Kuroda: “I don’t want to make it any bigger than it is”
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Apr 24, 2012 
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Hiroki Kuroda said he’s never met Yu Darvish. If there’s time, Kuroda said, he’ll try to talk to him tomorrow, but there will be no conversation today.
“We have to face each other,” Kuroda said. “So we’ll have nothing to talk about.”
Whatever buzz is building in Japan seemed the farthest thing from Kuroda’s mind yesterday as he spoke to two waves of reporters — first a dozen or so from Japan, then a dozen or so from the United States — about the seventh ever Major League meeting of two Japanese-born starting pitchers. Kuroda called Darvish “one of the greatest pitchers that Japan has produced,” and he seemed to genuinely respect the 25-year-old, but Kuroda’s focus seemed to be on the players around him.
“This is not a one-on-one game,” he said. “It’s the Rangers against the Yankees. I’m going to do as much as possible so that our team is going to win. … I try not to think about (the hype in Japan). I don’t want to make it any bigger than it is.”
Obviously there’s a language barrier between Kuroda and most American reporters. He understands enough English for brief conversations, but he hasn’t been with the Yankees very long, and it’s hard to have a definite sense of his personality. What I know is that he smiles easily, he never seems flustered or angry, and he’s said that his transition to pitching and living in the United States is an ongoing process.
“I don’t think I’m adjusted just yet,” he said yesterday. “I think I still have a lot to learn.”
Perhaps the disconnect is part of the adjustment. Maybe it’s easier to commit himself completely to this team and leave all of the distractions behind. Kuroda said that after Sunday’s rainout left him lined up to face Darvish head-to-head, he didn’t hear from a single Japanese friend or family member about the Darvish matchup. It seemed to be on his radar strictly because a handful of reporters asked about it.
So who does he expect fans in Japan to root for tonight?
“I really don’t know,” Kuroda said with a laugh. “I hope people will be rooting for the Yankees.”
Associated Press photo
Go Kuroda!
Dlauraposada
I can’t believe someone I know is screaming at the tv watching The Price is Right…is he really doung this??? Lol
Blake,
The key in this game is two fold IMO:
1)On one hand Kuroda needs the splitter to navigate the Rangers tough lineup and have some more velocity in his FB.
2) The offense needs to stay patient against Yu and his recent command struggles and wait for a pitch to drive.
IMO if this two conditions are met, we should win tonight.
Go Kuroda-san!
Simply Another media driven Angle to hype a game. To me, this game is Kuroda vs Kuroda. Which one we gonna see? Start #2, or Starts #1 and #3 ???
Posada needs a job in the org to get his edge back.
Gossip Break: Chien Ming Wang calls press conference to apologize for affair
http://deadspin.com/5904604/ch.....ng-on-wife
Chad, any info on if Pineda’s already had the MRI?
????????
Donny,
If he gives us 6 innings and 3 runs allowed, he would have done his job. The rest should be on the offense
As per Chien Ming Wang, I am more interested in this: http://www.washingtonpost.com/....._blog.html
yankeefeminista April 24th, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Posada needs a job in the org to get his edge back.
///
Yup. He needs something less blunt for that edge to practice on! Girardi’s successor? Woudn’t that be irony at its most delicious – and history repeating itself.
Luis,
I think a lot depends on Darvish to be honest….if he’s aggressive and throws strikes I think he’ll give the Yanks trouble because they haven’t seen him and he does have good stuff…..if he nibbles around and falls behind they’ll have him out by the 5th.
J. Alfred Prufrock April 24th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
yankeefeminista April 24th, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Posada needs a job in the org to get his edge back.
///
Yup. He needs something less blunt for that edge to practice on! Girardi’s successor? Woudn’t that be irony at its most delicious – and history repeating itself.
============================
One thing would be for sure….We would have a fiery skipper!!…
Against All Odds April 24th, 2012 at 11:43 am
J. Alfred Prufrock April 24th, 2012 at 11:32 am
Comparing Rivera to an earlier edition of himself doesn’t disqualify that he is still dominant. He’s not competing with an earlier incarnation.
——————–
TSK TSK JAP my poor friend of course he’s competing with himself. It’s not like he’s competing against the other closers in the game. It’s the old Mo vs. “old” Mo and right now “old” Mo is losing by a mile.
///
LOL. And winning…;)
The best do compete against themselves.
One thing would be for sure….We would have a fiery skipper!!…
///
luis,
A fire-breathing skipper
pat April 24th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Dlauraposada
I can’t believe someone I know is screaming at the tv watching The Price is Right…is he really doung this??? Lol
_________________________________________
“The Price is Wrong B*tch!!!!!!!!”
blake April 24th, 2012 at 12:22 pm
Luis,
I think a lot depends on Darvish to be honest….if he’s aggressive and throws strikes I think he’ll give the Yanks trouble because they haven’t seen him and he does have good stuff…..if he nibbles around and falls behind they’ll have him out by the 5th.
=============================
If that’s the case, so be it. I just want our offense to stay patient and not expanding the strike zone. If they do that, and Yu still beats us, that will be fine with me.
If you missed this during last night’s game. lol!
http://www.mlb.com/cutfour/art.....um=twitter
I had fun watching the game last night on ESPN.
The HR A-Rod hit was a sight to see.
The 2 run single that Grandy had in the first inning was clutch.
