ALCS Game 2 rained out
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Oct 09, 2011 
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Just got in from running some afternoon errands, and when I checked my email, I thought surely I’d missed something and the Yankees were, in fact, playing in the American League Championship Series.
This is the email from MLB:
Game Two of the 2011 American League Championship Series between the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington has been postponed due to inclement weather and field conditions. Game Two of the ALCS has been rescheduled for Monday at 4:19 p.m. (ET)/3:19 p.m. (CT) and will be televised by FOX Sports.
Sounds far too familiar, doesn’t it?
Global Warming == Global Hoax
So MLB finally got it right. Nice, after the Yankees had their series upturned. Good job Saint Joe. Like you didn’t know there’d be rain in the Bronx that first night.
GO BREWERS!
And as luck would have it – a BEAUTIFUL night for baseball here in the NYC area.
trisha,
Its up to the league if the game starts. Joe had no say in that, but the league had the Yankees in prime time. mo money. Joe should have complained mightily after the game started, though.
randy l -
If you’re still there – what’s the balance between building a team for the long haul (the regular season), that will also be ideal for the post-season? The Yankees have certainly proved over the last umpteen years that they are more than able to put a team together with more than enough depth to get to the playoffs, while doing battle in the contentious AL East.
With the bench they had this season, I though they had something to go to that would carry them through the playoffs. Certainly the bullpen was a huge strength.
Does it just come down to who your opponent is in the ALDS and whether or not you match up well? The Tigers were not the ideal matchup, and yet they were closely enough matched that the Yankees could reasonably expect to win. I’m not overly surprised it went the full 5 games (just expected a different outcome).
How do you guard against a cold streak hitting at the wrong time?
Is it the players or is it how they are used?
Does it prepare your players better for the playoffs if they are used to being switched in and out of the lineup? Or up and down the lineup?
One of the strengths of this Yankees team throughout the regular season was the ability of bench players to come in and maintain the quality of play. They don’t win the division without the contributions of Nunez, Chavez, Jones, etc. This is why I don’t understand with their backs against the wall, Girardi didn’t go to his bench.
I think the Yankees were built for the post-season, but didn’t necessarily use the blueprint. While I grade Girardi very high with respect to his pitchers, especially his bullpen, I think he was too conservative with is offense.
Of course, if the hitters you expect to produce do so, we’re not even having this conversation. The players who failed to get “the big hit” were located all over the lineup.
tom, I remember when St. Joe was interviewed he said that “we” didn’t think it was going to rain tonight. So he was apparently in on the decision to let the game go on. That was all about revenue and scheduling, IMO.
Anyway, it feels like the Yanks always end up getting victimized with crap one way or the other. But I guess that’s how it is when you’re a trend setter.
Maybe all of the games in the postseason should be 7-game series.
They shoudl trisha.
Teams play a 162 game series to get knocked out in a 5 game series.
It’s less of a crapshoot with a 7 game ALDS.
But instead, Bud Ass lick would rather institute another wild card team, and as I already thought when I initially heard the idea, I read an article basically claiming that the idea is solely designed to help the Red Sox, as they missed out on the 2010 playoffs….
But in 2008, when the Yankees had the 3rd best record in the American League or something like that, we didnt get in because the Rays and Red Sox were better. Nobody cared then.
Of course in retrospect, I should have realized we would lose the series because I knew the weather in NY was going to be too nice this weekend.
As for mlb cancellng tonight’s game, had the game been played in the Bronx, they never would have cancelled it this early. They would have made sure we were all in the Stadium, standing around, getting soaking wet for 4 hours before calling the game around 9PM. Just saying.
Funny, every time I would look at Jaime Garcia’s name I would pronounce it Jamey. Only listening to the commentators do I realize it’s pronounced Himey. I should have figured since he’s Hispanic that it would be pronounced Himey, since pais is pronounced pie-ece. (And shame on me for fogetting that the J is silent in Hispanic.) Were it French or English, it would be more like Jamey.
Apparently real trivia.
“As for mlb cancellng tonight’s game, had the game been played in the Bronx, they never would have cancelled it this early. They would have made sure we were all in the Stadium, standing around, getting soaking wet for 4 hours before calling the game around 9PM. Just saying.Ga”
Not a question in the world.
And here’s another way the Yankees get victimized for being so good. Yankees division series games are played in prime time, meaning they’ll always get the late start. The Yankees had the best day-game record in the league (I heard that mentioned by YES at one point.)
yankeefem,
LOL. Ain’t it the truth.
If you REALLY want to see the best team win the world series, don’t have any asinine 5-game series anymore. And even if it turns into the team with the most energy eeking it out to win the world series, at least you know it’s not going to be a comparative leper team.
GO JETS!!!!
Still… I wouldn’t have minded waiting around and even driving back tomorrow …
The problem with using the bench like montero,nunez,chavez is,if you lose with chavez at 3b,everybody kills girardi for sitting arod.
Same with tex,jeter,etc…
Also nunez is not even nearly as good as arod,or even jeter.
It’s easy to look back at what girardi did & critisize him but if you dh arod,nunez is at 3b & no posada at dh,so now you have posada sitting & shaky defenseat 3b.
You have to play your star players & hope for the best.
Now montero is another topic alltogether.
I think he should of been brought up earlier to get acclimated with the pitching staff & should of played a lot more than he did.
If he did play more,we win that series,imo.
It’s a shame.
Unless he is a butcher behingd the plate,he needs to play 80 % of the time,offense over defense,especially if it’s by a large margin.
This is where girardi wen’t wrong.
Montero would of crushed detroit & we would be playing texas right now.
YF, there is no question in my mind that if we hadn’t been subjected to that rainout and then our hitters trying to close out a game with driving rain in their faces – oh yeah, let me add the infamous Gerry David to the mix – we’d be playing in the ALCS right now.
Torre allowed the Yankees to play through midges in Cleveland and now as a honcho in MLB, through rain in NY.
Who knows whether he’s still trying to stick it to the Yankees. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
Don’t know if this has been posted yet ….but this was on RAB. Its good news IMO..get that done ASAP
Via Buster Olney, talks between the Yankees and Brian Cashman about a new contract are going smoothly, and the two sides could have a deal done as soon as next week. Both sides have expressed interest in a reunion in recent weeks, so news that talks are going well isn’t all that surprising. I wonder if Cashman will push for a little more control given how bad the ownership-driven Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Soriano contracts look, but I suspect we’ll never know.
trisha, re: rainout and Gerry Davis, no doubt. Although still need to address those holes in our lineup that can be remedied through subtraction, hitting adjustments, or studly Jesus addition.
If the commish is still going to stick with a 5 game series, why not allow the team with the best record in each league, pick their playoff opponent. If Tampa Bay and the Red Sox had a playoff game to decide the wildcard, having to play again the very next day with less than their #1 starter, why penalize the Yankees. Same for the Phillies. They might have chosen to face the D-Backs, knowing the Cardinals had been playing very well of late.
Thoughts?
Detroit has lost Magglio Ordonez for the rest of the postseason. With Delmon Young out already, their outfield is stretched. A-Jax is a strikeout machine.
TD JETS! About time!
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=mlb
That steroid breakdown stuff is tough.
Trisha,
Or if the Yanks had hit one of the 15 or so meat balls that Fister threw in game 5
Game 3 was the only game I had a beef with on the umpiring…..the zone was atrocious and really affected CC early in that game. He threw Jackson about 7 strikes but walked him to lead off the game and it was downhill from there.
What’s up with Magglio?
YF, that and losing Nova might have made it tough, though the pitching wasn’t our problem. But it would have been nice to have the opportunity. Maybe Girardi would have been quicker to make offensive substitutions in the ALCS, having realized that the Yankees didn’t tapdance in.
They need to deal with resigning Cashman soon. He’s coming off a 6M/3year contract, previously was at 5.5M/3 year. I amagine a raise of 1-2M over 3 years gets it done.
