Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Having opened the second-half by sweeping the A's, the Yankees are now just three games out in the Wild Card picture, but they're still in third place. The next team on the ladder is the one coming to town for the next three nights: the Minnesota Twins. The Twins just took two of three from the Rangers, but with the Yankees' sweep, that closed the gap between the two teams to two games. With another sweep, the Yankees could take second place in the Wild Card chase, and the next team on ladder, the slumping Boston Red Sox (they were just swept by the Angels), are the next on the schedule.
The problem is that, having burned their top three pitchers against the A's, the Yanks are left with Sidney Ponson (tonight) and Darrell Rasner (tomorrow) starting two of three games against Minnesota. Also, despite sweeping the A's, the Yankees only scored four runs during regulation during the last two games. Meanwhile, the Twins' rotation is deeper, and their worst starter, Livan Hernandez, won't pitch in this series. Still, taking two of three would bring the Yankees within one game of the Twins, and with Mussina pitching on Wednesday and Minnesota's Tuesday night starter, Kevin Slowey, having allowed 11 runs in 9 2/3 innings over his last two starts, a series win is well within reach.
Tonight, the Yankees send Ponson against Nick Blackburn. Blackburn pitched 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball against the Yankees on June 1--when the Yanks and Twins were in the midst of splitting a four-game set at the Metrodome--but was forced to leave the game when a comebacker off Bobby Abreu's bat broke his nose. Blackburn struggled in his next start (which he did make), but has a 3.05 ERA since then with five quality starts in six tries, and a 1.74 ERA over his last three starts, in which he's walked just three and allowed just one home run.
Amazingly, Ponson has allowed just one run total in two of his three Yankee starts, shutting out the Mets for six innings on June 27, and holding the first-place Rays to one run over six frames in his last start before the All-Star break. Ponson's 3.96 ERA on the season is something of a shocker, but there's something real behind it. Much like LaTroy Hawkins did in Colorado last year, Ponson's been getting the job done with an unprecedented (for him) groundball rate. Ponson had never had a GB/FB rate over 2.00 before this year, but his 2008 mark thus far is 2.42 (by comparison, Chien-Ming Wang's career GB/FB rate is 2.78). Ponson's one dud start as a Yankee saw him allow eight fly balls against five grounders, but in his two quality Yankee starts, he's induced 23 grounders to just 6 fly balls. It will take a great deal more of those starts for me to have any sort of faith in Ponson, but at least there's some legitimate and repeatable reason for the success he's had this season. That means it's not a fluke; he might have actually figured something out with his sinker. . . and now that I've said that, he'll stink up the joint tonight.
All of the above is further complicated by the news this afternoon that Jorge Posada's shoulder has forced him back to the DL and could require season-ending surgery (as opposed to the offseason surgery that was expected). Posada only played in two of the games against the A's, only caught one (in which he was removed for defensive replacement Jose Molina when the A's started running on him late in that game), and only had one hit (a single), but he got on base four times in nine trips.
Johnny Damon returns from the DL to take Posada's roster spot tonight, but he's starting out slow by DHing. Jason Giambi plays first. Betemit and Sexson will wait for the key moment to pinch hit for catcher Molina or left fielder Brett Gardner. Surprisingly, given Posada's inability to catch with any frequency of late, the team could actually be improved by swapping Posada for Damon, assuming Damon's able to return to the outfield in short order. With Damon in the lineup in place of Gardner and the Sexson/Betemit platoon in place of Posada, the Yankees could upgrade from Posada's production to Damon's, Gardner's to Sexson/Betemit's, and Molina's to Molina/Moeller's while hoping Cano can stay hot and gaining depth on the bench by dropping down to two catchers, giving them power (the inactive member of the Sexson/Betemit platoon), and speed and defense (Gardner and Christian for now, who can run for the catchers or sub into the outfield corners late in close games the Yankees are leading) in reserve. Swapping out one of the speedsters for Alberto Gonzalez in order to increase position flexibility would only make the bench deeper.
