were Andy or CC, not a word…
Ok? ? The Yanks played 22 games in April and Arod played in 22 of them? Does that suffice?
–
You said that A-rod played in every game and thus should be getting rested now, but he had 5 days off + DH day! If the yankees play 1 game a month, A-rod should play in ALL of them. As you increase the number of days off the number of games our fragile players play increases.
So in May he is being overrested so far.
Feel me?
I wonder if the Yankees will consider a trade for a DH. As much as they have been rather successful with the current lineup, I do believe a legitimate DH is necessary for continued success.
Any ideas on who they could realistically trade for?
Patrick,
That would make sense except they can’t bring up Russo since he was just sent down. They need to wait 10 days from the time he was sent down unless somebody goes on the DL.
That’s what I mean….his options are limited tonight.
I also wouldn’t push Swish because the idea is to get him 100%. That’s more of a priority to me than this game.
SJ44,
No I don’t think he wants Pena to play over A-rod. Since neither of us know what’s actually going on we can only guess. As I see it, there are two possibilities.
1. A-rod and Jeter are both a bit injured. (pretty likely)
2. Girardi and Cashman’s plan from the beginning was to DH or give days off to Jeter and A-rod on a fairly consistent basis as a preventative measure since both guys are getting old.
Now with option 1, it bothers me that nobody is reporting on this. It also bothers me that the Yanks don’t call up an infielder that can hit (uhh RUSSO).
If it’s option 2 then it annoys me that Cashman and Girardi didn’t consider that Pena can’t hit major league pitching. If this was the plan from the beginning then Cashman should have signed a better utility infielder.
So basically you’re probably right, Jeter and A-rod are probably injured. If that’s the case though, Russo should be up, not Pena. I don’t understand why Girardi is willing to sacrifice defense and play Thames but isn’t willing to do the same with Russo who’s clearly a better hitter than Ramiro.
There is just no consistent logic in Girardi’s decisions and it’s frustrating and confusing.
tex’s friend how many times have we seen A-Rod get a walk so that they can get to Matsui only to see Matsui crush them? I’ve lost count.
“Is he supposed to play on their days off? Intramural softball in the park?”
LMAO.
Kim Jones thinks there’s nothing to Arod DHing. Neither do the other reporters because I haven’t heard anyone asked Girardi about it. Just another half day off for Arod.
Mike panicking about the lineup too
Did I miss the part where Miranda became great player??
I am not knocking him, but I don’t understand the love affair either
Betsy — you should worry more about your lack of a life than every hangnail experienced by a member of the Yankees.
# DFA May 17th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
tex’s friend how many times have we seen A-Rod get a walk so that they can get to Matsui only to see Matsui crush them? I’ve lost count.
—————————————-
This year? 0
Trevor May 17th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Kim Jones thinks there?s nothing to Arod DHing. Neither do the other reporters because I haven?t heard anyone asked Girardi about it. Just another half day off for Arod.
*********************
Thanks Trevor!
I don’t think the Yanks want to play Russo at SS, and they intend to rotate Jeter off SS to DH regularly. So that explains Pena over Russo. It doesn’t explain Pena over Nunez however.
BloggingBombers Joe Girardi said he plans on using the rotating DH spot in Johnson?s absence.
—
Awful awful awful idea. Just confirms my belief that Girardi is a mediocre manager.
SJ44,
Well if you look at A-rod and Jeter’s usage patterns you can see that if they are indeed injured, they’ve been injured since before Russo was sent down. Girardi/Cashman should have known then what the plan for them going forward was and kept Russo.
I am not knocking him, but I don?t understand the love affair either
-
He has hit in every call up and in the minors and now would be an ideal time to get him ABs. You weren’t going to bring him up when we had a full roster, but now is the PERFECT time to use him and they aren’t.
Its bizarre.
AROD concerns me way more than Jeter, if he’s starting to break down already w/ his controversial past(we don’t know when the PED use really stopped) , that contract could haunt the franchise for year*my panic post of the day
Mike:” Does Hughes have a personality?”
Hope bets didn’t hear that.
LOL.
Miranda is a message board legend.
If the Yanks thought he was going to hit, he would be in against the righties. Girardi himself said he is going to use it to give guys a day off.
Miranda is not an option to be an everday DH. He is trade bait for a bigger bat in June.
Mike “I don’t understand how Andy has been this good.”
Are you kidding?
A-Rod obviously is not right.
when was last time he took this many off days in this early season?
Ledger_Yankees Joba appears to be looking into some post career options
http://tweetphoto.com/22857361
Patrick – Sure, keep saying that. Watch Girardi win another WS while you continue to get laughed at.
Nobody is going to give us a decent DH for Juan Miranda, I’m sorry.
If Miranda isn’t any good, who is going to trade for him?
I can agree that Pena is a black hole in the #9 spot, but people talk of Thames and Winn as if they’d roll over and die against Dice-K. Both have had significant major league experience and I don’t expect them to be horribly overmatched.
Miranda is a message board legend.
–
He is a legit, professional cuban hitter. You won’t know if he can succeed at the majors if you don’t give him chances.
2008: .400 .500 .500 1.000
2009: .333 .333 .667 1.000
limited sample
Minors
AA: .265 .352 .480
AAA: .285 .375 .472 .847
Has OPS’d over .900 vs lefties the last 2 years, which was his big knock and what the yankees asked him to work on. 20%+ line drive rate off of lefties.
So, whats wrong with Arod? SJ, do you think its serious or just dinged up?
