Off day notes and links
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes on Aug 22, 2011 
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Occasionally, part of my off days are spent digging through leftovers. I’ll find some quote tucked away that makes me think of something, and I’ll use it for an off day post. This one isn’t so much a forgotten topic, just a forgotten upload.
I forgot I uploaded Alex Rodriguez’s audio last night. After playing his first Major League game in well over a month, Rodriguez was happy with the way he felt. He went hitless at the plate, but he made a terrific play on a bunt and said he felt no soreness afterward.
“I was anxious, but I was actually happy with the way that I felt,” he said. “The speed of the game is something you can’t simulate, and it was nice that I felt pretty comfortable out there – especially in the box. I saw the ball really well, fell into a couple 0-2 jams and fought out of them, but I just couldn’t finish the at-bat.
“For me, it’s just great getting this one under my belt. Having a day off tomorrow, then coming home with my second game versus my first, that’s a good thing.”
Rodriguez is expected to be back in there tomorrow when the Yankees open a short three-game home stand.
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• A nice read from George Vecsey, who writes that the reputation of Roger Maris has only improved in the years since his single-season home run record was broken.
• Rodriguez’s meeting with MLB investigators to talk about high-stakes poker allegations is supposed to happen this week. Meawhile, Rodriguez denies claims that he played poker at the Wilkes-Barre casino while he was rehabbing with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
• Brian Cashman said the same thing Joe Girardi said this weekend: A.J. Burnett doesn’t necessarily have a lock on a rotation spot. The Yankees are planning to trip to five starters after the Saturday doubleheader.
• Is Russell Martin going to be added to Role Call tomorrow?
• The Swishers and Robertsons hosted a tornado relief charity event tonight. Martin played guest DJ.
• MLBTradeRumors has a running list of the players who have cleared trade waivers. Anyone you’re interested in?
• Apparently Mariano Rivera can affect the stock market. Thanks, Jon, for the link.
• Like really random Yankees memorabilia? You can own one of Joe DiMaggio’s shotguns, if you’d like. Thanks to Michael for the heads up.
• If you haven’t seen it already, be sure to check out the game-ending throw from by former Yankees prospect Austin Jackson. Regardless of whether you know or care about Jackson, it’s just a nice baseball play.
Associated Press photo
This Alex poker thing absolutely ridiculous. Why on earth does he have to defend himself……..geez. Enough is enough already.
Don’t know whether this was mentioned or not, but no matter what the outcome of Ace Aceves’ next decision, he will set the all time MLB record for the best pitching W/L performance through 25 decisions.
No matter where you stand on the NYY FO player decisions, that is one “that got away.”
Not for me…………we’re in first place; we don’t miss Aceves. I’m no fan of Cashman at this point, but if he was not comfortable with Aceve’s physical condition, then he made the right decision not to pursue him.
Mike Napoli making Scoscia look quite silly this season.
That Post article is preposterous. I was going to make fun of the dude they quoted at the bottom, but that would just be giving them more undue attention.
In fact, ignore this post.
I don’t think we miss Aceves…just wish he was anyplace else but Boston. He has really saved them this year with his innings
Betsy..In closing on the topic from the previous thread…..I know you’ve been down on the Yankees pitching prospects, however in all fairness Hughes, Joba & Kennedy were the first wave of the farm system reconstruction……24-25 years old is the ideal time for prospects to turn into good or a above that on the big club’s rotation…….Losing Wang is what set the club back and will be an issue for a few more years…..
Cash was pretty honest about Burnett’s career today-mentioned how he’s a 500 pitcher and they knew that when they signed him and he’s not a #2 and a back-end guy.
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It they knew he was not a #2 then why did he start the 2nd game of the 2009 season over Wang?
LGY……Napoli and Vernon Wells is making me look rather silly as well……At least Face hasn’t brushed me back all season about it…….However Martin is still a far better catcher than Naps
When asked today about Alex being seen at Mohegan Sun, Cash basically said that Alex get paid a lot of money and if he wants to go pay a visit to a major Yankee sponsor then it’s fine with him.
Seriously he said that he has no problem with Alex gambling legally.
Montero finishes at 2-4 with an RBI double. Laird finishes with a 2-4 with a long solo homer down the left field line and an RBI single. banuelos will get his first AAA win if valdez holds the 9-4 lead
If the yankees can get a decent number 2 pitcher behind cc,with hughes,nova,noesi & others,i like our staff as much as anybody’s in baseball,with a ton of debth.
“Mike Napoli making Scoscia look quite silly this season.”
Another great move by the model organization
“CB August 22nd, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Hi everyone. Thought on an off day it might be safe to come around. Was wrong.”
This is why at times I get so pissed off at certain people. Too many good posters staying away.
Ask yourself why CB thought he could come around, but was wrong?
Or how about this—would you rather be lectured by WC on how to treat women, or read an insightful baseball post from CB?
Sorry to be a bummer, it just infuriates me to see good people staying away.
Goodnight all.
Pretty early to wash Hughes’ career out and not a thing wrong with Kennedy. he was good enough to help bring in Granderson. whether Chamberlain returns to the rotation or stays in the pen makes little difference. He’s adapted. Noesi gets his shot next year and Nova is pitching like a young veteran. I’ll take a Hughes/Nova combination in a rotation any time.