Then the Yankees need to start figuring out quickly their plan of action, if and when CC opts out.
A power 3rd basebman who can hit home runs. What a concept.
The sooner we get the Cash signing done the better.
“Or if the Yanks had hit one of the 15 or so meat balls that Fister threw in game 5″
Blake, of course that too.
I can abide Game 5 a lot better than I can the postponed crap and whacked out umpiring.
Yankees had Game 5 in their own hands. They didn’t Game 1 (original Game 1) or CC’s second start.
They really need to approach CC before he opts out…..if he hits the market then even if he wants to stay the Sox, Rangers, and probably a couple of other teams are going to drive the price up just to make the Yankees pay more. They need to be proactive about this……
108 stitches-
Magglio Ordonez said that he almost retired a few months ago due to lingering issues in his surgically-repaired right ankle. Now, the 37-year-old says his ankle feels “normal” like it did before the injury
This was in MLBTRs earlier about Ordonez. Now he’s out due to the same chronic ankle condition.
ron -
I don’t want to give the impression that I felt Girardi should have started any of those players in place of the regulars.
In reality, Game 5 was the only game where the bench really could have come into play.
In Games 2 and 3, the Yankees had the people up they wanted up in the bottom of the ninth. They even scored runs, but two fewer than needed in each case. But they had the right people up and I don’t question those two games.
In the 7th inning, with the bases loaded, because they had already failed to take advantage in the 4th, I thought it was the right spot to use guys on the bench. And, actually, it was only Swisher for whom I would have pinch hit. I didn’t particularly care if it was Montero or Jones, but it was a chance to switch things up. Or again, in the eighth, there were two opportunities to pinch hit before Gardner or Jeter.
The ninth – well, you weren’t going to the bench for Grandy, Cano or ARod.
I think I meant my point to be that with regard to building a team for the playoffs, the Yankees had the pieces.
Probably even more than Boston ….the Rangers will be all over CC if the Yanks let him reach free agency.
Hopefully 5/125M gets it done. I wouldn’t want to do more years
Good news on Cash, Blake. Get that out of the way & let the man get to work.
Ordonez must have been nursing something through our series. I thought they were leery of his defense and looking at matchups, but maybe it was that he was already hurting.
What happened to Young?? We had no business losing to Detroit.
“A power 3rd basebman who can hit home runs. What a concept.”
Yeah, Pukelisp really turned out to be a bust, didn’t he.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPNpJX8b-bc
Cashman’s first order of business is reel C back in.
trisha -
Game 1 was bad enough. They shouldn’t have started it. Period.
But Game 2? With the driving rain that only came when our team was up? Where you could tell on the television that, particular Jeter and Cano, the hitters couldn’t see worth a lick? How dare they not put the tarp on the field?
The problem was, the rain came fast and hard, and twice, right? It came in the 7th (or 8th) and again in the 9th, but it didn’t last long enough either time to stop the game. It was more an act of Mother Nature. A cruel act.
Oblique injury in Game 5
Instructs over.
Damn, they were falling apart…
J Alfred -
Timing is everything.
Question. Does anyone else find the hunk of crap Red Robin as obnoxious as I do and wish there were something we could do to have him banned from this site?
That’s either a yes or a no.
Blake-
Do you really think Sabathia wants to move his family to Texas
•Some people think that C.J. Wilson has keen interest as a free agent in New York, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. He adds that the Yankees are probably the early favorite to sign him.
Starting rumors already!!
No way would I give CC 5 years so that we have him for another 8……..This whole thing is just going to end up very badly. I feel like CC is just like Melo – Melo wanted to come to NY, but he wanted the Knicks to get a deal with Denver done – so that meant basically giving up our whole team, even though the team would be better with those players plus Melo. If CC wants that many years plus a ton of $$$, that’s going to hurt this team down the line – if that’s how he feels, I say let him walk
The idea of giving him another 3 or 4 years on top of his current deal, when this year he was really mediocre in the 2nd half is very scary.
Trisha-
Robin a guy or a girl?
Just ignore her.
Trader – now that the Yanks are out of the playoffs, the media has to do something to generate interest so they start to fly rumors.
BRADY RED ZONE INTERCEPTION!!! YES!!!!!
Right, just like Lee really wanted to come to NY………….Wilson is good/very good, but I doubt he’s an ace in the AL East and I would never give him the $$$ and years he’s going to demand. If Sherman is right, the Yankees think he’s more of a#3 in the East and they won’t pursue him too hotly
Trader – then I would take your answer as a “no”.
All I wanted to know from posters. Yes or no.
Trader – Red Robin is an it.
Trisha-
Villa Nova-Ya October 9th, 2011 at 5:29 pm
J Alfred -
Timing is everything.
///
You’re right about that. Time for another Tate’s chocolate cookie to salve my wounds.
J Al – and that’s exactly what I’m talking about when I talk about lack of intellectual introspection. How many freakin’ times has the 6-man rotation been mentioned here as having been totally problemmatic for CC? But you keep reading the same hackneyed stupidity.
I’ll pose this question again. Do you believe the winner of the most games in each league should be able to pick their 1st round opponent?
Trader – just ignore them.
“Via Buster Olney, talks between the Yankees and Brian Cashman about a new contract are going smoothly,”
Of course after low balling Cashman, Levine will issue a statement telling everybody how their offer was fair, and if Cashman doesn’t like it he is welcome to shop the offer around.
No.
Too many excuses have been made for this team’s postseason performance over the past ten years.
Midges, weather, umpiring, etc., and I’m tired of hearing about it.
The fact is this team hasn’t beaten a single team other than Minnesota in the first round since 2001.
That’s right, 2001.
It’s not a coincidence anymore.
Hit frigging sacrifice flies with the bases loaded and nobody out.
trisha – true pinstriped blue October 9th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Question. Does anyone else find the hunk of crap Red Robin as obnoxious as I do and wish there were something we could do to have him banned from this site?
That’s either a yes or a no.
====================================================
Just list the sucks years of futility, IT will go away. What are they 2 for 95 years ?
every year Giants chokes for few games (normally in a row) vs. those so called weak opponents.
Is this week the fresh start for this year?
Sabathia’s current contract and perks.
7 years/$161M (2009-15)
signed by NY Yankees as a free agent 12/11/08
$9M signing bonus (paid in 3 installments: 12/31/08, 3/1/09, 7/31/09
09:$14M, 10-15:$23M annually
salaries to be paid semimonthly over all 12 months of year, rather than semimonthly during season
Sabathia may opt of of deal after 2011 season
no-trade protection
perks: suite on road trips
23 upped to 25M with an extra year 5/125M is more than fair.
I used to love Buster Olney. He’s making me puke.
There is no question the Yanks want Cashman back and Cashman wants to come back.
Again – slow times for the media now that the Yanks are out of the postseason. Olney’s titanic team died a while ago. So I guess all he has left to do now is try to pick at the Yankees.
Hit frigging sacrifice flies with the bases loaded and nobody out.
=====================================================
Bring back Roy White, he did that very well.
“Just list the sucks years of futility, IT will go away. What are they 2 for 95 years ?
Good point!
Trisha-Yes!
Still friends
trisha – true pinstriped blue October 9th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
J Al – and that’s exactly what I’m talking about when I talk about lack of intellectual introspection. How many freakin’ times has the 6-man rotation been mentioned here as having been totally problemmatic for CC? But you keep reading the same hackneyed stupidity.
///
trisha, there are a lot of less than thoughtful folks stomping around the planet
. I heard something the other day I thought you’d be interested in. I’ll post it here. Click on it when you’ve got 10 minutes to listen. I mainly wanted you to hear the bit about this guy’s father. I thought it would make you smile, in light of our discussion that night when you guys were posting “Hallelujah” & we were talking about Bocelli. Keep it for yourself. It’s the one called Views Outside… We don’t have to discuss further here. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....r_embedded
G-C, it appears you’re doing what a lot of people do – confusing excuses with reasons.
