Postgame notes: “We need to find ways to score more runs”
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes on Oct 12, 2012 
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Easy to imagine hypothetical scenarios. What if Raul Ibanez pinch hit in the eighth, not the ninth? If only Brett Gardner had started in center instead of Curtis Granderson? Maybe if Robinson Cano were the No. 3 hitter, Derek Jeter were batting cleanup and the Yankees had never traded away Jesus Montero.
The bottom line is this: The Yankees went 7-for-44 tonight. That’s a .159 team average. The Orioles didn’t hit much better — just .174 with more strikeouts and fewer walks — but in a game when either team could have won with a single timely hit, the Yankees couldn’t get one and the Orioles finally did.
Blame David Phelps for throwing the pitch to J.J. Hardy. Blame Joe Girardi for never pushing the right button. The reality of this game falls squarely on the shoulders of an offense that’s hit .216/.280/.333 this series. Believe it or not, the Orioles lineup has been worse, which means the Yankees would have locked up a spot in the ALCS if they’d just hit a little bit.
“You can come over here and say, you’re struggling to score runs,” Derek Jeter said. “You go over there in the other clubhouse, and they’re talking about how well they pitched. It goes both ways. It seems like every year I tell you guys the same thing: Good pitching is going to beat good hitting. That’s just how it goes. In the postseason it’s going to be tough because pitchers are going to bear down and you try to make good pitches. We need to find ways to score more runs obviously.”
Tonight’s worst offender? Take your pick.
Robinson Cano was 0-for-6. Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson were 0-for-5. Swisher hit into a double play and flied out to strand the go-ahead run at third. Granderson struck out three times.
“I’m chasing a couple of balls out of the zone, so I’ve got to go ahead and swing at some more strikes and then continue to stay aggressive and continue to attack,” Granderson said. “… That’s just a part of not recognizing and attacking the pitches that I want to hit. For whatever reason it happens to be, but definitely no reason about pressing by any means.”
The Yankees were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. It was just the fourth time in their 373 all-time postseason games that the Yankees were held hitless in nine or more at-bats with runners in scoring position. Whatever offensive life the Yankees were showing at the end of the regular season has clearly flickered to nothing.
“It’s playoff baseball,” Girardi said. “The games are extremely tight. Usually the difference in these games is one hit. That’s basically been the difference. It’s been very good pitching. They controlled the bats for the most part, and it’s come down to one hit.”
• Tomorrow’s game will be a 5:07 first pitch as originally scheduled. It would have been pushed back had the Cardinals won today.
• Joba Chamberlain was hit in the right elbow by a broken bat head in the 12th inning. X-rays were negative, but Chamberlain was pulled because of swelling that Girardi worried could lead to command issues. Girardi didn’t completely dismiss the idea of putting Chamberlain on the disabled list, which would mean losing him for the next round. “It probably depends on how he feels tomorrow,” Girardi said.
• Chamberlain seemed to think he’d dodged a bullet because he didn’t get hit by the jagged end. “I heard it break,” he said. “… I was just trying to react and hope it didn’t hit me in the head, and that’s better than the other (end) hitting me in the head, so that’s a positive.”
• Jeter said he expects to be at shortstop tomorrow. “As far as I know yeah,” he said.
• Although Jeter fouled two balls off his left foot, he said neither one hit him in the same spot as last night’s foul ball. “I was missing it, man,” Jeter said. “I hit my shin. I hit my heel. I hit pretty much everything but the same spot.”
• Girardi would not comment on any potential lineup changes for tomorrow. “Go home and study the pitcher,” Girardi said. “I know our guys, and I’ll make decisions tomorrow. We play a little bit earlier so I’ll have to study a little bit sooner, but I’ll make decisions tomorrow.”
• Girardi on the decision not to pinch hit for Rodriguez in the eighth inning: “I know if I pinch hit, they’re going to walk the lefty that I bring in, and you’ve got O’Day that’s got the sinker. The one thing I want to try to stay out of is a double-play situation. You’ve got the infield in, you just want to put a ball in play. You’ve probably got to get a run and we weren’t able to do it.”
• Here’s Rodriguez on his strikeout that inning, which left runners at second and third. There was only one out, so a ball in play might have scored the go-ahead run. “I’m thinking get one run in, at least,” he said. “Get a ball to the outfield, give us a one-run lead. … I actually felt pretty good at the plate today, especially after the walk and I hit a pretty good ball over the shortstop’s head. O’Day seemed to have everybody’s number tonight. I certainly didn’t see him very well today.”
• Interesting answer from Rodriguez when asked about his health: “Good enough,” he said.
• Granderson said he wasn’t surprised when he was asked to lay down a sacrifice bunt in the fifth. He didn’t get it down and struck out instead. “I’m disappointed in myself for not getting that bunt down,” he said. “Nine times out of 10 I always get that bunt down no matter what the situation happens to be.”