Pat M, you’re right – losing Wang was a killer. He was a very fine pitcher – not great or an ace, but very good – and he was really quite dependable. They have had bad luck with this first wave………I don’t think Phil or Joba were handled perfectly, but between the worst case of tendonitis in history (Joba) and Phil’s flukish injuries/fatigue, it’s been pretty frustrating. Hughes is still young enough to turn into a very good starter, but it has to start right now in terms of innings and just overall development. Everything has been stop and start with him. The Yankees have paid the price for putting him in the pen in 2009 – culminating in the arm fatigue from this year. Maybe this adversity will make him a better pitcher – if it does, maybe it was worth it. In any case, Hughes must stay in the rotation if not for this year, then for next. I hope the Yankees make the right decision.
I should credit the Yankees for developing Kennedy – he’s been a lot better than I thought.
Noesi was completely wasted this year – he should have been starting in AAA; how many innings did he throw this year?
I’m not sure the Yankees will give a spot to another youngster – it depends on if they think they can count on both Hughes and Nova.
The “young guns” are not yet ready…hence why Cash signed Garcia and Colon, two veterans, as stopgaps in a transitional year for the rotation. This does not mean that no young pitchers will be ready for next season. In fact, there has not been such a glut of talented young arms in the Yankee system in some time, if ever. Now, you can’t assume they will all succeed, but it would be foolish to assume they will all fail. For that matter, it is way to early to give up on Phil or Joba. So I cannot agree with those who think the Yankees fail at developing pitchers. They had a couple guys named Rivera and Pettitte come up who were pretty good. Pettitte, who by the way, struggled his first season with the Yankees. The rush to trade young talent for veterans is no more. Cash has made it clear they will stay the course with many of these young arms.
What happened to Maris because of those home runs was criminal. It was because of cowards like Jimmy Cannon and Dick Young and their relationship with Ford Frick that he was trashed in the NY papers. I also blame the Yankees for allowing it to happen. They had the muscle to stop it and they left Maris twist in the wind. Maris was a sensational center fielder who played right field and was the equal of Kaline defensively. Clemente was the only one better than them. Maris was also the second fastest runner on the team and an instintive, outstanding base runner, behind only Mantle. His only flaw was being a small town boy in a big city and away from his family.
“A report that Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez, the New York Yankees’ third baseman, gambled a week ago at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., is inaccurate, the chief executive officer of the Mohegan Tribe-owned facility, said Monday.
“He did have dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House,” Bobby Soper said of Rodriguez. “He went straight there and straight back out. He did not gamble.”………….
Soper said the casino does not generally discuss what celebrities do at the casino but noted he wanted to set the record straight about Rodriguez’ visit.
“I’m only dispelling the myth that he gamed while he was here,” Soper said.
http://www.theday.com/apps/pbc.....1110829894
Pat
I fear Montero suffering a similar fate with Girardi as Napoli did with Scoscia.
Pictures on Twitter look like D-Rob/Swisher got a good turn out of teammates and Yankee personnel at their fundraiser. Reports of Geno dancing!
Tar…I didn’t know CB was around earlier….He like many find the game thread or even the afternoon to be a little rough around the edges for the most part……I’ve tried to convince SJ and a few others to return but the security issues go along with the overall climate has driven many to other blogs I fear……Betsy, Noeisi was able to not only get his feet wet this season, he’s helped the big club tremendously and that will pay off next season as he could spell Garcia and or Colon
GB……Did you get to read the great Maris piece in Sunday’s NY Times ??? If not send me an e-mail ( pj….aol ) and I’ll send it to you…..I think The Times charges Internet access now if you don’t have an account……..Maris was the Yanks CF in the 61 & 64 World Series……Solid ballplayer ….
LGY August 22nd, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Cash was pretty honest about Burnett’s career today-mentioned how he’s a 500 pitcher and they knew that when they signed him and he’s not a #2 and a back-end guy.
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It they knew he was not a #2 then why did he start the 2nd game of the 2009 season over Wang?
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Who supposed to start game #2? Pettitte was set up for the pivotal 3rd game
Pat M, he was – but left very quickly – not that I blame him.
Yes, Noesi has been very good – but is the rotation solid enough next year to withstand his growing pains? Ideally the 5th starter (assuming he’s a talented youngster) should be buffered from pressure by the good performances of the pitchers ahead of him – that’s why Cashman traded for Vasquez. I’m not sure the rotation next year is solid enough to where the Yanks will feel comfortable with a kid at the back end. Who knows, though? Cashman has been hard to read this year.
What security issues with this site are we talking about?
GB,
I’m referring to the 2nd game of the regular season.
Reading Cashman has been fairly easy for me as he’s the same Cashman just a little more outspoken which makes some Yankee fans uncomfortable, but I find him refreshing.
Pat, I didn’t get a chance, but, I can pull it up this evening. I still burn about the treatment Maris got from the team over that broken hand in ’66. It robbed him of all power and the team said they needed him to play and that it wasn’t broken. He had 3 broken bones that never healed properly. Apparently Mantle was pretty hot about it too and went to Mike Burke. Maris was traded after the ’66 season. It worked out well for The Baron, though. He was 200 miles from home and got a Budweiser distributorship from Gussy Busch.
I just think Cashman has said some idiotic things this year, but different strokes for different folks. I don’t want him to come back ,but at this point I’m expecting him to.
Pat M-
What security issues were they concerned about?
With regards to AJ and Cashman’s comments thanks Chad for including the website. it cleared up a lot of the misunderstanding that was portrayed earlier this afternoon.
