Postgame notes: The look and taste and feel of an MVP
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes, Podcast on Aug 01, 2010 
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If you’re looking for ways to describe Robinson Cano, here’s a suggestion from Alex Rodriguez: Most valuable player.
“That’s certainly the look and taste and feel of an MVP,” Rodriguez said. “That was a huge, huge hit against their closer, on the road, trying to protect first place. It doesn’t get any bigger than that.”
For five innings, none of the Yankees could do anything against Rays starter Matt Garza. The only exception was Cano, who doubled twice. His biggest hit, of course, was the ninth-inning home run off all-star closer Rafael Soriano.
“Robinson Cano has more talent than anyone I’ve ever seen or played with,” Mark Teixeira said. “What he did tonight in a big situation against their closer, he hit that ball a mile. That’s just what he’s been doing all year. He carries a team like he did tonight and gets a big home run, a few more of those and people are going to start talking about him with the best players in baseball, which is where he belongs.”
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Joe Girardi said after the game that he expects Kerry Wood to be here tomorrow. There was some doubt whether he’d get out of Toronto in time, but Girardi said he should make it. His No. 39 nameplate is already above a locker.
As for Lance Berkman, he went hitless in his first game as a Yankee, but he might have to get a pass this once. He spent last night trying to get settled enough to be away from home for three months, got up at 6 this morning to fly to Tampa and went directly into the Yankees lineup for a game that felt like the playoffs.
“Coming from where I’ve been, it was very intense,” Berkman said. “They were in first place before I got here and they can win the division without me. I’m going to do whatever I can to help where I can, but I’m going to try not to put pressure on myself to come in here and set the world on fire. I would like to be better than I was tonight, but I think that will come as I kind of get acclimated.”
Seems like the Brian Cashman audio is the best for today. The beat writers literally stood around a table while Cashman talked to us through a Blackberry that was on speaker phone. The audio actually came out alright considering.
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• Give a lot of credit to the bullpen tonight. Boone Logan has been much better his second time around, and he got the two guys — John Jaso and Carl Crawford — who had been killing the Yankees early in this game. Dave Robertson shutdown the middle of the order in the eighth, then Mariano Rivera got his 22nd save in the ninth.
• Robertson on why he’s been so much better lately: “I haven’t been sucking, that’s the different. When you suck, you get hit.”
• Alex Rodriguez took an 0-for-3 and is still waiting for No. 600: “The way I’m swinging now, it’s probably going to take a while,” he said. “Get comfortable. People are asking me about home runs. I’m just asking for a hit by pitch, an infield hit, a bunt single, an error.”
• Girardi, of course, still hates milestones. “I told you we should have told him this was 601,” he said.
• Girardi had a good point about why he decided to bat Lance Berkman second instead of Nick Swisher: Berkman has been good against righties but bad against lefties. He decided not to bat him at the bottom of the order — which is full of left-handed hitters — and instead put him at the top, surrounded by righties. That gives teams something to think about before they bring in a left-handed reliever.
• Since joining the Yankees, Swisher leads the major leagues with 12 home runs against the Rays. He’s a career .310 hitter with 11 home runs at Tropicana Field.
• Mariano Rivera is 55-for-56 in save opportunities against the Rays. Girardi was asked about the chatter on the bench after the Cano home run. “My chatter was, ‘Get Mo up,’” he said.
• Javier Vazquez was over-the-top frustrated with himself after he gave up the Matt Joyce home run that put the Rays back in front in the sixth inning. “It’s one of those pitches where, he guessed right and he got it,” Vazquez said. “As a starting pitcher you get (upset) just because you’re right there. You’re team just tied it again and that home run there, it was tough.”
• We’ll leave you with one last comment from Berkman: “I like to win, and this is a good place for that.”
Associated Press photos of Cano, Berkman and Swisher
Girardi, of course, still hates milestones. “I told you we should have told him this was 601,” he said.
Actually it is 601. ARod got hosed on HR that bounced back onto the field a couple of years back.
Maybe they should remind him of that?
Cano makes squaring up baseballs thrown 95 mph look so freakin’ easy.