• Strong start from Phil Hughes, who certainly gave the Yankees a chance to win but was disappointed he didn’t last through the seventh. “I was trying to find myself command-wise early,” Hughes said. “Fastball was a little bit all over the place, but I was fortunate to escape a couple of jams which was good, and kind of felt a little more comfortable as the game wore on.”
• Phelps said he didn’t feel rattled by entering the game in such an odd situation. “It’s no different than warming up out in the bullpen except it’s the mound you’re going to pitch on,” he said.
• Both hits off Phelps were on misplaced sliders. “I wanted (the Hardy pitch) down in the dirt so I could get either a roll over or a swing and miss,” he said. “I just left it over the plate. Same thing to Machado. The ball’s got to be down and away and I just left it over the plate.”
• Probably goes without saying, but just in case: “It’s all hands on deck tomorrow,” Girardi said.
• We’ll give the final word to Granderson: “Of course you want to go ahead and do as much as you can. Any time you get a chance to swing the bat, you want to try to go ahead and do something productive to help the team out. When you can’t, you’re looking for the next opportunity when you get a chance to get back up there. Obviously everybody on this team – whether it’s the guys that are starting or the guys coming in off the bench – they want to go ahead and do something big when they get up there at the plate.”
Associated Press photos
I appreciate how derek basically could care less about the media and gives sarcastic answers to d*mbass questions for about 15 years now, but dude…really…the hitting has been beyond atrocious. Stop it with the good pitching beats good hitting. Joe Saunders and the other 47 relievers they threw tonight (and the whole series basically) should all be categorized as good pitching?
I know it’s baseball, but man, I’d love to see an actual honest answer and assessment to a game. I don’t understand why we all tune in for post-game pressers and locker room reports. I could guess everything they say every night. And then the one time they might be honest, the media who asks the questions would kill them for their honesty. It’s a joke.
I didn’t tune in the postgame, but that’s mostly because I think I hit my head and woke up to something called “The Mentalist” — strangely hypnotic, like a pitch in the dirt must look to Curtis Granderson.
No tipping hats, you suck offense.
mhm… i am sure tom i will wake up to 25 dif lineup permutations… but like I said, this offense needs wholesale changes. aint got nothing to do with clutch… they not that good.
correction, i do think psychology plays a little in big moments just like in life. but it’s a small part.
These dudes are all giving answers like they just had one bad night when they are all 1-16 or 2-18. If it wasn’t such a running joke and stereotype of this team all year, I’d be more upset. But I think I’m in absolute disbelief that they can honestly string together at bats like this in the most important series of the year. It’s truly amazing and I just hope it can’t be duplicated because it makes no sense. Baseball is maddening.
I honestly feel bad for Cashman because Arod was not on him, Teixera immediately turned into a different style of player than the one he thought he signed, and the Swisher trade was actually a shrewd move. Granderson was basically the same shrewd move until this year. Kuroda was good. Getting Pettitte back was good. Picking up Ichiro was good. Ibanez, Chavez, Nix even. The pineda thing was rough luck, but I believe Montero finished with a negative WAR. Gardner was bad luck. Point is, if you go down the line, Cashman looks really good on most stuff he can control. These guys just have not come through in important playoff series. And I am the last person who truly believes in “clutch.” I have no way to explain this terrible luck. They all should not be this bad
And I have NO IDEA how you can remake this team going forward with the salaries on the books. I do not envy having that task. It is going to take a miracle to move some of these guys, or you are going to have to win the lotto with low salary players overperforming. An unfortunate problem of being a Yankee fan is you can never expect to rebuild, and we are going to be left with the teams of the next few years because of it. Old, expensive, and decent.
no one wants to rebuild or bridge, whichever, but if you look at this team, age, talent wise, you reach the inevitable conclusion a wholesale change is needed. It’s only matter of when. I never thought Cashman was horrible, but i don’t think he has a keen eye for talents nor will he be apt or adroit enough to creatively amass talents. but that’s just my opinion. The tough decisions are coming.. no one on this team should be sacred if Yanks was to rebuild. if it’s the ‘right’ deal, Yanks ought to consider move anyone. but time enough to discuss the future.
like to conclude this night by saying… STFU Swisher, wait… no last word from our bro man. peace out!
What if the Yanks traded for an MLB-ready top prospect thirdbaseman who could start for them next season and benched A-Rod until he agrees to a trade?
Figure the rookie earns around $400K in 2012, $500K in 2013, and $600K for a measly $1.5M across three years. Leave him alone in 2013. If he sucks, give him 2014. If he sucks then, have a veteran you get for 2014 to share or take the position from him at whatever point he needs to step in. Maybe it’s time Jeter starts learning some 3B so he can be that veteran.
The Yanks should offer A-Rod and half his remaining salary ($57M) and first two homerun milestone bonuses ($12M for $69M total) to Seattle for prospects and consider it a buyout where you get something.
Seattle pays at least $57M and as much as $18M for up to $75M total.
