Bucky Dent meet and greet today
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Aug 08, 2011 
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If you’re in Manhattan and have some time to kill on your lunch break, stop by the Yankee Clubhouse Shop on 5th Ave. to meet Bucky Dent. Here’s the press release with the details.
WHO: Bucky Dent, three-time All-Star, former New York Yankee
WHAT: Bucky Dent will participate in a meet-and-greet and autograph session with SUBWAY at the fourth stop of the SUBWAY Baseball DeSIGNS tour, a unique traveling national tour of more than 40 baseballs designed by kids and autographed by celebrities.
Celebrities that have autographed baseballs in the tour include members of the cast of “Glee;” Ryan Seacrest; singer Katy Perry; actors Kellan Lutz, Ashley Greene and Selena Gomez; World Series Champion Ryan Howard; Blake Griffin of the LA Clippers; gold medalist Michael Phelps and Apolo Ohno; and Super Bowl champion’s Drew Brees and Joe Montana.
In addition to viewing the baseballs on tour, fans can also go to SUBWAYKids.com. At the end of the tour the baseballs will be auctioned online with all proceeds going to the Little League Baseball Urban Initiative.
WHEN: Monday, 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Yankee Clubhouse Shop, 393 5th Ave. (between 36th and 37th Streets)
Sorry about the late notice. I meant to post this yesterday, but it completely slipped my mind.
Bucky Dent, 2 time NYY all-star in 80,81 was for the Yankees what Marco Scutaro is for the RS- a pest!
YT-
You were awfully quiet this morning.
I feel as though I have been violated this morning. First CC. Then Mo. How much more can a man take? Seriously, 2-10 against any team sucks but against the Red Sox it’s hard to take. None of the three games went the way I expected. I thought CC was a “banker” and feared Garcia would get shelled. I think that made last night’s defeat all the more disappointing. Our goal was to get the ball to Mo with a lead. We achieved that…and still lost. Can’t believe Mo has now blown 14 saves against the Sox. Has a team ever returned from a 5-2 road trip so deflated?
MTU-
Had to go to the airport and just got back.
Who on the Yankees got blasted today?
Martin for the 2 passed balls/wild pitches + getting thrown out at 2nd just before the Nunez homer?
Failure to score with RISP?
Posada to the bench?
Hughes coming in to lose the game? Rivera being hittable?
No Montero to save the day?
Bucky Dent, 2 time NYY all-star in 80,81 was for the Yankees what Marco Scutaro is for the RS- a pest!
===============================
For all the noise last night about Scutaro’s double being an out anywhere else but Fenway, people should always remember Dent’s homer in 1978 doesn’t get to the warning track at Yankee Stadium.
YT-
Just look back at the prior thread.
Some of what you say.
Biggest complaint is that the Yankees can’t seem to beat the Sux.
Don’t match up well, etc.
I always love beating the Sux but to me it doesn’t necessarily affect the big picture.
We’re still getting to the playoffs and what happens after that is anyone’s guess.
The regular season is not necessarily a predictor of PS play.
bruceb – Has a team ever returned from a 5-2 road trip so deflated?
You are deflated, not the team. They get over losses by the time they get home.
Good morning –
Tough night. Nothing else to say. It was a team loss. Yes, Mariano threw the pitches, as did Phil. However, 0-10 for RISP speaks for itself, as Chad said. Even one more run gives you that cushion for a blip.
For that reason, I would think even more about promoting Montero. Yes, Chavez helps, no question, but adding another bat, esp. a righty, helps also. Especially one with the potential of Montero’s.
Yes, it’s very tough to do that and carry Martin, Cervelli, and Posada. To me, Martin and Cervelli bring something to the table. If Posada can only sit on the bench……
It’s a very difficult decision, not because of the logic, but for the personal issues. And, I’m sure it’s eating at Joe, and even Cash, because they know what needs to be done. But, how they do it is important, because creating a clubhouse distraction does not help win games.
Maybe Posada can pull a Phil Rizzuto, who, on being released during the season, did not create a distraction and went home. Then, during the offseason, the Yanks gave him a job as broadcaster, which he kept for the rest of his working life and rode to the HOF.
We can only guess as to what discussions are going on behind the scenes.
“Our goal was to get the ball to Mo with a lead.”
