Postgame notes: “Someone’s got to catch it”
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes on Aug 07, 2010 
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Tonight’s game pretty much speaks for itself. I’m not sure there was any sort of great wisdom or understanding that came from any of the postgame conversations.
Javier Vazquez’s velocity has fluctuated this season, and it was down tonight, but he was still able to retire 11 of 12 at some point. He had enough to get outs, he simply gave up two home runs and couldn’t pitch around that second inning error.
The Yankees had just as many hits as the Red Sox, but after allowing that first-inning home run to Mark Teixeira, Clay Buchholz settled in pitched out of nearly every jam. He even got Curtis Granderson to ground into only his second double play of the past two years, and his first of the season.
The play of the night — for all the wrong reasons — was the dropped fly ball in the second inning. It should have been the second out, instead it left runners at the corners and opened the door for a three-unearned-run inning.
Francisco Cervelli: “You never let the pitchers catch fly balls. It was my fault. That’s it. I dropped it.”
Javier Vazquez: “After it dropped I said man, I should have called that ball because it was an easy play for me.”
Joe Girardi: “Someone’s got to catch it, that’s the bottom line. Maybe it’s an easier play for Javy, but pitchers are the last priority. Cervi called it, and it dropped.”
• Vazquez’s velocity has been up and down this season, and generally down from last year. Tonight his fastball was in the upper-80s. “I noticed it was down,” Vazquez said. “But I really can’t look at that. Once you’re out there pitching you try to do the best with what you have.”
• Girardi on the velocity: “It was down a little bit tonight. I can’t tell you exactly why. It was down a little bit tonight and it’s something we’ll look at.”
• Girardi went into a little more detail about why he didn’t use Jorge Posada as a DH tonight: “I still have some concerns about what we went through last week in Cleveland where he couldn’t play, where his knee was bothering him. That’s a concern for us. It’s not bothering him right now, but we were catching him, DHing him, catching him, DHing him. I’m not sure if that was the cause of it, but those are things that, red flags go up.”
• Vazquez on the first career home run by Ryan Kalish: “Just a bad pitch. I wanted it away and it came kind of middle.”
• Alex Rodriguez has 44 RBI in his past 39 games. He has at last one RBI in 22 of those games.
• That Cervelli error was the first error with Vazquez on the mound this season.
• Derek Jeter tied Babe Ruth ont he all-time hits list. He has 2,873 career hits. On a much smaller scale, he’s scored eight runs in the past four innings.
• Mark Teixeira — remember when he stunk? — leads the Yankees with 24 home runs and has reached base in 50 of his past 52 games. He’s the first big leaguer to reach 80 runs and 80 RBI this season.
• Lance Berkman on his first Yankees-Red Sox game: “It wasn’t overwhelming, it was just a good crisp atmosphere. I think there’s a lot of interest in this series, and I enjoyed it.”
Associated Press photos of the botched catch and the Teixeira home run.
If the yanks win 1 game I’m happy. The RS would still be 5 back in the loss column.
Betsy
I left you a reply on the last thread at 12:09. I would bring it here but don’t know how to without re typing it.
Let’s hope they take the next three.
Vazquez should worry about getting people out and not catching pop ups. Don’t you learn that in little league that you let the infielders catch the ball not the pitcher?
Just freaking embarrassing. BoSux played without their 2 best players and pounded the crap out of the Yanks. They have clutch guys like Kalish & Bard and Yanks have humps like Cervelli & Joba. They signed Adrian Beltre and Yanks traded for deer-in-the-headlight Granderson. They have fat ass Papi to DH who can still hit and Yanks also got a fat ass named Lance Dorkman but couldn’t hit if his life depended on it.
Berkman’s going to be fine……..Javy? Not so much.
KPB, what I normally do is just copy and paste it……..I responded to that post, though. In essence, I also didn’t think he’d have this many wins to date…..but he has gotten a tremendous amt of run support.
I don’t know which is worse – getting blown out or losing winnable games because they don’t make pitches or the offense just blows, or both.
And yes Cervelli, it was your fault.