How's that for shining up a turd?
Minnesota Twins
2008 Record: 55-43 (.561)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 52-46 (.535)
Manager: Ron Gardenhire
General Manager: Bill Smith
Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (96/96)
Who's Replaced Whom:
Denard Span (minors) replaces Michael Cuddyer (DL)
Brian Buscher (minors) replaces Mike Lamb at third base and Howie Clark on the roster
Nick Punto (DL) replaces Matt Macri (minors)
Scott Baker (DL) replaces Boof Bonser on the rotation and Juan Rincon on the roster
25-man Roster:
1B - Justin Morneau (L)
2B - Alexi Casilla (S)
SS - Brendan Harris (R)
3B - Brian Buscher (L)
C - Joe Mauer (L)
RF - Denard Span (L)
CF - Carlos Gomez (R)
LF - Delmon Young (R)
Bench:
R - Craig Monroe (OF)
L - Mike Lamb (3B/1B)
R - Mike Redmond (C)
S - Nick Punto (IF)
Rotation:
R - Nick Blackburn
R - Kevin Slowey
L - Glen Perkins
R - Livan Hernandez
R - Scott Baker
Bullpen:
R - Joe Nathan
R - Matt Guerrier
L - Dennys Reyes
R - Jesse Crain
R - Brian Bass
L - Craig Breslow
R - Boof Bonser
15-day DL: R - Michael Cuddyer (RF), R - Adam Everett (SS), S - Matt Tolbert (IF),
60-day DL: R - Pat Neshek
Typical Lineup:
R - Carlos Gomez (CF)
S - Alexi Casilla (2B)
L - Joe Mauer (C)
L - Justin Morneau (1B)
L - Jason Kubel (DH)
R - Delmon Young (LF)
L - Brian Buscher (3B)
R - Brendan Harris (SS)
L - Denard Span (RF)
http://tinyurl.com/623zxd
So if Posada's hitting is hurt by his shoulder the way his July splits contend, it's probably best to shut him down for the season. No reason to add another no-pop bat to the lineup. It will be sad with him on the DL, of course.
These Twins pitchers are beatable. Grind it out, baby. How about a win by more than one run today?
Posada is one of the only current Yankees who is a power threat when healthy, and one of the only guys on the team I was hoping would return to form and start hitting some balls over the fence. Absent any hope of that (and it seems painfully clear that surgery is needed and NOW) maybe Cano get's hot?
Bottom line is, Yankees need to hit more homers,
http://schteeve.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/the-heart-of-the-matter/
and it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. Especially now.
I'm not sure if this was mentioned here already.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3499373
0 One of the most interesting developments will be how Girardi manages with only two catchers, both of whom can't hit. Will Molina become a 9 inning catcher? Will Girardi PH for him regularly and gamble that Moeller doesn't get hurt?
I might start every game with Moeller in the lineup, then PH for him in the 6th or 7th and use Molina's defense late in the game.
At this point, it is silly to worry about getting caught in one game without a catcher (if, heaven forbid, Moeller goes in for Molina and gets hurt)--if that ever happens you just call up Stewart the next day. But games are too precious now not to try to maximize offense at every turn.
As far as 2008 goes you are simply right. If we measure this year's batting against last year's, the loss of Jorge ALL year really, is a big part of why we're a full run (about) down. (Some is Alex down a spell, some Damon, some Hideki, some Jeter playing hurt, some Cano ... hmm, LOTSA reasons.)
But who would ever have expected our pitching to be so much better, with Wang, PKH and IPK out of the mix? Can the Yankees win with D behind the plate, some speed (no, not behind the plate) and pitching, including a remarkably good bullpen for the last month or so?
Stranger things have happened. And we are NOT the only team with woes. Ortiz has been gone a long time, Manny's being Unmanly, Cleveland are so badly hurt they are done. Even Chisox had Konerko out.
In other words, we take (yet another) deep breath, remember that this was a swing season, and note we are seriously in the mix as July ends.