Unless we have lost faith in Mo then to me that’s a good thing. They beat Lester and should have won the game Beckett pitched as well.
I know that it stinks that we lost 2 games…..but we lost two games mainly because the two pitchers I have the most faith in on the team failed……I have to believe they’ll be better when it counts.
When Carlos Santana was called up the Indians were far from involved in a pennant race. It is not an ideal situation to introduce a new C to a pitching staff this late in the season and in the thick of a race as are the Yanks. The advantage is that the Yanks do have a healthy cushion in the wild card race….particularly if they can take the series from the Angels and Rays over the next few days.
Having said that, I want to see Montero on this team yesterday….
Irreverent Discourse August 8th, 2011 at 10:50 am
bruceb – Has a team ever returned from a 5-2 road trip so deflated?
You are deflated, not the team. They get over losses by the time they get home.
Not surprisingly, the players looked just as deflated as the fans last night.
For all the noise last night about Scutaro’s double being an out anywhere else but Fenway, people should always remember Dent’s homer in 1978 doesn’t get to the warning track at Yankee Stadium
—-
Same with Nunez’s HR last night but no one complains about the Monster when it benefits the Yankees.
I think the issue with Posada isnt as big of a deal because we are so close to the rosters expanding. If this were May and they were benching him and had to face the majority of the season short handed then that would be one thing…..but they just have a couple weeks before they’ll have plenty of roster space for everyone.
They could bring Montero up and either send a pitcher down until the end of the month or send Cervelli down until the end of the month.
Blake
I know that it stinks that we lost 2 games…..but we lost two games mainly because the two pitchers I have the most faith in on the team failed……I have to believe they’ll be better when it counts
An astute comment. You are right. CC can obviously pitch better; we know that, but you can’t escape the fact that four times he has faced Boston this year and four times he has come up short. They have almost single-handedly knocked him out of CY Young contention. Hopefully, he and we will have our revenge later this year.
The Red Sox should put a windmill and clown’s mouth in RF to balance the field out.
As far as Scutaro’s double being a Green Monster Special – hey, you take the good with the bad. Both teams played in the same park yesterday.
The bigger thing was 0-10 with RISP.
If Montero doesn’t come up till rosters expand, will he be eligible for the post season?
The regular season is not necessarily a predictor of PS play.
———————————————-
MTU-
I’m with you on that. Health comes 1st. Also a lot depends on how well you can line up your rotation and lineup-who’s got the hot hand.
But ultimately bringing up a phenom to save the day[ not Mighty Mouse], someone like K-Rod:
Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod) was called up on Sept. 18, 2002, by the Anaheim Angels, the same year the team went on to win the World Series. As a reliever, K-Rod had two victories in the ALDS against the Yankees and went 2-0 vs. the Twins in the ALCS (with seven strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings). In the World Series against the Giants, he had a 1-1 record with 13 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings. At 20 years old, he became the youngest ever to win a World Series game.
Manny Banuelos anyone???
Bruce,
True…..honestly I consider it more of an anomaly than anything. He just hasn’t pitched well against them for whatever reason…..Id feel worse if he had threw the ball well and they still hit him……
No matter who the opponent is, tacking on some insurance runs in the 7th and 8th innings are always a good cushion to have regardless of how “lights out” your bullpen is. Too many variables can happen. A one run lead tells the opponent that there’s still a chance to at least tie the game.
Joe from Long Island August 8th, 2011 at 11:00 am
If Montero doesn’t come up till rosters expand, will he be eligible for the post season?
——————————————–
Francisco Rodriguez, as I just posted came up in the middle of September.
From what i understand, Montero could be added to the postseason roster as a replacement for a like position player going on the DL-in this case catcher and DH. Therefore I believe it’s Yes.
108,
I agree.. Mo blew they save and they did take a lead into the 9th…..but they had Beckett on the ropes all night and couldn’t deliver any sort of knock out blow. Some of it was bad luck……they hit some balls hard at people….but some of it also was just not getting the job done. Cano had a rough series offensivsly…..when Alex is out he’s the guy that has to pick up the slack or the offense tends to sputter.
108 – in a one-run game, all it takes is one pitch.