Thrilled that C.C. was able to get through 8 IP. If Girardi would have removed C.C. after the 7th, I would have been upset. C.C. is the ace. Run him out there in the 8th for a shutdown inning.
yankeefem,
LOL at Andruw! Gotta love ‘im.
YF,
About Wang…I hope he is able to re-establish himself in the Mayors…He was one of my favorit pitchers…Loved the make up of the kid.
About Andruw, nice!
I really hope Girardi doesn’t put Ibanez in LF tonight.
I am still cheering for Wang. I don’t care about his personal life or reading about his affair.
Hope his “hammy” heels up fast so he can take the mound soon and throw that
sinker down in the zone.
blake April 24th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
I really hope Girardi doesn’t put Ibanez in LF tonight.
***********************************************************************
Blake-Options are limited.
If no Ibanez, that would means A. Jones or Nunez.
I’ll take Ibanez or A. Jones over Nunez 8 days a week.
We’ll be seeing Cotham pitch tonight in the Charleston game. I believe we’ll see Bryan Mitchell tomorrow night. I am pumped for that one.
A bunch of good arms going tonight in our other milb games:
DJ Mitchell
Marshall
Ramirez
Looks like 16 mph winds tonight in Trenton. Hopefully, Andy will get better weather tomorrow evening. Reminder: Andy’s game will be streamed live online on milb-tv.
I’ll take Ibanez or A. Jones over Nunez 8 days a week.
////
As what? An OF??
Once upon a time there were the Expos who did more with less than any other team. Mismanaged away, with a lot of help from MLB, from great fans and a great baseball city Things were shaping up to where it would have been the Yankees and the Expos in the world series. I would have been torn both ways and enjoyed it immensely.
So, sitill a soft spot for the ex Expos. And then there is Wang, still a class act even when he messes up.
Thsi is very funny, but perhaps NSFW
http://deadspin.com/5904085/re.....his-nipple
Warning, I am hoping Wang continues to progress and they send him to Harrisburg next. In ST, his stuff looked the best that I have seen it post-Yankees. He was throwing a really good curveball that he just started throwing this season.
Who wouldn’t root for Wang?
One more win out of these next two games would make for a great road trip. Build lots of confidence heading into the series with the Tigers as well.
Bo, do you live in Montreal?
I’ll take Jones, but not Ibanez.
Jokes should play LF every day until Gardner gets back …..or if you wanted to try Nunez out there fine….just not Ibanez with the way Texas swings the bat…..Jones made a couple of plays last night that Ibanez may not have and you never know how that changes the game. DH Ibanez vs RHP but keep him off the field.
Trisha, is your game tonight a 6:15 start? That’s what milb has it as. You’ll have plenty of time to watch DJ pitch and then leave and get back to watch Texas (8:05 start)…
Pruf, I believe Barnes vs. Bundy matchup today.
Randy, how did Chris Archer’s slider look? It is supposed to be a very good hard slider.
Maine – Roy Smalley! Wow. Why would he sully himself to be in the Sux booth I wonder!
Mariano Rivera done? Talk about premature speculation. The scariest posters of all are those who use their miscroscopes during games rather than their wide-angle lenses…
Donnybrook, during the Sux game the announcers said that the reason Gardy left Marquis in was because he didn’t want to burn his pen because he had been using them a lot.
Today’s lineup in my view:
Jeter SS
Grandy CF
Arod 3B
Cano 2B
Tex 1B
Swish RF
Ibanez DH
Jones LF
Martin C
blake April 24th, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Jokes should play LF every day until Gardner gets back …..or if you wanted to try Nunez out there fine….just not Ibanez with the way Texas swings the bat…..Jones made a couple of plays last night that Ibanez may not have and you never know how that changes the game. DH Ibanez vs RHP but keep him off the field.
********************************************************************
That makes sense. I have a feeling A. Jones won’t play LF all 3 games in Texas, but I could be wrong.
A. Jones is clearly the better defensive player and still miles ahead of the young Nunez in LF.
luis April 24th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Today’s lineup i
Jeter SS
Grandy CF
Arod 3B
Cano 2B
Tex 1B
Swish RF
Ibanez DH
Jones LF
Martin C
*****************************************************************
Stewart needs more at bats. Just kidding.
Very good line-up you have there.
Yep, Barnes-Bundy. Neither have allowed a run in 25IP and have 40 K’s between them. Here’s a story FTWAI: http://www.milb.com/news/artic.....8;sid=t428
But what i would like to see is:
Jeter
Grandy
Arod
Cano
Swish
Tex
Ibanez DH
Martin
Nunez LF
Yep, Jones should play LF, no question about it.
J. Alfred Prufrock April 24th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Against All Odds April 24th, 2012 at 11:43 am
J. Alfred Prufrock April 24th, 2012 at 11:32 am
Comparing Rivera to an earlier edition of himself doesn’t disqualify that he is still dominant. He’s not competing with an earlier incarnation.
——————–
TSK TSK JAP my poor friend of course he’s competing with himself. It’s not like he’s competing against the other closers in the game. It’s the old Mo vs. “old” Mo and right now “old” Mo is losing by a mile.
///
LOL. And winning…;)
The best do compete again
———————
YF –
That was pretty funny!
Game is a 6:15 start. That’s why I figured I’d be able to do both.