Francessa should watch Kim’s interviews with Phil. He has a pretty good sense of humor, dry and self-deprecating, but pretty funny.
Russo can’t play SS. He is now in the minors and they are turning him into a Jerry Hairston, Jr type of utility player. It wouldn’t surprise me if he is in that role for the second half of the season.
They were not going to keep both Russo and Pena on the roster at the same time.
Nunez? They don’t feel he is ready yet. This is only his first year in AAA and he isn’t nearly as polished defensively at SS as Pena.
Its unfortunate they are playing shorthanded tonight.
However, I tend to take a big picture view and I don’t want them to push guys needlessly for a May 17 game against a 4th place team regardless of who that fourth place team is at the present time.
Folks, Miranda is 1-8 this year. That is a .125 average.
People think Pena is an automatic out, Miranda is even worse.
Yankfan
Completely unnecessary. How do you know what kind of life she leads.
Yeah, Steve, and 8 at-bats is a statistically significant sample size.
I can’t wait till Swisher and Granderson are 100%.
We need some stability in this lineup, and getting rid of Thames/Winn from regular playing time will be awesome.
Patrick – Sure, keep saying that. Watch Girardi win another WS while you continue to get laughed at.
—
Tony La Russa has won two World Series.
Shut up now.
Man that 1-for-8 really closed the book on Miranda’s offensive career in the majors. 8 at bats that last a lifetime.
Just a “lucky” guess, CR9.
Bottom line is you won’t have a good lineup out there if four of your starters are either injured or dinged up. Just have to suck it up and play.
Hard as it is to believe, there are some things out of the manager’s hands.
Nat I don’t think you trade Miranda, bad move
“Nunez? They don’t feel he is ready yet. This is only his first year in AAA and he isn’t nearly as polished defensively at SS as Pena.”
Nevertheless, after watching Pena, I’d like to watch Nunez for a while.
kim is more than a little affected, anyone?
I’m going to say it, I don’t hate Randy Winn, especially and probably only against right handed pitching. He works at bats at the very least. Doesn’t have the bat speed he probably did once and he swings through way too many fastballs in the zone. But he is not terrible, and his defense has been solid. If that is a half-hearted endorsement so what but he is not killing me to watch as much as whenever Thames is in the field, or whenever Pena is in the lineup to start the game.
yankfan
How about ceasing the personal attacks? For all you know, she could be a multi-millionaire who is getting a foot massage right now from one of her 50 maids in the comfort of her own home.
Nevertheless, after watching Pena, I?d like to watch Nunez for a while.
–
I’d probably watch anything other than him hacking at the plate. He doesn’t seem to have a good pitch recognition going on. He is trying to out athletecize the ball and make contact regardless of pitch type.
If Posada has trouble staying healthy, why not make him the permanent DH? i would rather he DH everyday with Cervelli catching than Posada catching 2 days and sitting out the 3rd day.
CR9,
Your posts are much more enjoyable when you are mocking Boston rather than defending people.
Please don’t go soft on us
I hope you still hate Peter Gammons, Tommy Heinsohn, Orsillo, Garnett, Pete Abe, Dane Cook, etc.
I’m glad I missed the Phil part of that interview; that’s really rude of Mike……then again, no ruder than Kim telling Phil that other players said he had a straight FB.
Rotating DH? Not good.
Why can’t Swisher hit righty against Matsuzaka? At the very least he’d see more pitches than Thames, plus he’s a far better fielder.
And if Girardi wants to get really crazy he could play Tex at third, Miranda at first and DH Alex. He’s already willing to throw defense out the window by playing Thames in right, why not put Tex at third?
When did the worm turn on Pena?
He was everyone’s darling at one point, no? Or was the nickname Jalopena for someone else?
Far as I know, he was always here for his defense. Any offense out of him was purely icing on the cake. But that was okay with everyone as long as he was over-achieving, I guess.
This thread is just giving me agita. Time to run out and buy milk.
That’s an emotional response and not a rational one re: Pena v. Nunez.
Girardi should play Cervelli at third.
Play Tex at third? lol
Now its becoming a video game.
Mike is sooo fake when he interviews Kim Jones. He is so soft and gentle towards her, far cry from when he interrupts all his other guests
A game like this is where Jeter really needs to lead the way, with patient hitters like Swisher and Posada out.
This would be a good night for him to assume a more patient approach against Dice-K, who tends to lose the strike zone for the first few innings.
Derek is really pressing right now and hacking at way too many first pitches. Even though he’s always been aggressive, he’s really jumping at the ball this year.
This would be a good night for him to see a lot of pitches.
Now its becoming a video game.
=====================
Hence the mentality.
But that was okay with everyone as long as he was over-achieving, I guess.
—
No, it was okay with everyone when he was playing 3 times a month.
Girardi is just using him way too much.
Tex has taken zero groundballs at third base. Please.
Sometimes, you have to play shorthanded. Just the way it goes.
SJ, again – thanks for the psychoanalysis. If I told you that my anger over the lineup had nothing to do with Phil and everything to do with the fact that I didn’t like the lineup, you wouldn’t believe me, so I’m not going to bother trying to convince you. You assume way too much……but, that’s your right.
the next month of games should be interesting, easier on papers but a lot of issues are mounting w/ this roster
Play Tex at third? lol
Now its becoming a video game.
—
It’s just as insane as playing Thames anywhere but DH and you know it.
Derek up 2nd behind Gardner would force him to look at more pitches plus he will get more fastballs.