“Gardner stole a base in the fourth and another in the ninth, his 20th and 21st consecutive steals without being caught. That broke Paul Molitor’s AL record for consecutive successful steals in a single-season (20), and Gardner’s just two away from tying the MLB record. Go Brett go.”
-RAB
Of course Nunez would have had a 2 run homer if Martin hadn’t tried for 2nd.
I’d suspect the RS are the AL leaders or amongst the top in come from behind 9th inning victories.
Has ESPN announced when the 30 for 30 chronicling Pedroia’s pre pitch hop will air yet? They had to cut short the in depth analysis of it last night because the game kept getting in the way.
“..honestly I consider it more of an anomaly than anything. He just hasn’t pitched well against them for whatever reason…..Id feel worse if he had threw the ball well and they still hit him……”
I’m sort of hoping that the law of averages will play out for both CC and Mo come October and they’ll be able to hold it down.
Blake-
Cano did have a rough series. Maybe he hangs out too much with Andruw Jones.
montero can only be eligible for the postseason if called up beyond aug. 31 is if there is an eligible postseason position player on the dl (preferably on the 60 day dl) so right now, I think there is none.
champ809 August 8th, 2011 at 10:55 am
When Carlos Santana was called up the Indians were far from involved in a pennant race. It is not an ideal situation to introduce a new C to a pitching staff this late in the season and in the thick of a race as are the Yanks. The advantage is that the Yanks do have a healthy cushion in the wild card race….particularly if they can take the series from the Angels and Rays over the next few days.
Having said that, I want to see Montero on this team yesterday….
///
Champ, not a good excuse, IMO, because having basically removed Posada as the DH for all intents and purporses, Montero can now be inserted there without any of the consequences behind the plate the Yankees seem to live in dread of.
There is no good reason why Montero can’t take over at DH for the most part, & pick up some lower leverage games behind the plate for a slow introduction to the Yankee pitching staff.
Removing Posada and replacing him at DH with Chavez is a little anti-climactic. Montero has the potential to be a difference maker to such a degree, you might not have been trying to protect a one-run lead that fell victim to a fake hit off the wall.
I don’t even get the post above saying when the Yankees get those kinds of hits, there are no complaints. Rather than looking for an “excuse”, which some here weirdly focus on when we point out ballpark factor, the idea is to have a lineup that can take MORE advantage – not less – in getting those cheap, ballpark created big hits.
Montero and Alex had better both be in that lineup in 18 days or whatever the timeline is for our next visit to Fenway Park. Are people here too young to remember what Alex and Sheffield did to that wall? I doubt it.
Who gets sent down for Montero? It won’t be Cervelli, Girardi has already said as much. We all know it won’t be Posada getting cut or DL’d either.
The reason why they will not send down Cervelli is because Joe has annointed him CC’s personal catcher. Joe, who was not a good hitting catcher (triple in the WS not withstanding), has a ridiculous allegiance to light hitting catchers having roles on his club. He did this with Molina and he’s doing it with Cervelli. By making them “personal catchers” he creates a false important role for them to justify him protecting a guy on the roster who is basically a mirror image of him. He does not want the big bat of Montero to come up and take the role away from a defensively minded craftsman behind the plate. That would be akin to him kicking himself off the team. If you can’t see this, you’re not watching and listening when he talks in the post game.
I think Joe would be more than happy to send Jorge back to Puerto Rico early this season and give Montero DH at bats.
The Yankees front office are the ones terrified of Jorge spouting off and creating a distraction and impression that they disrespect their veterans who have won in the trenches for them. Girardi would love nothing more than knowing he got to end Jorge’s Yankee career as Jorge basically did to him.
The dynamic going on behind the scenes is completely dysfunctional here. It’s a combination of ego, past regrets, insecurity, fear, etc. that is shaping key decisions and roles on this club.
CC Sabathia does not need a personal catcher. He could pitch to Swisher behind the plate if he had to.
But Girardi has created a “defined” role for his puppy Cervelli and because of that he is using that as an excuse to resist the change that is needed.
It’s up to Cashman, Levine and the front office to either stop the Jorge charade by convincing him to hit the DL until Sept (which he won’t agree to) or stop the Cervelli charade perpetrated by Girardi.
The front office should tell Girardi having 2 light hitting defensive catchers isn’t his birthright. You get one. The one who has the plus bat tools is coming up and you’ll see Cervelli in Sept.
