Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Who are these guys and what have they done with the 2007 New York Yankees?
The Yankees jumped out to an early 1-0 lead last night when Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera singled and Damon scored on a groundout. Chein-Ming Wang made that hold up by limiting the Twins to a double through the first three innings. In the fourth he ran into some trouble, walking the first three men and giving up a single to Justin Morneau, but he escaped with the lead because the first walk was erased when Jorge Posada caught Jason Bartlett stealing, and Torii Hunter followed Morneau's bases-loading single by grounding into a double play. Wang got another DP following a leadoff single in the fifth. By then his lead had swelled to 3-0 thanks to a two-run Robinson Cano home run in the previous frame. Wang pitched out of trouble again in the sixth and then the Yankees went to town dropping a five-spot on Carlos Silva and Juan Rincon in the bottom of the inning.
The onslaught started when Jorge Posada hit a single to center that bounced past Torii Hunter allowing Posada to head to third as the Yankee dugout erupted in laughter as the sight of their 35-year-old catcher running out a would-be triple. Posada actually had two triples last year, but had gone three years without one before that (and remains without one this year as the hit was scored a single and a two-base error). Posada scored on a wild pitch, but the bases didn't remain empty for long as Hideki Matsui doubled and Bobby Abreu, in the midst of another three-hit night, singled him home. Andy Phillips then flew out to the warning track in left driving Silva from the game. Abreu greeted Rincon by stealing second. Rincon reacted by hitting Cano in the foot. Johnny Damon moved the runners over with a groundout, and Melky Cabrera drove them home with a single, moving to second on the throw home, which Cano avoided by sliding outside of home plate and sticking his left hand in between Joe Mauer's leg and tag. Derek Jeter then singled home Melky to complete the scoring.
Wang, Scott Proctor, and rookie Edwar Ramirez each pitched a scoreless frame to wrap things up, Ramirez dazzling by striking out the heart of the Twins' order on 14 pitches in his major league debut. Ramirez is exactly as advertised. His uniform hangs on his skinny frame, but he throws 90-mile-per-hour fastballs mixed with sliders then puts hitters away with a changeup in the high-70s that just falls off a table when it reaches the plate. Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau, and Lew Ford (hitting for Torii Hunter who was ejected in the eight for jawing at home plate umpire Ron Kulpa from the dugout) each went down swinging, missing Ramirez's change by a good foot each.
Some other items of note: Alex Rodriguez went 0 for 4 and came out of the game after popping up to end the Yankees' sixth-inning rally, but didn't seem to be favoring his sore hamstring. He's expected to DH tomorrow, and remains one of just two players to start every game this season (Ichiro Suzuki being the other).
Johnny Damon has a hit in six of his last seven games (including the suspended finale in Baltimore), but he's only hitting .267/.333/.400 over that span and did not play in the only game the Yankees won against Oakland over the weekend. Melky Cabrera, meanwhile, is hitting .320/.378/.469 since taking over in center field on June 1. In 1994, a 25-year-old Bernie Williams hit .289/.384/.453 in his fourth major league season, which made that the best year of his career to that point. At age 22, Melky Cabrera may just have arrived as the Yankee center fielder of the future.
In these first two games against the Twins, Derek Jeter is 5 for 10 from the three-hole. Robinson Cano, who was 2 for 22 coming into the series, is 3 for 6 with a homer and a walk while batting ninth. Hideki Matsui has figured out that he's trying to pull the ball too much. Matsui, who had a single and a double in his last 23 at-bats coming into last night's game, had a single and a double in last night's game alone. Finally, Bobby Abreu, who was 4 for 41 coming in to this series, got a pep talk from Roger Clemens prior to Monday night's game (Clemens told him he was the hitter he had feared most when facing the Phillies the last few years, and that he needed to go back to being that guy) and has gone 6 for 7 with a walk and a monster home run in the first two games against the Twins.
It's my belief that Abreu is the key to the Yankees' season. The offense seems to go in which ever direction he goes. Indeed, during last night's game, YES posted a stat showing that Abreu has hit roughly .350 in Yankee wins and roughly .150 in Yankee loses. As the Yankees saw down the stretch last year, when Bobby Abreu's on his game, he's a difference maker. Alex Rodriguez may be having a monster season, but with Jason Giambi out possibly for the season, and Damon making me wonder how Kevin Thompson or Shelley Duncan might do as the everyday DH, Abreu needs to be the Bobby Abreu Clemens remembers.