Pena was not meant to hit. In the regular Yankee lineup, that would not have been a problem.
He’s just taking a lot of heat right now because his lack of offense is magnified due to the injuries.
Is it fair that he gets bashed for something not in his skillset since Day 1? No. Does it hurt the team because of the injuries? Yes.
Miranda CAN hit. Give the man a chance at some at bats
When did the worm turn on Pena?
He was everyone?s darling at one point, no? Or was the nickname Jalopena for someone else?
Far as I know, he was always here for his defense. Any offense out of him was purely icing on the cake. But that was okay with everyone as long as he was over-achieving, I guess
–
I like Pena for his defensive versatility and speed, and hoped he would continue to atleast hit .280 even if it was mostly singles. As a backup that can play every position that has value. Unfortunately, Pena’s bat stops becoming carryable when you’re getting into ‘play 4 times a week’ territory.
Its like, Pena is hitting 9th and the 8th hitter is swisher/gardner? Alright!
Pena is batting for the 6th straight game and the bottom of the order is thames/winn/cervelli? Not good!
Once your util infielder starts playing half your games in a month, ‘defense’ only goes out the window.
Joe G said he is going to use the DH as a rotating spot. So that is your A-Rod answer.
“How about ceasing the personal attacks? For all you know, she could be a multi-millionaire who is getting a foot massage right now from one of her 50 maids in the comfort of her own home.”
No, that is only the type of life that Nomar leads.
Admission: I was wrong about Nick Johnson.
Joe G said he is going to use the DH as a rotating spot. So that is your A-Rod answer.
—
Well if that’s the case then Joe Girardi is a moron
I’ve seen so many people say this, so I have to ask: Why is a rotating DH not good?
Especially now, if players are dinged up a bit?
I really can’t see the downside to it for the short term. I wouldn’t have it as a plan to get through a season, but under these circumstances? Why not?
If Jeter and ARod were 100% healthy, I’m sure Miranda or someone else would get a shot at filling in the DH spot on a regular basis. But since you have the situation you have, and not the situation you prefer, why not take advantage of this?
Now you are being irrational Patrick.
You are willing to play a guy who hasn’t play third base, or taken groundballs in years, at third because Thames is in the lineup?
There are posters I’d expect that from on here. You aren’t one of them.
Awesome… that means Pena will play 3+ times a week if we’re rotating the DH.
Awesome. Go out and get someone Cash. Or this team is never going to score runs.
Is Nick Johnson past the point where termination pay could be utilized?
“I’ve seen so many people say this, so I have to ask: Why is a rotating DH not good”
Because with the injuries to NJ and Granderson (Swish as well at times) inserting Pena’s bat for A-Rod or Jeter sacrifices too much offense.
hmmmmmm. how about that, Chad.
Here’s a worthwhile social experiment.
Have real Yankee haters visit this blog and read the nonsensical posts about the “lineup complaints, Cashman sucks, he’s a terrible GM”, “every bench player stinks” and then see how many many of them actually become sympathetic toward the orgnaization having to deal with such a collection of moaners.
I think it might actually create a lot more Yankee fans.
When A-Rod went down with the hip thing last year, Tex flat out came and said he is not a candidate to replace him because he is so bad at 3rd and he will cost the team games with his D.
But we do need someone other than Pena, who can’t hit a lick. He has 1 HIT with RISP this year and that came way back in the Texas series!!!
So in May he is being overrested so far.
Feel me?
————
Not exactly but it’s not really a big enough deal to continue.
I just think Girardi isn’t letting the fact that they’re short stand in the way of getting guys their rest days.
And if he’s being a tad too conservative… well I can’t really blame him. The team cant afford to lose a big bopper in their current state.
Its crazy how much bad luck this team has had. Having the 2nd best record at this point in the season is an incredible accomplishment. Here is our opening day lineup:
Jeter
Johnson
Tex
A-Rod
Cano
Posada
Granderson
Swisher
Gardner
4 out of our starting 9 are currently injured. Thats almost half our lineup. Plus, Tex and A-Rod really didn’t hit for the 1st month of the season. Lets just hope everyone is healthy in time for the playoffs.
Betsy don’t let the blowhard SJ get u down. He’s a phony
I’m sad about Nick being out for another 6wks, but Cerevelli coming in for Posada is a lateral move. He’s proven he can do the job. We should be happy Posada has such a high caliber replacement while he heals. If Winn or Thames, et al had stepped in at such a high production level, Yankees would be in 1st. How many bad moves or at bats have they caused?
Cerevelli is a welcomed relief, and should be the least of Yankees concerns.
SJ44,
I’ve played both 1B and 3B at various levels of baseball and there is a difference but not a huge difference. Tex at 3B wouldn’t hurt the team any more than Thames does in the outfield.
My point is that Girardi lacks imagination and manages by the book 100% of the time.
“Who Will Get Injured Today?”
Yesterday: Posada
Tonight: Hughes
“That’s an emotional response and not a rational one re: Pena v. Nunez.”
No, it was my tongue in cheek way of saying that while the Yanks may not feel Nunez is ready, I think they are often overprotective and slow to promote players and while I don’t mind Pena in a defensive replacement role if he is going to play a lot I don’t like him and would like to see if Nunez could contribute instead.
In the interest of fair reporting re: Cashman, betting on Nick Johnson to put in a full healthy season was easily the worst move of the offseason. Should have had some sort of backup plan stashed at AAA in the likely event that this happens.