Congrats to Jeter. Who thinks he will finish with the most hits of all time? I think it’ll be close but not impossible.
No word from Giirardi on the non-entity in CF?
Betsy
I went back and read your response. And yes his run support has been outstanding, I hope it continues. Not just for him, but all the pitchers. I figured you and others copy and paste, but I don’t know how to do it.
KPB, to copy, you just highlight the text you want to copy and hit the control button + C. Then, to paste, you hit control + P.
I don’t know if Jeet will play long enough to get the most hits of all time. I can’t see him sticking around just for the record. He’s too proud and his life after baseball will be too good to do that lol. I can’t see a 42 year old Jeter hitting .220 but scrapeing for 4,000 something hits. He will end up with a nice number like 3,500 imo and go down as one of the best absolutely clean players of his era and a true Yankee legend.
13. Betsy August 7th, 2010 at 12:38 am
KPB, to copy, you just highlight the text you want to copy and hit the control button + C. Then, to paste, you hit control + P.
_________________________________________
Betsy
Thanks. I think I might have it for the same page. I did it slightly different than what you said. Do you do it the same way from a different page?
Tyler
I agree with you about not just hanging around for the #s. He has way too much class and to proud for that, unlike Rose.
Vazquez average fastball velocity…
2003 91.8
2004 90.1 Yankees
2005 91.7
2006 91.2
2007 91.8
2008 91.7
2009 91.1
2010 88.9 Yankees
Why is it the reduced velocity Vazquez only seems to show up in NY?
KBP – do you mean for a different thread? If so…….yes. I don’t know how to do the “reposting” thing that others have done
Grrr. Frustrating game. Looks like Cervelli was a bit of a goat tonight. Girardi should’ve had somebody warmed up already, especially since Javy’s velocity was down and he pretty much fell apart at one point.
But the good news is that the Rays lost, too. If we win tomorrow, it’ll help keep Boston at bay.
Is that 4 games in the last week we’ve lost after 1st inning shots to take a lead?
Netiquette is that if you repost something, you mention it.
Just put repost & then paste the comment.
Yes. 4 games iirc. It’s amazing how the best team in baseball and world champs can look so lifeless so often. maybe it’s the dog days, the injuries, the age, etc. but it’s inexcusable to hit a 2 run HR is the 1st inning and then go lifeless. One could argue Buchholz and his 2nd best ERA in all of baseball was the reason. But there isnt an argument for the blue jays.
Betsy
Yes from different threads. But, all is not lost for I now know how to copy and paste on the same thread. Thank you very much, you’ve been most helpful. As far as going from thread to thread, I’ll just have to take baby steps like our beloved YMH.
If you take away the 1st inning homeruns the Yanks haven’t done much after the 1st inning in the last 2 series. It definitely didn’t help that Cano was like 0-14 and Gardner hasn’t done anything since the all star break. Even when Gardner gets on base he stands there like a statue. Unless he has a leg injury that the Yanks are hiding it doesn’t make sense why he isn’t running. Hopefully the offense can get going tomorrow. Lackey had been dreadful this year.
CR9
Perhaps you can help me. I’ve noticed you and others using “iirc”, what does that stand for? Also, if you know, what does FWIW mean? I’ve seen that used a few times as well.
I love how some Yankee fan calls Kalish clutch and Bard so great. And that the Yankee players are garbage.
If you think the Sox are so great and you love them so much then stop following this team and put on a pink hat.
I can understand being upset with certain players but talking about how great the Sox are while putting down this franchise is a joke.
Yes, Gardner has struggled. Most likely rewarding me for declaring that he’s my favorite player. Grr.
I’m tired of hearing about the Sox. They won’t even be in the postseason this year.
This is about Javy being a choker and Granderson not performing.
Captain Clutch
Cano had 3 hits tonight, maybe that’s a sign of things to come. As far as the rest of what you said I can’t help you, other than saying hopefully he turns it around.
Who is complaining about Cano ? The guy is having an MVP season so I wouldn’t even be talking about him being an issue. Also these guys are no robots. They can’t get hits all the time.
