Yankees pregame/Andy Pettitte
Posted by: Brian Heyman - Posted in Misc on Aug 18, 2010 
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Brian Heyman here for Chad again at Yankee Stadium. Most of the pregame talk was about Andy Pettitte. Suffice it to say, he’s beside himself over this continuing groin strain, even wondering if he’ll be back this season.
“Of course, that’ll cross your mind, too,” Pettitte said. “But there’s no sense in worrying about that. I was riding in with my kids and I said, ‘Help me stay positive here.’ I’m already worried about what am I going to do, but I can’t worry about it. I want to try to stay positive. And when I’m back throwing, I’ll be mentally ready. I’ll get my work in and figure out a way to hopefully get it done.”
The 38-year-old lefty felt the grab when he tried to throw with full intensity in the bullpen on Tuesday and his subsequent MRI showed a small persistent strain.
“To say, I’m frustrated, that’s an understatement,” Pettitte said. “In Tampa (at the end of July), I talked to you all and I thought I was a week ahead of schedule maybe. … It’s just not allowing me to push when I want to go real, real hard, and I’m getting some irritation in there.
“I know how I was feeling, and I was feeling great. I think maybe I combined my bullpen work with my running and getting back into my weightlifting and maybe I pushed it too hard and got the thing aggravated a little bit.
“I’ve got to back off a little bit and focus on my mound work and that’s it. I’m sure age has a lot to do with it. I’ve got a lot of wear and tear on my body since 10 years ago, 9 years ago, the last time I did this.”
Joe Girardi is thinking Pettitte will have to do two rehab starts. That would probably follow a bullpen session and a simulated game. He will throw on flat ground for now, but is banned from the mound for about a week.
“We said all along five weeks,” Girardi said. “So it’s going to be more than five weeks. You’re looking at, as of right now, being seven weeks, and that’s longer than we anticipated.
“I think if you get into the third week of September and we haven’t gotten him back, you’d be somewhat concerned.”
Dustin Moseley gets his next turn at being Pettitte’s stand-in tonight against the Tigers. He’s 2-2 with a 4.41 ERA.
“You can’t replace an Andy Pettitte,” Brian Cashman said late Tuesday night. “But I’ve got to say, I think Dustin Moseley has done a really nice job to help cushion the blow. We have another guy down there at Triple-A, (Ivan) Nova, who’s waiting for his opportunity to try to show what he can do as well. At some point, if we have to dip down and grab somebody else to help us, so be it. That’s what they’re there for. In the meantime, it’s nice to have guys like Nova and Moseley to turn to allow the bigger guys like Andy Pettitte to get physically back on track.”
Here’s the Tigers’ lineup:
1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Ramon Santiago 2B
3. Ryan Raburn RF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Johnny Damon DH
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Brandon Inge 3B
8. Alex Avila C
9. Don Kelly LF
Jeremy Bonderman P
Next time Andy should follow the advise of Doctors and not rush it, not smart.
Repost
To be fair, Cervelli’s defensive prowess over Posada this season has taken a severe nose dive.
He’s having one of the worst seasons of any catcher in the bigs defensively and one could argue that his offense has been even worse.
I understood the youth movement and cost cutting move, but I was one who favored bringing back Molina this season (although I didn’t expect it to happen).
I believe GB was one as well.
Molina can’t hit either but he would have provided a defensive upgrade (and he frames pitches as well as anyone) over Cervelli and saved him from getting exposed as much as he has this season.
This isn’t hindsight 20/20. I had hoped Cashman would resign Molina before the 2009 season was over.
Next year they need a Joe Buck/Montero platoon with Posada as the main DH. Keeps everyone fresh, healthy, and don’t have a blackhole in the lineup like Cervelli…
I don’t think any of us thought Cervelli’s defense would take a step back.
I don’t see the Yankees signing a ML catcher for some bucks if they think Montero will be part of the catcher equation next year. I just think Cervelli has played too much this season.
I sure hope the voice of the Cardinals (and Fox Baseball) isn’t going to be catching for the Yanks next year.
A-Rod will need eyes in the back of his head 24/7.
Someone has to be an upgrade for Cervelli. Posada can’t catch everyday.
Montero should have a shot at the DH job and p/t catcher.
If the Yankees are going to spend the money I think they’re going to spend this offseason, I don’t see them giving a major league contract for some money to another experience catcher. They might sign one to a minor league deal that they can convert to a major league contract late in spring training to protect themselves just in case, but I don’t see a ML contract for another catcher being signed this upcoming offseason.
I have to give Pettitte credit for one thing, trying to have a positive attitude while rehabbing when the results aren’t there is an extremely hard thing to do.
With my own experience, I couldn’t do it. I went to rehab everyday and my body was just failing me and not getting any better. In fact, I was getting worse and continuing to get weaker.
My therapists all hated me – and I can’t say that I blamed them. I gave them problems all day long.
But once I got the right treatment and saw that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, my attitude changed 180 degrees.
From there, it was balls to the wall. In my own situation, results had to happen first, then I began to have a much more positive attitude. A positive attitude was never going to force my body to start working again.
But that’s just me. I’m a stubborn ass, I guess.
I think the Yankees need a big league catcher on the roster next season that’s capable of catching full time if need be. You’d love that to be Posada but I just don’t think he can hold up to it anymore…I actually don’t think they have such a player in the organization right now. Posada isn’t healthy enough, Montero and Romine aren’t experienced enough, and Cervelli isn’t good enough to play that position on a regular basis.