Tom Gorzellanny, 29 yo lefty recently sent to the bullpen by the Nats has superior numbers than Laffey against lefties and pitched 3.1 shutout innings in his last 2 stints both against the Phillies, plus he’s a strikeout pitcher. Might be a good addition as a 2nd lefty to both the bullpen and as a spot starter.
Why can’t they rotation handle Noesi’s “growing pains”. They handled Nova’s pretty well it seems.
I don’t understand why you don’t want him to come back when he’s done an excellent job this seaason?
Cashman will come back he’s a Yankee. Only job he’s ever had.
GB, because I do not think Colon will be back and I’m not sure Garcia will; you’re counting on Nova repeating his year and Hughes bouncing back and having a big year – it’s very possible, of course, but that’s asking for stuff that may not happen. If it doesn’t happen, then you have a shaky rotation
Craw, because (a) I’m tired of his comments already. I was fine with his Jeter stuff, but the Soriano comments bothered me and his stupid rant about AJ still bothers me. More importantly, (b) I just don’t trust him anymore in terms of developing young players….and I just overall don’t get a good vibe from him. The fact that I really don’t trust him to make the right decision when it comes to who’s going to be removed from the rotation speaks volumes.
GB and PatM-
I remember listening on the radio to game 154 in Baltimore, with Maris narrowly missing 2 homers that went foul, that would have broken Ruth’s record, without the “asterisk.”
Attached boxscore:
http://www.baseball-reference......9192.shtml
” When asked directly if Nova could be the team’s ALDS No. 2 starter after CC Sabathia, Cashman went down the list of candidates. Noticeably absent was Burnett’s name. ”
At this point AJ is in serious jeopardy of being left off the roster. Obviously that could change over the next 5 weeks but it seems like he’s literally out of rope. If he bombs Fri night I think the team washes their hands of him for 2011. He’ll be mop-up man until the season ends and then see ya next February.
Colon has a pretty good chance of coming back to fill out a bullpen spot and with Garcia being a type B FA, NY wil offer him arbitration. If he takes it, fine, if not, NY gets a free pick. Start with Sabathia, Hughes, Burnett and Nova and then add Noesi and that’s better than almost any other rotation other than SF, Tampa and Philadelphia. Unless Boston spends like drunken sailors on their first shore leave, they can’t match that without hoping for a bounceback and healthy Buchholz. Two back issues in the rotation can’t make things very comfortable.
This blog really needs an ignore poster button. Maybe if this was implemented SJ, Rebecca , and others would return. Make it happen Chad!
“Craw, because (a) I’m tired of his comments already. I was fine with his Jeter stuff, but the Soriano comments bothered me and his stupid rant about AJ still bothers me. More importantly, (b) I just don’t trust him anymore in terms of developing young players….and I just overall don’t get a good vibe from him. The fact that I really don’t trust him to make the right decision when it comes to who’s going to be removed from the rotation speaks volumes.”
First off, Cashman’s job is not to develop young players, that’s up to the people that work for him. Secondly, it seems like the Yankees did a fairly good job developing some young players over the last few years with Gardner, Nunez, Robertson and Nova.
So you don’t trust him to make the right decision. Well, he’s the one guy in that organization that I do trust in making the right decisions which is why I not only want him back, but I hope he gets even more power by being able to develop his own baseball budgets instead of some pencil pusher like Levine and Trost.
As far as his public comments, I just think you take his remarks too much to heart and fail to place them in their proper context.
@Ledger_Yankees Marc Carig
Question: If the MVP award is fundamentally an individual honor, why then are candidates partly judged by the performance of their team?
Craw ok, no problem – we’re used to disagreeing.
Yankee Trader August 22nd, 2011 at 11:00 pm
GB and PatM-
I remember listening on the radio to game 154 in Baltimore, with Maris narrowly missing 2 homers that went foul, that would have broken Ruth’s record, without the “asterisk.”
Attached boxscore:
————————————————————————————————————————-
Trader, I wasn’t able to get those games in Michigan, usually unless the winds blew right and they were late night games in other time zones, but, I read the accounts of those games. Best I remember, it was raining all night, wind blowing in and there was another off of Hoyt Wilhelm that was caught at the center field fence (might have been after one of the foul homers. He gave it a Hell of a run. I think if Mantle had been healthy the last two week, boths could have set the record within 154 games. They had to pitch to Maris with Mantle backing him. What a great season that was, though.
Colon is going to want to be a starter………I don’t see him signing up for a pen stint anytime soon. GB, I am in no mood to get into an argument with anyone, so I’m just going to say that I don’t particularly like that rotation beyond CC and probably Nova (who I think should be good again next year). Burnett is mediocre and I’m not going to get into Phil because I do not think we can have a conversation about him at this point that doesn’t end badly.
Cashman is hit and miss like most GMs.
He did a great job this year with Colon, Garcia, Chavez, etc, but he almost screwed it up by actually considering Carl Pavano for a second tour of duty.
After the epic disaster of Javy Vazquez Part Deux, it’s hard to understand what he was thinking.
“Craw ok, no problem – we’re used to disagreeing.”
Disagreeing is one thing, but you don’t address why you take Cashman’s remarks so seriously.
Anyhow, he’s probably coming back no matter what any of us think about him.
GB,
Going with that many homegrown kids sounds nice in theory, but I have to believe Betsy is right here. They are not going to trust 3 kids at the same time. Hughes and Nova are not proven enough yet for a conservative team like the Yanks to do it.
