Pettitte: “I’m going to be able to do this”
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on May 30, 2012 
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For Andy Pettitte, the experiment stage has been over for quite some time. He’s no longer proving something. He’s just pitching. Last night, it wasn’t enough that he pitched well for most of the game, Pettitte was focused on the mistakes that cost him.
“After the first game, I felt like I was going to be able to do this,” he said. “Just the things that I wanted to be able to do were there in that game, so as long as I’m healthy, I’m going to be able to do this. That’s a moot point for me, now. Now it’s all about just helping this team win. You gotta keep them off the board and let our guys score first. That’s what I always try to do, and I hate that I wasn’t able to do it.”
That’s Pettitte. He knew he pitched better than the numbers indicated last night, but he was too upset about the home runs to feel particularly good about himself.
“You have to set up your pitches, throw pitches for a purpose to be able to get guys out,” he said. “I hate to sit here and try to tell yall and the world how I like to get hitters out, but it’s pitching. I can do a better job of it right now.”
The fact Pettitte is able to give those sort of answers, four starts into his return, is a good thing for the Yankees. There’s no patting him on the back for doing his best. He’s not a side show. He’s here to help, and questions about whether Pettitte has anything left have been answered.
“I was at least able to go deep,” he said with a kind of sigh. “But I gotta get better, that’s just all there is to it.”
Russell Martin: 190/333/339/672
Jesus Montero: 246/283/398/680
Martin has been in the big leagues for years and has shown no improvement offensively over thr last 5 years or so…..Montero is a 22 year old rookie with 2 months experience …..not really a relevant comparison as one guy should improve as he adjusts and the other potentially could decline further.
Tough game…many of you discussed the late night…just DVR it and watch in the morning.
My notes:
http://www.stevewigdor.blogspot.com/
at this point the comp doesn’t matter but to say that this year Martin is better SO FAR. With the poor defense of Montero, the OPS would have to be at least 100 points higher before you even start about comparing who was more valuable THIS YEAR.
I compare Montero to Martin to show how bad of a year he is having. It’s almost june, time to adjust has come and gone. Here is what Arod did at age 22: 310/360/560/919….Jeter 314/370/430/800….Cano 297/320/458/778…Montero 246/283/398/680
Hopefully the Yankees sparkplug will be the return of a 100% healthy Bret Gardner and a vastly defensively improved speedster in Eduardo Nunez.
Catching offensive stats around the league have not been very good, except for a select few. The Yankees have in AAA a Molina hitting .185 Craig Tatum hitting .179, and Cervelli at .254.
The front office put management on a budget both international (last signing Sanchez at 3 mil)and the regular draft
The Yankees were number eleven in international team spending last year – 2.9 mil versus 12.8 mil.
Their budget for the 2011 draft was 6.3 mil. This was on the front office who also signed Soriano. thereby leaving the Yankees without a #1 pick.
But hey, it’s easy to cheap shot the GM as in “What have you done for me lately”
http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/.....ding-33356
Much hand-wringing has ensued at the Yankees’ perceived “cheapness” in the draft this year, as they spent about $6.3 million on the 2011 class, less than they have spent in the last two drafts. For comparison, the Pirates spent over $17 million, the Nationals and Royals spent about $15 million each, and a number of other teams including the Jays, Rays, and Red Sox broke the $10 million mark.
The Yankees were 16th in total spending for the 2011 draft, a somewhat shocking figure for the team with the highest payroll in baseball. Especially since they had some success spending big in the draft in the past (see the monster 2006 draft, which included Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Dellin Betances, Mark Melancon, and David Robertson all getting overslot deals, plus Brett Gardner).
More Montero … just what I needed to go with my late morning coffee, to get my mornin going …
NOT.
I compare Montero to Martin to show how bad of a year he is having. It’s almost june, time to adjust has come and gone. Here is what Arod did at age 22: 310/360/560/919….Jeter 314/370/430/800….Cano 297/320/458/778…Montero 246/283/398/680″
Guys all develop differently and at dkfferent rates…..the sample isnt big enough to draw a lot from at his age.
Rob Deer’s second year: 185/283/377/660…Montero 246/283/398/680
blake May 30th, 2012 at 7:48 am
Win tonight and its still a 4-2 west coaster and thats never really bad…..
Thought Andy was ok…..didnt have his command and made a couple of location mistakes that the Angels capitalized on……and Haren was really good.
You guys know I hate cap tipping to pitchers when they dont deserve it but Haren would have been tough on any lineup last night with that split he had going……Mondays game bothers me a lot more because that shoukd have been a W when Weaver went out in the first.
Dont think its a coincidence that the Angels started turning things around when they brouht Trout up……hes special…..hes the kind of young player that can breathe life into a ball club……the Yanks need one of those badly.
Hopefully Nova can build on his last start and salvage a game in the series…
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Blake, hope they can take the last game tonight also. Santana hasn’t been that good but he can cause the Yanks problems.
I guess I’m not taking that much away from the trip, Oakland isn’t good, they should get beat and we beat them so it’s not a game changer that we did.
The bigger problem I think is the Yanks inability to beat good teams. You can check my math but in May they played 13 games against teams with winning records and went 3-10. On the flip side they were 9-3 against teams with losing records. Point being your not to go far if you can’t beat the good teams.
