What we’ll be talking about
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on May 21, 2010 
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Looking back…
The Yankees struggled at home this week, and they ended the home stand with their second straight loss against the first-place Rays. Andy Pettitte allowed three of Tampa Bay’s four home runs and took his first loss.
Before the game, the Yankees officially put Jorge Posada on the disabled list and called up the veteran Chad Moeller. They also called up Kevin Russo, got Nick Swisher back in the lineup, sent Mark Melancon back to Triple-A and began openly discussing a possible rehab assignment for Curtis Granderson. Take the good with the bad, I guess.
Looking ahead…
The Subway Series is next, a three-game series against the Mets at Citi Field.
Tonight
RHP Javier Vazquez (2-4, 8.01)
vs.
LHP Hisanori Takahashi (3-1, 3.12)
7:10 p.m., YES Network and MLB Network
Saturday
RHP Phil Hughes (5-0, 2.25)
vs.
RHP Mike Pelfrey (5-1, 3.02)
7:10 p.m., FOX
Sunday
LHP CC Sabathia (4-2, 3.43)
vs.
LHP Johan Santana (3-2, 3.72)
8:05 p.m., ESPN
WooHoo. Javy’s almost got that ERA into the 7′s.
We need some good fortune to counter our bad luck (and defense
)
Go, Yankees!
Saturday
RHP Phil Hughes (5-0, 2.25)
************
Thats like looking at a ball of sunshine
i think javy is going to pitch a really good game tonight. call me an optimist. you’d be the first.
Saturday
RHP Phil Hughes (5-0, 2.25)
************
Thats like looking at a ball of sunshine
************
Or a basket full of kittens.
and Javy is coming off a win!!!
sounds like the Mets are a mess right now
It just seems like a perfect storm of badness has struck. The starting pitchers had a bad week at the same time. Same for the bullpen, and then all the injuries, and the lack of timely hitting. Maybe facing the Mets is just what the Dr ordered.
sab May 21st, 2010 at 11:22 am
Heres something to ponder about the amazing Rays..
Taking away the common opponents that the Rays and Yankees have played (Orioles, RedSox, White Sox, A’s, Angels – and they have played the A’s 3 more times than the Yankees and the Angels 3 less times). The Rays have then played the BlueJays (3 games), Royals (4 games), Seattle (6 games) and Cleveland (2 games) – the Yankees opponents were the Rangers (3 games), Detroit (4 games) and Minnesota (3 games) – plus they’ve played Boston 4 more times than the Rays have.
What am i saying – The Rays with a team that is 100% healthy, AND firing on all pistons
AND having played the sewage of the AL teams are only 5 games better than the yankees (Oh and they play the Astros this weekend and won’t face Roy Oswalt while the yankees face the Mets’ 2 best pitchers)
Patience…
Based on these matchups I’d say taking less than 2 out of 3 would be disappointing. They are also the mets, so please sweep them!
I am looking forward to the weekend series. I can see the Yankees taking 2 of 3 or sweeping
the series.
This will be the start of a nice run.
I think the Yankees are really going to struggle offensively this series. I do think Javy will pitch well, though.
I don’t get to watch Hughes tomorrow. I’m stuck with the stupid Cubs game. I hate Fox.
Then again, if it’s Joe Buck doing the Subway Series, maybe it’s not such a bad thing
lets not forget that CC gets the chance to hit
Listening to Berman and Sutcliffe gave me a new found appreciation for miller, morgan, kay, buck, and mccarver.
“sounds like the Mets are a mess right now
It just seems like a perfect storm of badness has struck. The starting pitchers had a bad week at the same time. Same for the bullpen, and then all the injuries, and the lack of timely hitting. Maybe facing the Mets is just what the Dr ordered.”
Could replace the word “Mets” with “Yankees” and still have the same validity.
Warning Track Power May 21st, 2010 at 11:36 am
I am looking forward to the weekend series. I can see the Yankees taking 2 of 3 or sweeping
the series.
This will be the start of a nice run.
*********************
I think so too. This series may be just what they need to get back on track.
Javy didn’t allow any runs his last appearance. All the reason for optimism. Maybe he’ll pitch to a few more batters this time. Seriously, I do think he will pitch acceptably well tonight.
Javy didn’t allow any runs his last appearance
___
HA. He did K Youkilis in an important spot. Have to start somewhere.
I HATE that the pitchers are going to hit – I am not going to feel comfortable all weekend. It’s one of the reasons I hate interleague play.