Matsui’s gimpy knees and old man Damon hold up better than NJ does.
Patrick -
Again, I ask, given the cards Girardi has to play, what else should he do regarding Pena and ARod and Jeter?
And, I don’t know, call me naive, but I don’t see Russo or Nunez making any positive impact. They will not necessarily have an easy time hitting at the ML level and if they are not as good defensively as Pena, how long before we suffer the griping over how their inadequate defense loses a game or makes pitchers throw more pitches, or whatever?
The bottom line is no one is ever satisfied no matter what and there are no perfect solutions here. They are getting hit with major and minor injuries and still they are doing fairly well. I think SJ said it best – they need to tread some water here – maintain – and they’ll be fine over the long haul. They have great pitching and that is the great equalizer, isn’t it?
I mean any more positive impact that Pena.
It’s reached peak lunacy around here. I can’t even read through threads the last few days, I just get disgusted and close the tab.
Keep up the good work you moaning crying babies.
That’s not true Patrick. Its a little different playing baseball at the major league level than the high school level.
Tex said himself last year when Arod was hurt he’s not an option at third base because he would hurt the team. Its an absurd idea and thankfully Girardi won’t do it.
Here is the reason a rotating DH is wrong:
A normal lineup for the yankees has good hitters up and down the lineup, right? And a DH which is a solid hitter.
Rotating DH enters play:
Your DH is now one of your regulars, and that person has been replaced with a below average bat. Ok the yankees could probably carry this, but its like having a pitcher bat 9th.
Now you have 2 injuries. Your DH is either the injured guy, or the same as before. You now have 3!! spaces being occupied by backups because you don’t have a real DH. This could be cut down to 2 with a real DH.
Rotating DH only works if you have a bench that performs average to above average.
I don’t think Girardi’s a mediocre manager. Argue that he was a huge payroll if you wish, but as we’ve seen that payroll isn’t always on the field when we’ve needed them.
I think Girardi does a great job of reading his players, not running them into the ground, and keeping everyone on the roster engaged.
In short, he’s a good manager, and could be great manager when he gets more than 3 years under his belt.
Rotating DH? Maybe Girardi is just trying to mess with all the GTLU players
Doreen, because it means that when a player is DHing instead of being in the field, a replacement player/utility player (say a Pena) has to also be in the lineup.
Doreen,
I’ve already offered several lineups that are better than Girardi’s.
And I wouldn’t say you’re naive for thinking Russo and Nunez are worse than Pena, just uninformed.
So why exactly is Miranda up here if he is not a candidate to be a DH? And WTH is Boone Logan still on the team?
This team’s roster management is hideous and will cost us games very soon.
We have no DH, but a DH on the roster. A utility INF who can’t hit, 2 OFers who can’t hit, and one OF who can’t hit righties, but plays vs. righties. We also have a catcher who can’t play more than two games in a row and apparently, Jeter and A-Rod have to get 2 days a week out of the field.
Just a bad situation right now.
Can they sign a free agent….Dye or Millar
I understand Teix doesn’t want to play 3B, but Russo should be able to do it.
Rick – NO. god… do you even realize what you’re asking? they are awful.
What’s the argument for calling up Montero and having him DH until the injured guys get back?
That’s not true Patrick. Its a little different playing baseball at the major league level than the high school level.
Tex said himself last year when Arod was hurt he’s not an option at third base because he would hurt the team. Its an absurd idea and thankfully Girardi won’t do it.
–
Wow the majors are different than High School? No kidding?
I still maintain that Thames in the outfield is no more insane than Teixeira at third base. Maybe Tex hurts the team at third, but if Thames were being honest with us he’d admit that he hurts the team by playing any defense whatsoever.
Had Blalock been the one released by the Rays, he might have been a good option for a lefty bat who can play some 3rd.
” inserting Pena?s bat for A-Rod or Jeter sacrifices too much offense”
Jeter and Arod are still batting. For tonight, the only valid argument here is against letting Pena play while using the DH spot for Jeter or Arod when you could let them play the field (so to speak) and use the DH spot for someone with more offensive skill than Pena. Given that both Posada and Swisher appear to be unavailable tonight, that pretty much leaves Miranda as the only DH candidate (given that Thames is in RF). It would make sense to do this if both Jeter and Arod are healthy…so I’m guessing one of them is not.
Lets say the bench was Gardner , A .700-.750 OPS infielder, Cervelli, Outfielder with a bat/infielder with a bat
And we signed Damon.
Rotating DH would work because Damon DH’s, Gardner can play the outfield. Damon can go to LF and A-rod can DH and our ‘infielder with a bat’ can play. Cervelli can play and Posada can sit or DH. etc.
It doesn’t work when your bench is Winn, Thames, Pena
There are days when the collective baseball IQ of this blog almost reaches zero, today is one of those days. How many of you saw the foul tip off Jorge’s foot yesterday? Did you see how much pain he was in and sucked it up and finished out the rest of the game? He’ll be much better in a day or two and many of you want him put on the DL?
Every time the Yankees lose a game the entire team, according to this blog, needs to be blown up. Guess what? They aren’t making any changes, the guys on the roster today will be the same guys next week. None of us, including me, know more about running a major league team than Girardi and his staff. NO ONE. If you think you do then you are delusional, as delusional as suggesting that Teix should play 3rd base.