“Pettitte didn’t get the job done, but he showed he can help us.”
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Genius-
Perhaps, had the cleanup hitter gotten a hit with two out and the bases loaded in the top of the 3rd, Andy’s approach with a 2 or 3 run lead might have been different in the bottom of the 3rd when the Angels scored 3 runs.
I mentioned earlier, that since A-Rod had his 2nd homer off neophyte Will Smith, even thugh he’s gone7 for 22, all hits are singles. One RBI on a sac fly and 2-for7 with RISP.
Do you know where the Yankees rank amongst AL teams with RISP?
But hey, it’s easy to cheap shot the GM as in “What have you done for me lately”
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He has been in full control of the draft since 05/06. Every single yr he takes victory laps while spouting off the names and stats of guys in the minors. Should he be perfect no but he should be a lot better than he is right now.
blake May 30th, 2012 at 9:24 am
I compare Montero to Martin to show how bad of a year he is having. It’s almost june, time to adjust has come and gone. Here is what Arod did at age 22: 310/360/560/919….Jeter 314/370/430/800….Cano 297/320/458/778…Montero 246/283/398/680?
Guys all develop differently and at dkfferent rates…..the sample isnt big enough to draw a lot from at his age.
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Haven’t been on much lately, how about Darvish? 7-2, ERA has come up a bit, but he has 66 punchouts also. I haven’t changed my opinion, I thought he was the real deal and I still do, so far so good.
It is also mindboggling to know they are 1 for their last 34 with bases loaded. 1 for friggin 34. This team doesn’t steal bases, doesn’t ever go 1st to 3rd on singles, and are basically dependent on either 3-4 singles, errors or a homerun to score. As a fan it is so frustrating to watch them get on base every inning and know they will do nothing, only then to give up a multi-run inning the very next AB.
Do you know where the Yankees rank amongst AL teams with RISP?
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11th in the AL
Thank you Howe Farr. They probably rank lower than that if you just focus on the 3-4-5 hitters, A-Rod, Cano and Tex.
Last week this Blog was trashing TEX. Now that TEX is hitting, it shifts to Martin. Scapegoats don’t erase losing, and a loss is usually Not the fault of 1 player. As to last night, if your looking for a goat, look to Cano. Sure Martin aint hittin’, and hasn’t since Opening Day. To me, that’s Now a given, so your beatin’ a dead horse. Same goes for everytime somebody with nothing of merit to contribute, attempts to shift the conversation to Montero. My take on last night was the Yanks Only scored 1 run, so Pettite throwing a stinker was Perfect timing. When you play good teams out for blood like the Angels, you gotta be firing on all 8. The Yanks Pen is currently a makeshift operation that simply aint up to the job against contending teams, and the continued absence of the speed of Gardner and Nunez has the offense inna No Homers = No Runs mode.
He has been in full control of the draft since 05/06. Every single yr he takes victory laps while spouting off the names and stats of guys in the minors. Should he be perfect no but he should be a lot better than he is right now.
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He has been in control – with his hands tied by budget constraints for the last three years and not allowed to trade for expiring contracts as both Boston and Toronto have done. And we haven’t mentioned losing Cole to a completely unforseen “I wanna play college ball” or Adams and Suttle with horrendous injuries, Heathcott continously injured for three years.
But hey “He should be a lot better”
DONNYBROOK
Between the spelling, grammar and no paragraphs – just a whole blob of words. I don’t know what the hell you’re saying.
There must be something there, but I’ll be damned if I know what it is.
Writing is communication, but your transmission is garbled.
The Yanks Pen is currently a makeshift operation that simply aint up to the job against contending teams
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That Pen ranks 3rd in ERA, 1st in Save Opportunites, 1st in least blown saves. But the numbers lie, its what your eyes see, blah blah blah….
When you play good teams out for blood like the Angels, you gotta be firing on all 8.
The fact of the matter is that despite their spluttering start, the Angels are a better team than the Yankees. They have much better starting pitching and at least a comparable batting lineup. Now Pujols is warming up, they’ll be no stopping them. I won’t be at all surprised if the wild card actually comes out of the AL West this year as for my money, the Rangers and Angels are clearly the two best teams in the league. The question for us Yankees fans is whether we can be the best team in the AL East. On paper, I still think that overall we still have the strongest ball club, but the competition is certainly stronger in certain areas (I’d take Tampa and Boston’s starting pitching over ours, for instance).
Jeter has lost a step laterally…..but the play everyone is talking about was more positioning than anything IMO…..he wasnt even in the screen when the ball was hit and got nowherr near it because he was shaded way over in the hole for some reason…..he doesnt have a ton of range anymore no….but hes as sure handed as anyone and still comes in on the ball as good as anybody in baseball…..they arent losing games because hes their SS thats for sure.
Bo,
You are correct, sir. The Yankees have been going cheap on the draft and international market. They convinced themselves they were smarter than everyone else and didn’t need to spend money.
It is stupidity at it’s highest, in my opinion, for the team with the most money not to use it to their advantage. They let the team with the lowest income, or close to it, Pittsburg, dramatically outspend them. Now, with the caps, it is too late. If anyone thinks Hal was against the caps, think again.
