Pregame notes: Changing things around vs. lefties
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes on Apr 10, 2012 
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Five games into the season, the Yankees are about to face their third left-handed starter. They’ve used a slightly different lineup in each of those games, with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Andruw Jones each getting a turn at designated hitter.
Today’s lineup is noteable because of Brett Gardner, who’s in left field, getting his first start of the season against a lefty.
“Lefties have hit this guy a little bit better than right-handers,” Joe Girardi said. “Freddy (Garcia) is a guy that can be a fly ball pitcher at times. We put our defense out there and our lefties in there.”
Gardner does not have drastic career splits. His power and batting average dip a little against lefties, but his on-base percentage is basically the exact same. The decision to put him in a sort of platoon has more to do with getting Jones and Eduardo Nunez into the lineup, and keeping Jeter and Rodriguez rested.
“I do value (Gardner), and I told him, ‘You’re not going to sit against all lefties,’” Girardi said. “I think it’s important early on that you get Andruw going and he gets his at-bats against left-handers, and I want to get Nuney going as well. Sometimes I’m going to DH Alex or Jeet. Sometimes I might DH Jonesy, depending on if I like certain left-handers against the lefty. It’s more I’m looking at stats and the feeling about the guy that day.”
• Obvoiusly Gardner is a better defensive player than Andruw Jones, but Girardi doesn’t feel like Jones is a liability with the glove. “I think Andruw’s defense is somewhat underrated for the way he plays it,” Girardi said. “This is a guy that really just knows how to run to the spot.”
• Girardi called Andy Pettitte last night to talk about his three innings in Tampa. “I got him out of bed to see how he did,” Girardi said. “He threw the ball well, 32 pitches in three innings, gave up one earned run. We talked about he had one changeup, a slidestep changeup, that cut on him and that was the hit that he gave up, the double. He was pleased and pretty excited about how he threw.”
• Pettitte is expected to reach 45 pitches in his next outing, then he’ll probably get to 60 pitches in the start after that. Girardi said he’ll start to feel like Pettitte is close when he reaches 75 pitches. “After that you start thinking OK it’s getting pretty close here, we’re a couple of starts away, two or three more starts,” Girardi said. “That’s if everything goes well and there’s no hiccups along the way.”
• Girardi said he doesn’t expect any sort of carryover from last night’s shouting match between Russell Martin and Robert Andino. Girardi said he considers sign stealing part of the game — he tells his catchers that its their responsibility to keep signs from being stolen — but he also has no problem with Martin confronting a player who might be stealing them. “I think stealing signs has been in baseball a long time,” Girardi said. “Calling out people you think are stealing signs has been in the game a long time too. It’s all part of the merry go round we live on.”
• Girardi said he has not gotten a report from Tampa, but the plan was for Michael Pineda to play long toss and maybe throw a few flat-ground pitches. “Not a lot, a little bit,” Girardi said. Still no word on when Pineda might actually get in a game.
• Just a heads up that I think we’re going to try to do a chat tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. I’ll try to go for 45 minutes to an hour before Girardi addresses the media.
Associated Press photo
Pineda is still in the long toss phase of his rehab…I think he’ll be throwing to hitters or in sim games within 7-10 days……..Hard to believe that Dodger Stadium is 50 years old……..The place still looks beautiful
Something tells me Showalter will still try to keep the Andino thing going…
Agreed, Manager Girardi, it’s Ibanez who is the closest to a liability with the glove.
Just a heads up that I think we’re going to try to do a chat tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. I’ll try to go for 45 minutes to an hour before Girardi addresses the media.
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Prepare yourself Chad. I’m coming in high and hard with some serious Castro questions.
I was considering watching the AAA game, but Ortiz is pitching and the lineup is just utterly unexciting. Cervelli is readying himself by hitting .063. There isn’t a single real prospect on the starting nine. I wish MILB showed more from the other levels, but most are likely not televised.
I lived in Central Florida during the Cuban missile era. We thought it was fun that we students got dog tags. Almost as fun as going into the school basement bomb shelter. Those early Castro days were a lot of laughs.
WE WILL BURY YOU (with questions about Raul Ibanez’s collectivist fielding philosophy).
Just checking in from very sunny Florida!
I knew there’d be lohud happiness for us! Hopefully the Sux lose tonight. I figured they were on track for an 0-162 season. I’m thinking being off by one isn’t bad!
Hope everyone is doing well. Just heard on the news that Ozzie was suspended. Didn’t hear anything beyond that. I’m assuming it has to do with his Castro comments? Let me say this. I think the guy is the biggest d-bag in the game. And though I think his Castro comments were pretty deplorable, we do have freedom of speech here in America. So unless I’m missing something here in terms of why he was suspended (and I am imagining I am), I would think MLB is on pretty shaky grounds to suspend him for that.
Anyone?
That said, GO YANKEES!!!
I’m glad they are taking it slow with Pineda. Don’t rush him back, let him stick around in florida until May then see if he’s ready. It’s a pretty great thing that the Yankees have so much depth in the rotation. If Hughes, Nova or Garcia fail there are two amazing pitchers just waiting to take over (Pettitte and Pineda obviously).
trisha,
Yes Guillen has freedom of speech but Guillen was suspended by the Marlins, not MLB. Guillen is an employee of the Marlins so if they want to suspend him they have every right to do so. Ozzie can say whatever he wants but he will also have to deal with the consequences of what he says.
(1) Dade County spends more than $2 Billion of taxpayer dollars to build a new stadium. Check.
(2) The Dade population is not completely happy about it, although the stadium is nice. Check.