Here's hoping facing Johan Santana this afternoon doesn't undo all of that good stuff.
Sweet interview. Sweet 9th by Edwar. Maybe for good luck, when KrazyKyle pitches from now on, he can hold him in his teeth like a toothpick. Ah, two game winning streaks are good for the Yankee Soul.
Actually, if they can "afford" to carry Mghjfd, I expect alot of stories this off-season about Damon and the bigger mitt. Let's just hope he doesn't start bouncing throws to second.
Check out Mr. David Robertson (22 yo RHRP just called up to Tampa from Charleston) originally from Bama-Tuscaloosa (mL rookie this year):
51 IP 71 K 26 H 15 BB 4 ER
Your new favorite perhaps?
Weird.
2. just because he has played OF and 1B doesn't mean he is any good at it.
don'tblowoffanyappendages!! 14 (for more than one reason) HA!
(Dashes out quickly)
Matsui - .367 (.694)
Abreu - .298 (.609)
Damon - .351 (.700)
I don't care how bad his defense is when things are that ugly. And when Damon is the DH that's even more disgusting. Meanwhile:
S.Duncan - .606 (.955)
P.s. The hype on ESPN for the hot dog eating contest is hilarious.
Cabrera CF
Cairo 3B
Jeter SS
Rodriguez DH
Matsui LF
Phillips 1B
Cano 2B
Thompson RF
Nieves C
Mussina RHP (4-5, 4.63)
I hate to throw fuel on the JT fire but...
resting Abreu when he has 6 hits in the last 2 days?
And why isn't Miggy batting cleanup?
And that lineup shows Brian Cashman's stengths as a GM!
Look at those reserves!
Phillips.
Nieves.
Cairo.
Thompson.
Meanwhile, I stayed home from the office for this?
Sheesh.
(Too bad that's my sporting excitement for today.)
To be honest though, it feels a little like when Mr. T beat Rocky at the beginning of Rocky III. You have to wonder what would've happened under normal circumstances. With the way he was moving, I think a healthy Kobayashi could've hit 70.
And Joey CHestnut brought the belt home!
Or you could, you know, go outside...
It seemed too easy for both guys to top 60. My guess is they perform better when competing. Why eat 60 hot dogs when 50 will do?
Big props to Chestnut, it was quite a show, but even he said that he knew this was the year because Kobayashi wasn't 100%.
You're up early...
45 Once again - I let the stats speak for themselves. :)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pIRP4UbrCg8
(That's Real Quiet blowing the Triple Crown...)
Perhaps Torre knows they're going to lose, and this is his way of punting.
And Moose draws the house money lineup.
And 44 Phillips could play 3B and S.Duncan could play 1B.
You know cause Duncan's SLG of .606 > .558 OPS
Mussina and Nieves sittin' in a tree....
Sometimes I think the whole Nieves-Mussina thing is cover story that Torre cooked up to tell reporters.
But he is an above average bitcher!
Whoops, they're ten games back of that team.
Oop, there I go again.
But I just can't see how the Yanks could take that risk without real power in LF or !1B next year. Problem is: Who could they sign for RF or 1B that would give more than a .450 SLG?
Also, Bobby, the knee thing is pretty universal. What else is he supposed to do, pick his nose?
Yay Andy!
His June split at Tampa -- .306/.416/.548 won him promotion and he homered for Trneton the other night.
Given his experience in Cuba already, I could see him helping in the Bronx next season if he finishes strong in Trenton.
He hasn't hit lefties well, but he's pounded righties.
boston opening the floodgates against tampa.
Oh, that wasn't the pitcher batting there?!?!
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=philbrick/070703
Now, Mr. Bossman, can you fire Torre and Cashman?
well, they certainly didn't make johan work that inning...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JMcxIZiO1qQ
-I mentioned this in the Liveblog, but it needs to be repeated, Phil Hughes' first minor league rehab start will be this Monday. That means he should be back by the last week of July, which means no more Kei Igawa in the rotation.
141 speaking of birthday boy quotes. today was also Calvin Coolidge's b-day. i live by a quote of his. the end portion is:
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
i absolutely love that!
fuck, tie game. aaarrrggghhh!!!