The years of being confident in the team will very shortly disappear. The Yankees are on the fast track by 2014 or before to be a middle of the pack team.
I don’t consider myself a pessimist, but when the only players the Yankees sign are over 35 or released by other teams, pessimism is reality.
Bo knows May 30th, 2012 at 9:43 am
He has been in full control of the draft since 05/06. Every single yr he takes victory laps while spouting off the names and stats of guys in the minors. Should he be perfect no but he should be a lot better than he is right now.
———————
He has been in control – with his hands tied by budget constraints for the last three years and not allowed to trade for expiring contracts as both Boston and Toronto have done. And we haven’t mentioned losing Cole to a completely unforseen “I wanna play college ball” or Adams and Suttle with horrendous injuries, Heathcott continously injured for three years.
But hey “He should be a lot better”
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Oh I get hey it’s just bad luck all of this is beyond his control.
“You are correct, sir. The Yankees have been going cheap on the draft and international market. They convinced themselves they were smarter than everyone else and didn’t need to spend money.”
Especially dumb before the rules changed…..
“Again and again I bemoan no upper level offensive prospects. Rather, AAA is filled with 28 year olds.”
You’re deliberately trying to make me cry.
Oh and, ehm..LET’S GO DEVILS
blake May 30th, 2012 at 10:02 am
“You are correct, sir. The Yankees have been going cheap on the draft and international market. They convinced themselves they were smarter than everyone else and didn’t need to spend money.”
Especially dumb before the rules changed…..
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Blake right on.
Like I said in a post a few weeks back, it may take this year for them to really wakeup and understand they need to do somethings different. At least I hope so.
Watching that game last night one thought kept going through my head; That’s what a better team looks like. I just felt watching the Angels that they had the pitching, the hitting, the youth, the athleticism, the defense over us right now.
It might not stay that way while they are in their Trumbo and Trout honeymoon phase, but if those 2 guys play that way consistently (something the Yankees hitters are loathe to do) they will be claiming a spot in the post season and we may be battling for the 2nd wild card with everyone else if we don’t wake up and win the division.
The Yankees should have been able to win both of these games, but it feels like they got run off the field by the better team at the moment.
The focus should not be on Martin.
He is the least of the problem, unless you want to focus on the Montero lament.
He, too, would have left runners on, as this is a team malady.
There is no logical explanation for this contagion which was brought to light in last years ALDS.
They just get too tight with RISP, the pressure mounts with each opportunity.
Cano will hit 300 but has looked as awful as Swisher, Tex, Alex, perhaps he’s sulking.
The Yankees have some very interesting bats in the lower levels…..but that doesnt help them now…..they are banking on the current lineup being good enough until that group is hopefully ready and Im just not sure it will be given the lack of dominant pitching……if they had a dominant rotation then maybe itd be good enough
Gary,
How.are you? Good to see you around.
G. Love May 30th, 2012 at 10:10 am
Watching that game last night one thought kept going through my head; That’s what a better team looks like. I just felt watching the Angels that they had the pitching, the hitting, the youth, the athleticism, the defense over us right now.
It might not stay that way while they are in their Trumbo and Trout honeymoon phase, but if those 2 guys play that way consistently (something the Yankees hitters are loathe to do) they will be claiming a spot in the post season and we may be battling for the 2nd wild card with everyone else if we don’t wake up and win the division.
The Yankees should have been able to win both of these games, but it feels like they got run off the field by the better team at the moment.
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The Yanks never do well in LA so I was expecting about what we have seen. Beating up on Hapless Oakland didn’t signify to me a turnaround.
Granderson had 2 K’s again last night, now up to 58K’s in 49 games to me that’s just over the top. The guy just doesn’t put the ball in play enough.
“Watching that game last night one thought kept going through my head; That’s what a better team looks like. I just felt watching the Angels that they had the pitching, the hitting, the youth, the athleticism, the defense over us right now.”
Young players give fans hope…..because there is the chance that they are going to get better……compare that to the worry when watching older players that they are going to get worse…..
blake May 30th, 2012 at 10:14 am
Gary,
How.are you? Good to see you around.
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Blake good, I’ve been doing more reading than posting. For some reason I felt like typing today and certain people at least right now aren’t around.
Do the yankees have problem areas, obiviously yes, it is how they address or don’t address these problems that will determine their success or lack of success this year. Angels felt Abreu wasn’t contributing and let him go, long time hitting coach Mickey Hatcher the same, bring up young talented Trout–I am not advocating firing Long, but this organization made tough decisions that seem to be working–while yankees still have a non contributing Freddy Garcia, an average Cody Eppler and Clay Rapada taking up roster room–without Gardner team has no speed, look timid on base paths and really struggled against teams with a winning record, no changes mean a very long season and maybe no shot at post season.
Yankee Trader May 30th, 2012 at 9:30 am
“Pettitte didn’t get the job done, but he showed he can help us.”
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Genius-
Perhaps, had the cleanup hitter gotten a hit with two out and the bases loaded in the top of the 3rd, Andy’s approach with a 2 or 3 run lead might have been different in the bottom of the 3rd when the Angels scored 3 runs.