It’s a pretty safe bet that one or Colon or Garcia are in the rotation next season. Maybe both!
Noesi probably has two paths to starting in the big leagues next year. (1) AJ is dumped/traded or sent to the bullpen (2) he is the 6th starter waiting in the wings for an injury at AAA.
But just so you know, I’m not predicting bad things for him at all – I just can’t write him in as a solid until he shows he can stay healthy and perform well for a whole year. We’ll see, though – that’s a long way away.
LGY-
“The rules of the voting remain the same as they were written on the first ballot in 1931: (1) actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense; (2) number of games played; (3) general character, disposition, loyalty and effort; (4) former winners are eligible; and (5) members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.”
The MVP committee members are also urged, “to give serious consideration to all your selections, from 1 to 10.” The voters understand that a 10th-place vote can influence the outcome of an election
Trader, did you know that the record would have been 62 homers before Maris even started playing sandlot ball. Jimmy Foxx had 58 homers in his big season, but had 4 washed out because of rain.
Craw, because I believe he meant his Soriano comments. The guy’s first day in pinstripes and Cashman doesn’t exactly make him feel at home – Soriano’s agent had to call Cashman because Soriano was upset. As to AJ, even if I felt that he didn’t feel that strongly about AJ, his comments were really over the top.
That’s really not the main reason I don’t want him back – but since he’s going to be back, it’s moot.
Betsy, I disagree with you about wang.. You said he was not “great” or an “Ace.”
As far as I’m concerned, he was the ace of our pitching staff prior to getting hurt and before cc was signed..
An ace is suppose to win you games and be a stopper right? Wang won 19 games back to back years and had 10 wins in june when he got hurt…
Hughes is a young veteran next year. Hardly untried. No reason tat Nova can’t stay as is or improve. Noesi shows no indications that he can’t thrive. He’ll get the same chance as Nova got with one of Colon or Garcia backing it up. There certainly is nothing on the market worth looking at. NYY aren’t paying Wilson $15 mil plus a year for 4 or 5 years.
LGY, yep – although to be fair, most good teams wouldn’t go with 3 youngsters in the rotation.
Poor Soriano, my heart bleeds peanut butter for him. Who cares if his AJ comments are over the top unless he hurt some fan feelings which apparently he did.
Trader, did you know that the record would have been 62 homers before Maris even started playing sandlot ball. Jimmy Foxx had 58 homers in his big season, but had 4 washed out because of rain.
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GB-
I believe I also heard that Ruth missed out on some 14-15 homers that were ruled foul when they curved around the foul pole from fair into foul territory, until the rule was changed. Was that true?
Betsy,
Your problem is that you take everything Cashman or Girardi says too seriously.
I’d be afraid to see what would happen if Cashman left. He’s been there for a long time and his track record is as good as any GM out there despite the media’s love affair with the Billy Beanes and Epsteins of the world.
IMO, Hughes is two years away from free agency after this season. He’s no longer a youngster in 2012. Unlike 2008, Nova is going to have a lot more ML starts than Chamberlain, Hughes and Kennedy combined at that time.
Well therein lies the rub – I wouldn’t give Wilson that kind of money either.
Hughes is a young veteran, but he’s had issues staying healthy and we’re talking about him having one really good half as a starter. He has to go out and prove that he can do it for a whole year – he’s still unproven as far as that goes. It’s not to say he can’t do it, but I think he still has a lot to prove to the team. Even if he can stay healthy and become a reliable starter, we don’t know how good he’s going to be. Nova is, I think, more solid, but even so – are the Yankees going to count on him to be their #2?
However, there really is no one out there so we may end up with a mostly young rotation with Garcia as the #4
“Your problem is that you take everything Cashman or Girardi says too seriously.”
She never admits that impression.
GB
But we have to think like the Yankees in these situations. Not what we want to see happen.
If (really probably when) they sign one of Colon or Garcia, Noesi will be the backup. Not the other way around.
How do you even really justify giving a rotation spot to Noesi over lets say Garcia after the season he has had? You can maybe say Noesi is more a part of the future but the Yankees are too conservative, and probably rightfully so, to do that.
Benny, every team has an ace – even the Pirates; it doesn’t mean that pitcher is a real ace. I said Wang was a very good pitcher- he was. There’s nothing to argue about.
Ok Craw, you asked and I answered. If that’s not enough, then I don’t know what to tell you. You want Cashman back and I think you’re going to get your wish. I’m happy for you.
GF, that’s fine, but I don’t want to hold onto Cashman because I’m afraid that no one else will be able to handle the job. He’s not irreplaceable – no one is.
“Brian Cashman said the same thing Joe Girardi said this weekend: A.J. Burnett doesn’t necessarily have a lock on a rotation spot.”
yet this knucklehead trots out there every 5 days and implodes every single time. not sure if i’m more sick of burnett’s act or management’s disingenuity
Yes, you’re right about Hughes not being a youngster – and yet he’s still unproven. Either way, that rotation being bandied about is not going to get it done.
Hughes may be only a couple years from free agency but he has had a very convoluted development path.
In terms of being a starting pitcher he is still very much a youngster no matter what his service clock says.
He has only had one full season in the rotation.
Betsy,
You ought to be happy for the Yankees because Cashman is the best man for the job.
Anyhow, good night since you’re starting to get annoy by me again.