I’m feelin good about this series but at the same time I could imagine myself in tears watching Tex try to hit in that giant ballpark…
I’m nervous to have our pitchers on the bases, considering how everyone is getting hurt.
Prediction: javy, hughes, cc, Mo outperforms Winn for the season
I meant series!
m May 21st, 2010 at 11:39 am
Listening to Berman and Sutcliffe gave me a new found appreciation for miller, morgan, kay, buck, and mccarver
************************
I can’t stand any of them (except Kay, who I very rarely complain about)
Think Buck will treat everyone to more lines from “When Doves Cry”??? LOL
For all the negaitivity here, injuries, and poor play the last 5 games, they still have 2nd best record in AL and 3rd overall.
They’ve also had one of the most difficult schedules thus far and played more games away than home, including a west coast trip.
i still feel pretty comfortable with this team. Bullpens get figured out internally. And should be at full compliment of players in 3 weeks.
CitiField is built for alley hitters and pitching to contact. Long ball power will not be difference makers. Take heed Tex, Alex, and Robby.
Jerkface,
It still doesn’t make sense!
Winn’s bat is just slow.
Is there a fixable hitch in his swing, or is he done?
I just realized that the Fox game on Saturday is at night so I too won’t get to watch Hughes pitch. Why the heck did they start televising games on Saturday night? Gameday it is for me.
Cano is an Alley Hitter. I think ARod has become more of one also. Tex, not so much. Jeter, Gardner. This field may be a good field to help our hitters since we arent putting the power out there.
“Take heed Tex, Alex, and Robby.”
Despite the homers, Cano really hasn’t stopped being a gap hitter. He could have quite a series.
just_another_handle May 21st, 2010 at 11:42 am
*Betsy – Hughes rules (Pleading the Fifth) May 21st, 2010 at 11:18 am
Wow, I thought I was negative. It almost sounds like we should give up on the season…*
30 teams start the season with hopes and aspirations of making the playoffs and the 8 available slots.
That leaves 22 teams on the outside looking in.
IMO there are only really 12 teams realistically competing for those 8 slots. The other 18 are just playing without any realistic hope of making the playoffs.
I honestly think baseball could expand their playoff system by at least 1 team in each league for the team that has the best overall record regardless of where they finish in their divison.
I think that fans that have teams in the hunt sometimes don’t fully appreciate their prospects in regards to other teams whose seasons from a playoff perspective are truly over already in May.
sab – I didn’t realize the schedule difference, thanks for pointing that out. Another reason why the I think the Rays will come down to earth.
Doreen – I think the expectations were and are greater for Randy Winn than Thames. Thames was always thought of as a righty DH/PH, and emergency OF, only. Winn was projected for either backup, or starting LF is Brett couldn’t hack it. But, he was still expected to get some ABs. Well, the way it looks now, he’s getting embarrassed at the plate.
Even when Curtis gets back, its’s still an issue. You can’t play Curtis, Brett, and Swish everyday, you have to rest them at some point. Thames is not a realistic option in the field. So, that last OF needs to be able to have decent ABs. Look what happened with Jose Molina last year, he was an almost automatic out.
I think Cash will be looking to replace Winn as soon as soon as the market allows, or Colin Curtis comes back from injury, whichever comes first.
I’d be happy with a win tonight and then go from there.
Erin May 21st, 2010 at 11:45 am
I can?t stand any of them (except Kay, who I very rarely complain about)
Think Buck will treat everyone to more lines from ?When Doves Cry???? LOL
**************
That was the dumbest thing I ever heard during a ballgame. “Is Dove the plural of Dove”
technically cano hasnt hit a homerun since late april.
“CitiField is built for alley hitters and pitching to contact. Long ball power will not be difference makers.”
Remember when the Yankees beat the ball all over the ballpark last year in their series at Citi Field, including hitting some home runs despite how big the place is? It’s basically the same hitters this time around. A-Rod hit an absolute bomb there last year and 1 bad game doesn’t change the fact that he’s been hitting real well lately. Hopefully Teixeira builds on his last at-bat from last night and gets it going again, not sure why that’s somehow now not a possibility? The Mets are not throwing pitchers out there that the Yankees can’t handle and have success against.
Only the alltime great power hitters can hit one out of CitiField. Case in point:
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....id=5264063
Chuck
sorry not to be clear, in the 2nd part of my post I did mean the Yankees!
Tom in NJ,
Watching it confirmed my suspicions of who the great “power” hitter was.
That was the game of Gardner’s life wasn’t it?
I’m with pat. I just want a win tonight. Will readjust tomorrow.
The Curse of Eminem?