I just wish it were a little bit warmer!
Jones has the best instincts of any OF we have. Just doesn’t have the range. Still, he can play a good left, and I bet he could even still play a credible CF, if he had to. He might want to lose a few pounds, though, before such an undertaking.
Yankeefem,
Barnes is definitely on my radar. But it’ll probably have to wait until he gets to AA
.
Bundy, I don’t know about.
Bo, do you live in Montreal?
————————-
No, Western Canada as in Oiler country.
But Montreal is one of the great cities with a very long tradition of baseball. I would go a couple of times a year for the experience. On a personal note, Ste Catherine St is one of the great people watching venues. The Montreal ladies have style, unique to Montreal.
I should like to mention, since Andruw Jones goes through periodic, and IMO, unjust vilification on here, that Jones and his wife are very active against domestic violence, giving their time and energy.
Smile all you want, Andruw. Let the miserable suck it up.
Bo, I have spent a lot of time in Canada, in particular Montreal and Edmonton, the latter where I have some very good friends who are big hockey fans like myself.
Me too Bo…Montreal is a very nice city (very french)…But my favorite place is BC, Vancouver is out of this world beautiful and see to sky highway is breath taking
Later guys
J. Alfred Prufrock April 24th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Yankeefem,
Barnes is definitely on my radar. But it’ll probably have to wait until he gets to AA .
Bundy, I don’t know about.
_____
Orioles top pitching prospect, RHP, big arm. Two top milb’ers in all of baseball. It should be an “epic” matchup. Too bad it is in Maryland and not streamed on milb.
Pruf, Jones does important work; Trenton Thunder too have that annual auction to raise funds for Domestic Violence Project in Trenton, NJ. Good stuff.
CJ Nitkowski?
Got good info from a scout today. OK, actually it was my dog Scout, but based on what I see on Twitter, their opinions are equally relevant.
See you later, Luis. Have a good day.
yankeefeminista April 24th, 2012 at 1:06 pm
J. Alfred Prufrock April 24th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Yankeefem,
Barnes is definitely on my radar. But it’ll probably have to wait until he gets to AA .
Bundy, I don’t know about.
_____
Orioles top pitching prospect, RHP, big arm. Two top milb’ers in all of baseball. It should be an “epic” matchup. Too bad it is in Maryland and not streamed on milb.
///
Thanks. Will keep an eye out.
Can it be that Les Habitants have not lifted the trophy now in 19 years?
I was in the Molson Centre the last time they did.
I have not been in Montreal in too long. I miss it. Oilers will get the #1 pick again. #Lovingit.
Bo, I have spent a lot of time in Canada, in particular Montreal and Edmonton, the latter where I have some very good friends who are big hockey fans like myself.
————————-
Then I don’t need to tell you about Montreal. Personally, I’d take Montreal over Paris any time.
As to Oiler hockey, not much to say, especially at this time. They’re at the crunch, either they’ll move up into the elite or become San Jose before fading. They’re soft down the middle and the obvious choice is Yakupov, already their strength. There’s a lot of angst going on. The old Chinese curse. “May you live in interesting times. Point of interest “Lowetide” is a great hockey blog – Oilers. Excellent writing.
- TRISHA -
Yea, and they also said Gardenhire wanted a Max 6 innings outta the SP. He got greedy. Dumb.
Me too Bo…Montreal is a very nice city (very french)…But my favorite place is BC, Vancouver is out of this world beautiful and see to sky highway is breath taking
————————
Lived in Vancouver for six years. The place to live is White Rock, on the US border and commute. Better weather, which alway dumps on Burnaby mountain.
The secret in Montreal is either have good friends who do all the talking or in my case speak broken English with a mixture of Ukrainian thrown in. Works like a charm every time.
JAP,
I agree about andrew and against a team like Texas that hits a lot of balls in the gaps and balls to the outfield I don’t think you can have Ibanez out there. I expect Girardi to stick with this platoon thing he’s doing but I really hope he doesn’t.
For a good laugh (sorry if it was posted already): http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoor.....sox-and-hi
I’m arguing Galchenyuk over Yakupov. Good Ukrainian boy from Minsk. It’s a bummer that he was injured all season.
Yankeefem -
Zheniya cami veliki igrok
blake,
let’s hope not
I thought Jones looked Very good in that sunfield yesterday. The Ranger’s Hamilton is a flat-out “Natural”. He made a couple Very difficult catches in LF, and made ‘em look like child’s play. Kinsler looked lost vs. CC from pitch 1 on.
Bo, I take it you are Ukrainian then. I studied in Russia (background in area Studies), so I somewhat favor the Russian players…
I haven’t seen enough of either player except on a little video to weigh in in any substantial weight, but I can see why Yakupov likes Bure. Also I didn’t watch the Oilers much in 2012, but watched them a lot previously and really liked the speed and skill. In past, I mostly read CoppernBlue (name?) and Edmonton Journal blog and some others. One of my Edm. friends is a hockey commentator as well as non-hockey journalist. Not sure if I’ve read Lowetide, (play on Kevin Lowe’s name?) but I will check it out.
*way, not weight
Bo, I also visited Kiev when I studied in Russia. Really enjoyed the city.
Pruf, ahhh, da… zhal’…
Jones is the crafty/wily ole vet. Thus, making up for what he lacks in speed…
yankeefeminista April 24th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
Pruf, ahhh, da… zhal’…
///
shto delat?