I mentioned earlier, that since A-Rod had his 2nd homer off neophyte Will Smith, even thugh he’s gone7 for 22, all hits are singles. One RBI on a sac fly and 2-for7 with RISP.
Do you know where the Yankees rank amongst AL teams with RISP?
******
sorry for the delay in responding…work stuff…The Yanks are 11th in the AL, but were awful in May…these things go in streaks.
I have been saying that ARod is a singles hitter now and hopefully he can pop out 20 a year. I could see him getting it going at times, but his swing is more of a line drive one now. That is OK, if he can keep his OPS at the .850 level instead of the just over .800 level (which still isn’t awful, we just need more)
As I wrote in my blog, Cano and Granderson were the goats
A quick drive-by:
Hey ho! Things are never as bad as they seem when they appear bad. So come on now, gang.
And I refuse to buy into the “this team looks old and unenthused” mantra. Because when they are hitting up a storm – I don’t care who it’s against – everyone is doing cartwheels here and feeling hopeful. (well mostly everyone). I think it’s a good idea to put some of the happy feeling into your memory bank so that when some of the inevitable hard times show up, even if for a day or two, you don’t overthink what’s happening.
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The bases loaded syndrome. I think it falls into the same category as “can’t buy a hit when you’re in a drought” syndrome. All it takes is one time for the floodgates to open up. But unfortunately the situation builds upon itself and players tend to overthink, overswing, tense up, whatever.
It happens. I mean think about it. 338, 287, 287, 268, 263, 261. Those aren’t terrible numbers. That’s what your top 6 (active) Yankee players are hitting. So you know they can put a bat on the ball.
For the longest time it was the RISP desert. And finally someone came through. And then that started to get better. The same thing has to happpen with the bases loaded syndrome. One hit it all it will take. We just have to be patient. What else is there to do?
Live for today, appreciate today is my mantra. Every dawn is a new beginning.
They’re coming to bat right now, with the bases loaded,
The pitcher feels great and wants to dance up a jig,
Then finally that ball flys, you suddenly realize
That this could be the start of something big.
credit to Steve Allen
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GO YANKEES!!!!!
Have a great day, all. For all we know, this could be the start of something big.
For those who like to sing along, here’s the tune. Since a million singers have recorded it, I just picked one at random.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQdp77SveKg
blake May 30th, 2012 at 9:55 am
Jeter has lost a step laterally…..but the play everyone is talking about was more positioning than anything IMO…..he wasnt even in the screen when the ball was hit and got nowherr near it because he was shaded way over in the hole for some reason…..he doesnt have a ton of range anymore no….but hes as sure handed as anyone and still comes in on the ball as good as anybody in baseball…..they arent losing games because hes their SS thats for sure.
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We are not losing just because of Jeter’s lack of range, but it is a small contributor, no different than ARod’s range at 3rd compromised. People say how sure handed Jeter is, but that is simply not correct. He was league average in errors last year and is the same this year. usually it is on throws, so perhaps the comment about being sure handed is accurate, but the truth is he is league average form an error standpoint and when you don;t have much range that is below average any way you slice it. Most analysts would also tell you Jeter was always below average even before his advancing age.
Again, this is NOT the reason we aren’t winning games, but sometimes it hurts us. yesterday was a great example of how defense can win games for you…if it were Ibanez out in LF he would have played Swisher’s ball off the wall (if it didn’t go over) and nobody would have thought twice about it except to say too many hits by our pitcher. The perspective is lost on people unless it is obvious many times.
Even the two diving stops the infielders made to save runs over the past two games would not have been made by Jeter, but people would not have thought twice about it. Last year, at least 4 times I showed people a ball hit up the middle and how Cano gets his second step down before Jeter gets his first (or at the same time)…it is a huge difference.
The numbers sighted regarding the Yankee Pen encompass the Entire season. That includes when Mo and Robertson were there. Glad my “garbled transmission” got through and was understood though fumbled. It obviously aint the sender\ “Bo Knows”.
- MICK -
Girardi waiting on a 3 Run Homer, doesn’t help erase the malaise with men on base.
What camouflages the Yanks weaknesses are the poor teams in baseball.
They beat them but struggle against the better teams.
There doesn’t seem to be enough of the KC’s, Seattles, Twins and Oaklands for them to beat up on now with an improved AL Central and East.
If they don’t bludgeon their way to win the division, they will have competition for the WC as LA, TB and “pretenders” Balt, Chi and Cleve could be for real.
Not to mention Boston, Tor and Det.
They have been exposed regularly in the playoffs as they face elite teams only.
- MICK -
Girardi waiting on a 3 Run Homer, doesn’t help erase the malaise with men on base.
==============================
Yes but this is the hand he was dealt.
longtimefan, I agreed with what you wrote, but Rapada is needed as teams must have two lefties otherwise it makes the opposing managers job so much easier form a matchup standpoint. You also want to be able to match yourself. Rapada is the exact LOOGY we need. he has a history of doing well against lefties (and they are usually good hitters) and this year has been no different. Lefties are hitting .176 with an ops of .576 against. He should be pitching almost every game and getting the lefty out most of the time. Guys like that need to pitch though and Girardi needs to be smarter. Rapada may be OK against righties, but he isn;t sharp enough with his control, but Garcia is right now just the long guy and is wasting a spot.
