Whoops, guess I posted in the wrong thread:
Here's to hoping that we see Good Pettitte for the first time in over a month. His Game Scores this season:
anyone else want to bitch about the lineup with me ... i can see still be conservative with posada, but what's wrong with DHing him and keeping his bat in the lineup ... and what's wrong with parking melky's sorry bat on the bench and playing damon for a game in CF ... we're back to the wasteland of suck that defined our bottom 1/3rd of the lineup with cano, cabrera and molina
4 I agree, but I'll raise you a Cano-to-bench-replaced-by-Betemit. I'd also think about bringing up Gardner, certainly when the third catcher is dumped.
5 betamax might be a disaster in waiting at 2nd, but i'm about done with cano and his absolutely infuriating refusal to adapt his approach at the plate ... time to ride some pine, or better yet, time to ride some buses in the bushes
i'm usually the one preaching patience, but i think this year it's time for cashman to shake some things up
4 Good call on the lineup. I'm not a huge fan of Damon at CF, but clearly he can fill in for a game or two here and there. When the season started it seemed like Girardi was making pretty good use of what we thought was a deep bench. But now it is autopilot managing, inflexible use of manpower, three catchers, and disappearing players (when did Duncan play last).
Why did they change managers again? (And this coming from one of the louder Torre critics on this board.)
To be honest, it's hard to get worked up about the lineup because the Yankees have been so damn inconsistent. If they catch the ball and get some hits with men on base, they'll win, but if they fail to make plays and leave every runner stranded, they'll lose.
Obviously, the analysis above is stating the obvious, but it is also very true. The last thread about the Mets juxtaposed the feeling around the two teams, and the reason I think the Mets situation is more dire is because they are finding lots of different ways to lose games. The Yankees on the other hand seem to alternate playing well with playing poorly. If you think about it, the Yankees have not had many excruciating losses...when they lose, they deserve too.
Jeter was right...this team is consistently inconsistent. I don't know why that is, or how to overcome it.
9 i guess part of the reason the lineup is becoming a big deal to me is that it is part of the reason that we've been so damn inconsistent, we've got 1/3rd of our lineup thats essentially been dead weight for most of the year.
11 which means i won't have to worry about him hitting another one any time soon, let alone tonite
i think gardner is worth a shot, send down duncanstein (he's pointless, anyway) and bring up gardner to start in CF. make melky the 4th OF, he's got the range and arm to play everywhere out there.
12 If they are not going to use Duncan, he should definitely go...and especially since Giartorre has turned Betemit into the all time BU1B. I also agree that it is time for Gardner to come up, either to start or to play 4th OF/PR/PH.
That all said, I am curious, what do you think should be done when (if ever) the team jettisons the third C? Do you have a specific player in mind to take the roster spot?
Not fer nothin', but those miserable weather games seem like eons ago. And as Mr. Herman said in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, "Andy. ANDY!!!"
C'mon Pettitte.
4 I've got to believe that Melky is playing because he's the damn best defensive OF the Yanks have, Oakland has a big outfield, and even if Pettitte gets groundballs 54% of the time this year (his highest groundball %age in 5 years, so maybe a fluke?), every single reliever in the pen is a flyball pitcher - many of them extreme flyball pitchers.
Besides, with no DH the next 3 games in Houston - which means no rest for Posada - and Giambi, Matsui, and Damon hitting as well as they are, Melky is the guy most likely to sit then.
5 My guess is Girardi hopes Cano is going to hit himself out of this, but I think I'm with you. What we don't know is how that would affect Cano. The worst thing to do would be to drive him into a deeper funk.
19 Ken, clearly you haven't been watching the Yankees this season. They will load up the bases, then proceed to hit into an unassisted triple play. Don't worry.
21 Naw, a triple play is not painful enough--like tearing the band aid off really fast. Rather, they would K, pop up, then hit a drive to the fence that's caught.
28 Hitters have a BABIP of .297 against Blanton this season. That's not all that unlucky. His .336 in 2006 was pretty unlucky though, but his career rate is .296...