????????? ???
Shame, getting n-n-nervous yet?
check that:
sledyushi gaud
yankeefeminista April 24th, 2012 at 1:45 pm
Jones is the crafty/wily ole vet. Thus, making up for what he lacks in speed…
///
instinctively brilliant. on the move at ball off bat.
Pruf, do you mean “v sleduyushchem godu?”
“Jeter is hitting .481 on pitches that find any part of the strike zone. He’s 7-for-11 on pitches in the upper-third of the strike zone, 13-for-25 (with three home runs) against pitches in the middle-third and 6-for-18 in the lower-third.
Looking at that another way, he’s 6-for-16 against pitches located in the inner-third of the strike zone, 14-for-27 against pitches over the middle-third and 6-for-11 against pitches on the outer-third.
There is one corner of the strike zone in which Jeter is susceptible- down-and-in. In at-bats that end with pitches to that area, he’s 0-for-6. He’s also made a pair of outs against those pitches when they were out of the strike zone.
The good thing for Jeter is that’s not a spot that Darvish commonly hits. He’s only thrown eight of his 111 pitches to right-handed hitters that were classified as down and in by Pitch F/X.”
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-yo.....s-april-24
JAP and yankeefem,
The army was going to send me to school for Czech, sent me to Nam instead. The guys who got trained in Vietnamese all went to Europe, and the ones who learned Czech followed me to Nam! “Needs of the Service”. Cold War, remember.
Go Yanks!! Even though I coveted him, let’s beat up on Darvish tonight, win the battle of Japan, and take the series.
yankeefeminista April 24th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
Pruf, do you mean “v sleduyushchem godu?”
///
pigeon russian
(but russian penguin
)
tom,
too bad they didn’t send you to the czech republic (or the former czechoslovakia). Prague is the most beautiful city in Europe, according to a czech friend who teaches there and who worked for czech radio in DC at the same time I was there. I had opportunities to travel there but sadly, did not.
Tom, by choice you would have studied Czech or did you have a choice before “service called” and you were dispatched?
Can we have a do-over?
Sign Darvish, Keep Jesus?
Make that: keep Jesus, sign Darvish
(not that the former necessitated the latter, but just going by Cash’s “dream” logic, LOL).
I wanted Darvish too, and want to hit him hard, but I am still excited to see him pitch. I’m curious to see how good his command will be against us.
LOL
thanks for the Jones warmup video. that’s cool.
Montero paying the price for having to bat in the midst of that weak Mariner lineup. Their showing vs Humber was Bad News Bears Revisited.
Yeah I read that Darvish has been having some command issues, especially on first pitch strikes. He’s been falling behind hitters a ton so far. I’m sure that will be a point of emphasis for the Yankees to try to wait him out if it looks like he’s continuing that.
“Sign Darvish, Keep Jesus?”
Hal says what they did was cheaper.
JAP and Yankeefem,
In those days, my kind would not have been welcome in what was then Czechoslovakia. The plan was to have been to operate out of Austria, if necessary, as in a Soviet invasion, after which we were to be “stay behinds” and do what we could. fem, I would have chosen that duty in a heartbeat because of a few other skills I already had or had been trained for. It was a real SF mission. As it turned out, “Needs of the Service” won, and no, I didn’t have any choice in the matter.
Jap, I’ve been to both the Czech and Slovak Republics, and the visits were wonderful. In fact, I proposed to my wife on a chartered party boat (just the two of us aboard) on a trip up the Vltava River out of Prague. Best surprise I ever pulled on anyone!
“Randy, how did Chris Archer’s slider look? It is supposed to be a very good hard slider.”
yankeefeminista-
he threw it , but not as much as he could have.
often he would throw fastballs in slider counts, but that’s because his pitching coach is telling him he has to learn to command his fast ball.
i was told before the game to watch for fastball command as a key to understanding where archer was at, and sure enough archer threw a lot of fastballs.
he did struggle with fastball command. he hit 93-94 no problem, but he can’t paint with the fastball.
one pitch will be high and the next will be in the dirt to his glove side when he holds on too long.
the thing i saw was he’s pretty emotional. he gets too down when things don’t come off the way he’s meaning. he’s clearly learning how to pitch right now. he hung in there though and only gave up two runs. it could have been way worse though. he got some key outs with the bases loaded and a reliever came in with men on 2nd and third with no outs and got out of it with no runs scored.
archer ended up with a game he can build on. i could see him being a mlb starter at some point. i was told he could be in the rays rotation maybe next year or 2014.
Heard an interesting discussion between The Hawk and Steve Stone regarding which pitch inna count, is the Most important when facing hitters. Hawk and Stone Pony agreed it was the 1ST PITCH. Stoney said he had discussed it at length with Greg Maddux, and Maddux believed it was the 1-1 PITCH.
Randy, thanks for the report. Good stuff. I really like what I have read about Archer. Dellin and Manny have been going through a similar phase of development. With Dellin last year, at times, they took away his secondary stuff in order to focus on FB command. People jump to conclusions re: results when these pitchers aren’t finished products and without knowing what they are being asked to throw. You can’t really go game by game but have to look at the work as a whole. Good for Archer that he got out of a jam. Love to see our kids be given the opportunity to do the same and to work more from the stretch.