Unless Posada is not agreeable to a dl stint, it is the most logical solution to this. The yankees can not make the move if posada will not go along with it.
Triple – 4 hot games does not change a season-long trend.
——————
Montero hit .271/.346/.514 in July and is hitting .381/.458/.571 in August.
Post ASB he has hit .286/.360/.506
Who gets sent down for Montero? It won’t be Cervelli, Girardi has already said as much. We all know it won’t be Posada getting cut or DL’d either.
——————-
How about one of the 8 million pitchers they have on the roster right now?
6 man rotation, unpredictable SP. An argument that this team needs more body if anything else.
Send down a pitcher that and carry 3 catchers for 3 weeks……then bring up all the pitchers you want.
I don’t think Jorge is causing waves……he’s past that at this point. He’s been given 2/3 of the season and its just not happened for him. The Yankees aren’t going to cut him because of what he’s done for the organization and with rosters expanding soon there really is no great need to anyway.
Matsui is hitting .451/.495/.720 Post ASB
If posada is amenable to a dl stint, then the yankees are not creative enough to put him on the dl.
“How about one of the 8 million pitchers they have on the roster right now?”
That works only until ARod comes back. Due to the rule requiring 12+ pitchers on the Yankee roster at that point a hitter would have to be sent down.
Holy Machiavelli, G. Love!
G.Love is spot on.
blake August 8th, 2011 at 10:52 am
“Our goal was to get the ball to Mo with a lead.”
Unless we have lost faith in Mo then to me that’s a good thing. They beat Lester and should have won the game Beckett pitched as well.
I know that it stinks that we lost 2 games…..but we lost two games mainly because the two pitchers I have the most faith in on the team failed……I have to believe they’ll be better when it counts.
///
This is also the point: Sabathia and Rivera as a point of focus is again circling the big fat ugly issue the Yankees themselves have half-created and which is staring them in the face without even a hint of their recognition of it.
Sabathia and Rivera ARE the arms we trust the most; they’re not an issue. They’re pretty much a given. You can’t try to deconstruct the Yankees’ Fenway failures based on those guys not being themselves.
What you can do, and what the Yankees MUST do, is address the greater problem that helped the Red Sox pull away in the CC game and which forced Rivera into a ninth with the slimmest of margins in the most unpredictable of ballparks.
We had that inning in the CC game where Granderson and Tex (both lefties, against Lackey) chased high outside fastballs and Cano, another lefty, rolled over, to pull out from under ourselves the Big Inning which we customarily have enjoyed in that weird little park to play one-up on offense and build to a slugfest finish. A big cushion in Fenway over the years has meant virtually nothing for the team that holds it, even the home team.
We don’t have that right now with this lineup. Alex is out – no fault to the Yankees there, the guy is hurt. But the player who can help alleviate the right-handed power dearth in that park the most after Alex – Jesus Montero – inexplicably remains in Scranton, outside of some reservations expressed by Girardi about getting to know the pitchers this late in the season of a pennant race.
Nevermind that the “pennant race” is decided by runs scored as well, and not some blocked balls and CS statistic in some vacuum of Girardi’s imagination. This is especially so in Fenway. How much did it help CC to have Cervelli catch him on Saturday?? Montero could have easily done what Cervelli did. Last night, they wouldn’t even have had to play Montero behind the plate, they could have made him a DH instead of having yet another left-handed hitter serving the role.
In Rivera’s case, some slugging might have given him a bigger cushion, which is always handy in that place when the home-team can bounce on off that wall to get back into the game or walk off.
The Yankees’ “problem” with Boston isn’t that the Red Sox are “inside CC’s head,” or that Mariano’s location is more of a crap shoot than in the past (even if that’s a growing reality, that’s all the MORE reason to build a lineup that can give him and the rest of the pen insurance).
The problem is, for the first time in years, they don’t have a lineup construction that can not just compete, but that can TAKE ADVANTAGE of Fenway Park. That’s grim, if you’re facing that team in the ALCS. NO amount of “run prevention” is going to solve that, because you would need to be utterly perfect to achieve that, with no offense to bail you out and extend your half of innings.
I don’t see how that isn’t clear to the Yankees.
That works only until ARod comes back. Due to the rule requiring 12+ pitchers on the Yankee roster at that point a hitter would have to be sent down.