165 You HAD to play the IF in, but it's too late to expect Torre to help the team get a win.
This situation was the definition of when you bring the infield in.
181 sounds like an interesting nite, cult! yeah, too much alcohol can really make hot girls so unattractive sometimes. don't worry, i'm sure my buddy will be playing there more and he'll email me the info. i'm gonna see him this coming weekend as we'll both be visiting home in NY...
i was thinking about larue over with KC, he was a starter for CIN only 2 years ago ... he hasn't hit much in his buc role, and the Royales don't seem to truly trust buck as a fulltime starter, so he might be more expensive than would be practical
texas might be willing to let melhuse go for cheap, i can't remember if he's supposed to have much of a glove, or not
Not defending Torre at all, but I mean, what can a manager do there? Even Krazy Kyle doesn't melt down that fast. He prefers the slow-drip torture method in order to piss off tthe maximum number of Yankee fans. But at least he gives you time to apply the hook.
If we're going to play hindsight, the best thing would have been to pull Moose after the sixth.
this game is mostly on nieves.
WOW. I had no idea.
The Yankees as an organization are not putting the team in a good position to win. In this game, fielding an awful lineup like this one (especially Nieves complete lack of skills) and having a manager who doesn't anticipate the flow of the game has put all the onus on the handful of star players. With enough organizational support, Mussina's performance would have been more than enough today.
RF next year -
1) Abreu at 16 million
Pro: Cheaper than other free agent options and gives the Yanks one more year to see if Melky can develop enough power to be a RF.
Con: .722 OPS in first half of 2007 and an average fielder who often looks awful.
2) Ichiro at 60 to 70 million.
Pro: Contact hitter and speedster with plus defense.
Con: Old (34 yo), expensive, and won't SLG enough for a team that needs it. Another lefty bat.
3) Fuckudome at 40 to 60 million.
Pro: Comes cheaper and younger (31 yo) than other FA and without a posting fee.
Con: If he loses power like Godzilla (numbers in Japan are very similar), another anemic OF. Another lefty bat.
???: Defense unknown.
4) Andruw Jones at 1 year/15 million?
Pro: Might be able to snag him cheap if his year still looks terrible in November. Righty bat.
Con: Otherwise will be very pricey.
I'm saying Abreu or Jones (if he's cheap). Of course, trading some of that pitching for a Matt Kemp would be nice.
With Posada: 1.052 (!) OPS against
Give me a break. The Torre bashing is all too warranted these days, but this loss (if the margin holds up) is not on the manager. It's on a pitcher that doesn't have it for more than six innings/80 pitches, and a GM that can't find a BUC that hits or plays like a major leaguer.
And if the Yanks are going to pay Abreu 16 million, they could give that same one year deal to Andruw, esp. cause he'd bring some balance back to the lineup and better defense.
Problem is: There's probably a date that Bobby's option needs to get picked up by, and Boras is never in a rush.
208 if andruuw keeps hitting this badly, it might be in his best interest in only pursuing a 1 year deal then hoping he could put up big numbers and go back on the market for a big money deal ...
Moose pitched well. The infield should have been in and stadiums should not allow fields to have distances less then 330 ft.
Some of the really old stadiums were rectanglar tracts and 260' down the lines, and like 500 in CF. We cherish the HR record, but over 16 years, your home park has a big effect on things.
And why did the Giants, home of Barry Bonds, create such a huge RF? With a really high wall to boot. I think it's 420 in one spot.
Mussina pitched well today. Only Torre decides that he can't throw more than 80 pitches. As for Nieves, I agree that he is the #1 culprit, but Torre is right behind him in line.
Also, while we're at it, when you have such a weak lineup, why in god's name would you decide to bat CAIRO in the 2-hole? So he could bat more than Jeter or Arod? Or, maybe to ensure the bases are clear when they get up? If you must play your B-team against the best pitcher in baseball, fine, but why not stack your best hitters together?
Maybe this team isn't good enough to win anyway, but as long as Torre is at the helm, the task will only be all the more difficult.
for playing the infield back. You wanted it back to. I thought in was right.
We differ in opinions. Big deal. Often, intelligent, knowledgeable people disagree on an issue. I don't think that makes either incompetant.