LGY, but Craw is right in that he’s 2 years away from FA – I don’t think the Yankees will have a lot of patience with him. Right now, I don’t think they would even consider signing him long-term; he has to have a very good 2012 for that to happen. It’s why I think saying he’s going to be in our rotation for years is premature. What they thought about him last year or 2 years ago is moot because things have changed.
Craw, I’m only annoyed because you seem to resent my opinion.
Hughes has 67 major league starts and counting. Time for the kid gloves to be taken off regarding his veteran status.
I think I’ll wait until the end of the season before I comment on who should be brought back.
GB- Did Garcia have any pitch working for him against the Rochester team filled with some 30 and over minor league veterans?
“Craw, I’m only annoyed because you seem to resent my opinion.”
Resentment has nothing to do with it, but it doesn’t make baseball sense to me.
Anyhow, good night everyone!
# Betsy August 22nd, 2011 at 11:24 pm
GF, that’s fine, but I don’t want to hold onto Cashman because I’m afraid that no one else will be able to handle the job. He’s not irreplaceable – no one is.
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He may not be irreplaceable but his successor may very well be someone who would be a rookie GM.
A rookie GM with the Yankees, their big market, and their yearly expectations combines to create a lot of pressure. The organization didn’t have the same kind of expectations every season when Cashman took the job in ’98.
It’s not a job for just any GM (or any potential GM) out there.
Why do you not want him back? I’m curious.
“I’m not going to get into Phil because I do not think we can have a conversation about him at this point that doesn’t end badly.”
*************************
Stop the presses.
I am starting to think that the Rangers have a better chance at beating the Sux than the Tigers do.
At first I thought the Tigers and Verlander would be a tougher matchup but the Rangers own those thugs this year for some reason.
Yankee Trader August 22nd, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Trader, did you know that the record would have been 62 homers before Maris even started playing sandlot ball. Jimmy Foxx had 58 homers in his big season, but had 4 washed out because of rain.
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GB-
I believe I also heard that Ruth missed out on some 14-15 homers that were ruled foul when they curved around the foul pole from fair into foul territory, until the rule was changed. Was that true?
————————————————————————————————————————-
I’d heard some things about that but not a lot and not much verification. I do know that if balls bounced into the stands they were counted as home runs, but, according to the story, none of Ruth’s did that year. The other rule change that was made a year or so earlier was that if the home team was trailing by a run or two and some body hit a 3 run or grand slam homer, they only scored it enough to allow the winning run to score. It would be scored as a double or triple, whatever was needed for the winning run. Supposedly Ruth lost 5 or so homers in 1921 because of this. Really hard to find these old scoring rules, but, sure would make an interesting research and article for an enterprising and energetic young LoHud sports writer, don’t you think?
The Rangers have owned the Red Sox for the last 2-3 years. It’s not something that just happened this year.
It’s been a trend.
Yankee Trader August 22nd, 2011 at 11:29 pm
I think I’ll wait until the end of the season before I comment on who should be brought back.
GB- Did Garcia have any pitch working for him against the Rochester team filled with some 30 and over minor league veterans?
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Trader, the camera was stationary and above the field behind home plate. Really small view, so no way of telling much. The broadcasters early on said it didn’t appear that his split finger was working and he was just going mainly fastball/curve. After his 4 innings, Garcia held a presser and said everything was working, he was throwing all of the pitches and finger was fine. This was relayed by one of the broadcasters around the 7th inning.
GB,
You might have to give Jim Bouton a call for old rule changes given the very old school league he created a few years back.
Granted, his league plays with rules from the late 1800s, but he obviously had to do a lot of research creating it.
@conorfoley Conor Foley
Montero on working deeper counts at the plate: “The pitches are good…I just try to see the most beautiful ball to hit.” #nyy
GF, in part because I’m just tired of him. I don’t like his new outspokenness at all – I understand others may disagree, but it’s just how I feel. Maybe it’s a personal thing – I don’t like him anymore, period. I just don’t know that he’s a guy who will make the right decisions……….Another thing – he threw a hissy fit because the Rockies wouldn’t ok a physical prior to any potential trade and then, in a fit of pique, offered up Hughes and whatever for Jimenez.
Maris came to the Yankees at the time baseball became central to my life. What year 1961 was. The Yankees 240 homers, Cash, Gentile, Ford and Arroyo. I saw one of his 61 in person on a family trip. Memories.
Now, let’s make some more Yankees.
Really hard to find these old scoring rules, but, sure would make an interesting research and article for an enterprising and energetic young LoHud sports writer, don’t you think.
———————————————————
Chad, Sam, Brian are you listening?
Thanks for the info GB. We’ll talk again tomorrow.
Goodnight all.
GF, regardless of the book, I loved Bouton. Funny guy and very intelligent. What a pity that his arm exploded on him. he had a chance to be special. That motion killed him as much as Al Downing’s kille his. Add Stottlemyre with Ford, and if not for injuries, that rotation was as good as any in baseball outside of Dodger Stadium. I read about Bouton’s league. sounds like a blast to play or watch. Did you know that Bouton invented and holds the patent on “Big League Chew” including the packaging?
Giuseppe Franco August 22nd, 2011 at 11:40 pm
The Rangers have owned the Red Sox for the last 2-3 years. It’s not something that just happened this year.
It’s been a trend.
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Yeah I love it.