————————
Chavez will probably be on the DL by then
Excellent post G Love
sheffeild use to kill boston…(i read a comment how he killed the green monster)
it seems like cano is great but cant handle the pressure of being the person to carry the line up
he kills boston when hes the 5 or 6 hitter,
hence y i feel arod is still the best player on our team
Not sure if Wade and Ayala have any options left. Noesi does and could be sent down. Don’t think the others do….
“I don’t think Jorge is causing waves…”
blake-
i know he wants to play, but at some point he probably realizes ” man, i’m getting a whole lot of money with a really good seat with a view.”
For that reason, I would think even more about promoting Montero. Yes, Chavez helps, no question, but adding another bat, esp. a righty, helps also. Especially one with the potential of Montero’s.
///
Yeah actually Chavez doesn’t help much in Fenway Park, if we’re looking Big Picture and ahead to a potential ALCS.
That’s right, especially a righty bat. That’s not a throw away consideration. A righty power bat, to go along with Alex, is THE MAIN POINT for success in Fenway Park for the Yankees.
J Alfred,
I don’t disagree……I wanted Montero up a month ago. However we have to be careful not to.expect the kid to come up and transform the offense…..that’s unfair to him.
We can expect him to help…..but what’s going to transform the offense is for Alex to come back healthy and for guys like Cano and Tex to hit the way they can.
I love when J. Alfred says what’s what. No sarcasm. PREACH!
The Yankees have lost at Fenway before. They’ve lost in Fenway having a lead going into the 9th with Mariano on the mound before. They have played both close games and blowouts at Fenway.
I think there is a slight over-reaction going on.
Last night, until the 9th inning, the Red Sox were equally as poor getting runners in. The night before, CC was tossing BP and the Red Sox were able to take advantage of that because they are a good offensive team, and they have been for a long time. Beckett may not have been sharp last night but he was not tossing BP.
One more thing hat has been done before. Scutaro has beaten Mo before. Perhaps DRob should have faced him and then bring in Mo? Not a serious suggestion, but a just a thought.
Also, regarding the Montero situation – sheesh. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Simple explanations are usually at work.
For all the noise last night about Scutaro’s double being an out anywhere else but Fenway, people should always remember Dent’s homer in 1978 doesn’t get to the warning track at Yankee Stadium
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I don’t know who even wrote this, but is there any greater example of entirely missing the point???
The point is, we need MORE of a strategic lineup to take advantage of Fenway Park – the Dent example is exactly how you MUST approach getting out of there with wins. That one got out, but having REAL POWER RIGHTIES to take out the guesswork and humble the now way too painless pitching performances of even mediocre Red Sox starters (Lackey) is the ENTIRE POINT.
Beckett last night would have been POUNDED by our lineup if this was the Alex/Sheffield days. Breezing through righties means extra oomph for the team’s big lefties and extra pitches in that arm for them. Alex and Montero would relationally make pitching to Cano and Granderson, and Swisher and Tex, even though batting left-handed, much more arduous.
THAT’S THE POINT, YANKEES. Load up not just to compete, but to take obscene advantage if you can of that Monster.
Randy,
Yea…I think he’s probably resigned to his fate by now. I hate it…..I really do. He’s one of my favorites…….just hoping the baseball gods give him his day in the sun before its over……sokethig similar to what Derek got for 3,000.
Batting left-handed meaning in terms of the park, not in terms of a RHP throwing to a LHB.
“Girardi would love nothing more than knowing he got to end Jorge’s Yankee career as Jorge basically did to him.”
i don’t think this is true at all, but i do think he sees himself in cervelli.
girardi was not the hot dog cervelli is though.
the yankees are not going to be bold here and bring montero up. they’ll wait for the rosters to expand .
i went to bed , but gee that was a cool idea to bring in hughes in relief. who would have thought a guy warming up for his next start might suck as a sudden relief pitcher? go figure.
Chad,
Can you do us all a huge favor: the next time you see Wally Matthews, can you please kick him as hard as you can right in the nuts. Thanks!
Tell him it’s from Yankees fans everywhere.
You just have to read between the lines. Girardi has been perpetuating this idea for awhile now that Montero behind the plate would be a disaster defensively and rock the fragile pitching staff’s boat.
