Spring training Game 27: Yankees vs. Twins
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Mar 21, 2013 
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YANKEES (10-15)
Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Robinson Cano 2B
Kevin Youkilis 1B
Travis Hafner DH
Brennan Boesch RF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Jayson Nix 3B
Francisco Cervelli C
RHP David Phelps (2-2, 2.37)
TWINS (11-12)
Aaron Hicks CF
Brian Dozier 2B
Jeff Clement DH
Chris Parmelee 1B
Miguel Sano 3B
Darin Mastroianni RF
Joe Benson LF
Drew Butera C
Pedro Florimon SS
RHP Liam Hendriks (1-1, 6.00)
TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., YES Network
WEATHER: Temperatures in the 60s and dipping into the high 50s. Perfectly clear sky. Wind blowing pretty hard from left to right.
UMPIRES: HP Toby Basner, 1B Mark Carlson, 2B Dan Iassogna, 3B Vic Carapazza
NAME TO WATCH: The Twins brought their top prospect, Miguel Sano, on the trip. Baseball America ranked Sano has the ninth-best prospect in all of baseball, and it graded the 19 year old’s power as a full 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale, and BA graded his arm as a 75. Those grades don’t happen often.
FAMILIAR FACE: The Twins also brought utility man Doug Bernier on the trip. Bernier played as a utility man for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for three seasons. Very good glove; terrific guy.
WHAT TO WATCH: Goes without saying that Nunez’s defense is worth watching more than ever. … Ronnier Mustelier will be back at third base in the late innings. It’s hard to get a good feel for just how seriously the Yankees are considering him, but he seems to be getting a legitimate look as an option at third and the outfield corners. … Dave Robertson will be pitching on back-to-back days for the first time this spring. Boone Logan will also be making another appearance, only his second of the spring.
UPDATE, 7:41 p.m.: Two pickoff errors for the Yankees. The first was on Phelps, but the second was a perfect throw that Cano let get away. It’s still a scoreless game in the top of the third, but Phelps now has a runner at third with one out.
UPDATE, 7:56 p.m.: Big strikeout by Phelps to get out of the third inning with runners stranded at second and third. Of course, the Yankees went down in order in the bottom of the inning, so it’s still a scoreless game.
UPDATE, 8:08 p.m.: Rough inning for Phelps. Still no outs and he’s already allowed three runs and put runners at the corners. The Twins have four hits and a walk, with Drew Butera’s three-run double doing all the damage. It’s 3-0 Twins.
UPDATE, 8:23 p.m.: Well, that inning was a complete mess. It’s now 5-0 Twins heading into the bottom of the fourth.
UPDATE, 8:57 p.m.: Rivera strikes out three in a row in the fifth, now Robertson is in. It’s 5-1 Twins.
Welcome back, Robi! Go Phelpsie! Go Yanks!
Cano up to his old tricks again lol.
Phelps as SP in this rotation, Hughes to BP, or traded.
Hard to ignore Mr. Phelps, isn’t it?
Yes it is, I love the way this kid attacks the hitters.
Phil, you can take your time getting that back in shape, we got it covered.
Night y’all, got to go.
Yankees aren’t putting Hughes in the pen
Travis Hafner looks like a major leaguer. This guy is gonna be better than Ibanez was last year — and I bet we sign him for next year.
Take care AL
Nunez = very light bat
Don’t you just love to watch Phelps pitch? The kid is so tenacious.
Figured I’d give this one more shot as my boy Phelps is striking out everyone. I really need a few more teams for my public, free yahoo fantasy league. I’d like to get enough teams to have 2 divisions and be able to use more secondary players than just the typical 1-5 hitters and top pitchers, etc. Thanks.
http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/89708
Password: 1234
Typical Yankees snooooze fest at the plate.
This is embarrassing. One week till opening day and the twins aaaa team looks better than almost the Yankees healthy lineup.
Did I just jinx my boy? He had 6 Ks, 5 of ‘em looking, and then got lit up like a pinball machine. Ugh!!
