Getting a few decisions out of the way
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Feb 20, 2012 
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Joe Girardi rarely makes a big announcement before absolutely necessary. Even when his intentions are clear, Girardi likes to keep all of his options open without any sort of commitment. Today, though, managed to acknowledge that he’s at least leaning toward certain decisions. As always, he left nothing carved in stone, but Girardi got some of the little things out of the way.
Consider these decisions made until alerted otherwise.
Middle of the order
“Finishing last year, we moved Robbie up to the third spot, and I kind of envision that,” Girardi said. “Alex following and then maybe Tex. I’m not married to that — I’m not saying that’s what it’s going to be — but it seems that we have some guys that can be really productive and that we can move around if we think it’s going to benefit us… But I envision Robbie hitting third and going from there.”
Top of the order
Asked about Curtis Granderon batting second, then asked about Derek Jeter leading off, Girardi’s response was almost the exact same each time: “If we were going to put it out today, that’s kind of how I envision it,” Girardi said.
The eighth inning
“(Dave Robertson) was our eighth-inning guy, Sori was our seventh-inning guy (last year),” Girardi said. “It worked out really well. I don’t necessarily have any ideas of making any changes right now to it. Could you? Of course. You don’t want to say this is what’s going to be, but when I look at it, that’s kind of how I envision it.”
Backup catcher
“I anticipate it to be Cervelli,” Girardi said. “Obviously we’re going to give the other guys a goo look. Romine, I like the job he came up and did last year for us, especially under the circumstances… But Cervelli has done a very good job for us. His problem has been health.”
Associated Press photo
Randy, do you hold Mickey Mantle – the man who reportedly brought his wife and mistress to his retirement ceremony – which is just the tip of the iceberg for someone whose personal life does not mesh with his beloved place in fan’s hearts, in the same low-regard you do Brian Cashman?
by Ed Valentine • Feb 20, 2012 4:50 PM EST
So, A.J. Burnett chose to go the “rip the New York Yankees’ route on his way out the Bronx Bombers door and into the Pittsburgh Pirates den. Upon arriving in Bradenton, Fla. to join the Pirates after being traded by the Yankees, Burnett told reporters he had allowed the Yankees to “tinker” with him too much.
“I let a few too many people tinker with me, maybe,” Burnett said. “When you let that happen, you start doubting yourself sometimes. You wonder, ‘Am I doing it right? Is this how it’s supposed to feel?’ and things like that. In ‘09, nobody messed with me. I was able to do what I wanted to do on the mound, whether it was turn around, close my eyes and pitch upside down. Then you have a few bad games and you start changing and listening.”
Jerkface-
Would Cano and the Yankees be better served with him batting cleanup. Maybe ARod 3rd?
Sorry for being late to the party JAP. I saw that article earlier in the day and though I wonder if my buddy has seen this.
I know you would be interested to read it.
Yes, YT. The 4th spot is usually in more position to do damage. And Cano has destroyed in his short times in the 4th spot. 4 could be a good spot, but I think A-rod stays there. And I like A-rod in that spot, I think A-rod can be a good hitter.
And I don’t like this thinking that Burnett is ‘ripping’ anyone.
I wouldn’t exactly call what AJ said “ripping the Yankees”……
Cashman certainly sounds like Hughes will be in the rotation.
“You could tell he’s been working on the changeup. Larry (Rothschild) was saying that he’s changed the grip a little bit, and it’s working. We’ll see how hitters react to it, but from my perspective, it looked like a pretty good pitch. His slider is a plus slider. Everybody knows he’s got a live arm.”
“We had a short sample (last season),” Martin said. “We just saw him one game. He was a little erratic that game and got himself in trouble walking guys, so I was expecting to see a guy that didn’t have great command. I was wrong. He was commanding his fastball down in the zone. Joe gave me a call this offseason and said, ‘We’ve got to get this guy to work on his changeup,’ and obviously he has worked on his changeup because what I saw was a good changeup”.
“The first couple, he was on the side of them, which means they were kind of tailing. Movement on a pitch is a good thing, but it’s kind of hard to control. When he was staying on top of the ball, down and through it and throwing it off the same plane as the fastball, that’s what gives deception to the hitter. He was able to, after throwing a couple the wrong way, he made an adjustment right away and was keeping it down in the zone and on the same plane. The guy is a quick learner and he’s able to make adjustments on the mound. That’s pretty impressive for a young guy.”