Yakupov the Mongol in Edmonton. There we go, needs must.
Tom, sounds like you have led a fascinating life.
Did you end up going to see Campos pitch? The rest of the gang will be on milb-tv tonight; we get Bryan Mitchell tomorrow: big arm, spotty command.
Bo, ah, I see Yakupov is from Tartarstan. The Oil should be wildly exciting next year. Luckily, I always get the Center Ice package, so will get to see all their games. If they keep stockpiling skill they won’t have to worry about being “soft”… No one will be able to keep up with them.
Tom
Count your blessings. The insurgents that were supported from the West were completely infiltrated.
The regime created an abomination within two generations as in the difficulties between East/West Germany. I can and have passed as a native yet the mindset is almost impossible to understand.
In Jorge’s defense, those Showcase Showdowns can get pretty intense.
Bo,
The Czechs were always restive as a Soviet client. (See Prague Spring). The Czech Army was always on the edge, but the fact that the Czechs were the largest weapons producer in the Warsaw Pact meant the Soviets kept a special eye on them. Remember, it had only been about a dozen years since the Communist “Revolution”, and plenty of hatred remained.
I have to just laugh thinking about those here that didn’t want the Yankees to pay Jeter.
Lowetide referred to Ron Low pre Kevin.
If Yakupov is here, can Batu be far behind. Ahem.
To me hockey is like baseball, controlling strength up the middle. Best player available clashes with team building needs. Splash and dash is great, not viable in this hockey era as witness Vancouver. Again as in baseball, balance.
Long way to go. I’m enjoying Jeet’s Run, but even Mantle had a small spurt in him before he was physically forced to shut it down. “Steady as she goes Captain”.
Anybody else feel bad that Matsui might be signing a minor league deal
with the Rays soon?
I feel bad for the guy because he gave the Yankees some great years and since he left, Matsui has been bouncing around the league.
Bo, strength up the middle is the key in hockey. But haven’t seen your middle enough to determine whether it is soft or not. So… But splash and dash is a derisive term, so I will assume you mean skill without a backbone. I just have watched hockey too long to assume that skill doesn’t have a backbone. Witness how everyone thought the Flyers would beat the Oilers and all the BS Gretzky took. Too bad his backbone was the uber backbone to shame all others, ditto Mario. I still think you draft the best player, and then you seek a balance or deal someone if you need to. And yeah, Gretzky had Messier and Mario had Ron Francis, so you need balance, no doubt.
Well, we don’t have a place for him, so I am happy for Matsui, even though it sucks that it is the Rays. However, the deal is only a minor league one and I believe, insurance in case Luke Scott gets hurt. Hopefully, though, Matsui makes it back to the majors.
Bo, shouldn’t it then be Lowtide?
Tom
Most of my family on both sides, visited Polar climes for extended periods. During the Prague spring the boys at home blew up and blocked the mountain passes. Trains had to reroute through Poland. But information now available shows that parachute drops, men and materiel were met at the sites by the Border guards.
I feel bad for the guy because he gave the Yankees some great years and since he left, Matsui has been bouncing around the league.
———————–
It happens unfortunately. Getting old is a pain in the butt
YF
Speaking of hockey, what in gods name happened to the Pens in the first three games against the Flyers?
Coaching issue?
Who’s ready to play “Guess Where Eduardo Plays Tonight”?
yf
If you watch next year you’ll see what I mean. If teams let the Oilers motor, they’re killers but as Jacques showed that can be controlled. It’s funny, I used to be one of the splash and dash boys. Now I’m older and reality has set it. Damn.
Damon is going the same route as Matsui. Making calls, hat-in-hand. I have to just keep reminding myself that these guys are Millionaires.
yankeefeminista-
yes he could have had better results last night on 0-2 counts if he would have mixed in more sliders, but that wasn’t what he was supposed to be working on.
you see so many minor league games you understand how the learning process works.
paw sox hitters picked up he was throwing more fastballs than usual and i think were looking for it. they hit some , but he still threw quite a few fastballs right by them when they were sitting on it.
i admire how many minor league games you watch. not for everyone because it really is a slow process watching real progress with the kids.
Darvish will dominate Yanks tonight, like they face all the other new pitchers.
Matsui, while he was with Yanks, was absolutely one of my favorites. Right there with the “Core” guys. All class !!!
Haven’t seen a Darvish game yet, but I’m interested in seeing IF he can hold runners close, and how effective he is outta the stretch. if it’s me, I run on him till he proves it will Not work. Little razzle-dazzle starting in inning 1.
I think that this whole “Japanese people are going to go nuts about this game!” line of thinking is culturally ignorant. Japanese people are no more interested in baseball than Americans and their population is much lower. While baseball is important, just because players are Japanese doesn’t mean that they are idolized in Japan. Yu Darvish was a star, but a young one and now he’s left to come to the US.
We have this bizarre idea that playing here in the US is some kind of honor and that it makes a player’s profile go way up. Perhaps it changes somewhat, but we cannot forget that Ichiro and Matsui were massive stars in Japan. This extends to people like Chien-Ming Wang, too, when looking at Taiwan.
People are probably interested in this game, but I haven’t found an article about it on any websites that cover Japanese issues/news. I’ve only found one about Daisuke Matsuzaka’s rehab assignment. These reporters need to calm down! Kuroda’s family isn’t even really interested in it, nor his friends.