JAP,
No I don’t think he’s going anywhere…..my point was that Texas coukd drive up the price if they are given the chance.
Trish that last sentence was me making fun of Cash and his negotiations with Jeter.
J Al – will do, and thanks.
Tar duh. Now I owe Buster Olney an apology. I didn’t see the end of the quotation marks. I thought is was his jab at the Yankees having to do with St. Joe.
SORRY BUSTER!
G-C, I basically agree………. but they don’t have an offense built to get the job done by increments. They’re only built to bludgeon teams (re: bad pitching) to death.
blake October 9th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
They really need to approach CC before he opts out…..if he hits the market then even if he wants to stay the Sox, Rangers, and probably a couple of other teams are going to drive the price up just to make the Yankees pay more. They need to be proactive about this……
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Count Boston out. John Henry is gun shy after the contracts of Lackey and Crawford, the unknowing of Beckett, and the whining of Gonzalez. Henry has no interest in going over the luxury tax threshold. Ellsbury will win a bundle in arbitration and if Papelbon tests the market as he says he will, the dysfunctional team will be forced to spend money for a closer like Heath Bell in free agency. Ortiz will be vocally very unhappy when he’s offered a 1-year deal on the cheap or go elsewhere.
Really happy for Hairston Jr.
Brewers trying to come back, 2nd and 3rd no one out in 5th with Braun up, losing 5-2-oops now 5-4 on ground rule RF double
Geeze Braun is out of control!
Holy crap! Fielder!!!!
one pitch fielder homerun now 6-5
Ryan Braun is amazing.. this guy just doesn’t stop production in the clutch.
He’s the exact type of bat we need ..
and there it goes .. Braun with a 2 run double and Fielder comes to HR ..
these two are beasts, Dynamic Duo !! Fire and Danger each time at the plate.. unlike our dead wood. Wow, I am rooting for The Brewers now to win it all… so talented !
Giuseppe Franco October 9th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
Yeah, because scoring the second most runs in the league (and doing so against the toughest competition) clearly illustrates the offense as a team weakness – not a strength.
=========================
Scoring them when they count would have been nice.
Damn, that was far too easy for the Pats.
Yankee Trader October 9th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Blake-
Do you really think Sabathia wants to move his family to Texas
•Some people think that C.J. Wilson has keen interest as a free agent in New York, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. He adds that the Yankees are probably the early favorite to sign him.
Starting rumors already!!
—-
NOOOOOOOOOO to CJW!! Another upteen year for upteen money signing. Just Say NO!
Media just loves to bring the yankees into everything. This stems from the fact that his g/f is from NY he mentioned like he liked NY & would live in lower manhattan. But my guess is he probably likes it in Texas & is looking to bring NYY in to raise the price.
Don’t fall for this, Cashman.
Really happy for Hairston Jr.
===================
Happy Hairston played in the NBA.
Lock Down, I don’t think the Yankees are going to go all out for Wilson……he’s not worth it.
“Happy Hairston played in the NBA.”
It’s not that the Yankees don’t want another World Series.. they obviously do .. but BRaun and Fielder play like they want a world series like it’s a matter of life and death.. I don’t see that same hunger with this team like I used to..
it’s just the way I see it..
And all stadiums are unbelievably loud except for New Yankee stadium.. the Yanks did a great job for the privileged to purchase their expensive seats to be cool and goto a Yankee game for a couple thousand dollars… and they barely even make noise.. Pathetic… things need to change.. make it about baseball again and not money.. I’d be very happy to see a bunch of rookies on the yankees who play their guts out… I almost welcome it more than what we have now (give or take a few players I admire).
Just wait, Red Robin. Soon, very soon. Ill hunt you, Ill find you. I give you my word.
GF is one of those blind followers. Follows with his eyes, but eyes dont see that well. Sees 2nd most runs and sees success, no gray area.
Betsy,
I feel like CC is just like Melo – Melo wanted to come to NY, but he wanted the Knicks to get a deal with Denver done – so that meant basically giving up our whole team, even though the team would be better with those players plus Melo.
—
Well, it doesn’t remind me of Melo…. But thanks for bringing up the knick thing. I was broken up over losing a couple of those players.
108, they’d be very stupid to not re-sign the loathsome Papelbon, who had a great year. I hope they don’t re-sign him.
Beautiful return! 88 yard run.
G-C
I agree the excuses are getting old. This team lacks the fundamentals in order to go deep in october year after year. Situational hitting is imporant in the playoffs as well as dominant starting pitching.
I’m open to CJ Wilson. But he’s not a #2.
I think either Nova or Hughes is capable of being #2 on the Yankees staff.
They need another Lefty starter and Pettitte is not coming back and I don’t see another besides Wilson readily available.
However, I see Texas going all out to re-sign him. And if Texas gets to the WS, and especially if they win, Wilson will stay.
I really don’t know why he would want to come to the Yankees. He’s already a part of a successful team that has shown it will spend money and make changes to win. Unless he’s a closet NY fan, or thinks he can gouge the Yankees for super-mega-bucks.
Betsy October 9th, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Lock Down, I don’t think the Yankees are going to go all out for Wilson……he’s not worth it.
===================
Yankees need to stop going all out for players .. playing in NY is a privilege that players should take a cut in pay to play at.. instead we’ve turned it into the gold mine..
if a player doesn’t have it in their heart to be here like Jeter.. offer a competive amount, but don’t give extra $$ and a NTC to entice them.. enough is enough already !
Ooh, I was getting nervous with that deep drop. Nice. We’re making some big plays today. Of course, New England’s defense isn’t any great shakes.
Brewers showing a fire I have not seen in a very long time… they are getting it done wow !!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Knicks lost nothing for Carmelo. The NBA is a superstar league. It’s easier to find role players to play defense, and teach Melo and Amar’e defense than to find superstars.
Really?? Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, a rookie center with barely any experience in the NBA, and Mr. Injury, Galinari. Big losses right there, huh?
G-C
I think some of the “excuses” are valid – the midges for sure. But I agree with your sentiment that a sac fly is not too much to ask.
“Count Boston out. ”
They have plenty enough money to bluff
According to Bill Madden, CC put on 35-40 lbs in the last 6-8 weeks of the season.
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....e_mov.html
IF this is true, I’d like to see something about CC’s health and weight put in his contract. I think CC is a really good man, a phenomenal pitcher, and I love having him in pinstripes. However, I think he has a responsibility to stay in as good a physical shape as possible.
I wonder if the weight gain (again, assuming it’s true) could be a result of some malfunction in his endocrine system?
Who started in the StLo/Milwaukee game?
The Brewers are hungry cause they have never been here before, at least not in the NL.
30 years of waiting will do that to a team and city.
We are there every year, every year, think about that.
Yet people question our hunger.
And you can’t buy that.
Maybe if we go another 18 years (’78-’96 for the uninformed) we will be hungry again.
“G-C, it appears you’re doing what a lot of people do – confusing excuses with reasons.”
Trisha,
I respectfully disagree.
Did Sabathia get squeezed in game two? Yes.
Was he still, by and large, dreadful that night? Yes.
I don’t think he got a single swinging strike on a breaking pitch all night.
Then he came out of the pen in game five (we can debate whether he should have been put in that spot), and failed to make up for that game two performance.
How can you spin Swisher’s ABs in this series? Martin’s? Girardi’s unwillingness to use the bench?
This team just doesn’t get things done in pressure situations like they used to, starting with the manager and going right on down to execution on the field. Maybe Torre was the luckiest person alive from 1996-2000, but it seemed like every button he pushed worked out in his favor. I’m sure any Yankee fan who remembers that era (including you Trisha) could rattle off about 5 or 6 unorthodox moves that he made over that period that worked out perfectly. Every button Girardi pushes (or maybe I shouldn’t even give him credit for that, because he’s too worried about hurting feelings to push ANY buttons at all) has felt like its lead to disaster over the past three years, 2009 included.