Great post Chad. I think Berkman is going to fit quite well! Let’s take the series Sunday and come home with a three game lead. If Puma likes winning wait until he hears NY NY played in Yankee stadium after a win!
Thanks for keeping us updated Chad, great stuff as always.
I am one happy Yankee fan right now. Cash fixed all the weaknesses that needed to be fixed with good players that have upside. I like the Kearns deal because it keeps Thames out of the outfield and helps the lineup vs lefties. I like the Berkman deal because he’s a superstar when healthy and looking at his July numbers gives me hope that he’s getting stronger the further he gets from his injury. Finally, I like the Wood deal because he still has good stuff, strikes guys out and is a definite upgrade over Park. And we got all of these guys for very little without eating much payroll. Awesome.
Then I get to watch my Yankees play in one of the more exciting games of the year and beat our principal competitor for the division – the Rays. Great win and a really fun game to watch between two great teams. Cano is a monster huh? I know Cabrera has better offensive numbers but Robbie is doing it as a 2B and he adds a lot of value on defense. MVP!!
Kudos Chad, you worked your butt off today!!!!!!! That’s why this is my favorite Blog. Great job.
BloggingBombers Big Puma unplugged: Lance Berkman made his Yankees debut on Saturday, going 0-for-4 in the Bombers’ 5-4 win over t… http://bit.ly/bRUSzk
Austin Kearns is the red headed stepchild.
Excellant post Chad! really good stuff!
Great win tonight and lets get them 12 hours from now. Big CC will get his 14th, bank on it!
Funny quote from Berkman:
“I was thinking about that on the way over here — I’m coming to play for the New York Yankees against the Tampa Bay Rays, basically for first place in the division in August, or I’d be going up to play the Milwaukee Brewers, and there are like 10 people in the stands,”
“Mariano Rivera is 55-for-56 in save opportunities against the Rays.”
_______________________________________________
Eduardo Perez’s claim to fame.
Big Puma, I like that.
I like Fat Elvis even better though
Lots have happened since I got around to posting – great work by Cashman not getting robbed and filling important holes at the same time.
Robbie Cano = MVP at this point in the season. The team wouldn’t be in first place in the toughest division in baseball without his contributions.
I missed the comeback!
There is nothing you can say about Cano, other than MVP. He makes it look so easy, as all the great ones do.
Cano is a training video on “how to turn around a 95mph fastball”
“Get Mo up” Nothing more needs to be said. Love it. Big win. One more today!!!!
There is just nowhere to pitch Cano. He hits everything. I never saw Dimaggio play, but from what I’ve read and looking at the numbers…what Cano is doing this year must have been similar to what he gave you every year…a guy that hardly ever struck out and hit lasers all over the yard on a nightly basis.
Really satisfying win last night as Javy battled, the pen came up big, and the offense hung tough against a good pitcher.
Hope they canntake the series today.
“Yogi Mantle July 31st, 2010 at 7:27 pm
I think Gardner is every bit as fast, if not faster than Crawford, yet Gardner uses his speed far too sparingly. Few infield hits, too few stolen bases.”
Gardner has more infield hits than Crawford outright and steals more than him (on a per at bat basis):
Gardner has 20 infield hits, with 30 stolen bases in 36 attempts (87% success rate) in 369 plate appearances (1 sb every 12 plate appearances)
(http://www.baseball-reference......0&t=b)
Crawford has 18 infield hits 37 stolen bases in 46 attempts (80% success rate) in 421 plate appearances (1 sb every 11.4 appearances)
(http://www.baseball-reference......0&t=b)
Basically, Gardner has more infield hits that Crawford (20 vs. 18, in fewer # of plate appearances), runs as about as frequently as Crawford (per plate appearance) and is more successful than Crawford when he runs (87% success vs. 80% success).
Great job by Robbie and he has to at least be in the MVP discussion. The Yanks tend to be hurt in MVP voting because there’s so much talent on the roster, but other than Miguel Cabrera no one is having a better season at the plate and Cano’s defense is much better and, oh yeah the Tigers are falling.