The ESPN writers calling him Quid Pro Quo Joe, Chad.
I don’t like it. Doesn’t end in the pet name “-ey”.
I agree with the earlier thoughts the Yankees Burnett press release emphasized the negative as if to justify the trade. Their is no need to explain the trade to any fan.
I think press releases just put note worthy statistics, and AJ is note worthy for the wrong reasons. Thats how it goes.
Agree with Cano, Rodriguez, Teixeira middle of the order. Not wild about what would seem to be an Ibanez, Martin, Gardner lower third though, though I guess it’s not dramatically different than last year’s.
” But Cervelli has done a very good job for us”
yeah, i especially liked that 14% throwing out runners stat cervelli had.
is girardi delusional?
i doubt any catcher in the league was worse.
in cervelli’s defense. perhaps he had a sore arm and girardi knew about it.
a manager can’t say he has a sore arm or they’ll run more on him.
but still, cervelli was really bad defensively last year.
The lineup that Girardi needs to tinker with is against righties. Last years BA against righties:
Cano .296
Jeter .277
Rodriguez .276
Gardner .265
Granderson .258
Ibanez .256
Martin .248
Swisher .232
Teixeira .223
Cervelli .263
Nunez .259
Chavez .255
Jones .172
Randy,
On Billy Martin:
“Billy Martin was married four times and had two children, a daughter named Kelly Ann and a son named Billy Joe. His first marriage was to Lois Berndt, by whom he had his daughter and who left him in 1954.[25] He married Gretchen Winkler in 1961, by whom he had his son, and stayed married to her until 1979 when the two divorced.[25] He was married a third time while he was managing in Oakland, but was never faithful to his third wife and eventually married his mistress, a woman named Jill, in 1989.”
I’ll ask again, do you hold Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin in the same personal esteem you do Brian Cashman, yes or no?
Joe gave me a call this offseason and said, ‘We’ve got to get this guy to work on his changeup,’ and obviously he has worked on his changeup because what I saw was a good changeup.
**************
eh? And what do you know Mr. Martin. You’re just a major league catcher and an excellent game caller who handled the staff beautifully last year in your first year in the AL.
stuckey-
its a simple rule.
no husband should embarrass his wife or his kids.
period.
When is Cashman getting fired again?
Randy, fair enough.
Since those 2 Yankee icons did, should their plagues/monuments be removed and their numbers unretiredso as to save the Yankees organization the embarrassment they put their wife and kids through?
I’m sure I would be embarrassed if my husband left me and married his mistress.
I agree with the earlier thoughts the Yankees Burnett press release emphasized the negative as if to justify the trade. Their isno need to explain the trade to any fan
================================
That’s Randy Lucchin….er, Levine at work.
Raoul Ibanez WHY ??? Mickey Rivers was available !!! Getting old Yankee fans and this could be your Last Hurrah !!!
Looking at the Rangers lineup they had 3 hitters with >.300 BA vs righties
Young .330
Napoli .320
Hamilton .314
The Tigers 4:
Cabrera .353
Martinez .337
Peralta .323
Avila .304
Boston had 2:
Gonzalez .347
Ellsbury .337
“When is Cashman getting fired again?”
i just hope you get those altar candles for your cashman shrine wholesale.
More coverage from Yankees Spring Training:
Enjoy!
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7594088
“i just hope you get those altar candles for your cashman shrine wholesale.”
I just asked a simple question since you’re the one that made a bold prediction about him leaving and all.
Their is a very good article on the Yankees, particularly their pitching, at fox sports.com. I would link it but those powers escape me.
I’ll ask again, do you hold Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin in the same personal esteem you do Brian Cashman, yes or no?
—————————————————————–
They were both disgusting human beings
“They were both disgusting human beings”
They were a lot worse than Brian Cashman, but don’t tell the anti-Cashman that.
“I just asked a simple question since you’re the one that made a bold prediction about him leaving and all.”
i just expressed a simple hope you get your altar candles wholesale because i’d hate for you to go broke buying them retail.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/s.....ile-021912
Is this the article Austinmac?