Maybe the owners tightened the draft budget because most of their big money expenditures have been busts.
G. Love May 30th, 2012 at 10:10 am
Watching that game last night one thought kept going through my head; That’s what a better team looks like. I just felt watching the Angels that they had the pitching, the hitting, the youth, the athleticism, the defense over us right now.
I felt exactly the same way. Okay, so we’re catching the Angels when they are red hot; a couple of weeks ago they didn’t look so enthused. But you can’t escape the fact that “athletic” and “youthful” are two adjectives that won’t be applicable to the Yankees for many years to come.
Slade Heathcott, injury prone and known to sacrifice his body in High School has been injury prone since being drafted. Bad luck!!
The GM, agreed, I see your point.
The Genius Maker
I understand your points, but this is what happens when players age (Jeter) and you also don’t have good defense (Ibanez) in the OF. How good would the OF be with Gardner, Grandy and Melky? And Melky is hitting .376, not too shabby.
But, if Yanks were hitting with risp, all this would be overlooked.
But you can’t escape the fact that “athletic” and “youthful” are two adjectives that won’t be applicable to the Yankees
====================
Their average age for hitters is almost 33.
This is the oldest it’s ever been.
What’s upsetting to me as a fan about the Yankees management was on display in Anaheim.
All we heard all off season was the Angels had too many OF’ers and not enough spots to play then. They had Abreu, Wells, Hunter, Bourjous and they had nowhere to play Trumbo.
Instead of saying, let’s trade Trumbo and Trout since our OF & IF is blocked after signing Pujols, they instead keep the bats and get rid of the dead wood in Abreu. Now when Wells comes back he’ll be a bench player most likely.
Instead of saying, we have these great young players who have no role so we must deal them now or else, they kept them and are integrating them into a winning club in season.
The Yankees in the same situation see that kind of young player as an albatross who they need to get something for rather than hold onto.
I’m not saying hold onto every young guy, but there are clearly guys who are destined for MLB they could have treated differently.
Angels didn’t say “Trumbo’s blocked, let’s trade him for Hughes or whatever we can get”. They held onto him and now have a power bat in the middle of their lineup who sends every ball he touches screaming into the air.
This even makes me think of the NFL. Some teams draft & keep talent no matter how the depth chart and some teams focus solely on need and will let a more talented player go to get what they their perceived need it.
I don’t know which is right or wrong, but I think I would always take talent over need. It’s why I would’ve signed Pujols or Prince even though Tex was under contract since we needed a bat like that in the middle of our lineup.
I agree the defense would be overlooked if we were hitting with RISP, but I don;t think it would be correctly overlooked. BTW, we can’t discuss Melky as we wouldn’t have Grandy without him.
I have written in my blog a ton of times last year that Gardner is the least appreciated guy on our team. last year I argued with many on this board when they said he can’t hit a lick etc…People don;t realize the runs he saves in the field and the extra bases he gets on the base paths to offset is mediocre hitting. Overall, I compared him to Crawford when many Yankee fans wanted Crawford and I said that Gardner is almost on par with him at the time and Gardner was a much better value. I think his absence is finally showing the void he leaves when he is not here.
The numbers sighted regarding the Yankee Pen encompass the Entire season. That includes when Mo and Robertson were there
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Yankees have 2 blown saves, one by Mo and the other one by Robertson
G. Love-
The inevitable question you bring up is if Cashman is qualified for this job.
We know the process a player goes through to arrive on the scene but what about a GM?
He was hired as an intern by George, that we know.
How much baseball knowledge does he have to have? Isn’t that why there are scouts?
Don’t they all see the same prospects? Can’t they all see the top talent?
It makes you wonder…
GLove…I don;t really see the Yankees doing what you say. You may be referring to the Montero trade but the Yanks did trade that for value and not need because Montero was needed short term more. Also, while Tex was on 1st, they could have signed those guys to DH, but do you really want to lock in another huge payroll guy to DH? I wouldn’t.
Gardner is an enigma. While his value is unique , he is injury prone and takes a long time to heal.
His future in baseball won’t be as a Yankee.
GM,
You take Aybar and his .534 OPS and range and Ill take Jeter
Getting rid of Melky is a vile stain on Cashman’s record.
If the Yanks want to get a replacement for Swisher on the cheap, of course, they could look into Torii Hunter for a 1-2 year deal at ages 37-38.
He is old and might come cheap, which seems to fit their recent parameters.
mick May 30th, 2012 at 11:09 am
Getting rid of Melky is a vile stain on Cashman’s record.
__________
As well as a stain on Atlanta and Kansas City – - – -
Dumping a $9 Mill salary\Abreu, After signing Pujols to that 10 yr deal is gonna kill the Angels. The Angels also boned it with the Wells deal. They do have a FEW very good youngsters, that you are currently seeing, but that team is onna Dead Mans Curve.They have 2 yrs to do something, after that, it’s ALL Magic Johnson\Dodgers in the So Cal Market.
The awarding of a Gold Glove to Aybar, shows the Gold has turned to tin.
