Postgame notes: Yankees go cold in Chicago
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes, Podcast on Jun 17, 2011 
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The Yankees won six of seven coming into this afternoon’s game at Wrigley. They’d scored at least nine runs in four of those six wins. They seemed ready to feast on a soft-tossing guy like Doug Davis and a below .500 team like the Cubs.
Obviously that didn’t happen.
“Velocity is not the most important thing,” Joe Girardi said. “Location is the most important thing in this game. And movement. And that’s what (Davis) did today, and that’s what Freddy does. They don’t beat themselves usually. They don’t necessarily walk people. They’re able to hold runners. They’re able to do a lot of things, and you can light up the radar gun and still get lit up.”
It’s a fine line for pitchers like Davis and the Yankees own starter, Freddy Garcia. Both have fastballs in the 80s, and the lean heavily on an assortment of offspeed pitches. More than one Yankees hitter said facing Davis was like facing a knuckleballer.
“It’s very similar in that there are no patterns, and you don’t really know where the ball is going to go,” Mark Teixeira said. “He threw me some changeups that went up and away today. The first seven pitches he threw me were all balls, not because he was pitching around me, but because his ball moves everywhere. If he doesn’t know where it’s going sometimes, the hitter’s not going to know where it’s going. He pitched well, kept the ball on the corners and kept us off-balance.”
Davis hadn’t won a game since May of last year, and the Yankees were obviously frustrated by a few calls, but there’s a reason a guy like Davis sticks in the big leagues through 13 seasons and nearly 300 starts: If he’s throwing strikes and mixing his pitches, he has a chance. He’s a lesser, left-handed version of Garcia. Today, Davis was the better of the two.
“I look for the fastball,” Nick Swisher said. “Whatever he flops up there, I’m really trying to sit on that fastball. My first at-bat, he went fastball up, breaking ball, breaking ball. My second at-bat, he went fastball, changeup, changeup, so he’s really just changing it here and there. That’s how you’re supposed to pitch so guys don’t fall into rhythms or trends. We just didn’t do a very good job putting the bat on the ball today.”
Here’s Alex Rodriguez talking mostly about Davis and the Yankees silent offense.
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• The Yankees bullpen was active by the third inning, but it turned out, Garcia had already gotten his day turned around. “They were sitting on my slider and breaking pitches,” he said. “So in the second inning, I started throwing my sinker and felt pretty good.”
• Four of the first three Cubs reached base this afternoon, then Garcia allowed three straight hits to start the third inning. With two on and no outs in the third, Garcia started a run in which he retired 14 of the last 15 batters he faced.
• This was Garcia’s first career loss against the Cubs, snapping a four-game winning streak. he is 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts against the Cubs. “I always want to win,” he said. “I was surprised with Davis. We didn’t score any runs, but that’s part of the game. Days like this happen.”
• One last Garcia note: Seven innings today moved him beyond 2,000 innings for his career. He’s thrown 2,001.2 innings.
• Swisher was the one Yankee who most showed his frustration with some of the called strikes for Davis. “When you have a guy on the mound that’s not throwing 95, he gets some more calls because the umpire can see the ball better,” Swisher said. “It’s one of those games that kind of baffles you a little bit. We’ll forget about this and get ready for tomorrow.”
• Swisher said he thought his eighth-inning double — the one that chased Davis from the game — was a home run off the bat. “I hit that ball pretty good,” he said. “As soon as I hit it, I thought it was gone. I’ll take a double; I’m cool with that. As long as it finds some grass, I’m cool.”
• Alex Rodriguez’s eighth-inning strikeout against Carlos Marmol was obviously a pivotal moment. He was the tying run with Teixeira at first base. The first four pitches of the at-bat were sliders, and strike three came on a fastball. “It’s funky,” Rodriguez said of Marmol’s slider. “First time I faced him I believe. He threw two good pitches. Both strikes were in the inning half, probably black or better. Probably foul balls if I swing, and he still had the good fastball in the mid-90s. He’s a guy you probably feel a little bit more comfortable the more you face him four or five times.”
• The Cubs hot-shot young shortstop, Starlin Castro, had a big day with two doubles. He’s hitting .345 with 11 doubles and five triples at home this season, and he’s batting .405 in his past nine games.