I may be forced to respect Girardi more if this keeps up.
Hopefully Girardi has forgiven whichever transgressions Moeller had, and we can move on.
5 I know its a worst case scenario, but they have to find someone other than Chris Stewart down there. Preferably someone that doesn't get crossed up eight times in 6 innings.
The 2008 Yankees are the 2006 Red Sox.
With some additional smart moves, 2009 could be like Boston's 2007. If the team stands pat and doesn't make the playoffs, but prepares well for 2009, I think that's fine. If there's panic and sell all the chips and STILL don't make the playoffs in 2008, that's a far worse problem.
which means we either get a CF, or we move Damon back and get a LF.
problem with the LF option is that most of the names out there are not much defensively, meaning we'll take a hit with the defensive arrangement.
tough call, especially with so many of our potential trading chips having injured or shitty years ...
It seems like every year we have a "why the hell did we do that?" move.
13 like releasing Josh Phelps for no reason?
Seriously, I think Cashman and Girardi have a little more even standing when it comes to player personnel. I think Torre had a lot of clout in the organization and had his own ideas of who was going to play. But I think Joe G. and Cashman see a little more eye-to-eye. Or if not, Cashman has the rank to overrule his manager, where as I'm not sure he could openly do that against Torre.
Unfortunately, Cashman is a FA this year. So, you don't get to see if he'll make all the right moves without signing him up for more money and more years.
so moeller catches rasner (since it seems girardi thinks rasner works well with him) and maybe someone else - i would guess joba maybe, because moose will definitely be paired up with molina and probably pettitte as well and it doesn't make sense to put moeller with snacks since he pitches the day before rasner.
Have I mentioned how much I love "[X] has the best/worst [Y] since [Completely random, arbitrary date]" stats?
I wonder what batter has the most sacrifice bunts since April 26.
btw who is the emergency catcher - sexson?
I still have no faith in him.
Still, I'm a little more hopeful than I was when I first read the bad news.
Yes! A-Rod!
and arod with the homer - that's exactly what we need!!!
Good, a base runner to double the value of A-Rod's homer. I should have trusted my instincts
;)
But your main pint is well taken. They still need to find offense in place of the three black holes in the lineup (LF, CF, C).
19 My guess is Betemit.
The Twins' line-up construction is peculiar. Shouldn't the #9 and #1 guys be swapped?
As tough as I have been on the Yankees, and deservedly so at times, that laundry list of injuries is daunting. While Cashman could have done a better job preparing or reacting to the injuries, you simply can not compensate for that volume.
And Ponson's jam-magic may have run out.
but the ponson magic is wearing off.
Perefct throw by Bobby. Molina missed the tag.
Mlb.com thinks that Mussina will have 7 shutouts before the end of next season?
that's not just the front line, that's a lot of the primary replacements too ...
btw, i think all the sweet treat milestones are related to moose's wins - 10=ice cream, 15 was candy or something, etc.
However, I was watching the US Olympics qualifying for track, and in the 200 meter women's event, Marshevet Hooker was in fourth place going to the finish line when she tripped. In falling, her chest crossed the finish line just barely ahead of the third place woman. She qualified for the Olympics by diving over the finish line...
Nah, never mind.
http://www.usatf.org/events/2008/OlympicTrials-TF/results/F4.asp
True fact: in the Imperial Measurement system, one one-hundredth of second is officially known as a "jiffy."
Hit it on the ground.
Your ol' buddy,
JF
Still, it would be nice to see someone really study this, with nicely set up cameras or something.
68 Almost...
My.
God.
This is a sign that Nick Blackburn isn't a good pitcher.
"You just gave up hits to Melky Cabrera, Jose Molina, and Brett Gardner. You are not a good pitcher."
I wonder if the players feel it, but it seems like when the Yankees have a rally going, the pressure is on them to score and not the opposition to prevent the damage.
Meecham has shoulder bursitis and cannot lift his arm above his shoulder.
Thank God!
Good hustle, Bobby!