We tend to assume (invoking your fallacy of the determined outcome) that if the IF was in, the subsequent grounderout would not have resulted in a run. But if a cue shot or a blooper fell in for a hit, the run still would have scored, Moose would have faced greater pressure anyway, and he still would be in the sixth inning.
If he likes being a Yankee, and posts an .800+/- OPS, he might be had for $12-13m.
Ichiro looks in great shape. Have you seen him run? He still flys. He has a body type that ages well. I don't know what he will cost, but in terms of speed, defense and balance, he is the type of guy the Yankees need to start targeting.
Great job by Farns...scoreless inning with only 3 balls hit very hard.
Now, the fourth inning with the bases juiced--that's another story.
Oh, and he's an actual setup guy.
And Ichiro is fine as a CF. But he won't SLG .450 if his AVG drops below .350. That's a problem for an already anemic OF group of Matsui, Damon, and Matsui.
phillips to 3rd? damon to 1st?
Great roster Cashman!
Yes.
besides, he looks like he could be a Bubba in his gameday picture ...
Bubba Bruney, it has a nice ring
The thread comes full circle!
245 To talk only about OPS, and not what outatanding D, a great arm, and excellent speeds brings is myoptic (no insult meant).
Were you here for the Best Catcher discussion of Piazza vs. IRod? Jay Jaffe posted that IRod has 350 winshares more. 350! Defense is an important factor in a players value.. but many of us are wowed by offense (OPS).
I mean Giambi is great at the plate, but how much is he devalued because of his D and liability on the bases?
Forget about why they suck in the first place though.
Preventing runs means little if they can't score runs. And an OF with no player that can slug .450 is going to have a very hard time scoring runs to be any more than a .500 team.
If he gets rid of the horrific Farnsworth, for example, he has to admit that he was wrong on that move from the beginning.
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/the_soul_of_baseball_posnanski22/
BP's perspective on the comparison is that two are roughly equal overall, with the defensive advantage of I-Rod washing out the Offensive advantage of Piazza
Ichiro won't hit his position in RF, and especially not at age 37, and his defense will be wasted in RF in Yankee Stadium. As a CF, fine, but he's not going to be worth a fat multi-year contract as a RF.
268 Now, JD's question about how the team got to this point this season is valid.
271 The job of the GM is not always to make a team better that year, but to balance the present with the future.
And if that's the case, I would rather they saved the money they would spend on Ichiro, stick Melky in CF, and and throw as much as they can at A-Rod or a real 1B who can actually hit.
See while Melky could emerge as an average CF, they still need to score runs.
285 I'm not going to re-live the Cashman argument (for once). But suffice it to say, this team was very poorly constructed from the off-season. And he's done nothing to improve it even as he has plenty of second class prospects to do so.
288 Myers only makes 1.5 million.
Jim... its about run differential.
run saved = run scored.
I guess you don't believe games are won by 'pitching and defense'? Especially in the PS?
A lot depends on resigning ARod. If he leaves, we HAVE to get power at one OF position and 1B.
Uh, no.
Today, for example. Or the terrible record in 1 and 2 runs games.
Or the Oakland A's - the third fewest runs allowed and yet they're barely a .500 team (one that just took 2 of 3 from the Yanks).
You could have a team of Ichiros, Ozzie Smiths, and Pudges with 12 Johan Santanas and it won't mean thing if you don't score runs.
Umm. Do you watch? Bruney does exactly that. 24BB in 34IP? Umm, I think that's a tad high. I had him in my fantasy league while he was with Arizona, where he fell off a cliff after looking good for a short while.
Why the hell would Joe sit Abreu just as he gets hot with the All-Star break coming up? Makes no sense, but that's Joe. No matter that the team is .800 in games that Abreu hits well. Sit him anyway right? He does play such a demanding position. Ugh!
Britton needs to get a shot and quick. If Edwar can pitch well, we could go Britton, Ramirez, MO. Proctor and Farny are cooked. When will it become clear to Joe that no one in that bullpen is worth a shit other than Mo, an occasional Proctor, and Myers against righties?