In addition, his 4.05 FIP is not that different from his real ERA, so he's pitching pretty well in line with his peripherals.
Last night, we discussed the Yankees difficulty hitting with men in scoring position.
Well, it looks like they aren't pitching well in that scenario either. Their OPS against with RISP is .775, which is higher than the league average of .757, not to mention much higher than the offense's .711 mark.
For perspective, the Yankees batters are out OPSing their opponents .767 to .738 overall.
35 It's not so much his BABIP that's unlucky; it's his W-L record. He's pitching well, but somehow the A's manage to lose most of his starts, anyway. He deserves to be at least .500 instead of 3-7. Part of that is facing and losing to Dice-K three times.
33 Last year, the Yanks had an Isolated Discipline (OBP-AVG) of .076, and walked 9.8% of the time. This season the Yanks are at .067 and 8.3%. So yeah I guess there have been fewer walks overall.
I think we are at the point where every Cano AB becomes scrutinized. In this one, he worked the count to 2-0, but then swung at a ball that almost bounced before getting beat on a fastball. In other words, not much progress.
I am surprised it hasn't been much of a topic, but I wonder if the steroid fiasco in the offseason is partly to blame for Pettitte's poor performance this year?
45 Sometimes I feel like Long and Girardi tell him to be more patient this AB, so he takes 2 pitches and then just feels he can swing at anything again. He just doesn't get it. When Giambi was slumping, he was still walking a ton, so while his BA was under .200, his OBP was .300 or above. Cano is worthless in his present form. What's galling is that if he did learn some patience he could be Chase Utley.
Evening Banterers (Banterees? Banterites?)
Can someone please show me any numbers that would lead one to believe Gardner would be more productive then Melky in CF?
I agree I would like Brett on the Bench, but Cashman has said a number of times the Yankees don't want Gardner up just to ride the pine. Bewteen JD, Matsui and Abreu, we don't know what our OF will be in 2009. If there IS room for Gardner, it's best to give him as much time in AAA as possible.
I still think Jeter is the 'spark plug' for this team. Batting 2nd, when he sucks, it takes a lot away from our ability to score. Only 33 RS in 66 games for Jeter. NOT good.
48 i like ICA, but it's not really "iron" chef. number 1 the ingredients are far too common, there's no real fear like you'd get with the original. no real, "holy shit, i've got to butcher my own live rock eels and make 5 dishes out of them in an hour".
secondly, batali's (other than morimoto, of course, i once saw him win a challenge (chili's) in which he'd never tasted half the possible options of the challenge ingredient) the only iron chef that really stands out ... flay is decent, but overall they're a bit weak, at least compared to the bad-assery of their japanese counter-parts.
not saying it isn't fun, i watch every new episode on sunday nights, i just don't treasure them like the best of the japanese version
56 Yeah I hear you. There was one episode with some giant Hawaiian fish, and another one with live sea bass which was pretty cool. Me, I'd love to see Eric Rippert or Thomas Keller on there, especially Keller, but he'd never do it. I did just realize that our good friend Richard Blais was on a couple of years ago, wish I had that episode.
54 i guess my conclusion is, we don't really know what amount of gardner's new "power" is for real. he made adjustments to his stance and approach over the offseason; it's possible that he might have crossed from "4th OF and PR" territory into average (+) starting CF. in which case, what's the loss in trying, when melky's making NO case for his future as the yankee CF? what's the reason NOT to try gardner? if he sucks, we can always go back to the banality of melky as our starting CF.
59 I don't disagree with you. Perhaps Cashman is giving both of them more time. Melky to see if he can rebound to his early season form, Gardner to settle in more at AAA and see if he's for real. They showed a willingness so far to make moves in terms of the pitching staff, perhaps that means they'll consider doing the same for the position players. Anyways, Ajax is our CF of the future.