1) He seems more likely to swing at bad pitches with men on base;
2) He really hustles down the line to avoid double plays.
(Not a home run, cult of b)
118 I know, I feel we should give them back.
No Ponson magic, and no Stache power tonight. The boys are going to have to win this one the old fashioned way.
126 Yikes! No kidding.
And check again, I think they may have just changed it. (They did just change it on Gameday.)
he is the answer to our problems that Joba only wished he could be.
we'll make Pontoon an everyday reliever and crush our opponents underfoot!!!
[Jeb, slowly raising his hand]
Anyway, it worked out!
161 i think it depends on the runner - i am pretty sure i have seen damon, jeter, and arod go on their own at least once this year.
i'm guessing math wasn't one of al leiter's top subjects in school ...
giese as a reliever:
0.71 12.2/8/3/8
The Melkman delivers! Good game for Melky.
i may disparage your bat, but i'll always respect your glove ...
Your two-out triples cannot harm me!
(I hope dianagramr is still reading.)
(insert joke about the relationship of said girls to refuse...)
nady?
bay?
bay's not been great vs lefties this year, but he's been slightly better against them than righties for his career.
nady is the much better lefty masher year over year; probably costs a little less, too.
Jeter: "Guess I'll have to do everything myself this inning. Good thing the Stache can catch."
or they suck (like the mariners) but don't have a suitable OF (like ibanez, who's a lefty and also plays the field about as badly as abreu).
we might have to wait until after the non-waiver deadline and see who teams try to pass through ...
rumor is the price is going to be HIGH. 2 top prospects and a secondary one.
i don't know that we can do it.
i don't know that we have it to spare right now.
that's probably 2 from the short list of: joba, jackson, montero and maybe hughes
that's a lot.
now, if cashman could get bay for something like, IPK, tabata and melancon ... that might be worth it.
Look, if it makes the difference between playoffs and no playoffs, then maybe it's worth it. But otherwise, one more year of Jason Bay just can't be worth all that much.
Come on, Sid, let's see the magic!
I'd traded Tabata (because he seems like a head-case, some other minor league pitching prospects -- maybe Horne or Marquez as a player to be named later). If they won't do that then just pass
By the way, if this is our equivalent of Boston's 2006, there could be worse things. We shed payroll and then we go get Tex and CC for 2009 and our prospects are a year closer to the Bronx
Any Humberto sitings on the horizon??
So instead of AGon, Dorf and (who else?) we have Vaquez, Navarone and Beltran. With Navarone, Jorge gets 2 or 3 years, not 4. HUGE dofference.
but abreu's done here, i think. so we're looking at needing a RF. Now, i think my first choice would be to get brian giles from the padres, given that he really does duplicate the OBP machine that abreu should have been for us this year, but someone like bay would give us a little more balance as a RHB.
i dunno, of the trio i mentioned, i think melancon's the biggest loss, at least for next year. i think we can cover for the loss of IPK and i think tabata's 2-3 years away at the least. there's gonna be replacements for him in that time.
difficult decisions ...
Yeah, but only in the eighth inning!!!!
Captain is blazing.
Then again, having Ponson on the mound in general makes me nervous (like tap dancing in the vicinity of the third rail), so bringing in Edwar with men on base wasn't going to increase my blood pressure too much.
like mehmattski said, to get quality, you have to give quality ...
this ain't dave littlefield's pirates any more.
That could be considered a low blow, sir.
What about Abreu? We gave up shit and money for him. I'm not saying the Bucs are in that position but I'd just rather eat this season than overpay for Bay.
April 14 at Tampa Bay
May 27 at Baltimore
282 definitely.
Manny--
Age 19, RK, 1105 OPS
Age 20, A+, 881 OPS
Age 21, AA, 995 OPS
Age 21, AAA, 1114 OPS
Tabata--
Age 16, RK, 799 OPS
Age 17, A, 797 OPS
Age 18, A+, 763 OPS
Age 19, AA, 630 OPS
I know he's younger, but Manny was a beast in addition to bein' Manny.
they're not going to bring back much of anything from anyone.
our best trade chips are worth more to us as keepers than they are as trade chips right now ...