He’s said several times, in regards to this topic, that putting Montero behind the plate would be a bad thing to do because of his “inexperience”. He’s not admitting that a plus bat can bail out the mistakes of inexperience and after several weeks of playing time the inexperience starts to go away in small bits.
Basically, what he’s saying is that Montero is too green to be given this critical role. What he’s not saying is how Montero will ever get the reps or the experience he lacks at this level. He’s blocking him in a passive aggressive way.
Now that Martin no longer catches CC it’s obvious that Joe has a plan in mind here and in the post season Cervelli will catch CC.
It’s beyond ridiculous. It’s insecurity at it’s finest.
He’ll run Nunez out there when he was throwing the ball into the Hudson and talk about patience and how he needs experience.
But when it comes to catcher, there is no allowance for patience, a chance or development of experience.
It’s a psychological thing and I guarantee you that Girardi on more than one occasion has told Cashman and his bosses that he doesn’t want some green catcher up here because it could kill the pitching staff.
There’s no other explanation at this point. Other organizations are promoting players left and right and dropping them into pennant races.
Because Montero is a catcher, he can’t get his promotion because our manager has decided that he doesn’t need offense at catcher. He values defense.
Girardi has essentially turned the Yankees former circular lineup into a NL lineup with a pitcher batting every night.
I think he really wanted that Cubs job.
blake – I can’t really explain it and obviously have no proof since its a matter of making a prediction but I still think Posada will come up big for us late in the season/early in the 2nd season. I just have that feeling…. and I’m hoping I’m right, because he deserves to go out with people remembering why he was such a special player.
G.Love – I basically agree with the thrust of your piece, though I think you’re a bit overly aggressive in stating the case. (By the way, aren’t you a writer? What sort of work do you do?)
Every manager is graded on one thing – wins. How many games, how many playoffs, how many WS victories. I think Joe is smart enough to realize that Jorge, in 2011, cannot significantly contibute to that goal. There’s no mystery there.
Winning games in the regular season is not the issue. One can honestly say that with the present roster, for all it’s warts, they have the thrid best record in all of baseball, second best in the league.
However, it’s the post-season, where you play the best, and every game is vital, that’s the trick. You need to be firing on all cylinders in October. That’s why they really need to move on the Posada-Montero front ASAP, to get the issues in the clubhouse squared away so as not to distract, and to give the kid an honest chance to succeed.
I think this is the biggest issue facing the team right now, bigger than the 6 starting pitchers business. They have the pitching. They need to have as potent a lineup as possible to give themselves the best shot at winning any given game. That’s what it comes down to, IMO.
G.Love
The Yankees front office are the ones terrified of Jorge spouting off and creating a distraction and impression that they disrespect their veterans who have won in the trenches for them. Girardi would love nothing more than knowing he got to end Jorge’s Yankee career as Jorge basically did to him
I love your posts, if you’ll pardon the pun, but I seriously hope this is not the case. That would make Girardi a very vindictive man and he certainly doesn’t come across that way to me. The problem is that Posada has become the elephant in the room. There’s no longer any role for him on the team but they can’t just jettison him the way they would almost any other player. We’ve gone two thirds of a season without a power-hitting DH. It’s been a serious handicap, and one that was never more in evidence than this weekend. With A-Rod out, we can’t afford to carry any passengers in our batting line-up but Posada, Cervelli and, to a certain extent, Martin all fall into that category.
randy – hi.
Do you think Girardi thought of using Hughes last night totally on his own? No input from Rothschild, or Pena?
I have to believe that Girardi, Cashman et al. know what they are doing. But as a fan and I think the media must feel the same way, sometimes it just doesn’t appear that they can make up their minds. I reference the 6 man rotation(everyone has their preference but just pick 5 guys already); Hughes not starting Tuesday when that was the plan and he only threw 13 pitches (why can’t he just stick to the plan? PH, AJ and Nova are probably going to pitch the LAA series in some order so why the confusion?); Montero (Joe doesn’t want an inexperienced catcher? Then why were they looking to trade Cervelli to Pitt,as read here. Montero would’ve certainly come up then).
The Boss had sign on his desk that read: “Lead, Follow or Get the hell out of the way!” He must be spinning in his grave at the indecisiveness.