The focus should be on Javy, Granderson, and Cervelli making mistakes.
m
I really like Gardner also. I’ve been disappointed with him lately to. But, if your willing to put his troubles on your shoulders by declaring him your favorite, then I’ll go ahead and blame you(haha).
Jeremy
I was responding to a post that said he was 0-14 and told them not to worry.
Btw something is up with Jorge.
Cano looked better today and I am sure the off day definitely helped him. He plays in every single game and Girardi needs to give him an off day every once in a while. I really hope tomorrow’s lineup is Gardner CF and Kearns LF. Maybe by giving Kearns some of Granderson’s playing time it will help to light a fire under him. Girardi needs to change things up and I know Kearns isn’t great but if he can get a base hit here and there it will definitely help. Someone at the bottom of the lineup needs to get on base.
It’s so factually unsupportable to call Javy a choker.
He has lost about 3mph in FB velo. Is that because he’s choking?
Of course, not.
Similarly, when he was a Yankee in 2004, he pitched well in his first few months in pinstripes until he got hurt. Almost every major star has struggled when they first became a Yankee as a result of the pressure. Yet Javy didn’t let the pressure get to him.
It’s almost comical that some people think he chokes.
When did Berkman forget how to hit? Jorge should have been DH’ing today instead of Berkman.
iirc if i remember correctly. fwiw for what it’s worth
Jeremy
LOL! Kalish clutch? The guy’s a bum. Bard, if people took his pitches when he lost control, the bum would nothing more than Krazy Kyle. Pap is ok, but nothing special. Buchholz is having a very nice season to this point, but he’s nothing special. The only player on their team that’s special is Lester.
well, and Beltre and Ortiz are back on the juice and hitting very well.
CR9
Thank you
KPB,
I’m pretty accountable. Actually, my little one asked who GGBG was (#11) and I told him Gardner, “my favorite player”. I didn’t realize it until I verbalized it. But I defend him endlessly, so that was not news to the people here.
There’s a wikipedia list of internet abbreviations, but I can’t find it.
Try this for all things cool, hip, urban, whatever. You can figure out what your (grand)kids are saying:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/
Posada obviously has some sort of leg problem besides the cyst. Whether it’s a groin, hamstring or something else who knows but Girardi gives him a ton of off days. Even before the Yanks got Berkman Girardi said on the days that Posada doesn’t catch he wouldn’t DH. Something really has to be going on with him to not even be able to DH. It will be interesting to see what they do with him next season. If the team gets a full time DH then he will only play when he catches which probably won’t be option since he will be 39. He also probably won’t hit enough to the full time DH.
K. Learned two new phrases that I see a lot on this blog. “violent agreement” and “mental master**tion”
Here’s a partial list:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wi.....lang_words
iirc= if I recall correctly
fwiw= for what it’s worth
Captain,
Knowing that Jorge will catch less rather than more, getting a DH for 2011 might not be a priority.
Does anyone know how to make those yellow smiley faces that people make on here?
Captain,
Just hover your cursor over the emoticon and copy the formatting.
You can do it with symbols or a word between two colons.
Captain
Here’s the list of what works here
http://codex.wordpress.org/Using_Smilies
Rich in NJ
I gave Javy the benefit of the doubt but the sample size is too larget. This is not about 2004. The fact is Javy failed with the White Sox in the postseason and he was healthy with greater velocity.
Tell me this what has Javy done on the big stage in his entire career so far ?
Because so far he has failed time and time again. Like Ozzie said the guy is mentally weak. The excuses are getting old and tired.
m
Thanks for the urban link. I just skimmed over it real quick and their are some pretty funny words/sayings. While it’s nice to know new words and phrases I don’t think I’ll be using any of what I saw out of fear of being slapped. Just imagine your boss coming up and asking what your doing, ” Nothing boss just mental mastur**ting” For some reason I don’t think she would appreciate that.
Anyone else tired of talking/hearing about Javy? He’s a nice guy, decent pitcher, but I’m just not feeling it. I guess it’s because he’s a rental.
sorry-too large
Thanks, that is simple. I always wondered what to type but felt stupid asking.