52 to expound on that, when giambi was hitting for shit, i agreed with girardi that he was getting "good at bats". he was working the count, getting "his" pitches, in hitter's counts and was making good contact. the hits just weren't resulting.
I am still trying to figure out if I still think this team can win consistently, or if it's just an instinct from the past. More and more, it feels like I am just waiting for these games to end.
In other news, the Celtics went on a furious run in the 3rd to gut a 20+ Laker lead to 2, 4th about to start. That's starting to look more attractive right now.
59 You wonder about Gardner's new found power . . . on the same token, isn't it too early to really judge Melky?
In 87 ABs in April, he hit .299/.370/.494/.864
In 82 ABs from May 1 to May 27, he "hit" .195/.241/.268/.510
In 38 ABs from May 28 until June 7, he hit .410/.429/.462/.890
In 14 ABs from June 7 to tonight, Melky has "hit" .067/.067/.267/.333
So we've got one 96 AB sample where he's hit for shit, and a 125 AB sample where he's hit like an almost All-Star. Which one is real? I can't tell. Past performance says he's closer to the .850+ OPS guy than the .510- OPS guy. He's 23 - a year younger than Gardner. He's already shown solid performance in the bigs, at a time when Gardner was still in A-ball. Isn't it way too early for the Yanks to give up on Melky?
75 NBA games are so predictable it's laughable. I was watching earlier when the Lakers were up by 21. I knew in my heart of hearts that the Celtics would come back and make it close. Why the hell is that?
77 Yes, it is. Melky has been wildly inconsistent his whole year, but he is still young. The problem is that when he is going bad, he is hitting as poorly as Cano. With Jeter also hitting poorly and Molina in the lineup, the Yankees really only have 5 capable hitters. Now, those 5 hitters are all very good, but still, it's tough to hit with so many outs sprinkled throughout the lineup.
78 Here is the rule on NBA games between equally matched sides. The home team will usually get out to a big lead, the road team will make a late run and then the hometeam will win.
77 You can parse Melky's season anyway you want until you find a shred of evidence to suggest he's not a disaster, but the point is that he is a young player who should be getting better year over year, and I don't see that happening.
74 AG in the bigs, so far, is "hitting" .214/.283/.262/.545. I fail to see how playing a guy who's hitting even worse than Cano (.589 OPS) is going to do anything to motivate Cano to straighten himself out. Betemit (.672 OPS, thanks to SLG) is at least hitting somewhat better than Cano. Maybe that motivates Cano. But I don't know Cano, and I wonder if that sends the right message.
However, because Betemit can't field at 2B, when Pettitte and Wang pitch, I'd let AG play 2B - he goes out when they do - but the rest of the time, I'd take my chances with Betemit's glove.
8081 College Hoops is the same, though. When a baseball team takes a sizeable lead, their chances of winning are pretty good.
And yes, the fixing allegations make for a nice soap opera. And Cy Blanton is a GOD. Cripes.
77 i'm not giving up on cabrera, i'm just getting tired of his inconsistency and unwillingness to take instruction (HOW many years has he been told NOT to slide headfirst into first???). It's just that i don't think he or robbie are really getting the message. i think gardner is at least his equal, whereas i'm not sure the AG is that to robbie, so bringing up Gardner and sitting melky's ass on the bench might just serve to wake-up this team ... specifically cano and cabrera.
86 I've thought the were for years, ever since I was a kid. They let the stars (going back to Jordan) get away with MURDER in terms of walks, and travels. And the foul calling has always been subjective at best, opportunistic at worst.
Oh, and the way the league changes rules every ten minutes to "even things out." Like the year they outlawed hand checking because the Knicks used it to their advantage.
82 Take this for what its worth, but somewhere in one of the offseason threads, I posted how Melky's stats to that point were eeriely similar to Bernie's at the time Bernie broke out. Five weeks ago, it looked like Melky had made the leap. Now, he looks lost. Can you identify the "real" Melky? Me neither.
The year Bernie made "the leap" was 1994 (he was 25, BTW). That April, his OPS was .661. Then in May, it was .827.