They pay A-Rod’s salary like this:
$14M in 2013 ($3M < Ichiro's 2012 salary)
$12.5M in 2014 (Big deal with Felix Hernandez traded midseason or off the books after '14)
$11.5M in 2015 ('Gotta pay something for their lone gate draw.)
$10M in 2016 (Ditto.)
$10M in 2017 (A-Rod's homerun chase pays for this and the homerun milestone bonuses.)
I don't see Felix Hernandez staying with or Ichiro returning to them, so who's their gate draw after 2014, Hernandez's walk year? Montero? Since when? He has to get through 2013 first and do better than he did this season.
you could see glass half full:
team was still good this year despite tons of injuries and underperforming,
Gardner is back,
You hope A-Rod and Teix play more games and hit better,
Martin (if back) can’t hit worse,
CC doesn’t go on 2 DL stints,
you might get back a useful Pineda,
Joba fully healthy,
Mo is back and close to the same
you could see glass half empty:
our old team is one year older,
No way Jeter does this again next year
A-Rod has shown no recent track record of staying healthy,
Teix has steadily declined every year,
replacing 43 granderson homeruns if he isn’t here,
if he is here, watching this current curtis granderson
no financial flexibilty to improve roster barring unlikely trades
no impact options in Free Agency that fit
replacing Swisher’s production in RF with the payroll constraint
Soriano opts out and Mo is no longer a great reliever
Hoping 40 something Pettitte and almost 40 something Kuroda duplicate unlikely success
This offense is shameful, disgraceful, repugnant.
After this season is over later tonight, if I ever see Nick Swisher’s smiling face again, it will be too soon. I despise that guy with every ounce of my being, even moreso than I despise Curt Schilling.
Granderson is another piece of crap. But at least he doesnt smile and laugh like a hyena as the HP umpire is cheating him and as he is hitting into more outs.
Why make it personal? They aren’t failing intentionally to piss you off. Discuss the baseball aspect of it and their shortcomings as a player. Calling a guy like Granderson a “piece of crap” is the most laughable thing I’ve heard. If you saw either of them on the street, you’d be giggling and asking them for autographs.
Man some of you guys are way too much you act like the orioles offense is playing much better i mean comeon they are hitting pretty bad too. Im confident i think CC will put on a performance tomorrow and Hammel is beatable this is a guy who has had what 2 stars in the 3 months? Yankees win this one 5-1 or something. If the O’s opposing pitcher was of good caliber maybe i see a problem, but i think CC is going to do good and the yanks will do just enough.
i don’t think anyone is acting like the o’s offense is doing better. That’s the point. They can’t beat a team that scores two runs in 13 innings. If the o’s offense was a tiny bit better, the Yankees would have been swept. take out miracle runs in a couple innings and this team went home in 3
‘home run hitter’ swings get exposed in the playoffs and you’re seeing that now.they are going up to plate quess hitting…lot of these hitters are missing the ball by a foot or more
It’s just finally refreshing to hear people begin to place the blame on the team, rather than one individual player! All of the chatter about A-Rod and his struggles have made it seem like he’s the only hitter on the team, getting 27 at bats per game.
I guess the most frustrating thing to watch is that it appears most of the guys are letting their egos get in the way of what’s best for the team. What I mean is that instead of doing little things (hit the ball the other way, take the walk, get the bunt down) every guys is trying to be the hero and jack the ball out of the park.
Great pitching does beat great hitting, but teams that win do the little things and find the way to beat those “great” pitchers. We’ve outscored them 13-9 so our pitching has been “greater” yet we are still playing in an elimination game. Bottom line – take what the pitcher is giving rather than staying with the same “I’m going to hit my way come hell or high water” approach that has plagued us all year!
Alright I know my two cents is worth a little more than a penny but just needed to vent. Let’s go Yankees!
the whole OF needs to be blown up, Arod needs to be a fulltime DH…a new 3rd baseman is needed…need to look to the future for a SS, really how much longer will Jeter play at this level..would put Tex,Cano,Gardner,Hughes,Joba name out on trade market just to see what they would bring back…you can get by in the reg season hitting all those HR’s to win games but in the playoffs it dosen’t work
As I’ve said all season long…..the pitching is good enough…..and they go as far as their offense will allow….
Everyone has blown it off for 2 years now but most of the time when the Yankees lose it because they don’t hit like a Yankee offense should….it’s a problem and one I hope the FO finally realizes they have to address
Big boy start from Hughes who went out and showed everyone he could pitch on this stage….
Phelps did hang a slider but I put zero blame on him…..when the offense goes 12 innings and scores one run against Joe Saunders and a bunch of middle relievers then the loss is 100% on the offense.
Hope CC has it and they can get a few walks and a homer or too tonigh and they can advance
Phelps did hang a slider but I put zero blame on him…..when the offense goes 12 innings and scores one run against Joe Saunders and a bunch of middle relievers then the loss is 100% on the offense.