It’s difficult to choose just one curse word for Eminem. He uses ‘em all.
I hate to admit it, but I do like his music.
Zoso May 21st, 2010 at 12:02 pm
The Curse of Eminem?
*****************************
Please permit a re-post form the bottom of the last thread.
Can the Yankees get back on track before they effectively get “lapped” by Tampa and before Boston makes some move(s) to energize and stabilize their team? Absolutely. Let everybody on the Yankees get healthy and then let’s see Tampa keep up this pace. I’d love to know the BABIP on Tampa right now, what’s the “luck” factor? And before we throw dirt on the grave of the 2010 Yankees, let’s see the kiddie corps in Tampa go through their first slump or significant injury. And let’s see how well Tampa has paced themselves by the time September rolls along. Maddon may well be burning them out given the Tampa panic that this is the last year they are all going to be together.
From Twitter:
YankeePride Yankees: Jeter the man in Interleague; Jeter is the Majors’ all-time Interleague leader in hits (303), at-bats (895) and runs scored (171).
I am not seeing a lot of negativity here. The Yankees did just lose 3 in a row, but its early days and dealing w/ injuries and the ups and downs of a season. Nobody expected the SP would never lose.
I like some of Eminem too…I wonder if it would bother him to know that middle aged moms appreciate his music!
“I’d love to know the BABIP on Tampa right now, what’s the “luck” factor?”
We’re here to serve:
League average BABIP = .295
Tampa’s BABIP = .306
Yankees BABIP = .310
Tom in N.J. May 21st, 2010 at 11:47 am
Winn’s bat is just slow.
Is there a fixable hitch in his swing, or is he done?
……………………..
Kevin Long would have fixed it by now. Randy Winn is what he is. DFA bound when the opportunity presents itself.
While were at it, how about BABIP against, where the D-rays are probably enjoying a little more “luck”.
League average = .295
Yankees BABIP against = .280
Tampa’s BABIP against = .267
So much for the BABIPs
murphydog – despite that, I agree with you. Let’s see Tampa keep up what would an historic pace for more than 5 weeks, before we anoint them the Next Great Thing. And I think, also, that Maddon is flogging them a bit too much. The baseball season is very long, and the summer gets real hot and tiring.
This place is quiet today-
If it makes anyone feel better, I was discussing this weekend’s upcoming games with a Mets fan this morning and he was ready to forfeit the weekend
“While were at it, how about BABIP against, where the D-rays are probably enjoying a little more “luck”.”
Somewhat lucky, perhaps, but Tampa has excellent defense which does help, it’s one of the things that make them good.
Tampa also has a phenomenal minor league system which depending on what they want to do can be used as trade bait to fill any holes this year.
“Somewhat lucky, perhaps, but Tampa has excellent defense which does help, it’s one of the things that make them good.”
Hence the quoatation marks around the word LUCK. They’ve actually made almost twice the errors the Yankees have, but I think they are probably getting to more balls.
Cano is about to start sizzling again….
Anybody on here still not convinced that Miranda’s bat is real?
I spent the entire offseason trying to convince some that his swing is perfect for the AL East stadiums and he’d be a perfect fit and adequate replacement for Matsui’s bat.
I will reiterate my stance that if given 400-450 ABs he’ll hit 25 HRs….when Grandy gets healthy the lineup could look something like this;
Jeter
Gardy
Tex
ARod
Cano
Posada
Miranda
Swish
Granderson
How sick is a lineup where the 7-9 hitters are each capable of hitting 30 HRs each!?!
The Yankees should be able to take this series against the Mets. Their bullpen is burned out, their hitters make average pitchers look like Cy Young and their rotation is not that great.
I watch some of the Mets game and they are not that good.
METS:
My
Entire
Team
Sucks
Miranda won’t bat ahead of Swisher or Granderson in this lineup. He’s good but, not that good.
Granderson 9th? You want one of your better hitters to get the least amount of at bats?
I can’t wait until he comes back and proves everyone wrong about him.
Guess the Line Up is Now Open for Business
Good luck!
July 1, 2010: Over/under Randy Winn’s inevitable DFA???
I say take 2 out of 3. They really should sweep them.
Jeremy, Pelfrey’s a good pitcher and Santana is still terrific. The Yankees can’t just show up and expect to win..and I really don’t think the Mets are that bad anyway.
Just think ..last year on this date Toronto was in first place ..Yanks in third. Toronto finished the season 27 1/2 games out and we won the World Series. I’m not comparing Toronto to Tampa ..but…it’s ONLY May …..just saying …
Here’s to a good series against the Mets ….as Meatloaf said …”two out of three ain’t bad” but I say …”A sweet sweep is so much better” …
Go Yankees 2010 !!!