There was nothing so wrong with the offense that a few awake lineup tweaks could not have overcome.
New England has the worst defense in the league. Their defense is their offense. The more their offense stays out on the field, the more their offense scores, the less time the opposing offense is out there.
Just another example of the worthless cliches that defense win championships, that pitching wins championships.
Hi everyone, except Closet Sux Fan,
Just came back in….Dill, yes you need a third string catcher, in my view is Cervelli unless we get something of value from trading him, a third string catcher is very easy to obtain.
YT,
I am with you that the team that wins the most on the regular season should be able to pick his opponent….Is it going to happen??, no i don’t think so.
Villa Nova-Ya October 9th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Who started in the StLo/Milwaukee game?
Greinke and Garcia
I think playing in NY is tougher than playing anywhere else, media wise and fan wise.
I think it’s not out of line for guys to expect to be paid more to put up with the extra “stuff.”
Thank you, P.
Greinke, huh?
The spineless Commissioner desperately wants the team from his city in the World Series.
Don’t mention fire or hunger. That’s too much out of the box for provincial thinking. You know. Get the player I think we should get and that’s the total answer.
Hunger and fire are important elements. We saw it with the Angels and you’re seeing it with the Brewers. It certainly can propel a team – or lack of it can stop a team dead.
Bud Selig dont give a sniff of Tom Brady’s ass about the Brewers making the WS. He wanted the Red Sox, as always. When they were denied, he just wanted the Yankees out, TV ratings be damned.
G-C, you are entitled to your take, of course, but C had to throw a ludicrous amount of pitches and had to make adjustments to an artificial situation that left him vulnerable. This on essentially 2 days’ rest. He got jobbed. Even neutral observers with no interest in the Yankees’ good fortunes acknowledged as much.
Think what you will, but give me a fair strike zone & I’ll take C in that game. & he looked like someone poised to dominate on the previous friday.
“I think playing in NY is tougher than playing anywhere else, media wise and fan wise.
I think it’s not out of line for guys to expect to be paid more to put up with the extra “stuff.””
Stop with the excuses!!!
(I absolutely agree with what you just said.)
Braun is a wonderful hitter to watch. I don’t see any holes.
CC certainly could end up in Texas. With the money he could find a very good life for himself and his family. We can hope CC would rather not disrupt his kids lives and school again. I have a feeling henisna very good family man. The concern is Texas has plenty of money with it’s new TV contract. They will heavily compete on anyone if they wish.
Hi Trisha,
To your previous question YES
Yankee Trader-
I don’t know about picking their opponent.
You just don’t know and can’t predict how things will turn out anyway.
In 2006 and 2007, I think the Yankees were THRILLED with the matchups.
You just have to be able to beat whoever you’re playing. Whatever it takes.
We could use a guy like Nyjer Morgan, instead of happy go lucky, content as can be Swish. Swish was probably smiling in the locker room post Game 5. Probably was thinking how he was gonna go home and nail Joanna in a different posish that night.
JAP,
Amazing and somehow believable, and from an engineer as well. Did he ever do it again?
By the way, a fun ball game where I don’t have a dog in the fight.
J. Alfred Prufrock October 9th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
G-C, you are entitled to your take, of course, but C had to throw a ludicrous amount of pitches and had to make adjustments to an artificial situation that left him vulnerable. This on essentially 2 days’ rest. He got jobbed. Even neutral observers with no interest in the Yankees’ good fortunes acknowledged as much.
Think what you will, but give me a fair strike zone & I’ll take C in that game. & he looked like someone poised to dominate on the previous friday.
========================================
To complement your point, if you watch closely…In the 1st inning CC was painting the corners very well, but after 30 pitches he was gassed, and the batters weren’t swinging because they inmediately figure that the Ump would not give CC the corners, so why to swing to a pitchers pitch if the ump is going to call them balls??
J Al there are different kinds of fans. Some don’t give a rat’s ass about fairness, terrible umpiring, midges in Joba’s face, etc. They expect the Yankees to be wind-up automotons who are perfect no matter the circumstancees. And when they’re not, they readily blame the players.
There are also people like you, me, Villa, Lockdown, YF, Hamiltonian, among others, who refuse to see the game in a vacuum and get very upset when circumstances intervene to make it impossible for the players to do their jobs.
Didn’t the Yanks lead MLB in wins in the 80′s?
Same thing with runs scored.
You only need 1 more than the other team to win.
2-1 is just as good as 11-1. If you have enough pitching and defense it’s more important than hitting. Go watch a NL game.
tom, more & more it’s becoming a common mode of “travel.” I love the part about 600 years of connection to his father and the snow in 1945 Germany. I can relate, as I’m sure many could. We don’t realize, we have a lot to look forward to, even those of us who are getting up there in age
.
Add luis too the list who get upset when unfair practices make it impossible for the Yankees to win.
I should’t even call that thinking outside of the box. It’s just plain thinking!
mick wants fairness too.
“mick October 9th, 2011 at 6:13 pm ”
Hear hear! Totally agree, especially when you’re talking championship games! Which gets us right back to the rainouts and the calls in CC’s game.
trisha, I agree. I also think the less you appreciate the admirable skill level of these people, the more you become a knee jerk critic without context. If there had been even a little breeze blowing out to RF, for instance, we’re playing tonight. It’s a game of inches… If you can’t see how good CC Sabbathia is, how important he is to the Yankees, and you think we have the option to pass on him, I’d say you’re out of touch…;).
The Yankees deserved to lose the midges game.
Joe Torre failed miserably at his job that evening and that, not the midges, cost Joba and the Yankees.
The midges game and the entire 2007 series is on Torre, from his refusal to pull the team off the field to his bizarre choice of Wang on three days rest against PAUL BYRD, when it was evident to everyone in the Yankees clubhouse that Wang was both unwilling and terrified to start that game.
Trisha, Ive never asked you this. I know youre a really positive person re: all Yankees, but whats your take on Swisher?
tom, which game? Jets-Pats? Or the NLCS Game 1?
“If you can’t see how good CC Sabbathia is, how important he is to the Yankees, and you think we have the option to pass on him, I’d say you’re out of touch…;).”
Seriously out of touch.
Just like Torre should have taken our players off the field in 2007, Joe should have taken our team off the field in Game 3, for being cheated, and at the end of Game 2, when our hitters were being monsooned in the bottom of the 9th.
No desire, no urgency. Complacency, contentment
J Al there are different kinds of fans. Some don’t give a rat’s ass about fairness, terrible umpiring, midges in Joba’s face, etc. They expect the Yankees to be wind-up automotons who are perfect no matter the circumstancees. And when they’re not, they readily blame the players.
================================
Seeing our alleged best hitters in the PS hitting a combined .1NN with a couple RBI year after year is hardly expecting them to be autobots… just a a couple big hits would suffice, instead we get pop ups and strike outs..
when Arod actually contributed to the playoff’s what happened ? We actually won the WS. Go figure.. who woulda known ?
I have no problem paying for the “best in the game” to be on our team.. but when the best in the game fail year after year… there is a bit of a problem don’t you think ?
Well, then Betsy is so far out of touch….
She’s the one that wants CC out of here, just let him walk, she says
“The Yankees deserved to lose the midges game.
Joe Torre failed miserably at his job that evening and that, not the midges, cost Joba and the Yankees.
The midges game and the entire 2007 series is on Torre, from his refusal to pull the team off the field to his bizarre choice of Wang on three days rest against PAUL BYRD, when it was evident to everyone in the Yankees clubhouse that Wang was both unwilling and terrified to start that game.”
G-C – that’s not the Yankees, that’s Joe Torre. And the problem starts when you use the two interchangeably. And that’s when the players start to get painted with an unfair brush.
I agree with your post entirely!