• The Yankees were hitless until Robinson Cano singled with two outs in the fourth. He has reached base in all 22 of the Yankees day games this season.
• Another Cano note: He’s hitting .322 against lefties and .273 against right-handers.
• Eduardo Nunez in his past four games: .357 with two runs, two walks, a home run and two RBI.
• There was a weird on-field delay in the third inning. Girardi said it was because of a light just beyond a camera booth in center field. Girardi couldn’t see it from the bench, but it was visible from the plate. Girardi said it looked like a floodlight, maybe one that had been turned on by a building on the other side of the street.
• Teixeira on playing in Wrigley: “As soon as you walk in and see the ivy, you know exactly where you are. It’s one of those special places in baseball.”
• Rodriguez gets the final word today: “It’s definitely a great stadium, great atmosphere and great crowd. It was a perfect day — for the Cubs.”
Associated Press photos, including a cool one of Gardner making a leaping catch in the ivy
Davis rarely throws a fastball.
Great approach.
Wonderful Wrigley…
Post game notes: (cliff notes)
Doug Davis is awful and the Yankees didn’t hit him. Next game is tomorrow at 4:10.
Freddy bounced back nicely, but we couldn’t cash in once we did get on base. I’ll feel a little bit better if the Sox lose. Otherwise…
I’ve been watching this Red Sox game for less than two innings and I’ve heard the phrases “Red Sox Nation”, “Kids Nation”, or “the Nation” over a dozen times.
Is that normal??!??!
Youkilis opting out of the game, too?
“Youkilis opting out of the game, too?”
word is the Yankees tampered with him.
Alex has become quite quotable in a good way instead of the cringe inducing way he used to be.
Bottom line is Yankees should have beat up on the Cubs, 12 games under .500, a pitcher who was 0 and 5. Good teams are supposed to beat up on bad teams. Yankees need to win the next 2.
Stuff happens, but they do have to win 2 out of 3.
Agon with a jack. Another 3 hit day for him
Alex has always been the Rhodes Scholar of pitching observations though, even when he otherwise made us cringe.
But I gotta say, I’m glad he doesn’t do this any more:
Alex (to Mike Francesa & Chris Russo): Why, do you guys think I come off like a jerk, or something?”
:cringes:
But then again, I loved it when in 2004 he referred to Bronson Arroyo, more than once, as “Brandon…” Alex, who never gets anything wrong when it comes to baseball.
LOFL.
Alex is feeling Jeter-free at the moment, let him speak.
I’ve been watching this Red Sox game for less than two innings and I’ve heard the phrases “Red Sox Nation”, “Kids Nation”, or “the Nation” over a dozen times.
Is that normal??!??!
===================
They are the counterculture, we the evil empire, remember?
Trenton gets Manny B off the hook, YAY.
Some ESPN guy was talking about us giving up Montero & Betances for Weaver.
I turned off the radio.
One of my favorites from Alex, which wasn’t cringe worthy or anything, although still funny, took place after a playoff loss in like 2005, when he couldn’t recall Sandy Koufax’s name, so instead referred to him as “that Jewish gentlemen.”
If there were any more Yankee excuses for getting beat by that hack that it would have taken another page.
Counter culture? God help the country. They’re the most depressingly bourgeois little fan base, ever since 2004. Before that, Boston fans were quirky types who found a refuge from their pain by turning to global baseball intellectualism. That character is gone.
“I look for the fastball,” Nick Swisher said”
I’m hitting Interstate and I look for the FB. Nick you’ll still be looking for the FB when you leave NY.
There is the problem in a nutshell. “I’m cool dude” Duh.
Symptomic of the Yankee hitting mantra. Then they swing really hard because they are a HR hitting team.
Gee, the wind was blowing in, at Wrigley. You couldn’t hit a ball out with a bazooka.
Gee, Davis doesn’t have a fastball. You could be looking for a FB all day – as the Yankees did today. How’d you make out guys?
Veteran Team? Ignorance can be fixed, stupid is forever.
Self inflicted trauma is contra indicated.
Just finished watching the condensed game, since i missed it today, can that be more embarrassing to be that bad today?