Tonight you have Phil Hughes, who has been in the top 5 (maybe even the best) of all the starters in the AL against the Sox at home, against a pitcher who is decidedly mediocre, at best. The Yankees will score runs and if Phil pitches his game they’ll win. Maybe it won’t be 15-1 like most of you want every game to be, but it might be 4-1 or 5-2 or even 3-1. And Mo will probably get a save as well.
“What’s the argument for calling up Montero and having him DH until the injured guys get back?”
There is none at this point.
The rotating DH wouldn’t be a terrible idea if this team had a good reserve infielder. The problem is that Pena is playing every other day and he cant hit a lick. This is by far the weakest lineup the Yankees have put out this year. I love having Cervelli behind the plate though.
Wasn’t Girardi the one that moved Damon to 2nd and created that great 1 through 4 last year? That was pretty creative.
In what context did Francesca ask that question about Hughes having a personality?
That’s just the lamest, banal question I’ve heard from anybody. Including Jones & Kay.
Miranda should be the DH vs right handed pitching when everyone is healthy. Thames DH vs left handed pitching. Spot start Jeter/Arod or whom ever sometimes. Don’t like the rotating DH either.
Jerkface – where are these mythical baseball teams that have rosters like you are suggesting?
We don’t have a DH right now, folks.
Stop saying Miranda – it is clear Girardi and Cash don’t think he is the answer or he would have played the last 2 days.
Thames can’t hit righties, doesn’t walk, and strikes out too much. He is not a DH.
The only argument you can make is Posada DH, Cervelli C. But then we have to play with 3 catchers, which is not good roster management.
The rotating DH idea makes plenty of sense with the roster currently the way it is.
Let’s Go Yankees!!! And Let’s go Hughes!!!!
Jerkface ? where are these mythical baseball teams that have rosters like you are suggesting?
–
They don’t exist, which is why the rotating DH is retarded.
Well, there is one. He’s not hitting.
Different argument if he was hot.
If he was hot, it would be more tempting.
Bad timing on his part, unfortunately.
As if Big Mike were Mr Personality, right?
I do think that when Girardi says “rotating DH” he doesn’t necessarily mean that Arod, Jeter, Tex, etc. are going to follow a regular DH schedule. It could very well be that Thames and Miranda platoon at DH with Posada DHing once every 4-5 games and Arod/Jeter/Tex only getting a day off once in a while.
“Jeter and Arod are still batting”
But at the expense of a replacement level bat, Pena, being in the lineup as well.
So the point isn’t that they are batting, ti’s that there is a huge cost to them batting when they don’t play their position on the field.
I get that Pena is not Jeter and he is not ARod. I get that. But what I’m saying is if Jeter and ARod are even just banged up a bit, what else do you do?
Miranda is unproven. Nunez and Russo are unproven. No one really knows what they can do. Pena has been excellent in the field and can play 2nd, 3rd and SS. He isn’t hitting now, but he has performed at a better-than-expected level in the majors at a point in time.
So, put Miranda in at DH, but then you still want to rest ARod and Jeter. So you take them out of the lineup altogether? THen you have Miranda and Pena instead of ARod and Pena or Jeter and Pena. And so far, I’m not inspired by Miranda.
I may not be well informed about Russo and Nunez – I saw them play at AA and was not overly impressed, but I haven’t seen them recently. But I think it’s premature to assume they’d be a better bet than Pena necessarily. That’s all.
Look I don’t necessarily want Teixeira to play 3B or have Swisher bat righty vs a right handed pitcher but when you have 4 guys (Jeter, A-rod, Swisher, Posada) that are hurt but not hurt enough to go on the DL, you have to try some crazy things.
Nunez had a .782 OPS at Trenton in 2009, which is a good OPS for a young shortstop playing in Trenton, which is not a good hitters park. He has a .771 OPS so far this year at Trenton. That’s two years at 90 OPS points better than Pena ever hit in the minors. Pena came up at age 23 during his first year at Scranton; Nunez could do the same thing.
If Jeter and ARod are at 100% or even 90%, they probably aren’t rotating the DH is what I’m saying.
RS,
Girardi could go undefeated for the rest of the season if he so chooses.
I do think that when Girardi says ?rotating DH? he doesn?t necessarily mean that Arod, Jeter, Tex, etc. are going to follow a regular DH schedule. It could very well be that Thames and Miranda platoon at DH with Posada DHing once every 4-5 games and Arod/Jeter/Tex only getting a day off once in a while.
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Thats a platoon DH. Rotating DH sounds sinister and fits in line with every regular DHing once in the past 12 games and Jeter and A-rod DHing multiple times.
Jerkface – no i’m talking about teams with good backups… rotating DH is not retarded, it’s called working with what you have.
This lineup bashing makes we miss CR9 calling everyone a hottie…
Kim is just trying to make a name for herself by interviewing Phil before he pitches, in the name of good luck.
Montero’s numbers so far at AAA have not been good.
“But what I’m saying is if Jeter and ARod are even just banged up a bit, what else do you do?”
Either A-Rod has to play everyday for now, or Russo has to play 3B when he doesn’t. He should have been rotating all over the field at SWB in preparation for any contingency.
So Jeter and A-Rod could be banged up.
Swisher and Posada are hurting and unavailable.
Granderson and NJ are on the DL.
Realistically, you can’t expect a good lineup on the field at all. It’s one of those “treading water” times.
m,
I was only half-listening, but he basically asked Kim if Hughes has a personality. I guess he meant to ask “what kind of personality does Hughes have” or “does Hughes have an outgoing personality”.
Just came out wrong, it sounded like.