By April 5, 2012 was randy’s prediction for the end of Cashman’s tenure as Yankee GM.
“i just expressed a simple hope you get your altar candles wholesale because i’d hate for you to go broke buying them retail.”
Hey, Cashman has his faults, but he’s a good GM despite your hourly ramblings to the contrary.
“By April 5, 2012 was randy’s prediction for the end of Cashman’s tenure as Yankee GM.”
If he’s wrong, will April 5th be the end of Randy’s torment of this board?
So now randy is being the moral police here. Interesting.
Austinmac-
Just finished reading the article. Thanks for posting it. Liked this blurb:
“Better the Yankees hold off until after 2014, by which point they could realize the benefits of spending one season under the luxury-tax threshold and then dive into a market that could include Felix Hernandez, who will be 28, and Justin Verlander, who will be 31.”
Weird article by Rosenthal. Title: Yankee Pitching is Young but Fragile. Reading the article, there is just nothing to back up the title. Bizarro.
Everybody enjoy the rest of your evening. Till tomorrow. Who gets dropped from the 40 man roster when Eric Chavez is signed tomorrow?
nick in sf-
don’t you just hate it that i totally predicted the demise of hughes, kennedy, and joba with the same resulting flack from the blog i’m getting now.
and it must really suck for you how i said cashman was a lousy human being for years and and then he went and embarrassed his wife and kids.
of course my negative thoughts about him made him do it.
Spoke to a Mariners scout a few days ago. They loved Pineda and think he will be just fine and his change is more developed than people let on. They also love Montero, but they think while his lead foot is too far out in front, he makes up with it with his back speed and ability to to keep his hands back. It was just one of those trades, strength for strength, that you sometimes make.
“Bat” speed.
“So now randy is being the moral police here. Interesting.”
maine yankee-
you into cheating ?
i’m not.
i think it’s time for gardner to lead off…
Everybodys pitching is fragile.
Either to young,to old,not deep enough,or some combination.
All the so called experts enointed the rs the best team in history,with becket,lester,buchholz their top 3.
How did that work out???
Also what experts picked the cardinals to win it all,and i don’t think i can name one pitcher they had last year.
J. Alfred Prufrock February 20th, 2012 at 4:51 pm
“Rosy, how’s The Bat doing? Settling in?”
~
Sure is.
http://t.co/uCK3luLF
But, with all the Chone to lead-off and Ichiro to 2nd/3rd, Jesus has taken a back seat in most M’s conversation today…
I guess that Babe Ruth should also be thrown under the hearse. Would you have advised against trading for him?
Was cashman sepparated from his wife when he had the fling?
Against All Odds February 20th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Sorry for being late to the party JAP. I saw that article earlier in the day and though I wonder if my buddy has seen this. I know you would be interested to read it.
///
Odds, there you are! I swiped it from another site.
.
Let’s hope Joba’s one of those strengthened by the TJS. I never saw Reynolds, but that section gave me goose bumps. I did see early-edition Joba though, and that gave me my current melancholy
Was cashman sepparated from his wife when he had the fling?
—————————————
Not when he had the one in 2007
randy l. February 20th, 2012 at 6:32 pm
“So now randy is being the moral police here. Interesting.”
maine yankee-
you into cheating ?
i’m not.
———————————————————
I’m not into making judgments. That’s above my pay grade.
“don’t you just hate it that i totally predicted the demise of hughes, kennedy, and joba with the same resulting flack from the blog i’m getting now.”
Those are more examples of you trying to twist reality to fit your delusions than anything else, but ask me again if those demises ever actually occur. The answer will likely be no, however.
“and it must really suck for you how i said cashman was a lousy human being for years and and then he went and embarrassed his wife and kids.”
No, nothing you’ve said or say about Cashman sucks for me — why would it suck for me that some guy with a personal grudge against Cashman rants about him on the internet? — but your unhinged bitterness has kind of sucked for the overall quality of the comment section of this blog lately. But keep on doubling down and lashing out at the long-time commenters who try to talk sense to you.
As for your prediction, we’ll see if you were right on April 5. A lot could happen between now and then, you might have something tangible to crow about.