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Couldn’t agree more .!! Its SAD when a lineup with 5 potential hall of famers can’t muster more than one run against Joe Saunders.. not Verlander .. not Cain ….. not King Felix ….. Joe F—king Saunders !!!
I honestly can recall being this disgusted by a Yankee loss
Can’t recall
Tex and Jeter have shown up in this series….and Ibanez….the rest are either sleep walking or so nervous and amped up that by cant even function at the plate
Today could be Derek Jeters last playoff game.
Cano, Swisher, Granderson, and Martin were 0-20 last night
Cano, Swisher, Granderson, and Martin were 0-20 last night
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my god !!
When 195 strikeouts becomes acceptable anything is possible
Against Hammel tonight I think you have to throw emotion out the window and seriously put the lineup out there that can give you the best chance to win this game.
Jeter SS (if he can play SS)
Ichiro LF
Cano 2B
Teixera 1B
Ibanez DH
Swisher RF
Chavez 3B
Martin C
Granderson CF (I guess)
You can live with Granderson striking out some at the bottom of the lineup if he’s still hitting homers…..he’s not doing anything productive right now and is piling up K’s like crazy. His AB’s are less competitive than Arod’s are to be honest……Arod at least looks like he swings at good pitches…..he just can’t hit them….Granderson is missing pitches by a foot literally.
just a terrible loss last night, it’s really hard for me to believe that Arod has so much trouble putting the bat on an 85 mph fastball.
At the same time, the game threads have hit all time lows, when you have one idiot calling for the death of Yankees players in between calling them names it no longer makes participating worthwhile. There is no excuse for that.
I’ll be watching the game tonight in the old fashioned way-alone.
When the season ends, I’m done with this blog, most of it has been fun, it’s a shame there isn’t a blog where good, knowledgeable fans can discuss the Yankees without the others.
Good morning.
I left the blog last night after the massive failure of the offense to score a run against Ayala, who over this season allowed 22 of 50 inherited runners to score.Comes into the game bottom 7th with Martin and Nix on base and strikes out Derek Jeter, batting .421 for the series, ending the inning.
Too much of them negative waves on the blog last night, and I didn’t want to participate, but now I do.
“When the season ends, I’m done with this blog, most of it has been fun, it’s a shame there isn’t a blog where good, knowledgeable fans can discuss the Yankees without the others.”
the game threads are always nuts because people of venting with a lot of emotion…..it’s best to just avoid those threads…..but it’s the internet and you’re not going to find a site without some crazies….just the way it is. I hope you reconsider……
blake, I agree with your lineup except I would sit Granderson, I’ve never seen a player so lost at the plate. I don’t know what the problem is but you can’t swing at pitches 2-3 feet outside the zone and play in the major leagues.
they might as well play Gardner, he can’t do worse at this point in time.
My morale has reached rock bottom… stand or fall!
Jeter got hosed in that Ayala AB…..Derek was great last night…..fighting…fouling off pitches….battling….scored the only run….you see in him the last remnants of those dynasty teams that knew what a fight between a pitcher and a hitter was……..it’s so stark the difference in approach between him and some of the other hitters in the lineup.
blake, I hear you but since I don’t really enjoy reading about all the trade banter and proposals-if you take away the game threads what is left for me?
I miss Brosius, Tino, Bernie, Straw, Leyritz, Spencer….guys back in those years didn’t let the moment become too big for them. They didn’t press. It seems like every year since the 2004 collapse, the bats don’t show up once the postseason hits. 2009 for some reason was an abberation but should be more of the norm.
There’s no reason for a team as talented as the Yankees hit under .200 and have atrocious RISP numbers for every single game in any playoff series.
Maybe the dynasty year teams performed better because they were younger, hungrier, not full of multi-million dollar contracts and played freely. They did the little things to keep the rallies going and didn’t really on hero ball when simply putting the ball in play would get across a run.
MG,
If Gardner is even close to normal swinging the bat then I probably would as well…. I think part of it is that Joe knows that it’s going to be tough to advance beyond this round even if they win this series unless guys like Granderson start hitting…..but the problem is that you have to get to the next series before that matters…..
I just don’t know Gardner’s status health wise……but yea he couldn’t be much worse than Grandy right now…..Joe is just hoping he snaps out of it and hits a big homer I’m sure.
blake October 12th, 2012 at 7:48 am
Jeter got hosed in that Ayala AB…..Derek was great last night…..fighting…fouling off pitches….battling….scored the only run….you see in him the last remnants of those dynasty teams that knew what a fight between a pitcher and a hitter was……..it’s so stark the difference in approach between him and some of the other hitters in the lineup.
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100% agree.
For my money, the Yankees need a new hitting coach with a different approach, Long’s doesn’t work for anything other than playing home run derby.
“blake, I hear you but since I don’t really enjoy reading about all the trade banter and proposals-if you take away the game threads what is left for me?”
well its just what there is…….I just enjoy talking baseball and yea that does get hard to filter out sometimes….but there is good stuff here at times if you can sift through the nonsense.