Rich in NJ March 21st, 2013 at 1:53 pm
jsquat loves him some Cashman. NTTAWWT
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I simply asked a question. Do you disagree that if Cashman didn’t have any faith in Nunez that he would be going to the minors and Nix would play SS? I notice you didn’t address that point but instead went with NTTwhateverthatmeans.
Mo strikes out the side… Nice to see!!!
@jnorris427: Trentonian Q&A: Gil Patterson: http://t.co/kMWOCdAGYw #Yankees @TrentonThunder
Great interview with Patterson….some good stuff about J ram, Betances, Campos and Depaula…..also a neat little story about George and how loyal he was….
The concern should be that Mustelier is going in this game with all the rest of the second stringers that probably won’t be making the team.
Yeah, I was hoping Musty was gonna get in at third after Nix’s at bat.
“I simply asked a question. Do you disagree that if Cashman didn’t have any faith in Nunez that he would be going to the minors and Nix would play SS? I notice you didn’t address that point but instead went with NTTwhateverthatmeans.”
You said: “What prior statement?”
In response to my post that: “If Nunez gets 500 AB and performs well, Feinsand and some others will advance the idea that Cashman’s prior statement was a successful attempt at lighting a fire under Nunez, with accompanying after the fact quotes from Cashman to that effect.”
Shame posted that statement: “There’s a lot of opinions on him and what he could or couldn’t do,” Cashman said. “It’s interesting to me. I’ve had a lot of people say, you’ve gotta get 500 at bats for this guy, find a position for him as if he’s some sort of offensive juggernaut.”
Read more: Cashman: Nunez wouldn’t work in outfield or at third base for Yankees http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/…..z2OCKLxgt1
What was Cashman’s point anyway? Does he really have to gratuitously diss Nunez?
No one said anything about a juggernaut.
It’s just another example of Cashman making stuff up for no apparent reason.
This is not the type of thing that Cashman did a few years back.
Something changed, and it’s kind of ugly.
Out with the jet-stream at YS.
I wasn’t defending Cashman, I honestly did not know what he said about Nunez.
I agree that his bat does not profile nearly as well in a corner position (yes, we have Gardner, but he should be in CF), although I also agree that he could have said that in a better way.
What was Cashman’s point anyway? Does he really have to gratuitously diss Nunez?
No one said anything about a juggernaut.
———————————————————————————————————————
If Nunez was a big, hairy left-handed hitter, Cashman would love him.
I actually kinda agree with Cashman’s take on Nunez…..the big problem is him saying that out loud to the media …..it just makes no sense to do that and does no good whatsoever …..
Basically it comes off like he’s telling fans that think he’s good they are wrong…..what good comes of that?
http://www.grantland.com/story.....ling-bases
–
Good article on base stealing.
Re: Nunez, the stupid thing about Cashman’s statements is that the only person, publicly, who wanted Nunez to get 500 PA is Yogi Berra. So he is crapping on a yankee legend. Come on, man.
What was Cashman’s point anyway? Does he really have to gratuitously diss Nunez?
=============
He wasn’t dissing Nunez. His criticism was squarely directed at the folks who have outlandish expectations of Nunez. There is nothing wrong with what Cashman said.
The Yankees are easily last in team batting average and next to last in home runs this spring. I understand it is spring training, but I think most overestimate how the offense will do. The 4 and 5 hitters hit .230 last year. It gets worse from there.
Justin Upton hit a HR over the ESPN zone scoreboard today …
blake March 21st, 2013 at 9:20 pm
I actually kinda agree with Cashman’s take on Nunez…..the big problem is him saying that out loud to the media …..it just makes no sense to do that and does no good whatsoever …..
Basically it comes off like he’s telling fans that think he’s good they are wrong…..what good comes of that?
—————-
It takes some pressure off Nunez. Moreover it clarifies Nunez’s role with the Yanks: If he is going to make the team, it will be as a shortstop. It should help him focus. There is nothing wrong with taking this tack, unless Nunez is the overly sensitive type.
The offense was ok with Teixeira and Granderson (and Jeter) in it, but now it is looking pretty weak.