I swear these guys come and go on a semi daily basis
Damn, A-Gon is one sick baseball player. The world knew he was going to tear it up outside Petco and the world was right. .354 with 61 RBI’s and a .402 OBP and a .998 OPS. You have got to be kidding me. And the Sux have him for seven years. Damn that sucks.
Just finished watching the condensed game, since i missed it today, can that be more embarrassing to be that bad today?
============================
I think what’s really important is that you saved time.
# J. Alfred Prufrock June 17th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
Trenton gets Manny B off the hook, YAY.
Some ESPN guy was talking about us giving up Montero & Betances for Weaver.
I turned off the radio.
——————————————
Lol that all stems from a Yankee fan telling him the Halos are looking to dump payroll and Weaver isn’t safe because Moreno is upset.
lol, about Alex. I remember all the above.
Ugly loss today; we had better take the next two.
Manny B.’s off the hook on the loss, but his control wasn’t there and he needs to find a way to get Manny-killer, Brahiam Maldonado, out. (2 HR in 2 GP)
Our future lead off hitter (if Slade isn’t), Mason Williams, has a double and a homer. Looks like Bryan Mitchell got rocked. Reymond and Gumbs also had hits. Cito batting as I write this. Damn exciting that SI has started.
How gritty and gutty do you want this team to be?
They just came off a 12 inning marathon and hitched a ride to cubville for a day game.
They mailed this one in.
They will win the next 2.
I think what’s really important is that you saved time
——————————–
Yep, shortened the agony. After the sixth I went out and cut the lawn to a litany of “Dom domb, domb as a sack of hammers. Take that and that you stupid weed”, whack, whack, whack.
# J. Alfred Prufrock June 17th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
Some ESPN guy was talking about us giving up Montero & Betances for Weaver.
I turned off the radio.
_____
I heard that too. SMFH.
Our future lead off hitter…
===================
may well be playing for the Mets.
Against All Odds June 17th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
# J. Alfred Prufrock June 17th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
Trenton gets Manny B off the hook, YAY.
Some ESPN guy was talking about us giving up Montero & Betances for Weaver.
I turned off the radio.
——————————————
Lol that all stems from a Yankee fan telling him the Halos are looking to dump payroll and Weaver isn’t safe because Moreno is upset.
////
Odds, glad I missed it. If it’s even possible, most of the callers are even dumber than the hosts
.
People here tried to compare what Agon did to Tex’s career like they were equal. I didn’t think he would be hitting 350 but I knew he would have a better year then Tex
GB, if you are watching SWB, what kind of hit did Montero have?
They better….? They have to….? Or what?
blah blah blah blah. Excuses, nothing but excuses. The same Doug Davis they are trying to convince everyone is Warren Spahn has been an absolute pinata for the national league all year. You can sum up Doug Davis in two words: he sucks. The stats all back this up. And he completely shut down the $200 million lineup. It’s amazing how many horrible pitchers are just suddenly “on their game” when they face the Yankees.
Yankees boogeyman. Junkballer – aargh. Throw slop and they self destruct.
yankeefeminista June 17th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
lol, about Alex. I remember all the above.
Ugly loss today; we had better take the next two.
Manny B.’s off the hook on the loss, but his control wasn’t there and he needs to find a way to get Manny-killer, Brahiam Maldonado, out. (2 HR in 2 GP)
Our future lead off hitter (if Slade isn’t), Mason Williams, has a double and a homer. Looks like Bryan Mitchell got rocked. Reymond and Gumbs also had hits. Cito batting as I write this. Damn exciting that SI has started.
///
Thunder bailed out ManBan but now are losing
. Will see Mason in two days when PJ takes the mound for rehab start 
. I hope Reymond Nunez can field as well as mash.
Yankfem, I do a great ARod impression. Got the cadence down, the puckered lips and squint as he ponders with his chin up, & the of course lisp (Alex, what’d he throw you on that HR? “Shhlider”).
.
Tex has had a better career than Gonzalez to this point so I don’t think that is that out of line. Gonzalez is probably a little better hitter than Tex overall because he’s more consistent….but they are comparable players…..Tex is on pace for 50 + homers…..both are great defenders….they are just different type hitters. Gonzalez more pure hitter….Tex more power hitter
# J. Alfred Prufrock June 17th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Against All Odds June 17th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
# J. Alfred Prufrock June 17th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
Trenton gets Manny B off the hook, YAY.