I would take Jeter if he has an OPS of 200 points more than Aybar as well, plus Jeter is a great guy. Of course, last year while displaying better defense, Aybar also had an adjusted for SB OPS of .775 compared to Jeter’s .770 so Aybar was better last year.
You watch Aybar on a daily basis, instead of merely eyeballin’ numbers, and your appraisal would be Far different.
Right now I will take Jeter’s D, along with his 136 OPS+, over Aybar’s and his 50 OPS+.
Just for perspective, last year Aybar has 227 more chances than Jeter and only committed one more error.
OK, now just like we all planned. Everybody on your feet and repeat with me:
TRISH – A LOVE – JOY
clap clap clap clap clap
TRISH – A LOVE – JOY
clap clap clap clap clap
TRISH – A LOVE – JOY
clap clap clap clap clap
The Yankees aren’t getting rid of Jeter or ARod; they are both aging and that is a given. Therefore, the Yankees should have compensated elsewhere and planned better. Pointing out Jeter’s fielding deficiencies is not particularly productive.
For the idiot on here who wants to compare Montero’s start to ARod’s you think hitting in front of Griffey in his prime when he was the best player in the game helped him. Montero on the other hand is being “protected” by Justin Smoak, Kyle Seager and Michael Saunders….
Guys, have some perspective on this. Jeter’s offense THIS year so far clearly outweighs Aybar very weak offense numbers this year, but last year the offense was pretty much equal and then there is no comparison either. If you watch other players at SS and tehn watch Jeter (and not just now) the range difference is huge. he is also not nearly as quick as others around the bag…just look at how much better Cano is at tagging, let alone the quickness of the turn.
Again, this is not about Aybar, this is only about an area that we are short compared to other teams and that is defense at SS…even if it is not a huge issue. But, Granderson is decent out in CF, but he would not have made the catch Bourgeous(sp?) made and that would be one area where we would be slightly deficient and in yesterday’s game, that one catch could have been the difference as you remember having one less out and one more guy on base could have led to a few more runs on top of the one that would have scored…plays like that change games, but because people can’t “see” it they are dismissed for the things we can see. defense is more important than people give credit for it because many times the difference of a Ibanez and Trout is not evident because all the balls hit are at guys. yesterday was one of the games where defense won the game for The Angels.
“Just for perspective, last year Aybar has 227 more chances than Jeter and only committed one more error.”
Hes a good defender…..probably had a staff that threw a lot more ground balls as well…..Id much rather have Jeter though.
yankeefeminista May 30th, 2012 at 11:38 am
The Yankees aren’t getting rid of Jeter or ARod; they are both aging and that is a given. Therefore, the Yankees should have compensated elsewhere and planned better. Pointing out Jeter’s fielding deficiencies is not particularly productive.
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oh boy…so because we can’t do anything about any of the contracts this year, should we not make any comments about any of them? C’mon!
G. Love May 30th, 2012 at 10:57 am
What’s upsetting to me as a fan about the Yankees management was on display in Anaheim.
All we heard all off season was the Angels had too many OF’ers and not enough spots to play then. They had Abreu, Wells, Hunter, Bourjous and they had nowhere to play Trumbo.
Instead of saying, let’s trade Trumbo and Trout since our OF & IF is blocked after signing Pujols, they instead keep the bats and get rid of the dead wood in Abreu. Now when Wells comes back he’ll be a bench player most likely.
Instead of saying, we have these great young players who have no role so we must deal them now or else, they kept them and are integrating them into a winning club in season.
The Yankees in the same situation see that kind of young player as an albatross who they need to get something for rather than hold onto.
I’m not saying hold onto every young guy, but there are clearly guys who are destined for MLB they could have treated differently.
Angels didn’t say “Trumbo’s blocked, let’s trade him for Hughes or whatever we can get”. They held onto him and now have a power bat in the middle of their lineup who sends every ball he touches screaming into the air.
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Well said. Last night just put on display what you do with young high upside players: guess what? You keep them and let them play!!! And good point about Wells: his contract would have been an idiotic reason for the Angels to trade away a big young bat: Wells can come off the bench, which is what some of us have been saying should have been the eventual role for Alex, once he got past being able to play 3B, and on his non-DH days.
What a ridiculous “solution”. Just kill your lineup for the next three years, as long as you can “justify” the long-term contracts. The point is – you’re paying the guy ANY WAY: better to get rid of the young line-drive, contact guy with tremendous power with six years of control, just so you can appear to be getting more mileage out of a sunk cost, depleting your lineup and impairing your chance to win and sell tickets.
Im not saying defense isnt important….especially at SS…..I just think the total package of Derek Jeter is still a really good player so Im not going to over dramatize that hes not as quick laterally as other SS’s. Hes not…..but thats far down the list of Yankee problems IMO
GM – Nice write up on your blog. Specifically about the umpiring. Your overall take of the game was spot on. Nice work.
Ok, IN A WORLD CAPPED AT $189M, would you take:
Jeter, age 38, 2011 WAR of 0.9, 2012 WAR (so far) of 0.9, salary: $16M, with a further $25M committed through 2014 (AAV $13.67M); or
Aybar, age 28, 2011 WAR of 4.0, 2012 WAR (so far) of -0.8, salary: $5.075M, with a further $34M committed through 2016 (AAV $8M)?