Yeah, there is no reason to think Nunez will be a great stick, although he has been decent v. LHP for a SS, but then (as I mentioned earlier), why did he keep him out of the Cliff Lee deal?
(Joel Sherman vlia RAB in 2010)
However, the only way Seattle would have considered accepting a Yankee package once Smoak was included by Texas was if touted Triple-A shortstop Eduardo Nunez was included with Montero. That was the Mariners’ initial request earlier in the month and the Yankees had refused, and they refused again. They simply could not justify, in their mind, giving up their two best position prospects at Triple-A for this trade because they wanted Lee, but they did not absolutely need Lee.
http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....ers-31784/
Jerkface says:
March 21, 2013 at 9:24 pm
Justin Upton hit a HR over the ESPN zone scoreboard today …
Sigh….gonna win an MVP in hotlanta
“He wasn’t dissing Nunez. His criticism was squarely directed at the folks who have outlandish expectations of Nunez. There is nothing wrong with what Cashman said.”
No one thinks he is an offensive juggernaut. Those “folks” are a figment of his imagination.
He is basically calling Yogi Berra stupid, so there is definitely something wrong with Cashman’s statement. He has no reason to make it. Or to phrase it in THAT way (“People hate HRs, well now they get what they want” “People like nunez? Well they can suck it.”)
“It takes some pressure off Nunez. Moreover it clarifies Nunez’s role with the Yanks: If he is going to make the team, it will be as a shortstop”
Basically he said that Nunez isn’t as good as some fans thing he is….paraphrasing …..that does nothing positive for anybody
jacksquat March 21st, 2013 at 9:25 pm
The offense was ok with Teixeira and Granderson (and Jeter) in it, but now it is looking pretty weak.
——————–
I think that they should be okay, as long as they don’t make a habit of falling behind by a lot of runs. They won’t have the offense to make big comebacks, but they should be able to score close to 4.5- 5 runs per night.
Rich in NJ March 21st, 2013 at 9:27 pm
“He wasn’t dissing Nunez. His criticism was squarely directed at the folks who have outlandish expectations of Nunez. There is nothing wrong with what Cashman said.”
No one thinks he is an offensive juggernaut. Those “folks” are a figment of his imagination.
=============
And you know this how?
“And you know this how?”
So your point is that if someone somewhere thinks it, whether or not Cashman knows it, it’s ok for Cashman to say it. O…K…
Why do the Yankees put Mustelier in the game at a spot that basically guarantees he is not going to get an AB?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
blake March 21st, 2013 at 9:28 pm
“It takes some pressure off Nunez. Moreover it clarifies Nunez’s role with the Yanks: If he is going to make the team, it will be as a shortstop”
Basically he said that Nunez isn’t as good as some fans thing he is….paraphrasing …..that does nothing positive for anybody
———
I disagree. It tells Nunez that he has to focus on being a more complete player if he wants to make the big club. There’s nothing wrong with being tough and truthful with the guy.
Tell him privately then. Don’t make some insulting public statement.
Ghostwriter March 21st, 2013 at 9:30 pm
jacksquat March 21st, 2013 at 9:25 pm
The offense was ok with Teixeira and Granderson (and Jeter) in it, but now it is looking pretty weak.
——————–
I think that they should be okay, as long as they don’t make a habit of falling behind by a lot of runs. They won’t have the offense to make big comebacks, but they should be able to score close to 4.5- 5 runs per night.
—
They need some guys to excel compared to recent performance.
The Yanks averaged 4.95 runs a game last year…..they have lost Arod, Granderson, Tex, Swisher, and Martin from the lineup since then…..gonna be hard to average 4.5-5 runs a game in the early going I think…..gonna really need to pitch well that first 6 weeks or so
He has no reason to make it. Or to phrase it in THAT way (“People hate HRs, well now they get what they want” “People like nunez? Well they can suck it.”)
————————————
LOL Cash has become a heel over the past few yrs.