“For my money, the Yankees need a new hitting coach with a different approach, Long’s doesn’t work for anything other than playing home run derby.”
I think CB was right last night that Long isn’t the primary problem…..it’s the lack of bat speed up and down the lineup…..but I do agree with you that Long should at least be supplemented…..he is great at some things….but I often think maybe he boggs hitters down a little too much in mechanical stuff…..Granderson and Alex both look like robots right now…..
It would be so nice to storm out the gate with 5 early runs ! …..
Joel Sherman ?@Joelsherman1
Column 1 http://bit.ly/OY3kcM Girardi needs to take A-Rod and Granderson out of lineup today for Game 5 #Yankees #Orioles
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For starters, if the Yankees do manage to reverse course and win tonight, after looking at the Tiger batting regular season stats vs Sabathia, Kuroda, Hughes, and Pettitte[hasn't faced them since 2008], the starting pitchers are in for a heap of hurt from Cabrera. You can look at all stats thru ESPN and this bleacher report article “How the Detroit lineup Matches Up With the Yankees Pitching Staff”
http://bleacherreport.com/arti.....tching-sta
The Yankees have two players contributing in the ALDS-Jeter and Ibanez.
If the Yankees do win tonight, I can’t see the Yankee offense turning it all around in less than 24 hours. Cabrera is not their only weapon who has hit our starters well.
I hope the Yankees win tonight.
I’m afraid if they do, they will be embarrased in the ALCS.
Joel Sherman ?@Joelsherman1
Column 2 http://bit.ly/UPIRt8 Slippery slope has begun for A-Rod with #Yankees, PH for now to day in future when he will be released
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8:56 AM – 12 Oct 12 · Details
blake October 12th, 2012 at 7:52 am
“blake, I hear you but since I don’t really enjoy reading about all the trade banter and proposals-if you take away the game threads what is left for me?”
well its just what there is…….I just enjoy talking baseball and yea that does get hard to filter out sometimes….but there is good stuff here at times if you can sift through the nonsense.
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I’ll see-once the season is over I shut off baseball until spring training starts anyway-I don’t watch any games other than the Yankees so if they lose tonight that will be it for me, it becomes Giants and Knicks until March.
As for the future of the Yankees, they need to make changes. There is nothing they can do about Arod other than make him a part time player for the next 5 years but they can get better elsewhere, they just don’t have anyone ready in the minors so have to get creative.
What that means, though, isn’t my problem, it’s Cashman’s and the rest of the front office.
The pitching staff really is doing an excellent job. This lineup is letting them down.
I don’t really like to point to a single guy, because no one was really great last night, but Cano just has to step it up. He’s totally disappeared in this series. He’s our best hitter and he should be giving us a lift.
For the third straight season, the offense has fallen apart in September and the post season. Curtis has been below .200 since the All-Star game. Start Gardy in center. Arod has to sit too. Swisher has to be told to absolutely, positively stop trying to hit every pitch three miles and to just make solid contact. And, if Robinson only swung at pitches in the strike zone, he would lead the league in hitting every year.
ARod-”O’Day seemed to have everybody’s number tonight. I certainly didn’t see him very well today.”
You haven’t seen any of their pitchers well Alex. Frequently you are 0-2 and missing pitches floating over the heart of the plate. 85 mph pitches.
Yea Cano has to carry this lineup tonight…..he’s the guy that can do it…..he had a great swing against Johnson last night in his last AB just lined it right to the LFer…..they can’t win if he doesn’t hit
blake October 12th, 2012 at 7:55 am
“For my money, the Yankees need a new hitting coach with a different approach, Long’s doesn’t work for anything other than playing home run derby.”
I think CB was right last night that Long isn’t the primary problem…..it’s the lack of bat speed up and down the lineup…..but I do agree with you that Long should at least be supplemented…..he is great at some things….but I often think maybe he boggs hitters down a little too much in mechanical stuff…..Granderson and Alex both look like robots right now…..
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that’s an interesting take about the mechanical stuff.
I have a friend who analyzes every golf swing on the golf course both for himself and everyone else in his group. Every time I play with him he starts telling me what I didn’t do on a shot that isn’t perfect-every time he starts, I tell him to leave me alone because I don’t want to hear it and I have my own swing thoughts anyway (keep the lower body still on the takeway and finish the backswing-and I only think about one of them on a swing, you can’t handle more than one swing thought at a time).
For Arod and Granderson to miss pitches so badly and so consistently there have to be too many things running through their heads.
We both know baseball is a simple game-see the ball, hit the ball.
That’s what makes Jeter so great-you could see him saying the same thing to himself over and over last night- stay back. That is his only swing thought and, just like mine in golf, it mostly works.
“That’s what makes Jeter so great-you could see him saying the same thing to himself over and over last night- stay back. That is his only swing thought and, just like mine in golf, it mostly works.”
Jeter just gets up there and hits…..