Shame,
He’s still a pro hitter……skills are diminished but he coukd still turn back the clock in spurts and be a valuable bat off the bench.
Randy,
I wasn’t wild about Hughes throwing in that situation either……he finally just had an outing he coukd feel good about and they throw him into a situation like that at Fenway ….
1 game out, with about 50 to play. The Yanks should gain confidence from this last series knowing that they should have taken 2 of 3 and might have even had a chance at a sweep had CC been better. They proved that they can hang in and beat the Red Sox. I think that was the main goal of this weekend. If they do meet in the ALCS, it is going to be a long series. The Yanks won’t just roll over.
blake-
for some unknown reason i have a good feeling about this year with the yankees and how jorge might figure in as a role player.
one thing i hate is seeing varitek keep being productive when posada can’t cacth because of the concussion.
if there weren’t concussion problems , posada could have been the back up catcher and rehabilitated himself in this role as varitek has. varitek had a down period way worse than posada’s, but playing less and learning a new role has allowed him to keep playing.
it is a myth that players can’t reinvent themselves and that aging is a straight down trajectory.
if it weren’t for the concussion problems, posada would be catching part time like varitek is. most
the people on this blog who bash posad’as cacthing ability have no idea what being a good catcher is. posada was average defensively. the concussion syndrome really created problems for him back there.
you would see it in forgetting counts and the odd base running. that said i still hated seeing varitek catching a meaningful game with jorge sitting it out .
of course varitek can catch till he’s 50 and he won’t catch posada in offensive stats.
blake August 8th, 2011 at 11:48 am
J Alfred,
I don’t disagree……I wanted Montero up a month ago. However we have to be careful not to.expect the kid to come up and transform the offense…..that’s unfair to him.
We can expect him to help…..but what’s going to transform the offense is for Alex to come back healthy and for guys like Cano and Tex to hit the way they can.
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Blake, I think though you’re undermining the premise with which you already have said you agree.
No one here who is smart, I’ve found, has claimed for one instant that Montero is going to singularly rescue the offense. You know that. You also know that the potential of a bat like his, especially in Fenway, will make pitching to the ENTIRE LINEUP that much more difficult. He will not BECOME Alex, but he will help him. Even the Yankees have to be careful with Saltimacchia in Yankee Stadium, because of OUR ballpark construction. He’s a guy you can fairly easily to get to chase and get himself out, but his power potential has to be respected.
Take Montero batting right-handed at Fenway, with his shorter stroke and lightning hands, and that is going to cause the Boston Red Sox headaches that right now, they don’t have to worry about all that much. Couple that with Alex giving them troubles, and that presents a much more optimistic offensive picture for the Yankees winning games up there. It doesn’t make Montero a savior whom we’re expecting to hit .500. That’s a dumbed down argument that’s been used, and not very effectively, by people in here who just don’t bother to read the posts.
bruceb,
I think you’re giving Girardi the person more credit than I do. Walk with me for a second here. You’re the starting catcher on a World Championship team that is about to start a dynasty run we haven’t seen in baseball in I don’t know how long. Then all of sudden this kid comes up who can hit moonshots but can’t hold your jock defensively behind the plate. He slowly starts to usurp your role, but you believe your manager, a former catcher at one time, will value my incredible handling of the pitching staff more than this young guys ability to hit the ball into the seats on a nightly basis. Soon your starts start to dry up. You’re not catching as much as you used to. The other catcher, who can’t play behind the dish like you, is making mistakes but being celebrated for his bat. Next thing you know, you’re in the managers office being told “we’re making a change behind the plate”. Soon after, you’re no longer part of the dynasty team and this power hitting catcher who is horrible, in your eyes, behind the plate is being celebrated as one of the core members of the dynasty…as if you weren’t a part of it at the start.
Tell me, how do you think you’d feel when a similar power hitting catcher who can’t hold your jock defensively is being thrust upon your team while the light hitting pumpkin who has your moxie’s career and livelihood is being threatened?
Human beings are flawed. Insecurity, regret and feelings rarely disappear with age.
“I wasn’t wild about Hughes throwing in that situation either……he finally just had an outing he coukd feel good about and they throw him into a situation like that at Fenway ….”
blake-
i would have never made that move simply because highes finally had something to build on.
now he’s right back to “i suck ” mode.