# Betsy August 22nd, 2011 at 11:47 pm
GF, in part because I’m just tired of him. I don’t like his new outspokenness at all – I understand others may disagree, but it’s just how I feel. Maybe it’s a personal thing – I don’t like him anymore, period. I just don’t know that he’s a guy who will make the right decisions……….Another thing – he threw a hissy fit because the Rockies wouldn’t ok a physical prior to any potential trade and then, in a fit of pique, offered up Hughes and whatever for Jimenez.
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He may be a little more “outspoken” but he still really doesn’t offer much breaking news or new insight on what’s going on with the team. That’s why I don’t pay much attention to his interviews – he’s usually pretty vanilla and he backs his guys no matter how they are performing.
Secondly, the bottom line on Jimenez is that Cashman didn’t make the deal for him (a non-move I applauded), especially when you look at the velocity drop from last season. It’s not surprising he’s getting knocked around in CLE right now.
It’s never a good idea to take all the BS regarding trade rumors as fact. We don’t truly know everything that happened during the final days before the deadline. We heard early that day that the Yanks “were all over Jimenez” and other media reports stating they never had any real contact with the Rockies the last four days.
Which one is accurate? They both can’t be.
Cashman had every reason to want to do a thorough medical evaluation on Jimenez. I would have done the same thing. His velocity drop is was a major concern and they would’ve had to pay a king’s ransom to get him.
I think Cashman is very under-appreciated given the climate he has to endure as the Yankee GM.
Meanwhile, Cashman said Burnett was being too harshly criticized for his behavior on the mound.
“I’ve got CC Sabathia cussing in his glove, I’ve got Paul O’Neill, who for a huge run here, was kicking water coolers. It’s not an issue. It’s just silliness. I’ve got other guys on our team doing the same stuff,” Cashman said. “I like seeing passion. I don’t want a guy walking off the mound singing ‘Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah’ and having a skip to his step after a performance like that.”
Cashman still believes that while Burnett has not pitched like a No. 2 starter — the job for which he was signed — the right-hander remains capable of doing so once more.
“I think there’s value in what he has been doing,” he said. “Just not the value that we’re paying for.”
http://www.nj.com/yankees/inde.....aj_bu.html
# GreenBeret7 August 22nd, 2011 at 11:52 pm
GF, regardless of the book, I loved Bouton. Funny guy and very intelligent. What a pity that his arm exploded on him. he had a chance to be special. That motion killed him as much as Al Downing’s kille his. Add Stottlemyre with Ford, and if not for injuries, that rotation was as good as any in baseball outside of Dodger Stadium. I read about Bouton’s league. sounds like a blast to play or watch. Did you know that Bouton invented and holds the patent on “Big League Chew” including the packaging?
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I did know about Big League Chew. Loved that stuff as a kid in the early 80s playing little league. I never read Ball Four until about 10 years ago when I worked a lot of midnights. It was an updated version and he talked about his life years after the book came out, including his Old-Timers Day return (which was something that meant the world to him).
The book caused such a stir back in the day when it was brand new but it’s extremely tame by society’s standards now and the trash some tell-all books that celebs write to make a buck.
You are a couple of generations before my time so I didn’t get to see those great Yankee teams. Hell, I wasn’t even born until 1974.
In fact, I couldn’t want the Yanks regularly until 1996 (which turned out to be perfect timing) when I was finally able to get the MLB package.
Oops….that’s ‘watch’ the Yanks regularly.
GF, those were great times. Bouton was born in NJ but grew up in Chicago, who was turning out thee great young pitchers. Bouton, Fritz Peterson and Denny McLain. Don’t know if they ever played with or against each other growing up, but, turning out 3 20 game winners all the same age is pretty impressive. Bouton’s daughter was killed by a drunk driver a few years before OTD and his son wrote to GMS to ask if he would invite Jim B. GMS had no idea why he was never invited. It was a beautiful letter that was printed in the paper for Father’s Day. All of the crap he caught and he and Mantle still remained friends. When Mantle was sick, Bouton called him to wish him well and Mantle asked why Bouton had never been in contact or come to OTD and Bouton said, “I was never asked and I didn’t think that you ever wanted to talk to me because of the book.” Mantle said, “Jimmy, I just want you to know that I never held anything against you.” The whole thing is quite a story.
@conorfoley Conor Foley
Montero on working deeper counts at the plate: “The pitches are good…I just try to see the most beautiful ball to hit.” #nyy
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A poet-warrior. I love it.
LGY……Napoli and Vernon Wells is making me look rather silly as well……At least Face hasn’t brushed me back all season about it…….However Martin is still a far better catcher than Naps
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Martin is a superior defensive catcher to both mathis and napoli, but I’d take Napoli’s .900 OPS in cervelli’s spot on the roster right now.
Crawdaddy August 22nd, 2011 at 11:29 pm
Hughes has 67 major league starts and counting. Time for the kid gloves to be taken off regarding his veteran status.
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That’s two years. Not dissing Hughes, but I don’t consider him anywhere near veteran, I consider him a young starter.
Chad, you really outdid yourself today with posts. Thank you!
I see CJ Wilson pitched very well tonight against Boston, however that lineup looks pretty mediocre without Ellsbury, Youkilis and Ortiz.
One has to wonder why @Ledger_Yankees has been basically campaigning against Granderson for MVP for the past two nights on twitter. Maybe he should go work for the Boston Globe also.
I would think that the NYY are stuck with Burnett for the duration. They need to get him right and use him. He makes way too much money to sit.