(3) A large percentage of the Dade county population are Cuban exiles. Check.
(4) The moron manager says he “loves Castro” not 4 games into his first season. Checkmate.
What is wrong with this picture?
If the team is not in the running by August, Ozzie is toast. He may be toast already.
Amazing that the people complaining the most about Guillen’s remarks are the same ones crying about protecting freedom of speech, whether they are media or on here. Were they stupid remarks, unnecessary, insensative? Sure they were, but, damed..enough is enough. The politically correct BS is getting out of hand.
Having trouble coming up with a relevant reason to tell Chad to “tear down this wall!”
Touché
What is wrong with this picture?
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That it took Castro comments to set the fans off when they already should have been outraged with the amount of tax payer money that went to the Marlins and their stadium.
On another note, IMO Phil is going to be first man out when Pettitte is ready.
FB velocity of low 90s, out of the game by the middle of the 5th, that’s the Hughes we know and suffer with. He’s got one month to step it up and become the guy of early 2010, or he’s getting traded or getting the Joba treatment.
Patrick–I agree. Oh, do I ever agree.
“Gardner does not have drastic career splits. His power and batting average dip a little against lefties.”
His power? : )
patrick – you might be on a little shaky ground here. The Marlins cannot indiscriminately do whatever they want to do with an employee just because they are the employer. I am not sure of Guillen’s status in the US but the constitutional has been known to protect noncitizens as well as citizens under the 14th amendment.
I say that is a violation of his freedom of speech. I wouldn’t think that he would care to push it or even know that he could, but I think the Marlins are on equally shaky ground with what they did.
Stupid comments, maybe. But his right to make them IMO, without any kind of punitive response from his employer.
It’s absurd.
Guillen is a naturalized citizen. That move was a violation of his 1st Amendment Rights. Period.
trisha,
It doesn’t violate his free speech because he is still free to say whatever he wants, the Marlins aren’t restricting him from speaking freely. He can’t be arrested for saying it and he can even continue saying it but what he says is damaging his employer and they don’t have to take it. They could fire him and it would be 100% justified.
Plus he is a contracted employee in an organization that has standards of behavior. That they choose to enforce them in this matter is kind of dumb, considering other stuff that has happened in the sport, but whatever.
Ozzie Guillen saying he admires Castros ability to survive is not a huge deal.
Ozzie Guillen saying he admires Castros ability to survive is not a huge deal.
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Oh absolutely, but to say the Marlins can’t suspend him because it violates his freedom of speech is just wrong.
That said, GO YANKEES!!!
Happy to be able to touch base with my lohud peeps.
GO JAYS!!!!!
patrick – you definitely have it wrong. But that’s okay.
I guess you think that the Marlins could fire him for being Hispanic, too? Right?
The Constitution is the Constitution. It cannot be violated at whim. In other words, someone cannot violate the Constitution under the guise of having certain standards. It just doesn’t work that way.
“Oh absolutely, but to say the Marlins can’t suspend him because it violates his freedom of speech is just wrong.”
And that shows you have no understanding of the standing of the Constitution of the United States.
The First Amendment doesn’t protect you from your employer suspending you for saying something stupid and offensive to those in your own community.
Private enterprises are free to make their own rules for their employees. The First Amendment protects only you from the government shunning or throwing you in jail.
C’mon, that’s 6th grade government class stuff and people still don’t understand what the First Amendment means.
Trisha,
This is far from my area, but I suspect Ozzie’s contract has provisions for embarrassing the team etc. He did and hurt them with a critical fan base. They have the right, I am confident, to suspend him.
And that shows you have no understanding of the standing of the Constitution of the United States.
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You’re just wrong here, sorry. Is it dumb for them to suspend them? Yes. Are they within their rights as a private organization? Yes.
Trisha,
There’s the concept of hired at Will. They can fire him for any reason, as long as they pay his contract.
trisha,
Freedom of Speech was created so that the government cannot stop a person from speaking, your employer can do it as much as they want. There are exceptions, as in the case that employers must allow people to form unions.
Firing someone for being Hispanic has absolutely nothing to do with free speech. That would be a case of discrimination which is against the law.
Once again, the Marlins are well within their rights to suspend of fire Guillen because his comments have damaged the team. What they are doing is completely lawful.
Patrick is 100% right @ 7:02pm.
austinmac, I agree with you that if there are his clauses that deal with embarrassing the organization, etc., then yes they are within their rights.
tom, he isn’t ann employee at will if he has a contract.
Private industry cannot violate the Constitution kids.
Private industry cannot violate the Constitution kids.
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Firing/suspending an employee for comments unbecoming of an employee does not violate the constitution, kid.
Jerkface- only if there’s a clause in a contract prohibiting it. Been there, done that – kid.
And he has the right to love Castro if he wants to. I suspect as austinmac said that there is some kind of a “conduct unbecoming” clause in his contract.
And he has the right to love Castro if he wants to.
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He does not have the right as a forward facing entity of his organization to love Castro publicly if ownership disagrees.
Just like you can have a right to bear arms, but not a right to bear arms into your place of employment.
Trisha,
I know you are a lawyer and must assume that you took constitutional law. The first amendment says,
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
It protects people from the Government restricting speech. The GOVERNMENT, not your employer. It is one of the basic concepts in con law that an employer can fire you for making public statements they do not agree with. Go google it, there are hundreds of examples.
Just looking at the wikipedia page for “First Amendment of the United States Constitution”:
Korb v. Raytheon, 574 N.E.2d 370, 410 Mass. 581 (1991)
Drake v. Cheyenne Newspapers, Inc., 891 P.2d 80 (1995)