Jeremy
What does he need to be excused from?
Look at his ERA+ over his career:
http://www.baseball-reference......ja01.shtml
He basically alternates between seasons that are considerably above average to seasons that are basically average.
That is typical of a pitcher who good but not great.
Big stage? He has had a grand total of 15.2 postseasons innings. That’s not large enough to be meaningful under any reasonable definition of sample size.
I didn’t like the trade for him this past offseason precisely because of his inconsistency.
But I see no meaningful data that suggests that he chokes.
pat
Thanks for the help with the acronyms and I bookmarked the page with the emoticons(sounds like a Transformer). I also really liked the picture you linked to earlier of the disabled Pedroia touring the stadium, it was absolutely hilarious. By the way I’ll send you a bill on the clean up costs of cleaning my keyboard from spitting Coke all over it.
Rich
Well stated with stats to back it up. Im a Javy believer; CB or SJ said earlier in the year that as time wore on, Javy would regain a couple mph on his fastball. That’s when his fastball was 90. Now he’s at 87mph; what he can he do now to regain velocity.
m
I bookmarked that wikipedia page for future references. Thanks.
If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck then it’s a duck. Like I said before Kevin Brown was bad with the Yankees but at least he pitched some big games with the Padres when he was in his prime. Javy on the other hand has failed everywhere on the big stage. Yeah it’s tough pitching in New York but he pitched in Chicago and he still failed.
How can you explain his stats from 2008 where he had an okay year and then fell apart as soon as he pitched against the Rays in the ALDS in 2008.
Javy’s postseason record : 1-1, 4 games, 10.34 ERA, 2.170 Whip And that includes his postseason starts with the White Sox where he was not the ace of the staff.
No problem, KPB.
Let me know when you’re ready to tackle italics, bold, and strikethrough.
And I didn’t even mention the point about him being a better pitcher in the NL.
Right now I would not throw him out there in big game situations. Let him pitch against the most pathetic teams in baseball like the O’s and Mariners.
Good thing Vazquez’s contract was just for 1 year. I really hope the Yanks get Lee after this season so that AJ can be moved down in the pecking order in the rotation. I am sick of his nonsense.
Rich in NJ
You make a valid point. I just can’t see him getting it done in a big spot. Like you said he is always up and down. I just can’t wait till the Yankees go after Cliff Lee.
This is all IIRC
We’ve played the Sox 9 games this year.
The Red Sox have come back to win each of the 4 games they’ve beaten us.
The Yankees have come back in only 1 game to beat them, and that was a game in which we had a 5 run lead, and lost the lead, and won on two 2 run homers in the 9th inning.
Cashman should keep a gigantic sign in his office that says NL players are garbage in the AL. So he doesn’t forget every off season. Vazquez had a 2 something era last year in the NL and he was never going to be close to that in the AL East. Park, Winn are just some more examples.
m
You got a deal. Since you were so forth coming with info to help me out and offered to continue to do so, I’ll help shoulder the blame for Gardner.
let’s go yankees
I will soon entrust my cat , Mr Pussylot than Javy Vasquez in a playoff start. 15.2 inning is not a great sample size, but perhaps if Javy hadn’t gotten bombed in every one his post season starts he would have gotten more of opportunity to pitch more than 15.2 inning he is been ‘accredited’ to. you know what, when you have a career 10 era in the playoff, i tend to think of that person as a choke artist.
Javy Vazquez responded to Ozzie’s challenge of being a big game pitcher by absolutely getting bombed in last four starts in sept including crucial games against divisional rival the Twins in 2008. oh yeah, that also foray into his GM 1 ALDS performance where gave up 7 runs against the Rays.
So far, my memory of Javy this year are , getting bombed by sox tongiht, getting lit up by white sox, tampa , and the twins.