Give Brian Cashman credit for publicly acknowledging he had a lousy off-season and fixing it. Berkman for NJ, Kearns for Winn and Wood for Park should all be upgrades. the bench is much better, they are less vulnerable to LHP and the bullpen suddenly looks really good and really deep. Get Pettite back and wave bye-bye
Josh Hamilton can’t be overlooked.
“Yogi Mantle July 31st, 2010 at 7:27 pm
I think Gardner is every bit as fast, if not faster than Crawford, yet Gardner uses his speed far too sparingly. Few infield hits, too few stolen bases.”
Gardner has more infield hits than Crawford outright and steals more than him (on a per at bat basis):
Gardner has 20 infield hits, with 30 stolen bases in 36 attempts (83% success rate) in 369 plate appearances (1 sb every 12 plate appearances)
(http://www.baseball-reference......0&t=b)
Crawford has 18 infield hits 37 stolen bases in 46 attempts (80% success rate) in 421 plate appearances (1 sb every 11.4 appearances)
(http://www.baseball-reference......0&t=b)
Basically, Gardner has more infield hits that Crawford (20 vs. 18, in fewer # of plate appearances), runs as about as frequently as Crawford (per plate appearance) and is more successful than Crawford when he runs (83% success vs. 80% success).
I guess I missed the part where Cashman said he did a lousy job in the off season.
Maybe it’s because he did what he usually does. See what the needs are at the trade deadline and adress them.
I guess by that reasoning he admits to having a bad off season each year.
Good to highlander posting here I was over on the “Dem Yanks” thread when he frequented on that site.
He opens your eyes to a lot that you otherwise would not see, a good guy and a total gentleman.
It’s like a bad car accident, you have to look even though you know it’s going to be gruesome. It’s the exception that proves the rule, the devil’s own awful head showing up in a family picture right next to the new baby. Where am I going with this? Oh, you know. It’s called Gagging Up Sunday Breakfast With Lupica:
Did you know that the Yankees blew the Cliff Lee trade by being “too cute?” Loopy has much better sources than I do of course. I have none. But I wasn’t aware that the Yankees blew the Cliff Lee deal.
Did you also know that the Yankees are being general managed in an “almost twitchy way”? According to Loopy, trying to make deadline acquisitions to help them hold off the Rays means they are more scared of the Rays than the Bogeyman.
First of all, the Yankees are not trying to win the Division from the Bogeyman. They are pretty sure they have to beat the Rays. They are therefore indeed more afraid of the Rays than the Bogeyman.
Second, yes, I know the Yankees spend more than anybody, yada, yada. But I also know that the Rays are the most reprehensible franchise in modern Major League History, a whore masquerading as Cinderella at the Ball. The Rays ownership spent ZERO for years, debasing the AL East, embarrassing their fans and preserving the owners’ savings, content to wait around for enough 1st round picks to fall into their threadbare laps to make a contending team. And now they are the model franchise that hypocrites like Loopy like to hold up to the Yankees’ excess? Utterly disingenuous. Because what happens next year? They let stars walk: their closer, Carlos Pena (gulp, a former Yankee prospect), and Carl Crawford.
Third, regardless of how the Rays came by their talent, which is considerable, the Yankees have to beat them if they want to win the Division. So they have to be better. So they make deadline pickups. Sorry, Loopy. Another strawman argument up in smoke. But he’s not done.
After excoriating the Yankees for making deadline pickups, he goes on to rip the quality of the pickups??? And then he rips Berkman in advance for inevitably saying that playing for the Yanks is a dream come true. Oh how I wish this guy would just stick to playing Polo in the Hamptons with his social betters and keep churning out his teen Travel Team “novels.”
The Yankees did what they had to do in this series……win one game.
Today is a no pressure game for them.
If they lose, they split these 6 games with the Rays Post-ASB and that’s not bad.
If they win, all the better.
Either way, they leave Tampa in first place and with a better team than when they arrived.
Hard to ask for much more.
As far as Cash and the off-season…..
Its easy to second guess every move. Especially after 4 months. However, as a GM, all you can do is make moves and hope they work out.
Look at the various off-season transactions….