This is an Americanized sensation of something that really isn’t that sensational: a regular season game that happens to feature two prominent Japanese athletes. People in Japan have other things to do, like get ready for work, take care of their children, and SLEEP! Sigh. American ignorance runs deep.
PS: I love this conversation about the Czech’s, the Warsaw Pact, and the Cold War.
Pittsburgh, absolutely. I am not an advocate of the system. It bit them in 2009 too until Bylsma adjusted. Why you are telegraphing your offense by insisting on a north-south system with so many skill players and the greater ease of defending that is beyond me. Also the forwards slowed no one down in the neutral zone, the D played follow the puck carrier and I have never seen a Penguin team so passive on the PK, even if the Flyers PP is good. I attended Game 6 and I think we started slow and then reverted to Games 1-3 play in terms of our attack. No one supporting the puck, so you have Malkin and Staal behind the O net doing all the dirty work with no one to pass to. And keeping Sid off the skill lines was a mistake. Well, just need to heal up…at least Sid and Tanger get a nice rest from the banging around and get right back at it next year. Also Despres was one of our best D-men in Game 6. I think he takes a job next year on the blue line. Oh, and never saw a goalie so left alone in my playoff watching career. Unbelievable.
YankeeFeminista,
I’ve been checking back for Pineda updates. I see you’re anxious as well.
Let us know if you find or hear anything.
I watched Yu pitch a bit this season.
Some of his pitches are just nasty – sick movement just scraping the outside corner. But as you’d expect from his stats, his consistency hasn’t been there.
He’ll make a hitter look helpless on one pitch, then throw 2 balls that are way off target, then a great pitch, and maybe leave a mistake pitch down the middle.
I’m sure it’s a learning process right now for him. I hope he is still inconsistent tonight.
totally agree. “American ignorance runs deep”
NFL champ = World Champ (how many countries play American football anyway?5?)
MLB champ = World Champ
The Darvish Description sounds a lot like Dice K.
One of my Russian professors was a Ukrainian born in 1925 who escaped from Soviet Ukraine through Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia. He was wounded in the leg by a Soviet sniper, had no papers and ended up in a refugee camp in Munich. Got his first graduate degree from the Ukrainian Free University, Munich.
BD, absolutely will do. Seems like we have been waiting for days… probably because we have…
Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch)
4/24/12 3:35 PM
For those who are asking, Yankees expect to have some information on Michael Pineda’s injury later tonight.
randy l. April 24th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
yankeefeminista-
yes he could have had better results last night on 0-2 counts if he would have mixed in more sliders, but that wasn’t what he was supposed to be working on.
you see so many minor league games you understand how the learning process works.
paw sox hitters picked up he was throwing more fastballs than usual and i think were looking for it. they hit some , but he still threw quite a few fastballs right by them when they were sitting on it.
i admire how many minor league games you watch. not for everyone because it really is a slow process watching real progress with the kids.
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I love watching young pitchers and the little details of what they are learning and how they are improving on/executing their pitches. I don’t have the same obsession with hitters except for a special few. Thanks again for the info on Archer; I have wanted to see him pitch for a while. I actually wish the Rays mil affiliates played closer by, so I could watch their pitching prospects pitch..
FakeSource (@FakeSource)
4/24/12 3:43
Pineda’s dye contrast further delayed by Barca/Chelsea champions league match; MRI tech is Catalonian.
Jeers, later tonight? Come on, don’t you think that they already know? The fans demand a diagnosis! #torture
No one supporting the puck, so you have Malkin and Staal behind the O net doing all the dirty work with no one to pass to. And keeping Sid off the skill lines was a mistake.
//
Yankeefem, for the life of me, I don’t know why Bylsma doesn’t run a 1-1-3. With the kind of footspeed you’ve got up front, there, it’s the perfect forechecking system for a team that you want to force to play some defense but still maximizes quickness and skill.
I think Bylsma’s 1-2-2 failed because it encourages a reactionary mindset in players’ whose instincts run contrary to that. He effectively took away their skill: the Flyers didn’t have to take it away.
I also think Crosby was not right. Didn’t have stamina or timing. For all their bad strategy, I think if he’s himself, they advance, especially with the way Staal was playing. The top three centers all going at once is what trumps even good teams that backcheck better than they do.
And I couldn’t agree more with you about that PK. What the heck was that?? You knew it was by design, because the high man would come to pressure the point, and just when he had the opportunity to close and disrupt the unit, he would inexplicably peel off into the box, giving away the top half of the circles, practically. Very weird. I think they need new leadership.
They did this with Joba when his shoulder was on the fritz a few seasons back. It’s probably nothing with Pineda I think they rushed his program a bit.
They used to call Novotny “frozen face”
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Pruf, I couldn’t agree more. It is ironic because Bylsma wants to play an attack style, but he constantly relinquishes the puck by dumping, giving it back to the opposition. So, it becomes a game played on the boards, the last place the Penguins should be. And the north-south approach plays right into not being able to move the box, and not throwing the puck to the weak side to make plays. Super frustrating.
“I don’t want to make it any bigger than it is”
The Michael Scott within me can’t let this pass:
That’s what she said!