Some ESPN guy was talking about us giving up Montero & Betances for Weaver.
I turned off the radio.
——————————————
Lol that all stems from a Yankee fan telling him the Halos are looking to dump payroll and Weaver isn’t safe because Moreno is upset.
////
Odds, glad I missed it. If it’s even possible, most of the callers are even dumber than the hosts
.
———————————-
That might have been the same guy that called on Francesa’s show earlier in the day. I’ll never understand how someone can find the time to call multiple shows throughout the day and express the point over and over again.
The host was shocked to hear Weaver’s name and that’s why he came up with Manny and Jesus as pieces that have to be moved to get Weaver.
“Damn, A-Gon is one sick baseball player. The world knew he was going to tear it up outside Petco and the world was right. .354 with 61 RBI’s and a .402 OBP and a .998 OPS. You have got to be kidding me. And the Sux have him for seven years. Damn that sucks.”
It helps to have friends in the business. Real friends who help eachother out. Maybe Cashman can get a few of those so we can start heisting teams.
may well be playing for the Mets.
——————
Ya think?
Losing to Davis and the Cubs ? Not the mark of a good team. The Cubs fight among themselves (Zambrano) and are not a good team, we need to beat these guys the next two days and put this one behind us.
LGY:
Not really, but you never know.
Lose to Cubs? seriously?
Tomorrow if they continue to lose, Cubs series is lost
what a joke, it’s just too inconsistent.
Fact: No team that has ever lost to the cubs or doug davis has gone on to win the world series
My worst nightmare – Cashman gets fed up and walks, Levine to show he’s a genius does a splash.
Perpetually injured headcase SS, six years at 20 per. Fans go on Jeter sympathy strike.
Sox handling the first place Brewers with ease
Tomorrow if they continue to lose, Cubs series is lost
====================
Just double checked the math. This is true.
Mell June 17th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Our future lead off hitter…
===================
may well be playing for the Mets.
______
Doubt it. Mason Williams is going to be a stud.
Yanks made doug davis change his first name to Cy.
eat shxxxt.
That might have been the same guy that called on Francesa’s show earlier in the day. I’ll never understand how someone can find the time to call multiple shows throughout the day and express the point over and over again.
The host was shocked to hear Weaver’s name and that’s why he came up with Manny and Jesus as pieces that have to be moved to get Weaver.
////
Uhh, they have no life?
I heard Jesus & Betances, but same deal. I was actually shocked to hear ESPN (non-Kay) even mention Betances. Most people know Manny, but now you’re hearing Betances as well. When Betances calmed down after the first two innings in his Trenton start the other day, and started getting ahead of hitters and punching them out on that curveball, Stick Michael, sitting two rows in front of me, said “Now you’re talkin!” with a little fist pump.
.
Nice pic of Gardner.
I really don’t know what to think about Reyes. He has been so good this year but it is really hard to tell if he can keep up this type of performance.
On the other hand, shortstops are hot commodities and Jeter sucks.
Big risk, big reward.
blake June 17th, 2011 at 9:37 pm
Tex has had a better career than Gonzalez to this point so I don’t think that is that out of line. Gonzalez is probably a little better hitter than Tex overall because he’s more consistent….but they are comparable players…..Tex is on pace for 50 + homers…..both are great defenders….they are just different type hitters. Gonzalez more pure hitter….Tex more power hitter
////
Also a switch hitter. Yea I think we did more than alright in the 1B-man dept.
Tomorrow they should lose the series in front of national TV coverage and make Fox happy.
Doubt it. Mason Williams is going to be a stud.
——————-
I’m gonna have to give the odds to Mell on this one. Reyes is prob unlikely but Mason Williams being the future lead off hitter has to qualify as even less likely.
# J. Alfred Prufrock June 17th, 2011 at 9:51 pm
That might have been the same guy that called on Francesa’s show earlier in the day. I’ll never understand how someone can find the time to call multiple shows throughout the day and express the point over and over again.
The host was shocked to hear Weaver’s name and that’s why he came up with Manny and Jesus as pieces that have to be moved to get Weaver.
////
Uhh, they have no life?