(BTW - I am not saying Melky is the 2nd coming of Bernie. I'll be shocked if he's that good. All I'm saying is, let's not give up on the kid yet. He may yet make that leap. Gardner does not have the same kind of upside.)
93 Bernie had been better to that point though (ops+ of 113 and 100 in 1992 and 1993). Still, Bernie did breakout later in 1994, so hopefully Melky can do the same.
88 I'll agree with that. If the question is how does one best get through to Melky and Robbie, I hope Girardi has the answer, 'cuz I know I don't. Maybe A-Rod can pound some sense into them?
89 Not that fouls aren't ridiculously subjective, but I've always wondered if Oscar Robertson got away with taking 4 or 5 steps before shooting, as Jordan often did. My guess is no.
Perhaps someone should point out to Mr. Stern that, oh yes indeed, his refs do affect the outcome of games. They always have and they always will.
C's within 1, 83-82, 4:45 to go. The Celtics are the one Boston-area sports team I have no dislike of whatsoever.
I think Cano AND Melky are too comfortable. Neither looks like they are playing to earn, or keep, a job. It's not their performance, as much as a terrible approach, and as 88 states.
That's why I want them to sit (especially Cano, who is vastly underperforming). They need to know this team will move ahead without them, and that they have to perform.
Maybe trading Melky will wake up Cano?
I don't know what the answer is, but I do know they BOTH need a KICK IN THE ASS!
I think it was for college ball, but didn't Bill James determine that if a team was up by 8 with 2 minutes left, they were very likely to win? (Something like that?)
101 I have to be honest, I just don't understand the depth of Schilling animus on this site. Yeah, he's a blowhard, and if you don't share his political leaning you like him even less. But at the same time, I'm not going to let that influence whom I root for in other sports.
108 Never much cared for hockey, but I've never liked the Bruins. The Revs are owned by the Kraft family and might as well be the Junior Pats. There is no Boston-area WNBA team (the Connecticut Sun, if they still exist, don't count; they're too far away).
112 I don't personally give a hoot about Schilling, but apparently, he ripped Kobe on his blog, and when asked about it by reporters, Kobe said "Go Yankees."
111 Pettitte (tonight notwithstanding) is just as bad (ERA+ of 83). As are the poor performances of Kennedy/Hughes. And Wang's ERA+ of 96, well below his career rate of 115.
114 The strike zone is more inconsistent than the Yanks. I won't rant about that again. I do wonder if the inconsistent zone is hurting this offense: veteran team, hitters know the zone well, usually very patient . . .
C'mon Godzilla, at the least get the damn ball in the air!
115 They do, it's on FSN every once in a while. I don't really follow lacrosse (other than Duke's yearly loss to Johns Hopkins in the NCAAs). Boston does have a team, the Cannons. I'm sure they're despicable ;-)
130 Well, to be fair I don't think you can call walking two guys and then giving up a grandslam unlucky. That's just crappy. At least Blanton doesn't have to contend with "Gold Glove" Giambi backing him up.
130 An infield hit, two walks that might have been K's and then one bad pitch. I an actually impressed with Blanton's demeanor...most pitchers would have lost it after that HR.
138 Everything is a weak flyball to the opposite field. It's almost as if he refuses to pull the ball. If Long is spending hours with Cano everyday, why do the Yankees have a hitting coach.
i'm not saying i imagine that gardner is the next coming of ricky henderson, or even brett butler, i'm just saying there are issues with the bottom of this lineup, and melky's more interchangeable than robbie.
meanwhile, that SURE looked like a fat pitch on gameday
I wish I could see something encouraging from Robbie. If he was working the count, hitting balls hard or just fouling off his pitch it'd be one thing. But he goes up with absolutely no plan at all, hacks at the first thing close to the plate and pops it up every single time. He needs to be benched, I'm sorry, I love him, but he needs to sit for a few games and just work in the cage.