I disagree. It tells Nunez that he has to focus on being a more complete player if he wants to make the big club. There’s nothing wrong with being tough and truthful with the guy.”
Telling him privately no…..telling the media yes
Jerkface March 21st, 2013 at 9:34 pm
Why do the Yankees put Mustelier in the game at a spot that basically guarantees he is not going to get an AB
—
I think they have said they know he can hit.
Unfortunately he is going in with the second stringers, at this point I think that may be telling. We’ll see where/when he plays tomorrow, although it’s a road game so a start may not mean anything.
Rich in NJ March 21st, 2013 at 9:34 pm
“And you know this how?”
So your point is that if someone somewhere thinks it, whether or not Cashman knows it, it’s ok for Cashman to say it. O…K…
————-
strawman. My point is that you can’t divine his intentions, and you don’t what he knows, so maybe you should drop the ad hominems. I mean really– it isn’t enough to criticize his performance as a GM, now you criticize him as a human being?
“strawman. My point is that you can’t divine his intentions, and you don’t what he knows, so maybe you should drop the ad hominems. I mean really– it isn’t enough to criticize his performance as a GM, now you criticize him as a human being?”
Really? You asked me how I know that someone somewhere hasn’t called Nunez an offensive juggernaut, and you’re invoking a strawman? Heh.
I don’t care what his intentions are. His recent habit of gratuitous insults (ad hominem, as you say) is bizarre, and not characteristic of the guy he used to be publicly.
blake March 21st, 2013 at 9:37 pm
I disagree. It tells Nunez that he has to focus on being a more complete player if he wants to make the big club. There’s nothing wrong with being tough and truthful with the guy.”
Telling him privately no…..telling the media yes
————–
It’s a judgment call. It really depends on the player, and where he is at the particular moment. Cashman is in a better position to know than I am.
I think Marakovitz is improving as a sideline reporter.
“It’s a judgment call. It really depends on the player, and where he is at the particular moment. Cashman is in a better position to know than I am.”
It really doesn’t….even if Nunez can handle it or doesn’t care it does nothing positive…..lets say another team calls and asks about him in a trade….how’s Cashman supposed to talk him up after he’s said that stuff publically? That’s no to mention just how it sounds to fans who like Nunez and think he’s better than that……really no reason to say that stuff publically
Rich in NJ March 21st, 2013 at 9:42 pm
“strawman. My point is that you can’t divine his intentions, and you don’t what he knows, so maybe you should drop the ad hominems. I mean really– it isn’t enough to criticize his performance as a GM, now you criticize him as a human being?”
Really? You asked me how I know that someone somewhere hasn’t called Nunez an offensive juggernaut, and you’re invoking a strawman? Heh.
I don’t care what his intentions are. His recent habit of gratuitous insults (ad hominem, as you say) is bizarre, and not characteristic of the guy he used to be publicly.
===================
Oy. You put words in my mouth, so called you on it. And you’re the one accusing Cashman of making stuff up. How do we know Cashman is making stuff uP? Well, because Rich told us so. Sure. Whatever.
How do we know Cashman is making stuff uP?
–
If Cash is coming from the direction that ‘people think he is an offensive juggernaut’, its probably up to him to cite sources. And we do know 1 source for his 500 AB and its Yogi Berra. Cash is once again being a douche.
“Oy. You put words in my mouth, so called you on it. And you’re the one accusing Cashman of making stuff up. How do we know Cashman is making stuff uP? Well, because Rich told us so. Sure. Whatever.”
Who said they hate HR? That’s right no one. Oh wait. Maybe some stumbling drunk somewhere who loves Juan Pierre types. So that proves Cashman didn’t make stuff up, just like there must be someone somewhere who thinks that a guy with this mL slash line:
.271 .314 .365 .679
is an offensive juggernaut.
Yeah, you called me on it. WTG, guy.
blake March 21st, 2013 at 9:47 pm
“It’s a judgment call. It really depends on the player, and where he is at the particular moment. Cashman is in a better position to know than I am.”