“Of the nine starts, he’s had two clunkers that he’s been awful,” Cashman said. “But the other starts were pedestrian at worst.”
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I bet your own words make you feel good Cashman don’t they? $16.5 million a year for awful and pedestrian.
Brian Cashman really said that ? WOW !
I had the same reaction Yankee Dog. “Pedestrian at worst”, talk about damning with faint praise.
Just want to pop in to put my $0.02 on Cashman. I see a lot of criticism of Cashman, but I mostly trust his judgement and want him back. I didn’t always feel that way, but what I like and respect about Cashman is that he makes decisions that are the best for the Yankees organization in the long term, not his own career in the short term.
He could have thrown the farm at a Lee deal after Seattle upped the price, but he held strong (personally, I would have done it since Lee probably would have brought a WS win last year). A lot of GMs would make those moves to assure their contact situation, especially when they are near the end of their current deal and want to win to show the bosses that they should be brought back. Look around baseball and you will see a lot of GMs that have screwed up their organizations by making deals that were really only in the long term best interests of the GM. You can see Cashman making decisions that are aimed several years in the future, like not calling up his young pitchers too early, or protecting young arms.
It doesn’t matter what cashman says,it matter what he does.
Cashman was smart enough to realize & say,i am not trading my prospects for players unless the player coming in is a definite improvement.
Example being jimenez & not knowing if he will pitch better than any one of our starters in the al & right now jimenez is getting hammered.
In addition,it would have cost 3-5 players/prospects to get him.
Hughes after not looking good in over a year,is looking fantastic lately.
For him to look great,the first half of 2010,then bad since,in almost every start,then look better than ever over his last so many starts,bears watching,because it means he might be finally getting it.
We have produced one of the best,if not the best lf in baseball,gardner.Hughes,nova,robertson,ian kennedy & several other players with other teams,plus several other promising prospects still in our system,including 2 high end pitching prospects in betances & banuelos,plus a monster bat at a scarce catching position.
Cashman has done a fantastic job.
Don’t kid yourself.
Now you might not like what he says or his personality,but don’t confuse that with his performance.
Right now we are 2 games ahead of the so called,best team ever put together in the rs.
Not bad for the crappy grade we got from the experts to start the year & the A+ grade the rs got from the so called experts.
2 games in the loss column,i meant.
I would like to see Cashman come back for another tour of duty.
Tue, 8/23 Athletics 7:05p Colon (8-7) McCarthy (6-6)
Wed, 8/24 Athletics 7:05p Sabathia (17-7) Cahill (9-12)
Thu, 8/25 Athletics 1:05p Hughes (4-4) Harden (4-2)
Fri, 8/26 at Orioles 7:05p ?AJ
Sat, 8/27 at Orioles 1:05p ?Garcia
Sat, 8/27 at Orioles 7:05p ?Nova
Sun, 8/28 at Orioles 1:035p ?Colon
Mon, 8/29 at Orioles 7:05p ?Sabathia-back to q 5th day
Tue, 8/30 at Red Sox 7:10p probably Hughes
Wed, 8/31 at Red Sox 7:10p ? Now who AJ on 4 days rest or Garcia/Nova on 3 days
Thu, 9/1 at Red Sox 7:10p ?Again will it be Garcia or Nova on 4 days rest
Unless I’m missing something when they go back to a 5 man rotation it looks like AJ will get another turn in Boston, unless they bring up a AAA pitcher to pitch Monday in Baltimore and go with Colon, CC, and either Garcia or Nova in Boston
CC cussing in his glove is not the same as AJ cussing at Joe, but ok – Cashman didn’t want to air any dirty laundry. It’s just odd that he’ll bend over backwards to defend AJ’s performances when I can’t recall him doing that for anyone else……..The problem is that the Yankees seem to be waiting for AJ to pitch like he’s capable of doing – when he’s already pitching that way; their expectations for him are pretty darn high for a guy who has not pitched like they want him to pitch.
GF, that’s all fair – but as to Jimenez, the Yankees were always going to get a physical because trades don’t happen without one.
Ron-
Good morning all and good post.
Some people yesterday were unhappy that Cashman offered Hughes in the last try for Jimenez. Now Hughes had come off a middling start against the worst hitting team the Mariners on 7/22 and his only disaster against the A’s on the 27th. I’m sure Hughes’ name came up. The important thing is that Cashman did his due diligence, asked for more medical input, and the deal became squashed!
For the market the Yankees play in, and the revival of the minor league system while always picking near last or last, I can’t think of a better GM to have!
It would seem (whether we agree or not) that the Yankees do not believe that AJ Burnett was cursing out his manager, so in their eyes, yes, his tirade was the equal of CC, O’Neill, et al.
And from what I read, the Yankees were asking for a more extensive physical exam (and/or access to the team’s medical records) than is usually given after a trade.
AJ is a major disappointment because of the year he had prior to signing with the Yankees. The Yankees “knew” he had been a .500 pitcher, but he sure looked to have turned things around in 2008, AND he stayed healthy. The Yankees (and most fans) believed as long as AJ stayed healthy, that he had the ability to be a #2 pitcher for them. The Atlanta Braves felt the same way, and were right up there with the Yankees in offering very similar money to AJ at the time. The difference was the additional year the Yankees offered. The Braves have a very good history with pitchers, I’d say. Most fans, after that signing, were most afraid of Burnett not staying healthy. I don’t recall anyone saying they thought Burnett wasn’t a good pitcher – most believe, health would equal the type of performance AJ gave in 2008, which was stunning. Yankees players lobbied for Cash to sign AJ.