Is moving Johson to the 60 day d.l. and calling up a 3rd catcher so Posada could D.H. everyday a possibility?
Jerkface ? no i?m talking about teams with good backups? rotating DH is not retarded, it?s called working with what you have.
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We have 3 players right now that are DHable. Thames, Miranda, and Posada. Rotating DH is stupid when you are playing Thames, Pena, Winn, and Cervelli all at the same time in the field.
And I never said teams have good backups. My point was that a team should have a REAL DH because no team has a bench deep enough to carry a rotating DH.
You know who else is using a rotating DH right now? The White Sox, and they SUCK.
Tom – yeah, if we had a catcher that wouldn’t be hindered by coming up to the majors.
which we don’t.
You can bet they will call up a 3rd catcher eventually. At this point why not? It would certainly give Jorge more AB’s and less chance of getting hurt.
mick,
Yep. Kim is a gossip reporter and her real love is football.
But, if you don’t implement a rotating DH, doesn’t that mean that if Posada, A-Rod or Jeter need a day off from the field, then you lose their bats completely?
Jerkface – there are not a whole lot of regular DH’s in the league anymore either, if you’ve noticed. thank you drug testing for making the AL pointless.
Just platoon Thames and Miranda at DH.
You call up Moeller.
Bet Jorge would have liked being DH yesterday when that ball crushed his foot?
# Hunter May 17th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
mick,
Yep. Kim is a gossip reporter and her real love is football.
=======================================
why does this crap sell and who is buying it?
“Just platoon Thames and Miranda at DH.”
Seconded.
Jerkface ? there are not a whole lot of regular DH?s in the league anymore either, if you?ve noticed. thank you drug testing for making the AL pointless.
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There are a lot of guys available now who will provide more offense than Ramiro Pena, who I am trying to keep out of the lineup. You don’t need a fat slugger to DH, but you need someone!
The yankees can’t carry a .100 hitter for the next month. Not with Winn and Thames in the lineup, they are inconsistent.
So if Miranda is not in the DH plans and Jeter/ARod are, then why the heck is Miranda still up here?
Shouldn’t Russo be up here to play vs. lefties?
Unless Miranda is a glorified pinch hitter for Winn or Pena? But he is a better hitter than those guys, so shouldn’t be starting?
Cash and Girardi have done a brutal job with this roster. And why is Golson here if he can’t hit?
When’s the last time Swish hit righty against a righty?
Couldn’t tell you but it’s not a stretch to say he’d likely go hitless if he tried tonight. Might as well rest him and try and get him closer to 100%
“But at the expense of a replacement level bat, Pena, being in the lineup as well”
I get your point Rich in NJ.. its just that for tonight, the choice is Pena in the lineup or Miranda….as Swisher and Posada appear to be unavailable. I agree that from a purely offensive perspective you might select Miranda…which is why I suspect that Arod might be hurting.
Regarding rotating the DH…the Yankees did this to some degree last year and it did not mean that Pena started 3 games a week….lets not get carried away.
“Just platoon Thames and Miranda at DH.”
Doesn’t that leave you an outfielder short against righties until Swisher is healthy? Not counting Golson of course.
Anyone know if there’s a real disorder for fear of turning left?
We were trying to figure it out yesterday, and my son said “something with “sinister”? Of course I scoffed. Apparently “sinister” is derived from the Latin work for left. Implying that left-handers are evil and he also mentioned that the origin comes from left-handers having the advantage when dueling on stairs.
Anyway, random senseless fact of the day inspired by Jerkface’s 5:17 post.
But does anyone know if there’s a real disorder for fear of turning left and its name?
Irreverent Discourse-
What about Robby Hammock? He caught for the DBacks. Is he still in AAA? He plays 3b and the OF also. Plus he has a .750ish OPS against LHP.
When?s the last time Swish hit righty against a righty?
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Like … yesterday or two days ago. And he walked!
Johnson sucks, who cares. As long as our starting pitching keeps it up this won’t be a loss.
Who? how about we just let cervelli catch for now until posada is healthy, rather than signing up MORE scrubs for people to complain can’t hit.
Curtis,
lol, that makes sense.
m,
According to Wiki Answers: There is no term I can find for the specific fear of turning left.. But Levophobia is the fear of things to the left side of the body, and Sinistrophobia is the fear of things to the left of left-handed.
You learn something new everyday!
I agree that Cervelli has been too good a hitter to take him out of the lineup when Posada is catching. It just doesn’t make sense.
Last year was not a rotating DH. Matsui played DH for 116 games. Posada 9, and Rodriguez 9 were the 2nd most. That is a TRUE DH who gives way to rest for other players. That is 100% fine.
Tex at 3rd base in a rather meaningless game in May against a team who is sitting in 4th place?
And Girardi is getting bashed?
Keeping A-Rid, Jeter, Cano, Tex fresh for the stretch run is more important than making Thames/Miranda the DH.
A-Rod and Jeter are not hitting. They are older and banged up. Give them some more DH and off-days so they heal up and are ready for after the ASB.
JM,
lol. We were on an iPhone and the browsing’s not so fun, so we kind of left it at that.
But just so you know, my son gets his smarts from his mama. (that’s me.
)
Doesn’t that leave you an outfielder short against righties until Swisher is healthy? Not counting Golson of course.
—
Eh just make Swisher play and hit righty all the time. At least he’ll work walks and play decent defense.