Mr. Vazques had this to say after his manhood were challenged by Ozzie Guillen, “”I’m not looking to have to change minds if people feel that way,” Vazquez said. “I won’t be paying attention to that. If I do well or if I don’t, I’ll still go home at the end of my career and be the same person”
yeah, Javy keep on saying that , you might earned all the money in the world, but you won’t have this one fan’s respect which i already know it doesn’t matter to you.
when did berkman forget how to take pitches. the guy saw 7 pitches in 4 AB’s..
granderson needs to play better. cervelli’s play is getting old…. the red sux saw 40 more pitches then the yanks……….that is not good. cano, cervelli, berkman swing at anything.
vazquez is not very good, he is a 5th starter, he is soft, burnett is soft and dumb.
good news looks like the pen is really picking it up. joba looks much better….
they should beat lackey saturday, he is very very hittable……….
Bill Simmons trying to figure out why Boston’s ratings have dipped so much.
It’s a long read, but if you’re really good, you’ll find the tidbit about KLaw’s back pedalling on his “Boston’s farm system is #2″ vomit.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.....ons/100729
jorge is 39 that is his problem….
need CC to dominate tommorrow and all is well. no excuse about his wife just having a baby, he has 4 kids so it is not a new experience.
berkman needs to wake.. no slide, have better ab’s… the yanks had 1 good ab the whole game, jeters in the 9th.. that was it………….jeez
Russell martins hip injury is being compared to bo jacksons career ending hip injury.
CC will shut down the BoSux today and Lackey is going to struggle against our “A” lineup today. Boston will be right back to 7 games back in the loss column, with time NOT on their side and the MO will be right back where it belongs, with the Yankees. Winning the next 2 after today definitely “doable” and when those icebags are 9 games back in the loss column, with only 49 games to play, even those HOMERS at ESPN will start to realize that they are and will always be, an afterthought to the 2010 NEW YORK YANKEES CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON !
Not having Pettite in this series really hurts because the Sox lineup without Youk and Pedroia is very LH dominant. Hopefully CC can take advantage this afternoon.
The inconsistency of the offense can be attributed to the fact that they score runs in concentrated bunches due to power surges. They don’t consistently apply pressure on the opposing pitcher by stringing together hits. This team is 1st in runs but only 9th in hits. They should seriously consider adding a bona fide contact hitter to this lineup in the off season – Crawford.
9th in hits out of 14 squads.
There’s no doubt that Brett Gardner is having a terrific season, however, I’ve always said that his hot streak was just that and I wouldn’t be surprised if he began to struggle mightly. It really makes me wonder if the Yankees will attempt to trade him, not Granderson, in the offseason and sign Crawford to play LF.
Still pissed off about yesterdays loss. I can still taste the bile in my mouth. It is extremely frustrating to watch this team when it’s struggling so mightily in the past week. The whole team seems like its all slumping at the same time. And losing to pawtucket just makes it that much more hard to swallow.
Let’s hope cc’s command issues have been solved.
I’m still PO’ed about yesterdays loss. I can still taste the bile in my mouth. It’s so frustrating to watch this team struggle so mightily against everyone for the past week – especially against Pawtucket. It seems like the whole team is slumping at the same time.
Let’s hope CC has solved his command issues because I’m tired of watching this team suck from the second inning on.
9th in hits out of 14 AL clubs, many of them terrible ballclubs.
The Yankees would be crazy not to sign Carl Crawford.
Gardner + some of the surplus prospects can be turned into something of high impact.
Note to Hal:
Have Cash:
1.) Sign Lee & let Vazquez walk
2.) Sign Crawford & move Gardnew to CF – Major speed to go along with power for potent balaned offense
3.) Trade Granderson for prospects
Rotation:
CC, Lee, Pettite, Hughes, AJ
Granderson’s OPS since the ASB is .811
Gardner’s is .609.
Granderson has a full career as a track record. His career OPS is .819.
The league is just now adjusting to Gardner.
It’s tough to know if he’s anything more than a .720 OPS hitter which is his career mark.
Gardner’s trade value is in his cost-controlled salary.
If the Yankees get Lee, they’re not getting crawford. I sincerely doubt Hal is going to ok a $230 million budget.