Grandy .063
Cano .111
ARod .125
Swisher .133
Ichiro .200
Martin .214
How can you get a key hit, a single with runners in scoring position when the heart of your order is not hitting, except for Tex-.333
MG, you have a keen mind, hate to lose ya. I don’t normally participate in the game thread. I get emotional and cuss at everything that Yankees don’t do perfectly, so I keep it to myself
baseball and sport in general are entertainment and a conduit of catharsis for me. I am sure most people act a whole lot differently in watching sport than in normal life. Anywho, hope you stick around.
blake October 12th, 2012 at 7:40 am
Against Hammel tonight I think you have to throw emotion out the window and seriously put the lineup out there that can give you the best chance to win this game.
Jeter SS (if he can play SS)
Ichiro LF
Cano 2B
Teixera 1B
Ibanez DH
Swisher RF
Chavez 3B
Martin C
Granderson CF (I guess)
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I like it, except I use Gardner.
Jeter SS
Ichiro LF
Cano 2B
Teixera 1B
Ibanez DH
Swisher RF
Chavez 3B
Martin C
Gardner CF
meh
yankees = meh
Nothing but a sorry bunch of pretenders (except for the Captain) and they are a disgrace to even watch. Too many selfish players on this team. Good riddance to Swisher. Its comical watching Grander-K. This team can’t get out of its own way. And its the SAME culprits year after year. I spend a ton of money on tickets every year, only to get screwed with the same pathetic effort.
MG and Blake-
Years ago while talking to Bob Horner, I said I wouldn’t mind getting in the batting cage to face pitcher Phil Niekro, hoping that I’d stand a chance at getting the bat on the ball, than if I faced a 95 mph fastball.
He told me I’d have a better chance against a fastball pitcher.
I guess that’s were see the ball, hit the ball, doesn’t work!
Swisher is the one that I can’t figure out because he’s not only getting good swings but he’s consistently putting the ball in play to the outfield but just missing.
Twice last night he hit balls that looked like they were going out when they left the bat (same arc and contact point) but wound up being weak fly balls.
Maybe he’s too tight and just can’t explode into the ball in these situations, who knows, but he’s probably playing his last season for the Yankees after this repeat of other postseasons unless he turns it around starting tonight-he and Cano are really the ones who have a chance to turn it around in the short term, I don’t think Arod plays tonight and Granderson is a lost cause at the plate.
Blake and Jack-
Hammel has reverse splits:
lefties-.206
righties- .266
Maybe we should see more Nunez and Nix and have the switch hitters bat from the right side.
*where*
Jeter
Ichiro
Cano
Ibanez
Tex
Swisher
Chavez
Martin
Gardner
I just don’t know enough about Gardner’s healthy situation to suggest whether or not he should play……I also despite Granderson’s struggles think he could get lucky and pop one out and change the game…..
Not a bad lineup, but you don’t want three straight LH hitters in top four.
I’d also like to see major changes and Nix and/or Nunez should be in there. Problem is too many changes might make the players feel like it’s a panic move.
Still I don’t know how you can make a lineup that has Granderson in it. Of course, A-Rod and Swisher have been almost as bad…. but so has Cano truth be told.
they way he’s swinging the bat Granderson would go 1-for-5 hitting off a tee.
Yankee Trader October 12th, 2012 at 8:22 am
Blake and Jack-
Hammel has reverse splits:
lefties-.206
righties- .266
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I know that, but where do you make a change, other than Arod instead of Chavez? There is no righthander for the OF (Granderson), and I don’t think you want to DH Nunez instead of Ibanez. The rest is pretty much set.
Swisher, had he been in the 5 slot, rather than Alex, might have put the Yankees ahead in the bottom of the 8th, with one out and Ichiro on 3rd. After ARod whiffed at O’Day pitches for the 2nd out that key inning, Swisher flew out to Chris Davis in RF and I think Ichiro would have scored on a sac fly.
That was the inning that lost the game for the Yankees. Open up with back to back singles, a fast runner on 2nd in Ichiro and Cano and ARod don’t come thru.
The Yankees can’t hit in the playoffs…..SURPRISE ! Take away that one huge inning and they almost can’t hit AT ALL. CC will come up big, but the more important thing is that the bats put up a 5+ spot for the game, just to give them some confidence going into the next round. ( I know, IF there is one ) Last night, ALL of our batters looked lost. At 5pm, it needs to turn around…BIG TIME !
Jack-
There are no changes that can help the offense other than sitting ARod. No one regular, save Jeter, Tex, Ibanez, are contributing.
They had their chance vs Saunders. Now they face Hammels, backed up by Tillman, who statistically has been the Orioles best pitcher.
I thought it last night and heard it discussed this morning, why is Girardi singling out just Alex to pinch hit for?
Unless there is something he knows about Alex that we don’t, he’s acting like the fans are by scapegoating one guy.
Morning guys.
MG. Hope you stick around. Us old guys need to stick together.