141 if long is spending hours with robbie every day and he's working on that (and how could he NOT be?!?!?), why is this long's fault??? there's a line from a great pj o'rourke essay comes to mind here, "you can always argue with a german ... of course, you can always argue with a barnyard animal, for all the good it would do you."
150 Cano is at his best going the other way, but it looks like he is forcing it now, which might be compounding his struggles. Instead of see the ball, hit the ball, Robbie looks like he is looking to go the other way every AB.
143 Its too bad Girardi can't make the most obvious move to break up Melky and Robbie at the bottom of the lineup: hit Abreu 2nd, then A-Rod, Giambi, Matsui, Posada, Cano, then Jeter, then Melky.
At least it would get the 6 best hitters more PAs than the 3 worst hitters in the lineup, and break up the gruesome twosome of outs.
160 I believe Giambi's is .210 this season or something loony like that. Goes to show the importance of plate discipline and the ability to take a walk. Which has always annoyed the hell out of me about Robbie. Even when he was hitting it bothered me that he never ever ever ever ever walks. Makes one very susceptible to long long slumps.
160 If you didn't see every AB, you might argue Cano has been unlucky, but the reason his BABIP is so low is because it is very easy to catch pop ups and weak ground balls.
166 Who else could be put between the gruesome twosome of outs? Everyone else is hitting too well. Jeter is the 7th best hitter on the team, so he has to break 'em up.
167 Especially in this game...both walks could easily have been Ks, and if Abreu had been called out, it would have been a strike 'em out, throw 'em out DP.
isn't it obvious that robbie misses larry bowa? and doesn't care anymore because he signed a big contract? and is still mad that the yankees considered trading melky and not re-signing arod?
167 You can argue the walks were bad luck, but he served up a homerun ball. Still I agree with your general premise. Then again, we had Cy Moose pitch 8 innings, giving up 1 run and he didn't get the win.
Besides Ken, just be glad you're not a Met (or Billy Wagner) fan.
Just so long as he's alive, and didn't pop a vein screaming at Cano's crappy hitting. I miss his "C'mon team, time for a hit . . . choke up on the f'ing bat!" rants.
181 true, 'cept the beauty of a misery troika would have been something for the ages. overall, though, in honesty, the guys from the celtics are cool enough, and kobe's a big enough dick, that i'm pretty neutral on the NBA outcome.
182 I seriously don't think Cano is deliberately sucking to prove a point to the Yankees. He looks pretty upset with himself, I just wish he'd learn actual patience. Giambi and A-Rod should take him aside and just make him watch video of their ABs. Maybe have him stand at homeplate during BP or in the cage and just identify if a pitch is a ball or strike.
This is apropos of nothing, but I'm bored and it's late, so I thought I'd let you all know that I sent Jason Giambi an invitation to my wedding next Saturday. They have a game in NY that day, and I'm getting married in Chicago but you miss 100% of the shots you don't take and all that.
188 I was under the impression that players rarely change their plate discipline patterns dramatically, Sammy Sosa excepted. Robbie's BB crept up some last year (39), which was a good sign, and he's on pace for about the same number this year (30). Unfortunately, this is what you get with his style of hitting. The sheer extent of the slump makes one wonder if opposing pitchers haven't clued in some additional weakness.
188 i was kidding. i still think there's something to the vision argument, since it really does seem like he's simply swinging at the wrong spot, as if his dimensions are off
One last post on the NBA. From the AP story about the Celtic's comeback:
"No team had ever overcome more than a 15-point deficit in the first quarter, and although the league doesn't have a record for the largest rally in a finals game..."
Does that make any sense? They keep a record of largest deficit in the first quarter, but not largest overall deficit? And with all the press releases and databases and gophers, etc., no one can figure out what the largest deficit has been? Or hazard a guess?
One of the things I truly love about baseball is SABRE.