To complement your point, if you watch closely…In the 1st inning CC was painting the corners very well, but after 30 pitches he was gassed, and the batters weren’t swinging because they inmediately figure that the Ump would not give CC the corners, so why to swing to a pitchers pitch if the ump is going to call them balls??
///
Right, so if you’re painting the corners and not getting the calls, you have to pump the ball in there to get outs. It was unbelievable while it was happening. I mean, you couldn’t believe what was happening. Hey, Justin Verlander was undone by what he considered a raw deal from the plate umpire last night. Guess he’s not an ace, either /rollseyes…..
“J Al there are different kinds of fans. Some don’t give a rat’s ass about fairness, terrible umpiring, midges in Joba’s face, etc. They expect the Yankees to be wind-up automotons who are perfect no matter the circumstancees. And when they’re not, they readily blame the players.”
______________________________________________
This isn’t true.
I expect the Yankees to perform well enough to the point at which fairness, terrible umpiring, and midges shouldn’t be an issue.
The only reason midges were an issue in that game was because one of the “greatest offenses ever” was stymied by Fausto Carmona. Look at what became of Fausto Carmona now. That game was literally the peak of his entire career.
I expect the Yankees to crush teams that have guys named Don Kelly, Magglio Ordonez, Wilson Betemit, Austin Jackson, Brandon Inge, and Ramon Santiago playing either regular or semi regular roles. Not a single one of those guys would deservedly have a place on the Yankee roster.
It gets to the point where its embarrassing to see your team consistently defeated by inferior teams year after year after year.
I would have been able to deal with losing to Philly in the 2009 Series. I could deal with losing to Boston in 2004 because they were pretty clearly a superior team. I can even deal with the Angels in any circumstance because, well, they’re the Angels.
But its getting to the point where every single team in baseball save Minnesota turns into the Angels in the first round against the Yankees.
And frankly, its beyond frustrating for me as a fan.
I’d rather happily watch a non-playoff team than a team that I know is going to fold in four or five games in the first round against an inferior opponent every single season.
JAP,
I’d like to try it. He didn’t say he was anyone special. What does it take?
The problem with the umpiring is that MLB has set up their own Catch-22 for the teams because arguing balls and strikes gets the manager tossed, and talking about it later gets the manager fined.
It’s sick.
To add one thing more….. I don’t think Davis was biased, but the media bombardment about how well CC pitched when he was behind the plate did affect the way he called the game, so the biased of the media hurt us, because it turned a generally fair man into really an unfair ump
hamiltonian October 9th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Just like Torre should have taken our players off the field in 2007, Joe should have taken our team off the field in Game 3, for being cheated, and at the end of Game 2, when our hitters were being monsooned in the bottom of the 9th.
No desire, no urgency. Complacency, contentment
====================
so true ! I can list about a dozen things Joe G could’ve done to help us win.. not PH Montero for Martin being the biggest blunder.. but he was asleep like always.
why not move the batting order around.. Jorge was on fire .. I would’ve batted him 5th, maybe even 4rth.. but nooooo Girardi didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.. or he was so complacent he just didn’t think about it.. he’s a dumbass.
It is sick. There arent any consequences for them. And they can do whatever they want, and dont have to answer to anybody.
P
It’s just complacency.
And managing the safe way. Posada was the best player in the series, but the only reason why he was starting every game was because Posada was the safe choice. IF the Yankees lose with Posada starting every game, they lost with the winning veteran, so Joe really cant be admonished for it. Even though Posada worked out for him, none of the credit belongs to Joe. He didnt do anything but make the safe decision. The same safe decision as letting Martin bat in every key AB instead of PH Montero. Nobody is going to question Jerk off Joe for leaving in the veteran Martin.
G-C,
I want the Yankees to win as well, but when you have two different strikezones it is very hard to win….
G-C October 9th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
“J Al there are different kinds of fans. Some don’t give a rat’s ass about fairness, terrible umpiring, midges in Joba’s face, etc. They expect the Yankees to be wind-up automotons who are perfect no matter the circumstancees. And when they’re not, they readily blame the players.”
______________________________________________
This isn’t true.
I expect the Yankees to perform well enough to the point at which fairness, terrible umpiring, and midges shouldn’t be an issue.
The only reason midges were an issue in that game was because one of the “greatest offenses ever” was stymied by Fausto Carmona. Look at what became of Fausto Carmona now. That game was literally the peak of his entire career.
I expect the Yankees to crush teams that have guys named Don Kelly, Magglio Ordonez, Wilson Betemit, Austin Jackson, Brandon Inge, and Ramon Santiago playing either regular or semi regular roles. Not a single one of those guys would deservedly have a place on the Yankee roster.
It gets to the point where its embarrassing to see your team consistently defeated by inferior teams year after year after year.
I would have been able to deal with losing to Philly in the 2009 Series. I could deal with losing to Boston in 2004 because they were pretty clearly a superior team. I can even deal with the Angels in any circumstance because, well, they’re the Angels.
But its getting to the point where every single team in baseball save Minnesota turns into the Angels in the first round against the Yankees.
And frankly, its beyond frustrating for me as a fan.
I’d rather happily watch a non-playoff team than a team that I know is going to fold in four or five games in the first round against an inferior opponent every single season.
-=-=-==–=-=-=–=–=-=-=–=–=-=-=–=-=-=–=-=–=-=-=–=
wow.. well said ! I agree 100% !
tom, some are able to do this easily. For others, it’s a trial & error thing. An interesting read that is pretty straight forward & a how-to book is “Astral Projection and the Nature of Reality” by John Magnus.
# G-C October 9th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
I’d rather happily watch a non-playoff team than a team that I know is going to fold in four or five games in the first round against an inferior opponent every single season.
——–
You are free to go follow another team. Maybe you can find a Cubs fan to trade places with you.
That’s one of the biggest problems with Yankee fans – they’re sense of entitlement.
The game isn’t meant to have the Yanks win the WS every year. It’s literally impossible. Extra teams being added to the playoff picture in addition to extra rounds being added makes it much harder to win.
Dynasties don’t happen very often, in any sport, that’s why they are called dynasties.
To give an example of the opposite,
The Patriots dont ever manage the safe route. When Bill Belly went for the 4th down against the Colts a couple years ago on his own 20 yard line with 2 minutes left in the game, leading the game at the time, it was the right decision. It was a most ballsy decision, but also the right one. It didnt work out, but it was the right decision.
Also, the Patriots play football like a video game. They dont buy into the cliches that defense wins championships or blah blah blah. They play with a video game offense, and it works. They dont succumb to the norm, they do their own thing, and they succeed doing it.
It’s been years now that are unbelievabley potent line up has mademediocre/avg pitchers look like aces .. blame midges, weather, stomach flu all you want…
our bats on paper are no longer our bats ..
G-C, Fausto Carmona has the right to have a career game. The Yankees don’t corner the market on good players. Playoffs are primarily about pitching, and playoff teams produce low-scoring games. It’s not an embarassment to lose to a pitcher whose stuff is unhittable.
But it’s criminal to force one of your top relievers to pitch with bugs flying all around his face. But for that BS the Yankees were a few outs from taking that game. In a short series, one game can make a critical difference.
“I expect the Yankees to crush teams that have guys named Don Kelly, Magglio Ordonez, Wilson Betemit, Austin Jackson, Brandon Inge, and Ramon Santiago playing either regular or semi regular roles. Not a single one of those guys would deservedly have a place on the Yankee roster.”
Again, in the postseason it’s not about the position players, it’s about the pitching. If Game 1 wasn’t rained out it certainly looked like CC had his very best stuff going. You saw Nova in Game 2. Pitching pitching pitching. If Game 4 wasn’t criminal in the way CC got screwed, maybe we take that one also. Remember, the games the Yankees won WERE crushers. And the ones they lost, they lost by inches.