I knew that Molina had to catch more than 40-50 games this year, the offense would struggle. He’s worse than Cervelli has been over the last 3 months. Cervelli always had defense to fall back on, but the bat was a big surprise. I’m not sure, but, it’s almost as though he got lazy and when he was going good and just needed to throw his glove and bat out there to get it done, that the job was his. He’s wrong. He needs to work very hard just to stay where he was at. He’s just not that talented. At 39, Posada is still a better catcher and hitter.
I’ve been hoping for a KC trade for John Buck for 3 years. Maybe this winter, the yanks can sign him.
Poor Andy. The mind is willing, but the body is weak. It stinks to get “old.”
Cervelli. I never thought his defense would go south either. That was the part of the deal that was a given. The hitting was always icing on the cake and unexpected. But his role here this season is larger than anyone expected. Shouldn’t affect the defense; but obviously something has.
I always tend to think that there are underlying nagging injuries that aren’t bad enough to keep you out, and you know your team needs you, so you play through and play through. Perhaps???? I don’t know.
“I don’t think any of us thought Cervelli’s defense would take a step back.”
The Yankees didn’t either or else they would have brought back Molina.
——————————————————————————-
So much for certain people on this blog who thought Cervelli was so good. They bashed Posada, saying he couldn’t catch AJ. and he was so poor defensively.
Now they see what Cervelli is and it is not that good.
Or, with Cervelli, maybe he got too “full of himself?” I hate to say things like that, but GB7, you eluded to that a bit in your last post. Maybe he lightened up on his work habits a bit?
Cervelli was a solid defensive catcher, which is why he was brought up in the first place. Something’s amiss. Hitting can come and go, but defensive abilities shouldn’t just up and leave you.
Wow it would be nearly impossible to win GTLU on the Tigers team. Leyland would be undeafeted.
Doreen, that kind of showed itself on about 3 passed balls wild pitches in the last couple of weeks when he’d either walk after them or just mozy over to pick the baseballs up. If this is the limits of his defensive abilities, Montero is better than this.
From Frankie P.
This is gonna drive #Yankees fans wild. Manny Banuelos just touched 97 MPH ib the 1st. Sat 93-94, 95 a bunch
Montero with a 1st inning solo homer
“This is gonna drive #Yankees fans wild. Manny Banuelos just touched 97 MPH ib the 1st. Sat 93-94, 95 a bunch”
Funny, a few minutes ago I read someone here complaining that they haven’t seen Jorge throw any base runners out…well there you go!!
Great throw by Jorge.
They really need him to catch more down the stretch.
I hope his health allows him to do so.
Molina made a big throw out of a guy at 1st base – when throwing behind the runner after a pitch – in Game 2 of the World Series with nobody out. With the runner on, things could have gone from manageable to unmanageable with AJ on the mound.
Other than that, I wasn’t really a fan of Jose Molina – simply because of his lackluster plate appearances. Yes, I know he’s batting like .300 this year. However, a guy with his lack of hitting talent and lack of speed should have taken more pitches and tried to get on base via the walk, or made productive outs with sacrifice flies or by bunting runners over. However, he did none of that.
I know Cervelli has fallen off the proverbial cliff since early in the season. HOWEVER, Cervelli provided us with many key RBIs and key hits early in the season. IMO, he provided more of them in the first couple months of the season than Jose Molina provided in his career with the Yankees.
Hi,
I was the guy complaining about Jorge, sorry for that.
this tiger offense looks toothless without Polanco, guillen and Ordonez , there is no length to it.
If the pitchers give Posada or any catcher a chance, they’ll throw out the runners. No help, no chance.
gardner sure got on quick.
“on field delay”???
I’m still at work!
Threw it on purpose as payback for Guillen getting hurt on the take out slide from the other night.
The benches were warned.
Thanks, SJ…
That’s baseball…..
really? revenge?
Cervalli vs Molina?? Ugh tough choice?? I guess if cervalli keeps hitting like he has I go wit Molina….. Ugh Molina
that slide was clean.
Intentional because of the slide?
tommorrow aj drills miguel in the back
Ledger_Yankees Message sent by Bonderman. http://bit.ly/duvW2D
1 minute ago via TweetDeck
Betsy, I’ve been out all day but please explain these two comments:
Betsy August 18th, 2010 at 12:24 am
GF, you’re right about Beckett, Lackey and Dice-K………but I envy the top of their rotation, I admit it.
Moseley has been fine – nothing wrong with him.
Javy – he can’t pitch against good teams.
Phil: already said my piece (and that 6 BB/17 K rate isn’t very good, nor are the hits to innings pitched). Over the past few starts, he’s been fine..nothing special.
AJ: Love the guy personally, but every batter for him is an opportunity to implode. Just when you think he might be getting it together, bam – he melts down.
Betsy August 18th, 2010 at 8:23 am
I’m glad you find it funny, MG – but your definition of angst is clearly not the same as mine as I have zero angst about Hughes – none at all.
Good for you that you don’t need to trust a pitcher; that makes you a great fan.
“Huh?” about Moseley and AJ. Who said the former was more trustworthy than the latter?
Warning the benches before the chance of retaliation is bull%^$#.
new post
TEXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
smacked by Tex !
wayyy gone
Big Tex message.
As SJ has said, Mark needs to do more of that for this Team. Yes Tex
Game post Up
another one waaay gone!
Banuelos through 2 perfect innings, 5 strikeouts
YOWSA!
canoo baby
Pat M,
Check out Tex’s swing from the left side.
He’s been keeping both hands on the bat lately.
I would love for Brian and Chad to ask him about it and see what’s behind the adjustment.
Yeah Cashman!!!! Let’s see what Nova can do in the bigs. 11-3 with a 2.93 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and more than twice as many K’s as walks.