” It’s probably nothing with Pineda I think they rushed his program a bit.”
bronx jeers-
not to be overly picky, but how is that even possible with all the problems with hughes, joba, and wang with rushing?
it would be like the titantic captain getting another ship and hitting another iceberg.
at some point someone on the yankees has to realize there are icebergs in the water.
NightmareScenarios (@nightmareScenarios)
4/24/12 3:53
Pineda heading to Dr Andrews for further examination. Montero reveals he’s really left-handed and has been “playing possum” the whole time. Goes 5-5 with 3 dingers.
Jeter’s not picking up his $8M player’s option if he turns out a 2013 like his 1996-2009, post-DL 2011, or 2012 so far. He has all the leverage if he has a solid 2012-13 cuz what are the Yanks gonna do, let an icon walk? They gonna let him walk if he has a solid 2012 and a down year 2013? I don’t see it. You’d let him go if he had a 2010-like 2013? I wouldn’t, and much, much, much more importantly, the Yanks wouldn’t, no how, no way, and I don’t buy for a second they’d have let him walk after 2010 despite all the Yankees posturing.
Jeter will ask for at least what he will be paid for 2013: $17M. That 2014 player’s option wasn’t him saying “I’ll be worth only $8M in 2014 and you could always buy me out for $3M”, that was him thinking he can play well enough to earn as much as $17M that year and well, while it’s still very, very early, he is playing like he could and has since he came off the disabled list last year.
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First of all, the Yankees could not ‘buy out’ the player’s option. Jeter only collects the 3 million if he declines. Secondly, if he does decline it, the Yankees will be on the hook for 9 million in 2014 regardless of if Jeter is on the team. If they remove the option, or re-sign him, or extend him and override the option, they will be on the hook for whatever amount they sign him for + 9 million.
Jeter is going to be a 25 million dollar cap hit at the numbers you are talking about. Which means between A-rod, CC, Tex, Cano, and Jeter they will have 5 players taking up 125 million of their 170 million of cap space. Terrible.
They should only entertain keeping him beyond 2014 if he picks up his player option.
Hello again!,
A bit hectic at work.
Tom, Bo, YF,
Very interesting takes on Checoeslovaquia and Russia. Haven´t been to Prague, but i understand is very beautiful. Russia i have ben twice (Moscow and St Peterburg). I loved it!, the subway stations in Moscow are a work of art. St Petersburg is pretty, but i take Stockholm better.
re: Pineda. I’m sitting on Jack Curry’s twitter. Bets on him having it first?
This is an Americanized sensation of something that really isn’t that sensational: a regular season game that happens to feature two prominent Japanese athletes. People in Japan have other things to do, like get ready for work, take care of their children, and SLEEP! Sigh. American ignorance runs deep.
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Japanese baseball fans do pay attention to their superstars, of which Darvish is one, so I think you are being a little ignorant about ignorance here
Darvish’s INTRASQUAD game was televised in Japan.
Millions of people will watch this game tonight in Japan. Sure, it may only be a drop in the bucket compared to their total population, but it doesn’t mean millions won’t be watching. All of Matsui & Ichiro’s games were televised in Japan and lots of people watched, especially when Matsui faced Ichiro or either faced Matsuzaka. This is going to be a big matchup.
Randy,
Love the iceberg analogy, very fitting. By the way no news on Pineda yet?
Yankeefem – the weakside remained the weakside. And as we used to say in the day, Fleury should sue for “non support.”
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Pruf, I couldn’t agree more. It is ironic because Bylsma wants to play an attack style, but he constantly relinquishes the puck by dumping, giving it back to the opposition. So, it becomes a game played on the boards, the last place the Penguins should be. And the north-south approach plays right into not being able to move the box, and not throwing the puck to the weak side to make plays. Super frustrating.
————-
People, I bow my head in most humble respect. Kudos. Carry on, it’s refreshing to hear.
Back to my puddle jumpers.
LuridImagination (@LuridImagination)
4/24/12 4:01
Cashman reaches out to Wang. “I’ve been there, buddy. The first step is admitting she’s nuts. Get your K rate up and then call me.’
bo,
If I’d been in Austria when it all went down, I’d have been out there, too, instead of screwing around in the rubber plantations and Tay Ninh Province.
Watching this Champions League semifinal. The way Barcelona gets everything to go their way from referees is disgraceful. I wish I were a Barca supporter. Every CL, they get gifted everything over teams. Saddening. Just let the matches be determined by the talent on the field.
How are you Nick? Hope youre doing well.
not to be overly picky, but how is that even possible with all the problems with hughes, joba, and wang with rushing?
———————
Same ppl making the same decisions.
Ohh ! Let´s hope this next time they have enough lifeboats
Very interesting takes on Checoeslovaquia and Russia. Haven´t been to Prague, but i understand is very beautiful. Russia i have ben twice (Moscow and St Peterburg). I loved it!, the subway stations in Moscow are a work of art. St Petersburg is pretty, but i take Stockholm better.
——————–
Stockolm for the scenery. Hot Latins, ice cool maidens. I can see why you liked it there.
The best scenery is in Vienna. From the Magyars to the Poles with a German base. And the food, the pastry and the coffee. Sacher hotel and the Drei Husaren.
A capital city for an Empire in a postage stamp country.
Architecture in Stockholm is beautiful!
luis April 24th, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Ohh ! Let´s hope this next time they have enough lifeboats
_________
Or stay on land where they can be more grounded.