It really doesn’t….even if Nunez can handle it or doesn’t care it does nothing positive…..lets say another team calls and asks about him in a trade….how’s Cashman supposed to talk him up after he’s said that stuff publically? That’s no to mention just how it sounds to fans who like Nunez and think he’s better than that……really no reason to say that stuff publically
=======
We have a difference of opinion. If it helps Nunez focus, then it will have done something positive. I can’t imagine that asnyuthing that Cashman might say to the press would actually affect a player’s trade value. I suspect that the other GMs are more inclined to listen to their scouts, than just about anything –good or bad– that the opposing GM might say.
How does telling a guy publically that you’re basically not as good a hitter as some think you are helpful?
Negative reinforcement is truly one of the best motivation tools. Oh wait
Rich in NJ March 21st, 2013 at 9:52 pm
“Oy. You put words in my mouth, so called you on it. And you’re the one accusing Cashman of making stuff up. How do we know Cashman is making stuff uP? Well, because Rich told us so. Sure. Whatever.”
Who said they hate HR? That’s right no one. Oh wait. Maybe some stumbling drunk somewhere who loves Juan Pierre types. So that proves Cashman didn’t make stuff up, just like there must be someone somewhere who thinks that a guy with this mL slash line:
.271 .314 .365 .679
is an offensive juggernaut.
Yeah, you called me on it. WTG, guy.
========================
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....-1.1270615
Go ahead, and hang your hat on the fact nobody literally said that Nunez is an “offensive juggernaut”. Touche!
Mustelier is batting! MLB.tv just has the wrong lineup! Hooray! They constantly have the wrong lineup.
Go ahead, and hang your hat on the fact nobody literally said that Nunez is an “offensive juggernaut”. Touche!
–
So you agree that Cashman making fun of Yogi Berra is a good move?
Maybe Cashman is channeling the bad side of George…
What that article says: Yogi berra thinks Nunez can be a good player and should get 500 ABs so he can work through his kinks. A Scout says he has energy and speed and should be left alone to play 1 defensive position so he can get reps.
WOW I really enjoyed the paragraphs calling him an offensive juggernaut. Oh wait they were just saying he needs playing time, which is what young players need to succeed. Glad cashman shut down Yogi though, what does he know.
“Go ahead, and hang your hat on the fact nobody literally said that Nunez is an “offensive juggernaut”. Touche!”
I’m familiar with that article. That’s the best you can do?
I completely forgot Yogi said that..
Like blake said, the more practical reason not to make public statements of that nature is that someone else might consider Nunez in a deal. Generally, if a team has a problem with a guy for whatever reason (work ethic, etc) they’ll have ‘sources’ give that info to the papers. You don’t get a lot of GMs making comments like that. Blowhard owners, maybe.. but not so much GMs.
You know what you say to that: “500 ABs? Well Jeter is coming off a significant injury, and we know Nunez (you can even call him Nuney) has some tools to be a big league player, that is why we kept him out of the cliff lee trade. He could see some playing time this year. He filled in well when Jeter went down 2 years ago.”
There you go, Cashman, free media consulting by me for you.
jacksquat March 21st, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Maybe Cashman is channeling the bad side of George…
—————–
Not outside the realm of possibility, actually… I mean, Cash is either a lame duck or knows he’s got lifetime security, IMO.
And if you really, really, really want to denigrate him, you can just say,”With the Granderson injury, I’m not sure we’ll use him in the outfield, we like his bat more on the middle infield and he could use a consistent spot. Using him around the diamond hasn’t worked out so far. He needs a chance to stick somewhere.”
Cashman recently is acting like a blogger who wants to ‘stick it’ to people he disagrees with, rather than as the face of a public franchise.
1.) Cashman doesn’t deserve the right to criticize Nunez since he would be ripping a player that reportedly was a no go in the Cliff Lee deal and several others.
2.) just because Yogi was a good player doesn’t mean he knows a damn thing about evaluating talent.
3 bb, 1 hit and 3 errors is a bad team line. And it is against a not established pitchers.
2.) just because Yogi was a good player doesn’t mean he knows a damn thing about evaluating talent.