GTLU
Jeter SS
Gardy CF
TexMex 1B
ARod 3B
RobbieSizzle 2B
Swisher RF
Miranda DH
Velli C
Russo LF
Javy SP……
I hope Joe gives Russo 4 abs and keeps Winn on the bench against the LHP….
“I will reiterate my stance that if given 400-450 ABs he’ll hit 25 HRs”
He hasn’t done that in the minors, what makes you think he’ll do it in the majors?
The Yanks aren’t going to start Russo in the OF.
SS Jeter
CF Gardner
1B Teixeira
3B Rodriguez
2B Cano
RF Swisher
C Cervelli
LF Winn
P Vazquez
Thanks!
murphydog-
no team is going to stay playing above .700 ball for the whole year. they have their problems too . what’s navarro hitting, one something? at least almost never.
what the yankees need to do is position themselves to make the run in 4-6 weeks.
in the past, the short term need to win made for some hasty decisions that impacted careers- hughes and wang come to mind.
there is no need to panic and make moves that in the long run make things worse.
that said, the yankees are not in a great position right now. they just need to weather the storm and keep the ten games over .500 until they get it back together.
you’d think with one of the best infields in baseball history( from first to third) and a really good starting staff with mo as the closer they could still win some games.
i guess that’s kind of an understatement.
if they can’t play at least acceptable baseball, there’s something wrong with the bullpen make up or the fringe players.
cashman does have some work to do.
upstate kate,
Depends? If he appreciates money more than street cred?
SJ
The idea was to use the switch hitters to break up the lefties as Joe likes to do…
Grandy in the #9 hole makes sense as he becomes like a 2nd leadoff hitter as they say…
The alternative would be to move Grandy in the #2 spot and put Gardy back in the #9 hole…
But with Gardy getting on base at a better than .400 clip he may opt to keep him there instead of Grandy who has like a .300 obp
Champ809-
I think you should ask Doreen really nicely if you could revise your lineup.
Betsy
You really don’t watch the Mets games but I do sometimes. They are Bad !
If you don’t believe me talk to any Mets fan and they think their team stinks. Many of them think they are going to get destroyed this weekend and during the Phillies series.
Also Pelfrey has been good but his numbers have regressed, and Santana is good but he can be beat. His best days are behind him. He is lucky that he pitches in the weak NL. We all saw how bad he performs when he faces a really tough lineup like the Phillies and last years Yankees.
Putting Phil in the pen appears to have been a good decision long-term……….
As far as the best INF in history, it’s not playing like it. If Jeter’s hurt or has gotten old, if Alex is just having a down year and if Tex is having a terrible year, then all our assumptions about the team go out the window.
has anyone else been spending their day playing pacman on google?? AMAZING.
Hmmm.. I’ll try a GTLU today. I’m not feeling especially lucky but at least I know we can’t DH anyone today. I’m hoping he puts Gardner in the 9 slot to keep things a bit more balanced..
SS Jeter
RF Swisher
1B Tex
3B ARod
2B Cano
C Cervelli
LF Winn
P Javy
CF Gardner
NYY626 May 21st, 2010 at 12:40 pm
has anyone else been spending their day playing pacman on google?? AMAZING.
*************************
Well, now I will be
Good going!
Wave Your Hat May 21st, 2010 at 12:35 pm
The Yanks aren?t going to start Russo in the OF.
=========================================
You are probably right Wave…
Hi Doreen,
As much as I want to write Russo in, Joe will probably stick with Winn.
Jeter-SS
Gardner-CF
Tex-1B
Alex-3B
Robbie-2B
Swish-RF
Cervelli-C
Winn-LF
Javy-P
NYY626 May 21st, 2010 at 12:40 pm
has anyone else been spending their day playing pacman on google?? AMAZING.
***************************
Isn’t that the coolest thing?
SS JETER
RF SWISHER
1B TEIXEIRA
3B RODRIGUEZ
2B CANO
C CERVELLI
CF GARDNER
LF RUSSO
P VASQUEZ
Jeremy, I know they sometimes look like the Keystone Kops out there, but the lineup is not bad. Pelfrey has had one bad start this year and he pitched great last out. Your evaluating the series as if the Yankees are the team we thought they were coming into the season; they’re not. For various reasons, they are not as good.
I’m not saying the Yankees won’t sweep or take 2 of 3, but the way the team is going, I’m not about to predict that. In fact, even if they were going great, I wouldn’t predict that because I don’t think it’s a good idea to take any team lightly.