As far as defending AJ in the media to this extent? Damage control. And it’s needed whether the Yankees end up having to keep Burnett or whether they try to trade him this off-season. You can’t expect to trade an AJ Burnett if you don’t put out there that you believe the guy still has the stuff, but hasn’t performed well. It is a very easy sell for the Yankees to say, look, the guy has the stuff, but NY is not for AJ (like it wasn’t for a laundry list of excellent players who could not cut it here). You can’t allow the media to start comparing AJ to Oliver Perez without a defense, not if you plan to get anything out of the guy.
And it pertains as well to if they keep him. This is a guy that apparently is somewhat fragile confidence-wise. For this type of guy to know that his team is still on his side, still feels he has something to contribute, is a big deal. It may or may not translate into better performance, but it sure is better than having to show up for work KNOWING that your manager and GM have not stood up for you, or worse.
personally i never though aj cursed at joe, he was 10 feet past joe when he opened his mouth. i think thats why joe got so miffed at the presser. but i guess there’s a day off and there has to be some controversy, so now aj ‘cursed’ at joe. he wasnt looking at joe, he was well past joe and nobody has any idea what exactly he said, but someone decided he cursed at joe, so now thats a thing the yankees have to deal with.
I think Joe was steamed at AJ – no matter what he says; the reason he defended AJ, IMO, was that he didn’t want to hash this out in public.
Ys Guy August 23rd, 2011 at 8:36 am
personally i never though aj cursed at joe, he was 10 feet past joe when he opened his mouth. i think thats why joe got so miffed at the presser.
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Agreed.
YT-
Good morning.
One of the nice things about baseball season is that it is 162 games.
Because of that there are plenty of chances for redemption.
Maybe that will be AJ’s chance ?
A good start against the Sux sure would be a beginning.
Well, we’ll see how this plays out…………I wouldn’t be surprised by anything the Yankees decide
MTU, I don’t agree……it’s enough with this start by start auditioning. Pick either Phil or AJ after Baltimore and end the drama already (and, go back to a 5 man rotation as well).
Have a good day all!
MTU -
Good morning. I’m with you, I like Cashman, and would like to see him return as GM.
Villa Nova-
Well said!
However having said that, whether or not his psyche is fragile or not, the Yankees will do what’s best for the team in picking the 5 for the rotation.
My guess is that CC, Hughes, and Nova have 3 of the spots based on their efficiency with pitches and ability to get into the 7th inning.
AJ had his best success against Baltimore last year, especially in Camden yards.
I’m going to guess that he won’t get the chance to pitch in Boston and will go to the bullpen, 16.5M dollars and all.
Betsy-
I don’t think it’ll be between Hughes and Burnett as to who goes to the bullpen.
Colon will need a longer more pitch efficient game tonight, Garcia will need to show that all his pitches are back on track, and Burnett will probably have to pitch a no-hitter in Camden to stay in the rotation. LOL
MTU -
As a fan, I don’t like to read about folks beating up on a Yankees player, nor do I enjoy doing so. That being said, I can’t stand to watch games AJ starts, since they tend to go south in a hurry, and for the life of me can’t understand why he’s still in the rotation. AJ is no longer a rookie with great potential that we need to be patient with, he’s a vet that no longer gives his team a chance to win. I like AJ, but, I don’t think one can justify his being in the rotation any longer. There simply are too many better alternatives to AJ within the Yankees system, ie Noesi, Warren. I’d even sign on for getting Haren as a rental for the remainder of this season, and he’d be cheap.
Betsy-
I understand how you feel. I too have lost faith in AJ.
That said, it is always good to hope that one of our own will turn it around somehow.
It is not necessary to really believe that they will just that it might be
a possibility however remote.
I want the Yankees to put the best team on the field.
If the brass thinks that includes AJ fine. If not that’s fine too.
If AJ cannot get it together I hope he is traded in the OS.
Time will tell.
Al-
There is truth in your words of iron.
As a Native American once said.
A decision will be forthcoming soon.
Yankee Trader :
I agree.
It is between burnett,colon, but i just don’t know if the yankees will have the stones to put burnett in the pen with 2 years still remaining on his contract.
It might be colon because outside of burnett,he looks like he might be tiring.
It simply can’t be hughes & i do not think it will be.
The only reason i don’t include nova is because if he does go to the pen,he has his innings in & i think he can go right back in the starting rotation in 2011,with no setbacks.
If i had to guess,it will be colon.
Hughes has to stay in the rotation.
New Post: From six to five
MTU -
What are your feelings towards getting Haren? Yes, he’s had health issues in the past, but, he appears healthy now, and has pitched very well of late. He’d cost about $500K or less for the remainder of this season, and could be a #2 or #3 for us.
Personally, I am not convinced that Bartolo’s tank is pointing to empty.
I would like to see more before I decide.
Hopefully the Yankees feel the same way.
You want to be sure before you relegate him to the pen.
He has been an outstanding starter this season. A weapon.
I would love for it to be able to continue.
Al-
Love the guy. Wanted him the first time around.
New thread ==>
Unless Phil has a relapse of the issues he had earlier in the year…..then I just can’t imagine them taking him out of the rotation.
Why wasn’t Martin already in the Roll Call?