Not gonna add to the chorus on the Yankee’s O.
Tonight is the last train to Gun Hill.
Last chance for the Yankees.
I like CC over Hamels but it’s the O that is the obvious concern.
Will they finally show up ?
Hard to tell.
I know people will gloss over this comment, and its OK.
I figured out the problem (after agonizing over this team all year).
The problem is the following:
Gene Michael spoiled us. Bottom Line.
He developed a great farm system that produced 5 of the greatest Yankees of all-time.
He traded some valuable assets for young, major league ready talent (Paul O’Neill and Tino)
He surrounded his farm talent with crafty, reasonably inexpensive veterans who knew how to play baseball.
His vision won us (the fans) 4 WS rings.
After the dynasty ran its course and Gene Michael was long removed from the GM chair.
We were stuck with Brian Cashman and his master, big bad George.
While we all love George because he demanded success, his lap dog (Cashman) didn’t know how to build up the minor leagues. He didn’t know how to develop pitching.
So instead, the lapdog kept going to George yapping away about a possible trade or signing a really expensive superstar. George had to agree, in order to keep filling the seats.
We have been running this business model for 12 years now.
Yes, we won in 2009, but we all know that we had a different team there. We had Damon, Gardner, Jeter, Melky (who is clutch), a younger (healthier ARod), the original Mark Teixeira, and Kevin Long was NOT our hitting coach.
We traded away a budding superstar (Austin Jackson) for a faster version of Adam Dunn (Granderson).
We traded away a position-less, but still powerful bat (Jesus) for two guys that needed Tommy John surgery and we won’t see on a Yankee mound for a few years.
For 12 years, we have not back-filled our 5 core guys. We continue to buy and trade for overpaid babies. Overpaid, under performing, useless home run derby all stars.
I love prospect watching and for 12 years, it always seems that our best prospects are in A ball. Because if they are ever good enough, we trade them away for Austin Kearns, or Lance Berkman, or Michael Pineda, or Curtis Granderson.
We had a 20-year lefty sitting in AA, but we don’t notice him and he goes to the White Sox and is immediately a stagle in their rotation. (Just one instance but a good example)
We completely confuse and ruin Joba and Hughes.
Our killer B’s are now out of baseball, have no idea what the strike zone looks like, or are two years away from a AAA mound.
The business model is broken!!!
We are spoiled and all year we watched this team fail with RISP. Fail to deliver simple 2 out singles, continue Kevin Long’s teachings of the five-run homer. But we keep hoping and wishing for the team to do what they can’t do. You can’t swing for the fences and still get clutch hits. The physics and mechanics of the swings are totally different. High Risk, High Reward. But definitely, no consolation prize.
Then the playoffs start, and we have scored SIX runs in 40 innings, if you exclude the ninth inning in game 1 (because this team can stack on runs when there is no pressure) and two lightning flashes from Raul Ibanez.
They have relied on the home-run, not just this year, but for almost 10 years.
We miss the dynasty because they played real baseball.
Walk or single, move the guy over, another single. Man scores, start the cycle again.
Steal second, single or wild pitch. Sac Fly, man scores.
Its not that easy, but its also not that hard.
And the most depressing thing of all, we are begging to squeeze out as many titles as we can before the final two pieces finally sail away into the sunset.
Because we know, in our heart of hearts that this team is not set up for the future. And we will finally step back into rebuilding mode.
Unfortunately, Cashman has done nothing to make that future a bright one. He’s has had 14 years to build the farm system to continue the machine, but he hasn’t. Its not easy to build and develop prospects and if we had a few draft classes that didn’t make it? That’s OK, but 14 years?! That’s pathetic.
Finally, even if we win tonight and even if we win it all this year. We are spoiled because we are all still missing watching our team play REAL baseball. Chicks dig the long ball, but the long ball is not your goal in baseball. It is your reward for making good contact on a double, that carried over the wall.
Yes, we are spoiled. Because we watched a good team play baseball and we all miss watching our team play baseball.
MTU-
Good morning.
The offense might miraculously show up. How many times have we seen the offense to have a big outing only to whimp out the very next day?
Lost in the 13-inning loss is another job of managing as if the game will definitely end in nine innings. Girardi wasted both Logan and Robertson thus had to go two innings with Soriano.
Thus after 10 innings the Yanks three best relievers are done and Baltimore has its best guys.
I think Ichiro looks worn out out too. IF Gardner can play:
Jeter SS
Nix LF
Raul RF
Cano 2B
Tex 1B
Martin C
Chav 3B
Nunz DH
Gardie CF
Why not?
this article uses Arod’s pic to reflect the ugly Yankee offense.
shocker. lol
YT-
That’s sort a rhetorical question isn’t it ?
But yeah. Too many.
Backs are against the wall.
Do the Yankees answer the call ?
They have done so before. Hope they can again.
No idea. Just the ever present hope and optimism.