Yeah I saw the pacman game as well.
champ,
I know you like Miranda. But I don’t think you like him enough to put him at DH at Citi Field
NYY, is today the anniversary of the invention of Pacman? I don’t think you can play it – I tried, lol
champ809
There is no DH today. Recheck you lineup.
Wave
Actually he has done it in the minors and as far as doing it in the majors all the stadiums in the AL East are conducive to RH power hitters.
Yankee stadium short porch in RF
Fenway with Pesky’s pole 291ft down the RF line
Camden Yards is short out to RF and the factory building.
Miranda has legit power but will also run into a few cheapies as well in these ballparks
SS Jetes
CF GGBG
1B Tex
3B Alex
2B Cano
RF Swish
C Cisco
LF Winn
P Javy
Also one more thing about Santana he is lucky that he pitches in such a big ballpark. When will somepeople stop calling him the best pitcher in the game. Halladay is better than him, plays in a smaller ballpark, and can go deep into games. Like I said Santana is regressing like Pedro Martinez.
My favorite video chat was when someone asked Pete to lift a Frederick air conditioner over his head.
He totally skipped that question.
Betsy – Hughes rules (Pleading the Fifth) May 21st, 2010 at 12:42 pm
NYY, is today the anniversary of the invention of Pacman? I don?t think you can play it ? I tried, lol
***********************
Betsy, click “Insert Coin”
Betsy – Hughes rules (Pleading the Fifth) May 21st, 2010 at 12:42 pm
NYY, is today the anniversary of the invention of Pacman? I don’t think you can play it – I tried, lol
__________________________________________________
Hit insert coin, then you can play!
Jose May 21st, 2010 at 12:32 pm
July 1, 2010: Over/under Randy Winn?s inevitable DFA???
=======================================================
If Thames wasn’t as bad as he is in the OF, I say sooner.
But Winn will be the 5th OF until close to the the trade deadline.
Betsy – Hughes rules (Pleading the Fifth) May 21st, 2010 at 12:42 pm
NYY, is today the anniversary of the invention of Pacman? I don?t think you can play it ? I tried, lol
************
Click on “Insert Coin”
why did they bring up russo instead of golson if they werent going to start him? no one wants Winn in LF everyday for the next 2-4 weeks.
Chat starting!
Oh, you can play Pacman, lol – how cool! I love that little guy………
How is A-Rod having a “down year” exactly? He has hit for more power over the last week and his production has been pretty consistent all year long in terms of hitting with men on base. He’s also been more mobile at 3rd and gotten to more balls than he did last year. Not sure how it all translates to a down year for him, especially given that the year is only a quarter over.
Similarly, not sure I buy that the Yankees of 2010 are now not as good as expected because they are a) currently in a general team-wide slump and b) currently dealing with an injury rough patch. This is the worst the team has looked all year, yet they are still on a pace to have the kind of season most people thought they would have.
Oh, lol – I figured it out. Google is so cool…..Happy Birthday, Pac Man!
No More Lineups in this Thread. Thank you. Moving to the next thread …
Will Gardy continue to hit 2nd when Granderson comes back?
I’m thinking they should have Gardy lead off while he’s hot and move Jeter to 2nd.
Tex may hit better without a guy trying to steal everytime he’s on.
We also don’t need Jeter pulling something trying to steal like a 25 year old leadoff guy.
SS Jeter
CF Gardner
1B Teixeira
3B Rodriguez
2B Cano
RF Swisher
LF Russo
C Moeler
P Vazquez
Thank you Doreen.
LGY
damn your right! I’m very hungover right now!
GTLU Remix
Jeet SS
Gardy CF
Tex 1B
ARod 3B
Cano 2B
Swish RF
Cervelli C
Russo LF
Vazquez SP
I’m aware this is probably not going to be the lineup we see as I think that Joe sticks with Winn, But…
Russo is a good RH bat and Winn has looked absolutely terrible from the RH side(LH side too!) and Winn has been playing the OF for the last 3 weeks down in Scranton pretty much exclusively so here’s hoping Joe steps out of the box tonight with the lineup…
I’m a big supporter of big hitters in the nine hole. Due to the structure of a baseball game, with three outs per half inning, it often mathematically ends up with the bottom three up in important moments. I’m not saying throw arod down there, but when grandy is back, gardy would fit the role nicely. Gets on base a lot, can steal or speed to break up double play situations. Maybe even swish second, but maybe I’m just predjudice, him being my favorite player.