I love all the excuses.. and I would buy into them if it was true we had a few bad games.. but our best players are hitting .1NN with RISP 3 RBI this year . and aside from 2009 it’s much the same each year.
it;s not like we are giving them a hard time for batting .270 with a couple clutch hits.. we are giving them a hardtime batting .100 with ZERO CLUTCH HITS..
the glass isn’t half full .. it’s broken … time to get a new glass !!!
GF,
Spot on….all you can ask is to have a team capable of making the post Season…everything from there is gravy, because luck has a lot to do with it, unless you make the champion the team that wins the more wins in the regular season.
JAP,
Ill look into it. Meanwhile, send the book to Cashman and Girardi. Last word on the subject. Thanks.
Again, in the postseason it’s not about the position players, it’s about the pitching.
… and the phillies are where ??
the game isn’t about one or the other .. it’s about a TEAM EFFORT .. which is noth pitching and hitting .. DUH .. how do you put runs on the board ?? With offense… i.e. HITTING !
doopy poopy du dudud do doe di doop.
tom, LOL. I’m probably already on some list in the FO.
“You are free to go follow another team. Maybe you can find a Cubs fan to trade places with you.”
__________________________________
Giuseppe,
I respect the heck out of you but honestly this perspective is one of the most frustrating things to have to deal with as a fan.
Its enormously frustrating when people think they’re “better” fans because they can accept losing and chalk it up to a number of different extraneous reasons other than their team flat out sucking.
I’ve been here long enough that you should know that almost every single one of my posts on this blog is complimentary. I NEVER criticize this team and the effort it puts out on a regular basis.
But enough is enough. If Cashman is content with this team as a first round punching bag, he can stand pat with the offense and do nothing. But of course, he’ll target pitching, when it hasn’t been the problem for 10 years here and probably won’t be next year.
I’ve watched 150 Yankee games a year since I turned eight years old.
I’ve also watched 70 Nets games a year since I turned that very same age.
The Nets have been a brutal franchise outside of their 2001-2007 glory run and I can honestly say that I’d prefer watching their 25 win act than what the Yankees have become over the last ten years.
Magglio Ordonez’ career is most likely over. His right ankle is broken. Sad way to end a career. Hell of a hitter.
P October 9th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Stupid, you don’t need a CRUSHING offense to outscore your opponent by one run. One extra run, by the way, wins the game!
You are 15, aren’t you.
I think I’ll save my comments for the adults on the board. DISMISSED!
Good!!!!!! LOL @ F.agglio Ordonez!!! Go F yourself you worthless scumbag!!!!
That scumpile Magggggglio had no problem getting hit after hit against us, and then GIDP in the first inning yesterday with the bases juiced. BOOOM! Karma does come around. Steroid using freak.
G-C
You cannot look at what Carmona is NOW. What he was that night was dominant.
But the Yankees still were winning that game until the midges toyed with Joba. I can still close my eyes and see what the poor young man had to suffer through. I shudder when I think of it. That was gross negligence by Torre, and I don’t think you can say the Yankees “deserved” to lose that game.
That was a phenomenally, what’s the term – outlier? – game.
I get the frustration. 2001, Mariano, a great-fielding pitcher makes a fielding mistake. A couple of weak hits later and the WS is lost. Did they “deserve” to lose that game and series?
Post-season play is full of things that go against the norm. Players who excel who you never, ever would think would come through – who never did. Players who are undeniably excellent who just don’t do a thing. Plus, you do have to factor in that the other teams are not just there to provide a “team B” to play the Yankees – they want to win, too.
P,
With all due respect, it’s not broken….Could the lineup be a little better in situational hitting?, you bet. The thing is that any team can beat another on any given day….Our team has a lot of potential and the future looks bright:
1) Our farm is at it’s best since 1996 or so
2) We got plenty of depth
3) We got a lot of finantial flexibility still
4) many of the players had down years and still made the playoffs
5)All in all this was a very successfull season
Excited to see a player on another team get hurt. Why would u cheer that.
G-C – the Yankees won the world series in 2009. I’ve written off the end of the Torre years. So the Yankees have gone two years without a world series win. Hopefully we’ll win again next year. Joe Girardi has been a manager in the majors for a very short time. Hopefully he learns all the time.
Mick,
I agree with your runs scored thought. The Yankees record in extra innings games was terrible. That tells me, no timely hitting. They go for home runs and don’t get hits to start innings or keep them going.
I want Kevin Long to do one thing for Teixiera and that is teach him to hit a ground ball toward third base. Get a few cheap hits, get the infield to play more straight up, and that would add thirty points to his average.
luis, “P” is a 15- year-old, according to him. And unteachable according to his comments. Feel free to try.
Other than the fact that he’s an idiot, he’s a mental degenerate, AAO.
“With all due respect, it’s not broken….Could the lineup be a little better in situational hitting?, you bet. The thing is that any team can beat another on any given day….Our team has a lot of potential and the future looks bright:
1) Our farm is at it’s best since 1996 or so
2) We got plenty of depth
3) We got a lot of finantial flexibility still
4) many of the players had down years and still made the playoffs
5)All in all this was a very successfull season”
I’ve been hearing this for the last five years.
It won’t matter for crap if they can’t figure out how to win 3 out of 5 games in October against a non Minnesota team.
Or they can keep chalking it up to “sample size” and “extraneous factors” and continue to be the subject of a new team’s first round triumph every single season.
Why wouldnt I cheer that??? What Yankees fan wouldnt cheer that?? After that pervert came out of his season long slump to dominate us in the ALDS, and then crawled right back under his shell in the first inning yesterday. Also to mention, he’s a steroid user, hence his sudden decline a couple years ago.
Villa Nova-Ya October 9th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Excellent post.
“I get the frustration. 2001, Mariano, a great-fielding pitcher makes a fielding mistake. A couple of weak hits later and the WS is lost. Did they “deserve” to lose that game and series?”
Definitely.
They had no business being in that series!
It was the ghosts, I’m convinced!
But honestly, I’ve never seen a Yankee team as thoroughly outplayed as they were in that series.
It sure didn’t make it any less painful! But the better team absolutely won.
Sorry to hear about Magglio
Just like Luis Gonzalez. Another steroid maniac. Id celebrate like it was 1999 if I learned of Luis Gonzalez dying in a car wreck. It would make day, and Id smile about it every day from that day forward
Well, if you know that, why comment on it. Because it’s true. No help, no fault, no point.
And how in heaven’s name can you be embarrassed by a team that wins over 90 games a year without even trying???? That has contended for the post-season for the last – what, since 1994? My heavens.
No one likes to lose. I sure thought this year’s team had staying power. Guess what? For three games, the Detroit Tigers did one run better.
I’m second-guessing the manager’s non-moves in the last game. But I am not embarrassed that the Yankees did not move on, and never have been embarrassed. Disappointed? Absolutely!
trish,
The last thing I ever expected you to say was westcoast’s patented “dismissed”.
G-C October 9th, 2011 at 6:37 pm
“You are free to go follow another team. Maybe you can find a Cubs fan to trade places with you.”
__________________________________
Giuseppe,
I respect the heck out of you but honestly this perspective is one of the most frustrating things to have to deal with as a fan.
——-
What’s so frustrating about this team? They won the World Series TWO YEARS AGO.
It’s not easy to win in this sport, but the Yanks have managed to get to the postseason in 16 of the last 17 years.
Yeah, it sucks when they lose but this isn’t the late 60s, early 70s, or most of the 80s.
I think people lose perspective because they take this franchise and their success for granted.
And for the record, they weren’t a 1st round punching bag last season. They were two wins away from another AL pennant.
Sh!t happens. The fans of all the other 29 teams aren’t going to feel sorry for us.
But enough is enough. If Cashman is content with this team as a first round punching bag, he can stand pat with the offense and do nothing.
————————-
Realistically speaking besides getting rid of Swisher there isn’t much he can do.
Yes, that is very unfortunate about Magglio.
“trish,
The last thing I ever expected you to say was westcoast’s patented “dismissed”.”
That’s because I’m not convinced that “P” isn’t a sock puppet!