I heard Jesus & Betances, but same deal. I was actually shocked to hear ESPN (non-Kay) even mention Betances. Most people know Manny, but now you’re hearing Betances as well. When Betances calmed down after the first two innings in his Trenton start the other day, and started getting ahead of hitters and punching them out on that curveball, Stick Michael, sitting two rows in front of me, said “Now you’re talkin!” with a little fist pump.
.
———————————-
Yea Betances is starting to get some attention as well. I’m surprised when any host that isn’t into the minors mentions them. More often than not when those type of hosts talk about the minors it’s about trading them away.
Players do tend to have ‘banner’ years when they are in their ‘contract’ year.
blake,
he is hitting a 100 points better then Tex. That is a huge difference
Fact: No team that has ever lost to the cubs or doug davis has gone on to win the
world series
__
Nor should they.
JobaTipsHisCap June 17th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
Buck and McCarver certainly aren’t on the Yankee bandwagon. I think they are secretly tied to ESPN. (Red Sux Luvers)
LGY June 17th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Doubt it. Mason Williams is going to be a stud.
——————-
I’m gonna have to give the odds to Mell on this one. Reyes is prob unlikely but Mason Williams being the future lead off hitter has to qualify as even less likely.
_____
Mason’s odds of going to the Mets? Not very good.
Yea Betances is starting to get some attention as well. I’m surprised when any host that isn’t into the minors mentions them. More often than not when those type of hosts talk about the minors it’s about trading them away.
///
Yea they know nothing about them, just consider them trade chips. I was sitting behind a Tampa & Mets scout for Betances start. Two elderly guys – great oldtimer types – were sitting behind me, screaming down to the scouts with stalkers to give them Betances’ velocity. All these scouts at ManBan & Dellin starts make me nervous
.
I wish I could cry embarrassed tears over losing a game to the Cubs, but I’m too upset over all those games the ’27 Yankees lost to the Senators.
Or the Yanks pass on Reyes and go crazy the following winter with Kemp and Hamels or Weaver.
# J. Alfred Prufrock June 17th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Yea Betances is starting to get some attention as well. I’m surprised when any host that isn’t into the minors mentions them. More often than not when those type of hosts talk about the minors it’s about trading them away.
///
Yea they know nothing about them, just consider them trade chips. I was sitting behind a Tampa & Mets scout for Betances start. Two elderly guys – great oldtimer types – were sitting behind me, screaming down to the scouts with stalkers to give them Betances’ velocity. All these scouts at ManBan & Dellin starts make me nervous
.
——————————————————
If you’re nervous how do you think Manny and Dellin feel
Triple,
Yea if BA was everything….Gonzo is having a great year…..and I said he’s a better pure hitter than Tex……but they are both good players and probably in the same tier if your ranking 1B. Gonzalez has only hit. 300 I think once in his career before this year……this season is an outlier so far when you look at his lifetime number…..im sure the green crackerjack box.has something to do with that…..but he’s unlikely to hit .340 all year.
Theory says that a fresh Hughes and a refreshed Colon with some BP arms coming back after the All Star break make for an optimistic future.
Don’t look now but Golson is flirting with 300 down in SWB, first time in the minors.
Theory says.
Hope for the best and plan for the worst with Hughes regarding this season.
im sure the green crackerjack box.has something to do with that
===========================
.981 OPS in Fenway, 1.013 everywhere else before tonight. But he’s up over .360 at Fenway and has hit only .336 on the road.
Gonna have to say that the .381 BABIP for AGon is the pretty big outlier here.
I think people on here way under estimated the effect of him moving into a hitters park with a great lineup
If you’re nervous how do you think Manny and Dellin feel
///
Odds, they probably just care about being healthy & getting their shot in the show, where ever that may be. Of course, if I have anything to say about it, they’ll pitch here. Oh, right…I don’t
.
Triple,
I think he’ll come back to earth a bit before the year is over.
I should amend that, Odds. Betances is a local kid & told everyone not to bother to draft him, he only wanted us. I do think he would be disappointed to go somewhere else. But in the end, they just want their chance.
blake,
I hope so. Sucks that they gave up nothing to get him
They gave up the great Casey Kelly and an autographed Theo Epstein poster for Hoyer…..that’s not a lot?