Just heard Johnson will be back in the lineup by the weekend. He decided to go with the upgraded plan and have a bionicle wrist to go with his bionicle eyes. I wonder if it would have been cheaper for his to hit two birds with one stone and get some legs to go with that?
Later fellas.
“When’s the last time Swish hit righty against a righty? ”
Saturday.
this “rotating DH” argument is 100% semantics, and 100% pointless.
Patrick -
And I see it differently. I don’t think you do crazy things. I think you try to keep thinks as stable as possible within the framework you’ve got to deal with. I think the more you fuss with things, the more you take a chance of throwing everything out of whack. Also, I am concerned that Russo doesn’t play all the infield positions; not sure about Nunez. Pena can – so you don’t need two players.
You try the path of least resistance first. If it ends up not working, you try something else.
Let’s see how this goes tonight. Hughes is a great starting pitcher. If he pitches as he has, and there’s no reason to think he won’t, they may not need a lot of offense. But they might get a lot of offense anyone.
It’s cliche but there really is no predicting baseball.
this ?rotating DH? argument is 100% semantics, and 100% pointless.
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Its 100% about fielding a competent lineup.
Tex at 3rd base in a rather meaningless game in May against a team who is sitting in 4th place?
And Girardi is getting bashed?
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If it’s so meaningless why not play him at third?
Patrick, I think the stress of all these Yank injuries is getting to you. You’re beginning to swing at stuff out of the strike zone…
Jerkface – we have a competent lineup. you want the allstar team. time to get over it.
Golson should get more PT than Winn.
SoS,
Did you stick a pin in your Kobe puppet? Fluid drained from his knees this week. His KNEES!
Patrick, I think the stress of all these Yank injuries is getting to you. You?re beginning to swing at stuff out of the strike zone?
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There is something to be said for a manager being willing to think outside of the box to field the most effective lineup. Nothing wrong with suggesting it.
Where’s Eric Hinske, when you need him. Playing well for the Braves, who have the worst hitting outfield when Heyward is not playing.
Patrick – I don’t think you have any traction to your teixeira at 3rd argument. Why don’t we play posada there? or thames? or CHan Ho Park? or anyone else that DOES NOT PLAY THIRD BASE?
Oh, because it’s a dumb idea, now I remember.
Jerkface ? we have a competent lineup. you want the allstar team. time to get over it.
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This lineup doesn’t score the kind of runs that set the yankees apart from other teams over the long haul.
“Nothing wrong with suggesting it.”
jerkface, don’t go pulling a third-party Betsy on me here.
Sign Dye
Patrick ? I don?t think you have any traction to your teixeira at 3rd argument. Why don?t we play posada there? or thames? or CHan Ho Park? or anyone else that DOES NOT PLAY THIRD BASE?
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Teixeira came up as a third baseman.
If 3rd base was not that much different than 1B, then there would be a lot more competent 3B in major league baseball.
This isn’t little league or a video game. Come on Patrick. That is completely irrational.
Jerkface – it’s also NOT our regular lineup, is it…
it’s a quick fix injury related lineup. there is no long haul, we are not running this lineup out all season. what exactly are you talking about?
V-marted dropped to the 5th spot.
If 3rd base was not that much different than 1B, then there would be a lot more competent 3B in major league baseball.
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its not much different from 1st , but you still need athletecism and an arm to play there. Youkilis does it, I think Tex can do it.
Patrick, I think the stress of all these Yank injuries is getting to you. You’re beginning to swing at stuff out of the strike zone…
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First of all, I have to admit that I’m not even convince of the crap I’m saying either. But why not try crazy stuff and see if it works? Girardi has zero imagination and does everything by the book. Why not let Swisher play righty and see if he helps the team more than Thames? Why not give Tex one start at 3B to try and inject some more offense into the lineup?
Both of those ideas sound insane but if you look at it logically I think the positives outweigh the negatives.
The same thing goes for bullpen management. If you are up 1 run bases loaded in the 7th inning why not bring in the closer?
All of my “crazy” ideas today are mostly just a manifestation of my frustration with Girardi’s lack of imagination when it comes to the entire team, not just lineups.
m
From WikiAnswers:
Levophobia is the fear of things to the left side of the body, and Sinistrophobia is the fear of things to the left of left-handed.
Jerkface ? it?s also NOT our regular lineup, is it?
it?s a quick fix injury related lineup. there is no long haul, we are not running this lineup out all season. what exactly are you talking about?
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You’re right, in the short run its probably no big deal. Unless Swisher’s bicep stays funky, Posada keeps getting days off, and Granderson doesn’t come back for a month. I want the yankees to field a team of Cervelli,Thames,Winn,Pena as little as possible. The New York Yankees should not field that lineup.
Girardi’s plan for a rotating DH doesn’t instill confidence that 3 out of those 4 will be in every game going forward.
Patrick – he came up as a 3B is all you’ve got? He hasn’t played the position in 7 years, and I’m pretty sure there is a REASON that he moved to first. He was terrible. You don’t just step back out there and remember how to fire balls accurately across the infield.
I’m pretty sure every player in the majors came up as a SS at some point in their life, why don’t we just move them all there instead of playing pena when jeter needs a breather?
Posada was a 2B at first in the minors.
Why don’t we make him our utility guy?
Give Cano a breather every once in a while and maybe even he could handle SS when Jetes is at DH.
Before the Yanks move Tex from first to third (which we all, including Patrick and jerkface, know the Yanks aren’t going to do), don’t you think the Yanks would be willing to DH Miranda? And if they don’t DH Miranda regularly, what chance do you think there is the Yanks would move Tex to third to make room for Miranda at first?