The other thing with Robbie is he sometimes seems to have an inability to foul pitches off. Whereas other elite hitters foul off pitches they don't like to protect the plate, Robbie almost always immediately puts the ball in play. The MO if I was pitching him would be to just pitch off the plate. Until you get to 2-0 or 3-1 why bother to come over the plate? He's going to swing and more than likely put it in play anyways.
203 If its his vision then why the hell haven't the Yankees sent him to an eye doctor? Hell, Eyes on Broadway near me has a deal where you get free lenses or glasses with your eye exam and it takes all of 20 minutes. I'm broke but I'd chip in for Robbie's eye exam, who else?
208 i'll take a free eye exam, if that's what "who else?" means. i'm certainly not chipping in on a millionaire's eye exam, especially one who is causing me so much grief lately.
207 Andy brings up his Game Score to an 80, which would trail only Wang's April 11 start in Fenway (82) for best start by a Yankees pitcher this season.
looks like andy's gonna try to beat wang's score. i think those of you who were saying earlier that girardi is no different than torre would at least agree that he seems to let the starters pitch a lot longer.
I don't know why I'm obsessed with Game Scores tonight, but if Andy strikes out the side in the ninth he'll end up with a 93, which would trail only Jon Lester's no-no for best pitching game of the season.
231 Girardi's done that before, sent the pitcher out to warm up while Mo warmed in the bullpen, and then pulls the pitcher. I guess it's to get Mo loose on short notice, but it's not as like this is a nail-biter, it's a three run lead. And, as Michael Kay noted the last time Girardi did it, it gives YES more commercial time...
Still, 113 pitches is the second-most by Pettitte this year, and he'd probably pass 125 to finish the game. I would have accepted Farnsworth in this instance. But, the save-stat pushes tactics once again.
244 Caught myself. I guess Girardi was basing his decision on whether the Yanks scored more runs or not in the top half. Mo still needs the rest, though.
245 I'd rather look at them now, then in the 9th inning of a 1-run game this weekend.
Even though he was at 113, the last few innings were a breeze for Andy. Sometimes it's more about how the pitcher feels than the count. Unless Andy said he was spent, I think Girardi should have saved a few bullets tonight.
well that was easy enough. i'd have stayed with pettitte, but i do think there's something to be said for coming in with no one on instead of maybe with 1 or 2 on. i don't hate the decision, and i think it's more based on the lack of any other reliable relievers than on closer-save situation orthodoxy.
252 I agree that it's better to use them tonight. I was just thinking about the possible alternatives. Really, a three run lead in the 9th should not need to be the reserve of one's elite reliever, especially when he has been heavily worked.
As for pitch totals, I agree with you in abstract--but at the same time I have been persuaded by some of Neyer's articles in the past showing how high pitch totals (120s) tend to be followed by rough starts.
a prediction for prediction's sake:
Mr. Andy: 6 1/3 IP 2 ER, 6 H, 4 K, 1 BB
Pen: 2 2/3 IP, 1 ER 1 H, 2 K, 0 BB
Oaktown Pitching: 7 ER, 11 H, 5 K, 5 BB
The Good: Posada 2-4 HR 2B, Abreu, 2-3 2 BB, Melky 3-4 (all singles)
The Bad: Farnsworth 1 IP 2 H 1 ER (solo shot by Ellis)
The Ugly: Blanton 4 IP 5 ER 8 H 4 K 3 BB
let's go.
Here's to hoping that we see Good Pettitte for the first time in over a month. His Game Scores this season:
4/5 TBR- 36
4/10 @ KC- 59
4/15 @ TBR- 49
4/20 @ BAL- 74
4/25 @ CLE- 33
4/30 DET- 40
5/6 CLE- 60
5/12 @ TBR- 29
5/17 NYM- 51
5/23 SEA- 57
5/28 @ BAL- 42
6/2 @ MIN- 41
6/7 KCR- 15
Also, I kind of hope Mo gets another night off after his first four-straight-day performance of his career.
screw joey joe joe and his auto-pilot managing
i'm usually the one preaching patience, but i think this year it's time for cashman to shake some things up
Why did they change managers again? (And this coming from one of the louder Torre critics on this board.)