Who’s going to sign Prince Fielder?
Now, that dude can mash.
Prince Fielder as a DH.
That has Levine written all over it.
I can’t think of anyone that would be available to deal Manny or Betances for right now
# J. Alfred Prufrock June 17th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
If you’re nervous how do you think Manny and Dellin feel
///
Odds, they probably just care about being healthy & getting their shot in the show, where ever that may be. Of course, if I have anything to say about it, they’ll pitch here. Oh, right…I don’t
.
—————————————-
Yea unfortunately that’s how it goes
I don’t want Prince but he might make a run at 60 homers at YS….
Gardner
Granderson
Tex
Fielder
A-Rod
Cano
Montero
Swisher
Jeter
# J. Alfred Prufrock June 17th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
I should amend that, Odds. Betances is a local kid & told everyone not to bother to draft him, he only wanted us. I do think he would be disappointed to go somewhere else. But in the end, they just want their chance.
——————————–
Very well said Prufrock.
Triple Short of a Cycle June 17th, 2011 at 10:33 pm
I think people on here way under estimated the effect of him moving into a hitters park with a great lineup.
///
There were two guys in here trying to convince everyone that AGon couldn’t possibly learn to go the other way in Fenway to take advantage of the Monster & that his power was going to take some big hit. They were roundly dismissed by people on with them at the time, including myself. Other than them, I don’t really remember anyone else here seriously trying to talk down AGon’s ability to adjust to Fenway or helping that lineup, which I have to disagree with you, it isn’t a “great” lineup before he gets there, but that’s beside the point.
Great hitters do adjust, especially when the park they’re bound for is going to be their new home park.
I think AGon will hit all year if he stays healthy, but I’m sure he’ll slow down some. The guys who I think will fall off are Ortiz, Varitek, & a guy like Salty will go back to sucking. Ellsbury will regress too. It’s not really a lineup comparable to ours, & yet it gets discussed in similar terms. Because of our 3-4-5, they really can’t compete.
A-Gon will have to come down to earth. As will Reyes and his .373 BABIP; that too has outlier written all over it.
Lo & Behold, Jed Lowrie was hitting 360 or something. Crawled back to .270 & promptly got hurt swinging. These are the kinds of things that are going to happen to guys leading a charmed first third of the season, or however far we are.
yankeefeminista June 17th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
A-Gon will have to come down to earth. As will Reyes and his .373 BABIP; that too has outlier written all over it.
////
The Reyes talk is boring, because it’s so not happening.
He was joining a lineup with Youkolis,Crawford,Pedroia and Ortiz. Thats pretty damn good if you ask me.
It’s a good lineup, but I would reserve great for one like ours, because of the power potential. We have a lot more of it. We have 3 guys in the middle who can carry the team, & Granderson makes it potentially four who could. They have….one? And some really good complementary guys. That’s the difference for me.
Ortiz is having a great season because he’s hitting LHP again.
An alliance between Red Sox and Giants fans to vote for each others players for the ASG is being advertised on a MLB sponsored site?
Yup. This game means something!
Ortiz has also cut his K% to less than half his usual K’s. That is just plain weird.
That is really weird.
So the Rays won tonight sadly, Brad Hand for the Marlins actually pitched well if not for those 2 home runs. His ball to strike ratio was pretty awful but the Marlins offense didn’t come up with anything except a John Buck home run. Their hitting with RISP was not good. But the people I was sitting next to were nice, even after I told them I was a Yankees fan.
Facing two pitchers the next two days with ERA’s over 5.5. Two days of double digit runs scored and the Yanks take 2 of 3 from the Cubbies.
CalYank
that never happens, they do well against guys with ERA’s less than 3 but awful against guys with inflated ERA’s
“An alliance between Red Sox and Giants fans to vote for each others players for the ASG is being advertised on a MLB sponsored site”
lol, what Giants player has any sliver of a shot of getting into an all-star game now that Posey is out? It’s not like fans can vote for pitchers
Who needs the Giant fans to vote for you when Peter Gammons is pulling an inside job, stuffing the ballot box.
Ballots stained with denture juice?
That’s disgusting.
Does anyone know how Ortiz turned back the clock 5 years?