But belittling women in here is apparently fine.
# CompassRosy February 20th, 2012 at 6:40 pm
J. Alfred Prufrock February 20th, 2012 at 4:51 pm
“Rosy, how’s The Bat doing? Settling in?”
~
Sure is.
http://t.co/uCK3luLF
But, with all the Chone to lead-off and Ichiro to 2nd/3rd, Jesus has taken a back seat in most M’s conversation today…
///
Thanks, Rosy. Who’s protecting The Son in the lineup?
Don’t know that they’ve gotten that settled yet, J. AP – but, if I had to guess, I’d say Ackley.
Trader, my guess is that one of Kontos, Pena or Dickerson gets dropped off of the 40 man roster. Most logical and easiest to lose is Pena.
27 Non-roster invitees.
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/roster_nri.jsp?c_id=nyy
Ah, and right on time the persecution complex begins…
# CompassRosy February 20th, 2012 at 6:55 pm
Don’t know that they’ve gotten that settled yet, J. AP – but, if I had to guess, I’d say Ackley.
///
The REAL Dustin
.
J. Alfred Prufrock February 20th, 2012 at 6:43 pm
Against All Odds February 20th, 2012 at 5:48 pm Sorry for being late to the party JAP. I saw that article earlier in the day and though I wonder if my buddy has seen this. I know you would be interested to read it. ///
Odds, there you are! I swiped it from another site. Let’s hope Joba’s one of those strengthened by the TJS. I never saw Reynolds, but that section gave me goose bumps. I did see early-edition Joba though, and that gave me my current melancholy
————————–
Yea let’s how he comes back stronger. He has been busting his butt which is a great thing. Early edition Joba was a rookie monster…..a man beast. Hopefully Pineda can generate the same feeling I had when I saw Joba pitch but I doubt it. That’s not to say I hope he fails because I don’t think he will but I really seeing Joba the starter pitch.
Also what experts picked the cardinals to win it all,and i don’t think i can name one pitcher they had last year.
///
Carpenter was the man, in that Philly series, too. IIRC, he outduelled Halladay in a 1-0 game. I thought that series would be a very interesting one; the middle of that St. Louis order against that pitching staff.
Joe’s comments on Cervelli make me happy. Thanks Chad.
Crawdaddy February 20th, 2012 at 6:04 pm
When is Cashman getting fired again?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hal, Hank, Jennifer, and Jessica Steinbrenner all experienced divorces. George didn’t fire them.
“Those are more examples of you trying to twist reality to fit your delusions than anything else, but ask me again if those demises ever actually occur. The answer will likely be no, however.”
i’ve said it often before.
we don’t like each other.
if you want to keep attacking knock yourself out.
Yea let’s how he comes back stronger. He has been busting his butt which is a great thing. Early edition Joba was a rookie monster…..a man beast. Hopefully Pineda can generate the same feeling I had when I saw Joba pitch but I doubt it. That’s not to say I hope he fails because I don’t think he will but I really seeing Joba the starter pitch.
///
Best, at least Pineda will have the benefit of a much better pitching coach, so there’s that. He’s also got some depth to shield him a little. What concerns me about Pineda is that elbow.
Joba would appear to be a numbers victim now, even if Rothschild’s better judgment sees him as a starter.
randy, did you consider this to be an attack?
“By April 5, 2012 was randy’s prediction for the end of Cashman’s tenure as Yankee GM.”
If so, maybe you shouldn’t have made the prediction.
ron February 20th, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Everybodys pitching is fragile.
Either to young,to old,not deep enough,or some combination.
All the so called experts enointed the rs the best team in history,with becket,lester,buchholz their top 3.
How did that work out???
///
Sure, that’s why you don’t trade a potentially all-world hitter for an “ace” in the making.
The fragility of pitching is simultaneously the warning against spending too much to acquire it and the reason to not hede that warning.
i’m watching pineda pitch in his sept 3 game.
i really do not like his motion at all.
they’ll get a few years out of him , but he’s all arm and had a sloppy delivery.
he looks like an injury waiting to happen.
a very violent pitching motion. no finesse there at all.
haven’t seen 97 yet. 94-95 more like it.
as i said before.
he looks like a reliever.
..so sad…