Obviously, the analysis above is stating the obvious, but it is also very true. The last thread about the Mets juxtaposed the feeling around the two teams, and the reason I think the Mets situation is more dire is because they are finding lots of different ways to lose games. The Yankees on the other hand seem to alternate playing well with playing poorly. If you think about it, the Yankees have not had many excruciating losses...when they lose, they deserve too.
Jeter was right...this team is consistently inconsistent. I don't know why that is, or how to overcome it.
11 which means i won't have to worry about him hitting another one any time soon, let alone tonite
i think gardner is worth a shot, send down duncanstein (he's pointless, anyway) and bring up gardner to start in CF. make melky the 4th OF, he's got the range and arm to play everywhere out there.
That all said, I am curious, what do you think should be done when (if ever) the team jettisons the third C? Do you have a specific player in mind to take the roster spot?
C'mon Pettitte.
Besides, with no DH the next 3 games in Houston - which means no rest for Posada - and Giambi, Matsui, and Damon hitting as well as they are, Melky is the guy most likely to sit then.
5 My guess is Girardi hopes Cano is going to hit himself out of this, but I think I'm with you. What we don't know is how that would affect Cano. The worst thing to do would be to drive him into a deeper funk.
That's the extent of my number crunching.
Twenty-four pitches in the first inning is a good start, though.
Fastball up, Fastball up, Fastball over the plate.
;)
In addition, his 4.05 FIP is not that different from his real ERA, so he's pitching pretty well in line with his peripherals.
Well, it looks like they aren't pitching well in that scenario either. Their OPS against with RISP is .775, which is higher than the league average of .757, not to mention much higher than the offense's .711 mark.
For perspective, the Yankees batters are out OPSing their opponents .767 to .738 overall.
Can someone please show me any numbers that would lead one to believe Gardner would be more productive then Melky in CF?
I agree I would like Brett on the Bench, but Cashman has said a number of times the Yankees don't want Gardner up just to ride the pine. Bewteen JD, Matsui and Abreu, we don't know what our OF will be in 2009. If there IS room for Gardner, it's best to give him as much time in AAA as possible.
I still think Jeter is the 'spark plug' for this team. Batting 2nd, when he sucks, it takes a lot away from our ability to score. Only 33 RS in 66 games for Jeter. NOT good.
secondly, batali's (other than morimoto, of course, i once saw him win a challenge (chili's) in which he'd never tasted half the possible options of the challenge ingredient) the only iron chef that really stands out ... flay is decent, but overall they're a bit weak, at least compared to the bad-assery of their japanese counter-parts.
not saying it isn't fun, i watch every new episode on sunday nights, i just don't treasure them like the best of the japanese version
robbie cano??? not so much.
Send Shelly down, bring up AGon, and start him at 2nd for 6 straight games, while Cano rides the pine.
It will be a nice little vacation for AGon and give Robbie some time to think.
In 87 ABs in April, he hit .299/.370/.494/.864
In 82 ABs from May 1 to May 27, he "hit" .195/.241/.268/.510
In 38 ABs from May 28 until June 7, he hit .410/.429/.462/.890
In 14 ABs from June 7 to tonight, Melky has "hit" .067/.067/.267/.333
So we've got one 96 AB sample where he's hit for shit, and a 125 AB sample where he's hit like an almost All-Star. Which one is real? I can't tell. Past performance says he's closer to the .850+ OPS guy than the .510- OPS guy. He's 23 - a year younger than Gardner. He's already shown solid performance in the bigs, at a time when Gardner was still in A-ball. Isn't it way too early for the Yanks to give up on Melky?
And that goes triple for Cano.
However, because Betemit can't field at 2B, when Pettitte and Wang pitch, I'd let AG play 2B - he goes out when they do - but the rest of the time, I'd take my chances with Betemit's glove.
And yes, the fixing allegations make for a nice soap opera. And Cy Blanton is a GOD. Cripes.