I voted today for no Red Sox for the All-Star game. I want to see a good game so I voted for the best of the NL and AL and not just Yankees.
Just think if we can win the next 2 we did just as good against the Cubs than the almight Sux did. What a concept.
Tex is not as good as A-gon – frankly, he’s not as good as I thought. He’s obviously not the average hitter he used to be and he’s a lot streakier than I thought.
Triple Short of a Cycle June 18th, 2011 at 12:02 am
Does anyone know how Ortiz turned back the clock 5 years?
_______
He too has a cousin…
“Does anyone know how Ortiz turned back the clock 5 years?”
Who knows? But I like the sound of this:
“The 35-year-old is in the final year of his contract. The Red Sox picked up his $12.5 million player option in November, and Ortiz was frank in saying that he wanted a multi-year extension instead. Afterward he kept his head down and didn’t complain. The noise has been coming from his bat.
Any thoughts on the contract these days?
“I don’t know. I don’t think about it,” Ortiz said. “I will at one point — trust me.” ”
Hopefully he makes the Sox pay for not giving him the multi-year contract he wanted earlier, no pun attended
Tex will pick it up batting average wise.
I’m not sure why he seems mired in Giambi-ville right now but if he’s going to be a .250 hitter I’d like to see him draw even more walks and pull his OBP up to about .380-.385.
A-Rod still seems much too helpless against hard throwing RHP. That fastball from Marmol was in the glove before he swung at it.
On an unrelated note, Luis Ayala has now put up 0s in 8 consecutive outings. What a Cashman find.
It’s our scouting in Mexico that is responsible for not only Ayala but Ramiro Pena, Jorge Vazquez, Alfredo Aceves and Manny Banuelos. Cashman made it a priority about five years ago when he hired Lee Sigman who has done a great job.
Yeah that Teixiera I hate him too. tied for first for Home runs and second in the AL in RBI’s. What a lazy bum. Too bad real baseball isnt like fantasy baseball where you can just draft the best people in all of the MLB at the beginning of each season for your team. Would make cheering for them just so much easier.
Ortiz will sign a 2 year home town discount for 20 million. The Sox have already mentioned Tek and the home town discount he gave and if Ortiz wants to stay he will need to do the same thing. If he leaves they collect 2 picks and will sign Fielder or something like that
tyanksfan36,
Did you honestly think Tex would turn into a 250ish hitter his second year here and be as streaky as he has been when they got him?
. . . or something like that. An ugly thought.
Triple
Well I didn’t know much about him before he came to the Yankees. My thing is that a lot of people complain that every player on the Yankees aren’t over.300 hitters who get a hit with RISP every time up(when the situation warrants it). Or they’re not as good as so and so. Obviously each guy on the team provides something, Tex is second in the AL in RBI and scoring runs is how you win games(along with pitching) so maybe he isn’t up there in runs, walks or OBP but he is batting runs in. I just feel that as a fan you(or I) have to sometimes take the good with the bad. And there are good things that he provides to the team. Does that make sense? I have been up since 6am so that might not make much sense.
pat June 17th, 2011 at 11:28 pm
An alliance between Red Sox and Giants fans to vote for each others players for the ASG is being advertised on a MLB sponsored site?
Yup. This game means something!
—
I’ll be happy to watch the Red Sox win the Yankees home field advantage for the World Series.
Most players are streaky, and that becomes apparent the more you want them.
Tex’s issues are solely batting LH. His swing gets a little long and given his natural uppercut, it makes him more likely to swing and miss. I’d like to see him go the other way batting LH a little more, which I think I’ve seen some of this year, but that’s not based on data.
This should be Papi’s walk up song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGL2rytTraA
(hopefully someone gets it)
On the Texieira question, I think his drop in average might be more alarming to us because the same thing happened to his predecessor – Giambi. Giambi hit .340 the year before he signed with the Yanks, hit .314 his first year with NY, then dropped to .250 and only once saw .270 after that. Not sure how to explain it, other than these guys might get pull happy after they get to the Stadium, as left-handed hitters? But Tex is a switch-hitter, and Giambi had other issues (steroids).