I wouldn't trade Hughes for Joba for almost anyone.
http://tinyurl.com/yonges
That's why the good hitters who aren't good enough to play 2B or catch but can catch a fly ball and throw well enough to hit the cut-off man end up as corner OF. The guys who can't catch fly balls or throw at all, but can hit end up at 1B or DH.
http://tinyurl.com/yps3ls
I disagree heavily with that characterization for one simple reason: They're on opposite sides of the ledger.
Juan Pierre, no matter how well he plays CF, doesn't score runs if he doesn't get on base.
Julio Lugo may be the second coming of the Wizard, but if he doesn't accumulate hits and walks, he's of little help at scoring runs.
Wil Nieves, even if he was the Johnny Bench clone of defense, would still have to score runs to help the team win.
The point: Defense is half of the game but having better gloves doesn't mean, or equal, scoring more runs. It might increase the likelihood of winning, but that's only if the team is already scoring enough runs to do so.
(P.s. 306 - I'm with you on the rest of the post. The Yankees have their best hitters at 3B, C, and SS. Since they don't currently have above average hitters at any other position, their offensive advantage is rendered moot and they become an average team. That's exactly what we're seeing.)
But you do see batters exposed all the time as they progress. A guy may slug the hell out of the ball in the low minors, but as he progresses in levels the pitchers become much more difficult to hit and his margin for error dwindles. That big swing which he got away with in HS or A makes him powerless at AAA. This is why you often see a players hitting numbers decline at least somewhat as he advances levels; it's predictable enough that they have developed offensive equivalency formulas to translate minor league stats into major league stats (that is, predict the level of decline with the last change in level).
Likewise, the same sort of progression is seen with pitchers: a junkballer with poor command may fool batters consistently in the low minors, but as he advances in levels, the hitters become more selective (and more skilled at hitting a variety of pitches).
So, where am I going with this? I suspect that by the time the vast majority of players reach MLB, they are already playing the position that suits them the best (though with age they may slow down and switch to a less challenging position). Most of the players at that position are already more or less competent--some are better defensively, but the worst have already (probably) been shifted to a more suitable position (that's why a Josh Phelps comes up already as a DH/1B, not a CF or 2B). Overal, by the time they reach MLB, the difference betwen the best and worst player at a given position is (usually) not that huge. But all one needs to do is skim the various rosters to see that relative offensive production at a given position can vary wildly, without even considering players out of position due to injury.
http://www.dcdeal.com/redsox
With the catchers it may be a matter of saving their bodies rather than defensive shortcomings. Still, their defense certainly didn't demand that they stay put.
Damon CF
Cabrera LF
Jeter SS
Matsui DH
Posada C
Abreu RF
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B
Cairo 3B
Where you ask? Why Damon in CF, over Melky, of course!
Let's see:
a) Melky covers more ground.
b) Melky's got the much stronger arm.
c) Melky falls below Damon on the BFoG
d) Melky goes into LF.
You know, you can't embrass Damon by putting him in LF.
And I think it's time Jorge hurt his hammy. Cause the only thing missing from that lineup is Wil the Thrill.
316 Yeah, there are a couple of head scratchers here. Damon apparently can play 1B, but can't play corner OF? BTW, they KNOW A-Rod may be out, or at least day-to-day until the ASG or later, so why not call up another position player?
And RLYW has an analysis of defense that doesn't depend on RATE - relying on ZR instead (which has more limitations).
The verdict?
Jeter is, by far, the worst defender on the team.
Otherwise, things don't look so bad and the Yanks would appear to have the best defense they've had in years - helped by pluses at 2B, 3B, and CF.
After Jeter, next worst is Matsui, then the Mhfgxdkjf abortion, then Abreu (just a tick below average), CF (Damon and Melky), A-Rod, and Robby.
I'm not saying that's a decisive factor, just that it should be included in the list.
At this point, I've stopped caring about Torre's lineups and in game moves. Its like looking up at the sky when its raining and asking why?
322 I go back and forth on not caring. Right now it's like watching an accident in slow motion where the driver is asleep at the wheel, the mechanic would wash the windows while the brake fluid leaks, and the owner is playing with his "ships" in the bathtub.
(Thanks to Zack for the car analogy).
"He's been released twice by the same club," Yankees Manager Joe Torre said. "If that doesn't make you quit, I don't know what does. To keep fighting back says a lot about him."
So Edwar already has a high BFoG index. That helps.
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