Score one for originality but minus one for practicality.
Patrick ? he came up as a 3B is all you?ve got? He hasn?t played the position in 7 years, and I?m pretty sure there is a REASON that he moved to first. He was terrible. You don?t just step back out there and remember how to fire balls accurately across the infield.
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He has experience at the position, and if you’re manuevering players to maximize your offense it makes sense.
mel,
The man has played 14/15 seasons of non stop ball. Im surprised it took this long. Im using knives by the way rather than thin pins. It looks like it will be smooth sailing for L.A.. My championship pick was Orlando, but Boston looks unbeatable at this time. How convenient for the nba to have Celts and Lakers.
BTW, this month layoff before the next round is helping the Lakers and their banged up team. CONVENIENT.
“All of my “crazy” ideas today are mostly just a manifestation of my frustration”
Yes, I know and I sympathize.
Miranda just hasn’t gotten his swing going this year. It would be one thing if he was crushing the ball in the minors, but he wasn’t. Tough to let a young guy just go out there and get beat (not the mention that you would all be KILLING him every day). So you get him some at bats against good matchups (which is what they are doing, boston is not a good matchup no matter who is pitching) and see if you can get some confidence in him.
Posada was a 2B at first in the minors.
Why don?t we make him our utility guy?
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Thats not the same argument. Teixeira is an agile and athletic first baseman who makes many great plays. Its easy to see him making a few plays at third. The yankees have stuck Jose Molina there!
You guys are basically asking Tex to shag ground balls for a few hours today before the game at 3rd after not playing there for 6-7 years. That’s absurd.
Actually Swish has 6 PA’s as a righty facing a righty. 3 last season and 3 this season. Last season he got a walk and a hit.
He’s never hit lefty on lefty.
Jerkface – maximizing your offense at what cost? How many balls does teixeira have to throw into the stands before it’s no longer worth it.
Posada was a 2B at first in the minors.
Why don’t we make him our utility guy
=========
4 words.
JUNK IN THE TRUNK.
m-
This is the closest you’re gonna get :
“Left-handed; objects at the left side of the body- Sinistrophobia.”
Why is it crazy to suggest that Tex play third for a day but it isn’t crazy to suggest Robbie move to third base permanently? The latter has been thrown around a lot in recent years. Lets look at this.
Robbie has never played third as far as I know. Teixiera came up as a third baseman.
Robbie is an average defender with flairs of brilliance at his natural position of second. Teixeira has deservedly won multiple gold gloves at first.
Tex is an athletic guy and the best part of his game is being able to quickly react to hard hit balls. That’s key at third base. His arm is adequate, although not spectacular.
Tonight would be the perfect game to play him there. 2/9 of our starting lineup is on the DL. Four of the remaining 7 are injured but not injured enough to go on the DL. That’s not going to be the case every day, it’s a pretty rare (and unlucky) occurrence that all of these injuries have come together. It’s time to think outside the box.
To be fair, Molina also played a position where he regularly threw the ball across the diamond. How many throws to 3rd base has teixeira made in the last 7 years… I bet 5 would be too many.
Jerkface ? maximizing your offense at what cost? How many balls does teixeira have to throw into the stands before it?s no longer worth it.
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I don’t know. And no one ever will because no one will do it. Were I a manager, and given a season or two seasons with no threat of being fired I’d try it.
Managers won’t do it because if they mess up they get crushed.
You know who the Yanks could use right now? Shane Spencer.
BTW, if Tex pulls a muscle playing an unfamiliar position (like trying to make a strong cross-field throw to 1st), this board would have Girardi hung upside-down and executed.
Tex has made solid throws to home, third, and second since coming to the yankees. He is a gem at 1st .
Patrick – I’ve never heard of anyone ask to move Robbie to 3rd. Just because he has arm strength? Short maybe, you hasve to keep his range advantage in play. 3rd base is where you hide your slow, strong armed fielder… not your best infielder.
Jerkface,
Even Patrick is no longer buying the ideas he is selling. And I understand you guys are frustrated but this is one game in May.
Games in May are not always about maximizing your chances at winning that night. You don’t risk putting Tex at 3B. This is not some do or die game tonight.
When was the last time the guy took groundballs at 3B? It is a completely irrational solution, especially when this game does not mean all that much.
Why the suggestion of Tex to 3B? Just to get Pena out of the lineup?
Signing off, I think Hughes will pitch a gem tonight.
Patrick -
he brought the closer in yesterday in the 8th to get out of a jam and no one liked that because Mo faltered.
I think you need stability; you think they need creativity. I just don’t know how really creative they can get given the realities of the situation.
And Tex has said he doesn’t want to play 3rd.
Robbie and Tex both said they have no interest in playing 3rd. Cano said that after A-Rod opted out and a reporter asked him, and Tex said that last year.
Did anyone whose face I would recognize say Derek and Alex are hurting or is this just blog banter?
New Post
pat,
Just speculation based on how many days off (and DH days) they have gotten lately
Gardner has earned a chance to lead off. With his speed Jeter’s propensity for GDIP would be a non-factor . He should get the chance.
Cardinals paid 120MM for Holliday to protect Pujols who bats 3rd. Holliday’s bat is dragging down the team, seems he’s not hitting RISP. So Pujols is now batting clean-up, what a bargain. The pitcher batting tonight, Kyle Lohse hasn’t won a game.
:rolleyes:
:rolleyes:
♥