Blake, Outside of emotions, last year you surely shouldn’t have…especially in the first half when Jeter looked done. If Aybar hit like he did last year, their value would be about the same to a team…I am not confident Jeter will keep up his OPS this year unfortunately though. I would be thrilled if he could give us an OPS of .800
Jeter at SS is Not costing the Yankees games. Once again, this Blog is desperately searching for scapegoats, and when that gets stale, goes the Montero route. This is a repeating 78 rpm. Translation = VERY Old.
I didn’t mean this an a comparison of the two because Jeter isn’t going anywhere, I am only pointing out that his defense is more of an issue than people make of it…meaning it is below average, but not in the Nunez category by any stretch of the imagination. the way Nunez was playing he would need an OPS of 990 to justify playing him.
A win tonight and everything looks better again. Its going to be nip and tuck all year fighting for that top spot in the East.
The division race between the rays, sux, and yanks should keep everyone interested all year long.
The O’s have completely fell off a cliff and the Jays might hang for a couple more months. But ultimately it will be the Usual Suspects a top the East again this year. Minus Keyser Söze.
Donnybrook, I am not looking for any scapegoats…I am only pointing out for the 100th time that defense can win ball games and yesterday was an example. Its not like Jeter made or missed a play that others would get to??? It kind of ticks me off I have to explain this as Jeter is an Eagle Scout, but why can’t I point out the obvious to anyone who doesn;t live in NY?
Wave, thank you for perspective…the difference in dollars could be used to sign someone…it is also something we should always be concerned with and that is if you can make a cost saving move twice and pickup 7 mil in each case, you can add 14 mil in payroll. it is also the reason why I said do not go and get Crawford, give the job to Gardner as he will be almost as good and MUCH cheaper so Gardner plus a player worth 15 mil is worth way more than Crawford.
Anybody know the Yankee record After the 86ing of Nunez? Throw out that 3 game cake walk in Oakland when you do.
“Blake, Outside of emotions, last year you surely shouldn’t have…especially in the first half when Jeter looked done.”
I never thought he was done and if you look back at my posts from last year it supports that……
Wave,
My heart says Jeter…..my head says Aybar even though Id rather have Jeter now…..if the Yanks had a decent replacement at SS coming maybe Id feel differently but seeing as how they dont itd be hard to pick thr 38 year old over thr 28 year old.
Entire division with 3.5 games and all are above .500
Of course if we are dealing in hypotheticals then my hypothetical owner wouldnt care about 189.
champ809 May 30th, 2012 at 11:39 am
For the idiot on here who wants to compare Montero’s start to ARod’s you think hitting in front of Griffey in his prime when he was the best player in the game helped him. Montero on the other hand is being “protected” by Justin Smoak, Kyle Seager and Michael Saunders….
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Montero went 0 for 5 last night. However, he seared a line drive into RC that Cruz sealed off with a breathless running catch, and he doubled a guy off on his throw. You don’t watch the ABs, you hear the guy hit into a DP.
Another AB, he lined a wicked shot down the RF line that went just foul. The protests about Montero, and some of the comments, especially by people who don’t even see the ABs, are just wishful thinking.
“Anybody know the Yankee record After the 86ing of Nunez? Throw out that 3 game cake walk in Oakland when you do.”
No but why does it matter
Jeter has been a great Yankee and he made an adjustment for the 2nd half of last year and has been very productive offensively. He is good enough defensively if he can hit with an OPS of .800 as far as I am concerned. So far this year he has been a very pleasant surprise.
Let’s not forget we lost Joba, Rivera and Pineda for the year and Gardner and DRob have been out for a decent amount of time. These are some big blows and we are within fighting distance. I expect Ibanez to cool some and Jeter to cool some, but Cano will do better and the injured guys will come back. ARod should be able to do better as should Tex.
The Genius Maker
I enjoyed (if that is the right word) your review of the game too. Very insightful. Just as well I went to bed as those Cano at bats would have had me close to putting my foot through the TV screen. What a frustrating season it is proving to be so far.
We are used to thinking about the Yanks as having essentially no budget constraints, but we know that in reality that hasn’t been true for some time and certainly won’t be true going forward.
When you think about the contracts they gave Jeter (and Soriano too, although that one ends before 2014), you could speculate that they forced the Montero trade because the Yanks couldn’t afford the big contract pitcher and felt they needed to trade for the cost-controlled Pineda.
I do Not live in NY. Never have. I’m not sure Jeet was Ever a Boy Scout either. I know what I see. Jeet and defense in general, are Not costing the Yanks games. Did it help the Angels last night, sure. But we aint the Angels. The Yankee BA with runners in scoring position is FAR more relevant vs defense when looking for cause and effect \ losses.