People commiserating over an injury to Magglio Ordonez. Supposed Yankees fans. Disgusting.
Unfortunate that Magglio doesnt have to have a leg amputated.
Oh you’re a troll now I get it
G-C –
I re-read my last post. Didn’t mean to sound so harsh.
It is definitely head-scratching that in some of those years, the Yankees did not move on.
And I think as fans, some of us do look for “extenuating circumstances” to explain how a team we see as the best in baseball could possibly lose, especially in the first round. Sometimes there just is no explanation. And you wait for the the next season and hope that perceived weaknesses are addressed. But sometimes it’s just the other guy’s turn to win.
G-C,
Yes, you has been hearing it, and it’s been happening in front of your eyes. We are in the middle of a transition, once is finished we are going to have a team that is going to compete year in and year out, and maybe bring in a couple of titles maybe even more.
they are using the Gene Michaels’s strategy, the same one that brought so many satisfactions.
I prefer to see players retire and go out on a good not. Being forced out because of something that’s out of the player’s control is never good.
Villa, I love your posts, but while I think CJ is likely not a #2 in the East, how is Phil that (possibly)? I can see Nova, but Phil has so many ? to answer……the difference is, of course, that CJ would require a long-term and expensive committment, which I wouldn’t go for.
Back from the local sports bar after I and a couple of other G Men fans sat there and watched the Giants do the unbelievable again. Just when I thought it’s just a Giant thing, here pops up Philly with a guy jumping offside on a 4th down play when everyone on the face of the earth knew that Buffalo was never going to snap the ball.
trish,
Got it.
Jets playing their usual great game against the Patriots and Brady
***good note***
Betsy -
I’m giving Phil the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he cannot be a #2 for this team, but, maybe he can. That’s all.
I don’t expect Wilson to sign here. But no second lefty starter is a problem and Banuelos is a season away. So I expect them to go pretty far in an effort to sign him. I wouldn’t say all out, but close.
I didn’t originally think so. But I changed my mind.
And another point to remember. The Yankees weren’t even supposed to be in there, according to a lot of the experts. Once they lost out on Lee and had to scramble to put a rotation together, and then saw both AJ and Hughes underperform according to what the Yankees were expecting, lots of people, including some here, basically wrote off the Yankees chances at success.
I think they did a great job getting as far as they did, and without a few f’d up variables, they’d probably be in the ALCS. You shouldn’t whine about the hitting in Game 5 if you aren’t willing to man up and understand how badly they were affected by the rain out and the umpiring in Game 4. It isn’t all one way.
G-C, this losing in the first around is getting to be extremely frustrating……..we always say that the 1990′s Braves underachieved because they only won 1 WS with all that pitching. Well, it’s great to get to the playoffs, but getting knocked off early isn’t exactly satisfying. Consistently it’s been the offense that has been a problem – something has to change. I don’t agree that I’d rather see a non-playoff team than the type of team the Yankees have been, but I’m willing to take a step back to see them improve to become a WS type team.
The theme of Lupica’s Article today is that the Yankees have a dynasty of making the playoffs but not of winning WS…..the HR happy offense, feasting on weak pitching, lack of clutch hitting and how Steinbrenners are behind the scenes thrilled to just make playoffs and keep selling tickets at huge prices….look at this quote:
“Oh, they destroy secondary pitching,” a manager from out of their division said Friday night. “They destroy fourth and fifth guys in the rotation and then the guys who replace those guys in the fourth and fifth innings. Only they don’t get to face pitchers like that in the playoffs, at least not outside of blowout games.”
The guy continued, “You know what they need? They need more guys like Brett Gardner. More tough guys like that. But they keep getting away from the essence of who they were once. They can’t wait to get rid of old guys like Posada and Jeter. But when they’re all gone, and Rivera is gone, they’ll be further away from their essence, the thing that made them great in the late 90s, than ever.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....r_typ.html
why the f.ck would I be a troll? I just need to release pent up anger, since I cheer a bunch of cheated, mismanaged, passion-less teams.
Manny may be closer than that. The final frontier for that kid is commanding the 95 and pitching inside more. Neither of those things is out of reach. I expect him to at least force a call up at some point later in the season.
Plax smiles after dropping a pass right in his hands on the 5 yard line. The guy never takes anything serious.
trisha – true pinstriped blue October 9th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
And another point to remember. The Yankees weren’t even supposed to be in there, according to a lot of the experts. Once they lost out on Lee and had to scramble to put a rotation together, and then saw both AJ and Hughes underperform according to what the Yankees were expecting, lots of people, including some here, basically wrote off the Yankees chances at success.
I think they did a great job getting as far as they did, and without a few f’d up variables, they’d probably be in the ALCS. You shouldn’t whine about the hitting in Game 5 if you aren’t willing to man up and understand how badly they were affected by the rain out and the umpiring in Game 4. It isn’t all one way.
===========================
very good point…I was discussing this very same point with my brothers at lunch today.
Also, I don’t buy the umpire schtick, esp. not with CC, who is an ace. He just didn’t come up big -twice. He didn’t pitch well for two months prior to the post-season and he didn’t pitch well in the post-season.
I got on Hughes for coming into camp out of shape – and I have to get on CC if he allowed himself to balloon up during the season. I don’t need him to be as “thin” as he was coming into this season – and I think the obsession with his weight prior to this year was overdone. The guy is just a big man……….however, if he’s pitching at a weight that he’s no longer that effective at, then it becomes a problem.
TD Jets, might get interesting
And so what, I wish players dead. I wish them injury. Does that make me a horrible person? Maybe. Probably. But what person doesnt wish at least one person in their life dead? Im sure at some point in life, if even just one time, everyone has wished someone dead.
Eeyor.
Just read through all the comments since last night. Wow! You guys are all over the place.
So now its mlb/network’s fault the Yankees didn’t advance. Is that you, Adrian Gonzalez?
The blame does not fall on CC. That’s just ridiculous. However, he is responsible for staying in shape. Did he run out of gas at the end? 30 lbs. or whatever was is a lot of weight. Of course it might be his normal weight because he did show up slim.
Anyway, if he has any interest in protecting his knees (and in my eyes the Yankees’ investment), then he should think about slimming down. He’s not getting any younger, and I can’t understand why he wouldn’t be thinking about that.
Villa, fyi – I just meant for 2012, not beyond. I respect your opinion.
I honestly don’t know what the Yankees will do with Wilson. He’s a very fine pitcher and objectively,we need him as I do not like the potential staff we have going into 2012. I’m also scared to death of these long term contracts – CC has worked out of course, but Wilson is not CC. We need pitching, though ,because even when Banuelos and/or Betances come up, they’re not going to be reliably good most likely – they’re just kids. I see the Yankees as caught between a rock and a hard place. Phil is really huge key this year – not just for his personal future with this team, but if he’s good, it helps ease the burden on the other pitchers and it would ease the way for other kids to eventually join the rotation.
Sure, more guys like Gardner. Okay.
I like Brett Gardner, but come on.
And, ahem, the Yankees always destroyed secondary pitching. And in their dynasty years, wasn’t the mantra always, just wait out, wear out the starting pitching (make them throw pitches) and get to the weaker middle relief? How has that changed?????
And the Yankees have always beat the weaker teams and held their own with the stronger ones. That hasn’t really changed either.
More guys like Brett Gardner would be great for the rest of the league. (No offense meant to Brett Gardner.)
“Oh, they destroy secondary pitching,” a manager from out of their division said Friday night. “They destroy fourth and fifth guys in the rotation and then the guys who replace those guys in the fourth and fifth innings. Only they don’t get to face pitchers like that in the playoffs, at least not outside of blowout games.”
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Hey Buck, bitter much?
Not sure that Wilson is a fit in NY, but, they need another left handed starter and Buehrle isn’t the answer and neither is he coming to NY. If he leave Chicago, it’s to play in St. Louis.
hamiltonian,
Not unless I could do it myself, and I couldn’t unless they were threatening me and my family. Ball players playing erll against us don’
Lupica is a hack and has been for years…..