OTOH, if you think Tex is declining even modestly, it’s yet another reason that trading Montero for a pitcher is batsh!t crazy.
say what you want about the sox,they beat a division leader with a pitcher who was 7-2 and an sub 3 era while the yankees lose to a cellar dweller with a pitcher who is 0-5 and an almost 6 era. that says alot
Today was like facing J. Moyer.
“say what you want about the sox,they beat a division leader with a pitcher who was 7-2 and an sub 3 era while the yankees lose to a cellar dweller with a pitcher who is 0-5 and an almost 6 era. that says alot”
The Sox played at home in half stadium.
Tex has been the least of the Yanks problems this year.
Win today…..Dempster has struggled this year but he’s a pretty good pitcher in general…..maybe they’ll hit him. The Yanks just seem to be creatures of habits offensively….they are a very cerebral offense. They like like to take pitches…..exploit patterns etc. (Except Cano)…..so while Im extremely annoyed that they scored 1 run in a game Doug Davis started…..Im not shocked as they seem to struggle with pitchers and in environments they are unfamiliar with. If they faced Davis next week theyd probably have him out by the 3rd inning.
Reyes talking to Boras….AKA he wants to be shown the money. Boras will top the Crawford deal if he represents him.
Good morning Blake.
If I wanted to make the big bucks that’s who I’d have representing me. Nobody better at it.
Blake-
Manny crapped the bed last night.
He seemed to be rolling along and then just blew up.
Guess it happens to the best of them.
New thread ==>
I haven’t closely followed Tex’s career enough to know this, but could the average drop be due to the shift? How many years has the league been shifting to pull on him?
Tex’s left side swing is long and mad ugly. However, if you go look at the stats although his average may be lower, his OBP and SLG are superior from the right side:
Left side: .249/.374/.562
Right side:.263/.355/.513
Should read from the *left* side
YF-
What happened to Banuelos last night ?
“say what you want about the sox,they beat a division leader with a pitcher who was 7-2 and an sub 3 era while the yankees lose to a cellar dweller with a pitcher who is 0-5 and an almost 6 era. that says alot”
The Sox played at home in half stadium.
what does that even mean
The talk about Tex and his batting average is misguided, and a little myopic, putting too much emphasis on his down year in 2010. Tex generally doesn’t start to heat up with the bat until July. Over the 3-year period from 2008 through 2010, Tex hit .260/.359/.490/.850 from March trough June, and .310/.399/.574/.973 from July Through October. So, if Tex holds true to his recent historical norms, then he will end the year at about .281/.389/.559/.941. In other words, Tex looks like he is well on pace to matching his 2009 year with the Yanks. In fact, I think that he is in a very strong position to have his best year ever, considering that he is on a 50-homer pace. AGon is going to have a rough go of it through the remainder of the year.
BTW, his lefty-righty splits don’t support the theory that he becomes homer-happy from the left side. Thus far in 2011, Tex is hitting:.251/.379/.569/.948 from the left, and .253/.340/.494/.834 from the right. In short, Tex has significantly more power from the left than the right, but hits for about the same average as the right side. With these kinds of numbers, it’s hard to make the case that Tex has been getting himself out, batting left-handed.
MTU, no substantive info b/c he was on the road and I didn’t listen to the game until he was already exiting. However, from stats, 3IP, 17 batters, the 3 BB’s and 5 runs, I am guessing the usual FB command issues cropped up in the bottom of the 4th. Manny gave up a homer to the same guy, Maldonado, that he previously had given up a dinger to in a previous game vs. the B-Mets. Although the former might have been wind-blown, Maldonado has Manny’s # so far this year. The good news though is that Manny’s first 3 innings were clean, 3 K’s, 2 GO’s and only 1 hit. So, he was seemingly economical (although could have run up pitch counts. Both the Trenton B’s need to go to less full counts) and efficient up until then. Manny imploded in the bottom of the 4th, wrapping 2 walks around Maldonado’s homer. Then gave up two doubles and a single and was pulled. I expect he will be better in his next outing.
I was at the game yesterday (7 rows behind Yanks dugout) and to their defense Davis has a weird slow delivery even more so in person. Also, some really slow pitches…75-85 mph. It was like watching them play against a high school pitcher and it’s ridiculous they couldn’t hit him. On a better note, so many Yankee fans at Wrigley, it was almost a home game. Going again tomorrow night, and they better beat these jokers!