Bo knows April 24th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Very interesting takes on Checoeslovaquia and Russia. Haven´t been to Prague, but i understand is very beautiful. Russia i have ben twice (Moscow and St Peterburg). I loved it!, the subway stations in Moscow are a work of art. St Petersburg is pretty, but i take Stockholm better.
——————–
Stockolm for the scenery. Hot Latins, ice cool maidens. I can see why you liked it there.
The best scenery is in Vienna. From the Magyars to the Poles with a German base. And the food, the pastry and the coffee. Sacher hotel and the Drei Husaren.
A capital city for an Empire in a postage stamp country.
====================
Yes, Vienna is something else. But Bo, Moscow was filled with beautiful women as well. I was like a bird in the grass, looking all around me!
yankeefeminista April 24th, 2012 at 4:11 pm
luis April 24th, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Ohh ! Let´s hope this next time they have enough lifeboats
_________
Or stay on land where they can be more grounded.
=====================
“Love the iceberg analogy, very fitting. By the way no news on Pineda yet?”
luis-
the titanic was on my mind because of the red sox 100 year anniversary being on the same day as the titanic sunk.
but seriously when do the yankees stop and say, ” gee , you think we may be the problem?” when constantly running into injuries with young pitching prospects.
bronx jeers-
not to be overly picky, but how is that even possible with all the problems with hughes, joba, and wang with rushing?
it would be like the titantic captain getting another ship and hitting another iceberg.
———————————–
I’m just assuming they rushed him because I think he was throwing a week after diagnosis.
But yeah, that’s a pretty good analogy.
Yes, Vienna is something else. But Bo, Moscow was filled with beautiful women as well. I was like a bird in the grass, looking all around me!
————————————————–
All the beautiful women were Ukrainian. Wild Cossack blood you know. Don’t believe me? Talk to someone who’s been to Kyyiv. That’s the source.
As to St Petersburg, it was built on Cossack bones and blood. Conscripted labor from the steppes.
Nick in SF April 24th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
LuridImagination (@LuridImagination)
4/24/12 4:01
Cashman reaches out to Wang. “I’ve been there, buddy. The first step is admitting she’s nuts. Get your K rate up and then call me.’
//
LMFAO!
Bo,
I thought the Cossacks came from the steps of Siberia?
yankeefeminista April 24th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
re: Pineda. I’m sitting on Jack Curry’s twitter. Bets on him having it first?
_________________________________________
I tweeted jack Curry about this. Hasn’t responded yet. Probably won’t know until Girardi addresses the media later
Is it no news is good news or the other way around?
4:23 and no word on Pineda….. ?
JAP,
Did you get my e-mail?
If this guy’s out for the year, how comfortable can one be about the doctors we use?? Hopefully, they have something ‘positive’ – relatively speaking – to tell us.
versonine April 24th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Watching this Champions League semifinal. The way Barcelona gets everything to go their way from referees is disgraceful. I wish I were a Barca supporter. Every CL, they get gifted everything over teams. Saddening. Just let the matches be determined by the talent on the field.
I’m glad someone else has noticed that. Same with Man Utd in England. Mind you, having a 100,000-strong crowd baying for blood does tend to influence a referee,
luis April 24th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
JAP,
Did you get my e-mail?
//
Yessir, I answered
.
luis April 24th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Is it no news is good news or the other way around?
_______
IMO no news is definitely not good news. Perhaps they are working on the spin.
little jason zillo earning his dollars today?
Tackelberry, tell Currry you want to break the news; maybe he will give you a preview.
“IMO no news is definitely not good news. Perhaps they are working on the spin. ”
i was thinking the same thing.
there is no good spin on really bad news on pineda.
if it’s bad they should just get it out there while the yankees are in first place.
Curry, a.k.a. Yankee employee, going to “break” the Pineda lowdown?
No news could be good news
I watch all games of the traditional big 4 in England, top 2 in La Liga, and top 2 in Italy. Man United dont get the favorable treatment that Barcelona gets. Barcelona is like no other Ive ever seen before. They get treated better than the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins combined. Its amazing. I wish I were a Barca fan.
TORRRRRES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FakeSource (@FakeSource)
4/24/12 4:34
Pineda sent for second MRI after first dye contrast comes back “Jermaine”.
Its easy to score 63 goals Messi when youve gotten 47 penalty kicks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!! CHELSEA!!!!!!
Against All Odds April 24th, 2012 at 4:34 pm
No news could be good news
///
Odds!
You realize worst-case scenario is, they shoved Joba into the bullpen, only to turn around and trade their best chip for “Joba”….
Mishandling Joba: the Original Sin.
Mishandling Joba: the Original Sin.
========================
As much as i hate to recognize this, yes this Joba mishandling put in motion a chain of events that have ended up in this mess.
I wonder…..If that is the Original Sin….Who is our Messiah?
Yes putting joba in the pen was a huge mistake. But I think the first bad move was botching Wang’s rehab. That created the desire for a number 2. If your rotation is CC,Wang, and Hughes/Joba as a top 3 you go to war with that
Curry, a.k.a. Yankee employee, going to “break” the Pineda lowdown?
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Yes, unless you think Michael Kay somehow has access to what the front office is doing. Curry is a member of YES, not of the Yankees.