The trouble with Crawford is the cost of his contract will be high, and the Angels are targeting him. I don’t think the RS will go after him as much because of them having a good deal of other needs which will cost them plenty.
Lee will be another that will cost pretty high, and the Rangers, while having had to up their bid, might look to get Lee as the pitcher to build their rotation around.
This team just seems to sleep offensively at the same time, in that they can’t string many hits together. Cervelli and Granderson have become automatic outs, and Cervelli is starting too many games. If Posada is hurt where he can’t play much, it might make some sense to put him on the DL so that he can get healthy enough to play more games in a row.
It had seemed like Granderson was starting to come around, but then its right back to doing nothing with his bat. For the center field position Gardner can cover that area every bit as well as Granderson. Trouble is Granderson’s batting over the last few seasons has been getting worse, so trading him isn’t going to be easy.
The Yankees’ #1 offseason target… Lee. The Angels’ #1 off season target… Crawford. (see Hunter’s move to RF). He’ll be an angel. The Yankees aren’t going to get into a bidding war with the angels for crawford while unloading the bank for lee.
sunny615 August 7th, 2010 at 8:57 am
If the Yankees get Lee, they’re not getting crawford. I sincerely doubt Hal is going to ok a $230 million budget.
****************
That’s not necessarily true.
First, $$ is no object in years when top level talent in the prime of career appears on the free agent market. We saw that with CC, AJ and Teixeira.
The budget can fluctuated and expand to accommodate top players in their peak performance for any given free agent class.
After just 1 year Posada comes off the books so there’s most of your Crawford money right there.
Andy Pettitte might retire this year or after 2011. There’s a good chunk of the Lee money.
Javy’s coming off the books. Nick Johnson will be gone. Just one more year of Marte. Maybe one more year of Mo. That’s another 15 mil right there.
The notion that we can’t afford Crawford with Lee is wrong.
The Yankees will sign both.
Gardner is still not using his speed, his best weapon, when he gets on base. He doesn’t bunt much, doesn’t steal much. If they were able to jettison Granderson and get Crawford, maybe he could teach Gardner how to steal bases.
I still think its a dream to get Crawford, but imagine Gardner and Crawford on base for the bats. That would be very helpful and would shake up opposing pitchers.
There’s just no way the Yankees keep Gardner over Granderson when Granderson’s career OPS is 100 points higher and Gardner has more trade value due to his cost controlled contract. Granderson makes more impact. They won’t take a loss on him. They should and hopefully will sell high on Gardner.
Actually it is true if you look back and see what the yankees did to pettitte in order to get Tex, low balling him with a $5 million contract filled with incentives. They also had a TON of money coming off the books in Abreu, Giambi, Moose, etc. This year not only do they have to sign Lee, but resign Jeter.
I think Gardner will be ok..for whatever reason he’s just taking a lot of good pitches right now and getting himself in bad counts. When he was going well, he was keeping the ball on the left side of the infield and using his speed and also being aggresive in swinging at strikes…he needs to get back to that IMO.
Jeremy, this choker stuff is the same BS that people said about ARod. It is total BS and has been refuted time and time again in any statistical study. If there is anything about choking (or being clutch) the difference is such a small amount and is not something that should be factored in.
Buchholz is a serious pitcher. He throws what is really 5 pitches and moves the ball on different planes and changes speeds, yet can still pump in 95 MPH as needed. All of his pitches are plus pitches. If he stays healthy he will be known as a top pitcher in this league and will win a lot of games with Boston.
Based on who is coming off the books & the value of signing both Lee & Crawford, its not gonna cost the Yankees much & it will keep the Dynasty rolling.
Coming off payroll:
Vazquez – $11.5M
Nick Johnson – $5.75M
Damaso Marte – $4M
Andy Pettitte – $11.75M
Curtis Granderson – $5.5M (if traded him for prospects)
Chan Ho Park – $1.2M (just released)
2011 contracts coming off the books
Jorge Posada – $13M
Andy Pettite – $5.5M (if he decides to retires)
Added to payroll
Cliff Lee – $20M (projected)
Cark Crawford – $18M (projected)