Gee, hamiltonian couldn’t possibly be SEE ARE NINE.
dont qualify
m -
Take a look at the playoff videos from 2009. They feature a lot of CC. CC was trimmer then. Always big, but not as big. May have worn him down, who knows?
CC takes responsibility for his performance. The umpire may not have given him the calls, but he says he couldn’t make his pitches – which may mean he wasn’t able to adjust to the strike zone that was given to him.
Verducci on Teixeira below….depressing to read, scary to think about…compared to Adam Dunn and JD Drew…..geez…..
5. Teixeira’s decline
Mark Teixeira had another awful postseason series for the Yankees. The guy is an accomplished hitter. So it must be written off as Teixeira being “unlucky,” or meaningless because of the whims of the “small sample size” defense, right? Knock yourself out by telling yourself that, but that just means you haven’t been paying attention to how Teixeira has been devolving as a hitter.
I wrote back in January about how Teixeira, coming off a .256 season, is so mechanically unsound that he is going to continue to decline. Teixeira collapses on his back side and swings up on the ball. I wrote then, “The style means Teixeira must catch the ball out in front of him and leaves him prone to lifting the ball rather than driving through it. As he ages, Teixeira becomes an even more extreme fly ball hitter and pull hitter, trends that mean he will continue to lose points off his batting average.”
Teixeira, who came to the Yankees as a .290 career hitter, followed that .256 season with another decline, to .248. Put him in a postseason environment, with better pitching and home runs tougher come to come by, and Teixeira’s rally-killing style is going to be more pronounced. He has hit .167 over his last 108 postseason at-bats.
His troubles are particularly acute from the left side. Teixeira batted .224 from the left side this year while getting only four hits all year to the opposite field.
His batting average on balls in play has dropped every year with the Yankees: .302, .268, .239. That’s not unlucky. It’s symptomatic of his hitting style. His fly ball rate has increased every year as a Yankee (37 in 2008, followed by 44, 46, 47). His infield pop-ups, which are no different than strikeouts, and were as low as 14 in 2008, have grown to 21, 30 and 27 as a Yankee.
Teixeira’s swing simply is not built to make him a consistent clutch hitter. After coming to the Yankees with a .308 average with runners in scoring position in 2008, he hasn’t come close to that kind of reliability with New York (.264, .273, .268) — especially in the postseason environment.
Teixeira turns 32 years old next season. The Yankees already have age-related issues with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. You can put Teixeira in that category, not because of health, but because his pull-happy, fly ball swing is the kind that doesn’t age well, sort of like those of J.D. Drew and Adam Dunn.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....z1aKR3s4Ig
Keith, you probably know by now that Lupica lives to destroy the Yankees? I wouldn’t believe anything in his column, especially unnamed sources.
Do yourself a big favor. Leave Lupica off your reading list. He’s a class-A ahole. But he does enjoy his interview time on WEEI.
Need I say more?
I don’t think the Brett Gardner statement is farfetched.
Look at some of the at bats that guy had this series.
He competes and unlike Swisher, Martin, et. al, is willing to shorten up his swing in tough spots against tough pitching.
I’d trust Brett Gardner in a big at bat against a hard throwing pitcher over just about every hitter on this team save Cano.
He’s tremendous and I expect him to be a big part of this team moving forward.
GB7 -
I think another team will be willing to give Wilson more years than the Yankees.
If the Yanks only consistently beat 4th and 5th starters, they’d be below .500 every year.
JAP,
We have some holes for sure, Swish, Martin, not playing Montero, which I have expounded upon ad nauseam. However, to win the ALDS and move on, all we needed was an Alex who had had about 20 more AB’s so that his timing was down, and we would not have looked back.
Keith, are you a masochist? Or a sadist?
Do you really think people want to read this stuff? I know I don’t – and so I won’t. For future reference, how about giving a small summation and then a link? That way people who want to read further can.
Good night all. I’ve had about all the Yankee trashing and complaining from Team Depressing that I can take.
J. Alfred -
I thought Buck first, too, but it said a manager outside of their division.
G-C -
Gardner was successful in the ALDS, but for most of the season, he was not successful in changing his swing, bunting, or running when necessary. He is a good player, but still inconsistent.
Ouch…….Tex
Tex seemed to realized at the end of the season that he needs to do something about that Lefty swing. I expect him to make some adjustments and improve next season.
Calling people out for obsessing about a player’s weight? You’ve been doing it all year long.
yankeefeminista -
That thumb injury was the killer….
Of course Im SEE ARE NINE.
A 2 year old down syndrome kid could figure it out.
Villa,
Spot on
And by the way, as someone pointed out previously, the fact that the first question that was asked of Girardi by the press had to do with the strike zone in CC’s game, and the fact that it was widely talked about by the media that night and the next day, tells you that anyone with an ounce of intelligence would have to realize just how bad the strike zone was and how strikes continually being called balls can put runners on base who shouldn’t be there and can make a pitch count go through the roof. And allow runs to score that have no business scoring and get a pitcher out of a game much earlier than he otherwise would have been out.
Judge Judy had it right. Beauty fades but dumb is forever.
Sorry Trisha….I just never really thought Tex was thought about so negatively, especially when Verducci writes it whose writing and opinions I respect and agree with, unlike Lupica who you are correct about is so anti-Yankee and sarcastic it is beyond belief….yes, I will just post the link with a small summation from now on…..
Judge Judy had it right. Beauty fades but dumb is forever.
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LMAO
never heard truer words!!
Good read Keith thanks for posting it.
Too bad Verducci is late to the party. Teix’s disastrous left side mechanics have been discussed on this site for months. And again, I will give Teix credit for at least trying to make adjustments on the fly during the playoffs, and having a pretty friggin good Game 5. Hopefully, he can make more adjustments in the off season. Swish I have less high hopes for.
luis October 9th, 2011 at 7:06 pm
JAP,
But seriously what i think this current team lacks is the good situational hitting that the 90?s teams had, many of the players go to “the all or nothing approach”.
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luis, we’ve got some very sound hitters coming through the pipeline. JR Murphy is probably the best pure hitter I’ve seen in the system – another guy they likely don’t envision as a catcher, but he has the athleticism to play elsewhere.
The lineup now would not be up for discussion, IMO, if Joe had done what we’ve been saying, here. The series was lost because Alex wasn’t Alex, Tex is between an outmoded swing and one he’s yet to remake, and Swisher is possibly unteachable…they were the cleanup, fifth and sixth hitters.
CC didn’t get robbed on the edges. He got robbed in the zone.
But anyway, CC knows he didn’t do his job, so I’m not going to beat him up on that.
But he had no business pitching in relief. That’s on Joe.
luis, Montero doesn’t. Great situational hitter. Too bad he wasn’t given the chance to show it.
Did Whiz Kid Verducci bother to watch Tex in his last game? He’s going to adjust & he’s going to be alright. SOB hates the Yankees.
Villa Nova-Ya October 9th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
J. Alfred -
I thought Buck first, too, but it said a manager outside of their division.
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Sorry, Villa that’s such a ruse. The language gives Buck away, and the fact that Lupica has been up his ass for weeks, now.
Keith, I didn’t mean to come down on you so hard. I apologize. And Villa said on the next thread – and I agree – we don’t necessarily trust Verducci anymore since he became Torre’s mouthpiece in the Torre tome.
If the Yanks only consistently beat 4th and 5th starters, they’d be below .500 every year.
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The point is, good pitching handcuffs most hitters. That’s why they don’t fall back among the pack. Now we’re supposed to think we lack virtue because we beat up average pitchers? The writers of this slop are not smart and prey on people as dumb as they are.
Trisha….no worries at all!
…..just glad to be able to talk about the Yankees even though sadly the season is over…..
Yankeefem,
Completely in agreement.