Jeter’s defensive deficiencies have been discussed ad nauseum. Better to consider how we can strengthen the D around him. For instance, a better 4th OFer when we have injuries would be nice to fill in for Gardy in LF and to give Grandy a blow in center. As for Grandy vs. Bourjos, yeah the latter covers a lot of ground, but without Grandy’s bat our power is pitiful, especially without Alex’s bat having the previous pop. So, Yanks can’t get away with a no SLG CF if their LF too doesn’t show much pop. I love run saving D, but you can’t argue for Bourjos with his 56 OPS+ over Grandy’s 144 OPS+. This team needs to get offense from somewhere, subtracting two bats for D just doesn’t work in these instances. But yeah, we need to get younger and more athletic; a reason we have been drafting/signing IFA’s that are that type of position player: Mason, Ravel, Cito, et al.
blake May 30th, 2012 at 11:55 am
Of course if we are dealing in hypotheticals then my hypothetical owner wouldnt care about 189.
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It’s not as if any other owner plans to exceed the cap.
Defense is being discussed in relation to wins\loses. The correlation of Nunez being gone and the Yankee record also applies. Try to pay Close attention.
“you could speculate that they forced the Montero trade because the Yanks couldn’t afford the big contract pitcher and felt they needed to trade for the cost-controlled Pineda.”
I dont even think you have to speculate on that…..
Man is Tyler Austin on fire! 4-4 so far in game 1 of doubleheader with a double, triple and 2 singles
“Defense is being discussed in relation to wins\loses. The correlation of Nunez being gone and the Yankee record also applies. Try to pay Close attention.”
So youre saying they are winning more because Nunez’s bad defense is gone?
Yea, let’s just jump into a Bizzaro Yankee Land. The muddle continues.
And what is the Yankee record?
“It’s not as if any other owner plans to exceed the cap.”
None of the other owners have close to the revenues the Yanks do.
Again, and with feeling this time:
TRISH – A LOVE – JOY
clap clap clap clap clap
TRISH – A LOVE – JOY
clap clap clap clap clap
TRISH – A LOVE – JOY
clap clap clap clap clap
Not wanting to pay Hamels was a motivation, as has been discussed often here. No less, was their own “logic” that they “need the DH” spot for Alex, Jeter, Tex…
blake May 30th, 2012 at 12:06 pm
“It’s not as if any other owner plans to exceed the cap.”
None of the other owners have close to the revenues the Yanks do.
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I’m just making the point that even in your hypothetical, the Yankees are going to outspend almost every team in baseball, surely no team will outspend them. A fan can hardly root for the fact that ownership is putting less money into the team, but at the same time, it’s all relative.
Pruf, agree about the Montero ABs. Same thing with Nova, and why he is giving up homeruns, if you look at numbers in a vacuum without knowing the qualifiers, watching the games, you limit your ability to interpret the stats.
Hassey, please don’t post that a third time. Thanks.
J. Alfred Prufrock May 30th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Not wanting to pay Hamels was a motivation, as has been discussed often here. No less, was their own “logic” that they “need the DH” spot for Alex, Jeter, Tex…
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I wonder how happy you’d be if A-Rod and Jeter were playing the outfield. As for Tex, the guy is always banged up. The rest surely helps.
And how does signing another guy to another huge contract help the structure of this team?
DONNYBROOK May 30th, 2012 at 11:59 am
I do Not live in NY. Never have. I’m not sure Jeet was Ever a Boy Scout either. I know what I see. Jeet and defense in general, are Not costing the Yanks games. Did it help the Angels last night, sure. But we aint the Angels. The Yankee BA with runners in scoring position is FAR more relevant vs defense when looking for cause and effect \ losses.
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All I can say is if the Angels defense helped them win last night than any deficiency we have in that area will cost us at times. Is the hitting with RISP MORE of an issue…of course, but if you don’t think a missed play or a bad managerial decision or a combo of events make any difference than I will hold my comments further.
Yanks have not paid out for draft picks/IFA’s for a couple of years now, which is a big fail on their part, especially with the impending soft cap. RAB(?) had that they spent 6.3 mil last year to Pittsburgh’s 17 mil. Rays and Jays also outspent them. Obviously they want to maintain a certain budget, but still would have liked them to further infuse the farm.
yankeefem, yes ma’am.
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Looking forward to a quality start by the Vato tonight.
Off to lunch.
To me it’s ridiculous to pay that kinda Jack for a DH. I would eat the vast majority of a player’s contract and deal him, before I would do that. Whether it’s A-Rod or Wells. Signing guys for 10yrs? Not on my watch. No Way. Pujols is another albatross on the horizon. Give the Angels this season and next. After that, DOA on the field and on the ledger. This is why Scioscia has gone the Billy Martin route with Every pitch. He knows the sand is quickly running to the bottom of the hour glass.
RadioKev May 30th, 2012 at 12:14 pm
J. Alfred Prufrock May 30th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Not wanting to pay Hamels was a motivation, as has been discussed often here. No less, was their own “logic” that they “need the DH” spot for Alex, Jeter, Tex…
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I wonder how happy you’d be if A-Rod and Jeter were playing the outfield. As for Tex, the guy is always banged up. The rest surely helps.
And how does signing another guy to another huge contract help the structure of this team?
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ARod and Jeter play 3B and SS, respectively. They will probably be playing there in 2013, as well, albeit perhaps not every day.
I said they didn’t want to cough up for Hamels – don’t recall saying they should. I’m not among the ranks who thinks they don’t have a decent rotation or depth in the minors. The lineup was the weakness, not the SP.