The year Bernie made "the leap" was 1994 (he was 25, BTW). That April, his OPS was .661. Then in May, it was .827.
(BTW - I am not saying Melky is the 2nd coming of Bernie. I'll be shocked if he's that good. All I'm saying is, let's not give up on the kid yet. He may yet make that leap. Gardner does not have the same kind of upside.)
89 Not that fouls aren't ridiculously subjective, but I've always wondered if Oscar Robertson got away with taking 4 or 5 steps before shooting, as Jordan often did. My guess is no.
Perhaps someone should point out to Mr. Stern that, oh yes indeed, his refs do affect the outcome of games. They always have and they always will.
C's within 1, 83-82, 4:45 to go. The Celtics are the one Boston-area sports team I have no dislike of whatsoever.
79 Along your lines, Jeter at his usual levels plus Posada means 7 capable hitters, which help a heck of a lot.
That's why I want them to sit (especially Cano, who is vastly underperforming). They need to know this team will move ahead without them, and that they have to perform.
Maybe trading Melky will wake up Cano?
I don't know what the answer is, but I do know they BOTH need a KICK IN THE ASS!
I think it was for college ball, but didn't Bill James determine that if a team was up by 8 with 2 minutes left, they were very likely to win? (Something like that?)
He and Cano are the two main culprits for this asstastic season.
FWIW. Nothing.
There's a profession lacrosse league? Seriously?
I wouldn't put Wang in that category because he has had some very poor starts, but has kept the Yankees in most every game.
C'mon Godzilla, at the least get the damn ball in the air!
Godzilla, thank you!
That's a better birthday present for yourself than a whole stack of hentai! Um, I mean, so I've heard...
meanwhile, that SURE looked like a fat pitch on gameday
when do you start blaming cano for the obvious???
At least it would get the 6 best hitters more PAs than the 3 worst hitters in the lineup, and break up the gruesome twosome of outs.
Wow, the C's are about to win.
If Long is not spending hours with Cano everyday, why do the Yankees have a hitting coach.
160 Hmm. Thanks. That could be the reason . . . but what's his eBABIP? If he's way below that, he's bound to break out of it. If he's not, . . .
Should be the title of a thread here.
It was, however, nice to see a hit from spots 7-8-9 for a change.
Besides Ken, just be glad you're not a Met (or Billy Wagner) fan.
Just so long as he's alive, and didn't pop a vein screaming at Cano's crappy hitting. I miss his "C'mon team, time for a hit . . . choke up on the f'ing bat!" rants.
oh, wait ... never mind.
good andy, good!
By the way, very encouraging game from Pettitte. Hopefully the worst is already behind him and he might be turning it around.
"No team had ever overcome more than a 15-point deficit in the first quarter, and although the league doesn't have a record for the largest rally in a finals game..."
Does that make any sense? They keep a record of largest deficit in the first quarter, but not largest overall deficit? And with all the press releases and databases and gophers, etc., no one can figure out what the largest deficit has been? Or hazard a guess?
One of the things I truly love about baseball is SABRE.
As soon as I write that, Girardi abandons all imagination and takes out a rolling Pettitte to bring in an overworked Rivera.
Still, 113 pitches is the second-most by Pettitte this year, and he'd probably pass 125 to finish the game. I would have accepted Farnsworth in this instance. But, the save-stat pushes tactics once again.
That's not enough time for Mo to warm up?
I guess with all the Torre-bashers, it was a grass-is-greener type scenario. Are there really any smart tacticians out there?
Even though he was at 113, the last few innings were a breeze for Andy. Sometimes it's more about how the pitcher feels than the count. Unless Andy said he was spent, I think Girardi should have saved a few bullets tonight.
As for pitch totals, I agree with you in abstract--but at the same time I have been persuaded by some of Neyer's articles in the past showing how high pitch totals (120s) tend to be followed by rough starts.
In Jobaland, we only drink Diet Coke.
[Extended wacky dance]
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