I agree Posada creates roster issues. He serves no function, and to add Montero creates a situation where four players can only catch or DH(excepting the rare Cervelli IF play).
They could and likely should add Montero while sending down a pitcher. Then, what would they do when AROD returns? Someone else would have to be shipped out. They must have a BU OF and Nunez and Chavez. The numbers don’t work to bring up Montero and keep Posada.
I do not believe in a million years Posada would go along with a fake DH stint. As a result, Selig wouldn’t allow an addition after 8/31.
There is no basis to suggest Girardi is vindictive toward Posada. He has given Posada every chance to succeed as the DH this year.
“Do you think Girardi thought of using Hughes last night totally on his own? No input from Rothschild, or Pena?”
joe from long island-
i think it was right up there with thinking ” gee, let’s play sheffield at first base for the playoffs”.
whoever thought it up was over thinking.
it was a really stupid move.
unless the yankees are trying to figure how many creative ways to jerk hughes around.
if that’s the case. good move. one more way to jerk him around.
Randy,
Totally agree….both posts. If Jorge coukd still cat h then he’d have much more value and he’d likely feel a lot better about his role on the team…….and with Hughes, exactly. He just had a positive outcome……then thy take and throw him into one of the most difficult spots in baseball when he isn’t used to relieving anymore…….just strange.
If Cervelli sees one inning in the post season (not counting a mop up role) – Girardi needs to be fired. Why couldn’t that Pittsburgh deal gone through…
Reading excerpt from Yankee clubhouse guys new book……… Torre having horse racing results brought to him in the dugout during games ? Couldn’t wait 3 hours for that info? Makes anything he would have to say about Alex playing poker null and void I would think.
Shame Spencer August 8th, 2011 at 11:49 am
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I love when J. Alfred says what’s what. No sarcasm. PREACH!
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Shame, I’m not preaching (I know you’re joking)
I just find it exasperating, more than losing a couple of games, that these fake narratives gain momentum because people have decided on them and then script the results to what’s been agreed upon, regardless of the actual conditions of having lost two games.
Because it’s Boston, it’s an endless brushback of false clues to why the team didn’t win. I don’t particularly get worked up about losses to Boston out of context. What bothers me is the Yankees’ seeming lack of understanding of the reality of what it takes to win in Fenway Park, not bothering to look at their own history of success up there as a guidemap.
Approaching the Yankees/Red Sox in Fenway, like some NL West competition, looking to secure that “extra edge in run prevention” is comically flawed. Or tragically so, depending on how you look at it, I guess.
I agree with the Hughes sentiment but he’s going to have to learn to bounce back from this type of outing if he’s ever going to reach his potential. He didn’t look that bad last night, just made two mistakes and that was enough. He’s got to keep building even if the results weren’t great. If he can’t do that, then I don’t know if he is cut out for the rotation.
J Alfred,
As I said……I don’t disagree. Just think expectations have to be realistic……he would give them another threat in the lineup though which can have indirect implications as well.
A few points on today’s posts:
In hindsight, Jorge should have followed the same route as Pettitte and called it a day at the end of last season. His contract was a year too long. We’ll be lucky if it’s only one year too long with Jeter and A-Rod.
Using Hughes in the 10th smacked of desperation. Of course, had it worked we’d all be hailing Joe the Genius this morning, just as we were on Friday night with all his bullpen moves. Unfortunately, as randy I correctly points out, it’s taken away the feelgood factor from Phil’s outing against the White Sox. You’d think the Yanks would have learned their lesson now about mucking around with Phil and Job but clearly that is not the case.
The plus side is that right now, Ivan Nova is throwing the ball better than anyone so, hopefully, it won’t be a bad thing having him pitch the first game of another important series against the Angels.
blake August 8th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
J Alfred,
As I said……I don’t disagree. Just think expectations have to be realistic……he would give them another threat in the lineup though which can have indirect implications as well.
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And it’s those indirect implications that I think will factor in, even before he gets into a groove. My only out-on-a-limb prediction (not really) is that he will eventually get to that groove.
Even having to worry about AGon, who didn’t actually do much, created problems for the Yankees this weekend. Same principle applies to Alex/Montero potential power damage, especially as righthanded hitters there. Lengthened lineup means longer innings for Boston pitching, I think anyone can agree.