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On the face this is true, but you don’t publicly retort to Yogi Berra in the media. Whats the point? Especially someone who is PRAISING YOUR PLAYERS. Why isn’t Cashman spending time refuting Goose Gossages stupid war on mariano rivera?
“2.) just because Yogi was a good player doesn’t mean he knows a damn thing about evaluating talent.”
On it’s face that’s true, but he is an 87 year old venerated Yankee great, why even go there if you’re the GM?
Holy…….
Jerkface March 21st, 2013 at 10:04 pm
What that article says: Yogi berra thinks Nunez can be a good player and should get 500 ABs so he can work through his kinks. A Scout says he has energy and speed and should be left alone to play 1 defensive position so he can get reps.
WOW I really enjoyed the paragraphs calling him an offensive juggernaut. Oh wait they were just saying he needs playing time, which is what young players need to succeed. Glad cashman shut down Yogi though, what does he know.
====================
I really enjoyed the ‘graphs in which Cashman actually said that somebody said Nunez was an offensive juggernaut. Oh wait–Cashman actually said, “find a position for him as if he’s some sort of offensive juggernaut.” Did you miss school the day that they covered similes? Must I explain to you what “as if” means?
No one is pretending AS IF he is an offensive juggernaut, except Cashman in his strawman.
“I really enjoyed the ‘graphs in which Cashman actually said that somebody said Nunez was an offensive juggernaut. Oh wait–Cashman actually said, “find a position for him as if he’s some sort of offensive juggernaut.” Did you miss school the day that they covered similes? Must I explain to you what “as if” means?”
I missed the day that Cashman transformed from a humble, reasonable, personable guy to kind of a troll, invoking stawmen to support non-existent (or seemingly non-existent…happy?) memes. But it has happened.
Is the only criteria for playing time being an offensive juggernaut?
Why isn’t Cashman spending time refuting Goose Gossages stupid war on mariano rivera?
————————
Goosage has been fighting that battle for yrs and it becomes worse every time he opens his mouth.
Cashman is a clown, and he keeps proving it nearly every time he opens his mouth (which is way too often)
Because if thats Cashman’s criteria I have some bad news about most of the team he is running out there this year
After watching the Yankees hit this spring I have forgotten the meaning of offensive juggernaut. Have they gotten ten hits in a game this spring?
What Cashman said about Nunez may be true. I kind of agree. We may never know for sure.
BUT, HE SHOULD NOT HAVE SAID IT PERIOD !!!
Cashman called Brennan Boesch a big hairy monster publicly but says Nunez’s isn’t an offensive juggernaut? …..
Cashman’s point in the Nunez thing was that as players went down the question was “well can Nunez play there” and Brian was confused as to why people seem to want to create at bats for Nunez. He hasn’t shown anything to suggest that giving him more playing time would be a good thing.
The fans who think Nunez is some stud player who should get 500 at bats are fooling themselves.
Now, having said all of that – I think Cashman could have been more diplomatic in the way he handled it, but that is Brian lately – he’s been saying a lot of stuff that makes no sense, especially when you consider how careful Brian was in his dealings with the press earlier in his career.
The whining that is going on about this Yankee team on this site is bordering on unbearable.
Cashman has to prove how smart he is. He signed Boesch from the scrap heap so it was a good move, in his view. It’s a way to deflect the criticism coming his way for not building depth this year. Maybe it was his decision. Maybe it was Hal’s. We dont know.
The fans who think Nunez is some stud player who should get 500 at bats are fooling themselves.
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Fans? You mean Yogi Berra.
Cashman really has to show everyone how stupid it is to even think of giving a young player with some upside playing time. Meanwhile its genius to give Brennan Boesch, Juan Rivera, Jayson Nix, Chris Stewart, Ben Francisco, and Francisco Cervelli playing time.
You can kill me on Montero, if he isn’t a stud, not Nunez.
Montero smoked a fastball off the plate down the right field line for a double, and then picked a ball out of the dirt to throw a runner bound for 2B out.
FM, FM, FM Brian Cashman.