I don’t know a lot of people who didn’t like the Granderson trade. Ian Kennedy had no future here. Austin Jackson isn’t the long term answer in CF. If you saw Phil Coke in all his glory yesterday in Boston, you see why the Yankees traded him.
Granderson has played a very good CF this year and, so far at least, hasn’t hit the way the Yankees wanted. However, this is not a one year acquisition, nor is the season over.
The guy is a very good player and they will continue to work with and see how it shakes out.
In the end, Austin Jackson would have been in Scranton this year and not in NY.
If you are a GM, you make that trade 100 times out of 100.
Javy Vazquez. Simply put, he’s been the Yankees second best starter since Mid-May.
Melky Cabrera has done nothing in Atlanta and Vizcaino, while an intriguing arm, tore an elbow ligament, further showing that going ga ga over propsects in lower or short season A Ball is dangerous territory. Too many things can happen along the way. From the Yankees perspective, regarding their needs, that’s a steal.
Nick Johnson. I think that’s the one move you can say and not second guess, is a tough one. Simply because of the injury history. Probably the one move Cash would want back, IMO.
I’d rather they make that move though, than overpay for Matsui or Damon because the Johnson commitment is only for one year.
Both Matsui and Damon have struggled this year. In Johnny’s case, the Yankees wanted him back, offered him more money than anybody else, and he ended up taking a lesser deal.
If you are the Yankees, you can’t second guess that one because they did everything they could have done to bring him back. They just weren’t going to overpay to do so.
Yesterday’s moves……
Two things strike me about yesterday…..
1. Cashman didn’t stubbornly stick to his guns, keep the roster intact, as a way of defending off-season moves that didn’t work out. It takes a secure guy to do that in a very insecure industry and I applaud him for that.
2. When a bankrupt team takes on more payroll than the Yankees during the trade deadline, something is not only VERY wrong with the system, it tells me the Yankees are being run by people who understand the baseball industry. Just because they are the Yankees, it doesn’t mean they can’t have other teams take on money.
The Wood and Berkman deals have Cleveland and Houston kicking in over 6 million dollars in payroll relief. All three deals are the classic “no lose” deals from the Yankees perspective. They gave up nothing of value and if these guys help them win 2-3 extra games, it could be the difference between winning the division and being in the WC.
Overall, a very good day for the Yankees yesterday.
Murph,
So true. I read the first four paragraphs this AM and had to stop.
He is so clueless its reached the comical stage right now.
He should just stick to doing what he does best……suck up to Imus and Omar Minaya, give Fred Wilpon investment tips, and leave covering the Yankees to Mark Feinsand.
He’s a shell of what he used to be as a sportswriter.
He’s like the bitter old men I see in my local bagel store each day. Especially the one’s who are Red Sox fans when I wear any Yankee clothing! lol
SJ:
Loopy the bitter old bagel man. Nice image especially on a Sunday morning.
I see Loopy more as the tenured professor who started out a middle of the road guy and now is a screamer from the fringe. He obviously doesn’t keep up on the current thinkers, doesn’t hear anything other than what he and his cronies say to each other over drinks. They breathe each others fumes, marveling at how sweet the fragrance.
Its really amazing how out of touch he is. He has such a blind spot when it comes to the Yankees.
Conversely, because of his closeness to Omar and the Wilpons, he has a blind spot for the Mets in the opposite direction.
His columns should just come with disclaimers at this point detailing his biases.
SJ:
He used to have an email address, but the Daily News did away with it. Wish I could get my hands on it now.
I can’t read Lupica, I stopped a long time ago the man is insufferable.
Joe Maddon’s response : “Well, they beat us with the home runs.” How clueless and forgetful after Matt Joce beat the Yankees Friday night with ……….. a home run.
Owner Stuart Sternberg on the Yankees multiple player moves: ” It’s certainly not unexpected. It’s nice that they considered us enough of a threat to do all that.”
The one player move they made in acquiring reliever Chad Qualls was done because of injury to pitcher Grant Balfour when he and pitching coach Jim Hickey were involved in pre-game horseplay in the outfield and some wrestling occured resulting in Balfour falling on the ground. Maddon downplayed the incident calling it a freaky thing that guys do almost every day. Nobody will be disciplined.
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