I would be inclined to say it was good playoff pitching, but can every pitcher the O’s bring in be unhittable? I can hear it now “Good pitching beats good hitting” and it is all a crap shoot.
Girardi can only rearrange what he has, but when only Jeter is hitting, it makes no difference where they bat.
It is not all Alex, for sure, but I have a hard time imagining five more years of his decline.
edit: sort of
Why not?
—————————-
86w183-
Why Not?
Well I agree-Why Not!!
Nix hit the ball well.
Looked like a stud out there.
Our hitters this year vs Hammel:
PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GDP missG
Robinson Cano 12 12 4 1 0 0 0 0 3 .333 .333 .417 .750 0 0 0 0 0
Derek Jeter 12 12 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .333 .333 .333 .667 0 0 0 0 1
Alex Rodriguez 12 9 2 0 0 0 0 3 2 .222 .417 .222 .639 0 0 0 0 0
Curtis Granderson 10 8 2 0 0 1 2 2 3 .250 .400 .625 1.025 0 0 1 0 0
Raul Ibanez 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 1
Ichiro Suzuki 9 8 3 1 0 0 1 1 4 .375 .444 .500 .944 0 0 0 0 0
Nick Swisher 9 5 2 1 0 0 2 4 2 .400 .667 .600 1.267 0 0 0 0 0
Russell Martin 8 7 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .143 .250 .143 .393 0 0 0 0 0
Mark Teixeira 8 7 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .429 .500 .429 .929 0 0 0 0 0
Eric Chavez 6 6 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 .167 .167 .667 .833 0 0 0 0 0
Eduardo Nunez 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Total 97 85 22 3 0 2 8 12 21 .259 .351 .365 .715 0 0 1 0 2
“I thought it last night and heard it discussed this morning, why is Girardi singling out just Alex to pinch hit for?”
for a couple of reasons 1)he’s not performing vs RHP 2) he has lefty bats on the bench.
Joe wouldn’t hit for Alex against a lefty….but the reason he’s hitting for him is that he has better options on the bench vs RHP……he doesn’t have any options on the bench really to hit for the lefties that are struggling…….he’s not “singling Alex out” …..it’s just that Alex is one of the matchups he has options for on the bench.
I said before the post season started that the lack of RH bench bats would potentially be a problem late in games…..
starting Chavez tonight not only puts a better matchup in there against Hammel….it also gives Joe a right handed pinch hit weapon in Arod in case Buck tries to LOOGY Granderson or Chavez himself later in the game.
When you have time over breakfast look at this link I posted earlier from Bleacher reports:
http://bleacherreport.com/arti.....tching-sta
Even if the Yankees win tonight, after reading this report and also reviewing each of the Yankees 4 starters regular season stats vs the Detroit Batters, this might be a Tiger sweep.
Like the rest of you, I had a long night of reflection and I still have no constructive thoughts about what we saw again last night. For once, even I can’t bother being snarky or sarcastic about it. To me, this has the potential to be the most disappointing playoff series since the 1980 ALCS.
It is absolutely inconceivable that we haven’t been able to piece together more against the O’s no matter who is pitching well. I won’t try to point a finger of blame at anyone, because the person at fault may just be Father Time. Verlander might have had 27 Ks last night, and I hope he gets that chance next week.
Here’s what I’d like to see our lineup look like starting tonite. Likely, even this would give us a better chance to score more than one run in 13 innings:
Andy Stankiewicz
Mel Hall
Roberto Kelly
Donnie
Tartabull
Maas
Nokes
Charlie Hayes
Mike Gallego
Blake-
I know they won’t do it but I’d remove Grandy and and start GGBG.
They can always PH Grandy later on.
He’s lost at the plate and there are no more tomorrows w/o a win.
I’d like Ibanez as our DH.
Not sure we have a closer tonight.
starting Chavez tonight not only puts a better matchup in there against Hammel….it also gives Joe a right handed pinch hit weapon in Arod in case Buck tries to LOOGY Granderson or Chavez himself later in the game.
——————————————————
Blake-
Makes sense except how is ARod a weapon as a pinch hitter? Right now it’s like him bringing a fork, a tuning fork, to a gun fight!
YT-
Even if the Yankees advance Tigers were gonna be tough.
No news there.
You gotta put Hayes between Maas and Nokes to break up the lefties!
“Makes sense except how is ARod a weapon as a pinch hitter? Right now it’s like him bringing a fork, a tuning fork, to a gun fight! ”
he can still hit lefties.
Hassey-
Ah memories!
New Post————->
New thread—->
I told you before the series, the O’s would beat the Yanks, it was pretty obvious the O’s were better than the choking dog Stanks.
Just wait till bums with big contracts like Arod and Tex get a few years older… This Stankee team is destined for years of mediocrity at best.
Did nobody else think Joe should have put Hardy on in the top of the 13th? It would have set up the double play and a chance to get out of the inning on one pitch with a lefty-lefty matchup. It’s driving me crazy that I haven’t seen anybody else mention this yet?