OK, that's a bit of weirdness.
So, no.
297 after what I saw this weekend I have no interest in Manny; I wonder if he's doing this to get un-signed.
If Hughes could be flipped into a good, young slugger who is a more or less safe bet, I might do it.
302 Yep. One or two year contract, sure. But he'll want (and get) too much $$$ and years. And really, do you want him in the OF as he ages?
i hate to sell on him for .25 on the dollar ...
151, 136, 145, 126, 118
Definitely in decline but they got NOTHING for him and his OPS+ since is still well over 100.
No one ever accused the fans of Philadelphia of being smart.
Great stuff.
RIPPER!!!
ok, a bit bored with this game now so looking for distractions..
And, with all that being said, I still really believe he's going to a be a very good starter, and I would love to see the team keep him and develop him.
torre wouldn't know WTF to do with this pitching staff ...
i just hope some good young position players have boras as an agent. i know some people think the yanks can get their position player needs via fa, but there is not much on the horizon with a lot of the good young players being locked up so quickly. likewise, i don't think teams are going to be inclined to trade their young players they have locked up with good contracts.
NO! (Covers ears with hands, shakes head violently.)
Mo will be the closer forever.
BTW, even though the iPhone is the most overhyped thing in technology these days, the MLB video app is really pretty nice. I actually prefer to watch the clips on the phone, even if I'm using Gameday on my main computer, because they look nicer and they get posted quickly.
How about Daniel Blumpkin or "Hot Carl" Pavano as our closer?
He can sweep the stadium after the game.
I'd like to get the Twins reliever with the mumps and let him close....because I like reading about how he has the mumps!
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hot+carl
WTF???
It's like a eulogy.
Lesson 2: Don't suck.
besides, the whole panty thing was outlawed a few years back..
268 Not yet...sometimes he dominates with the change and other times with the fastball! Make up your mind. I gladly admit I was wrong about Edwar (although he was a bit inconsistent at the time I made that point). Hopefully, I can do an I told you say about Melky in about a month.
;)
besides, the "hot carl"'s got nothing on this ... from 1820 no less.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dream_of_the_fishermans_wife_hokusai.jpg
"Jessie: I so want you to hot Carl me.". Really.
Sorry for mentioning hot carls. I figured everyone knew what that meant. Oh and I thought it meant definition number 5 not the first four.
I'll take it anyway.
tommiesmithjohncarlos says:
July 21st, 2008 at 9:49 pm
And can we start calling Latroy Hawkins "The Fat Lady"?
Okay, wouldn't mercury or used plutonium be a bit more toxic than botox?
Not that I'd trade ours, but Dustin Pedroia has a 21 game hitting streak. Maybe it's 22 now. And for some reason, they still have Ellsbury (who isn't getting on base at all) leading off.
I'm rooting for a pitcher's duel, then the M's roast the Boston bullpen.
BoSox, Botox. Never noticed that before.
Ok that was bad.
Good lord.
Wait, maybe not.
I have no judgment right now, don't count on me.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulinum_toxin
I'm too lazy to look up an actual source, but that number is not an error. About ten ounces of botulism toxin could kill the entire human population.
;o)
http://tinyurl.com/2hgvw9
I just find it interesting, given our society. Many people refuse to eat saccharin because one study once found a connection between it and cancer (in ridiculously high doses). Other people refuse to eat at restaurants that use MSG because a guy in the 1970s said it gave him headaches. The latest example is that somehow, Nalgenes give us cancer.
And yet, we accept the most lethal toxin known, for vanity's sake. Says a lot, doncha think?
http://tinyurl.com/67sux3
Yeah, I guess I'll cancel tomorrow's backroom Botox appointment!
This has been quite enlightening.
A two run lead is insurmountable. Well, at least it's Jon Lester.
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