Injuries have decimated them the past 3-4 years. As to a CF'er, run Damon out there every so often, or give the ghost of Kenny Lofton or Mike Cameron or Jim Edmonds a look-see. Maybe take a chance on Andruw Jones.

The options aren't that pretty, I will admit.

valiant effort though.

Oh well.

What are the odds that Pavano actually pitches? I hate to say it, but with our lethargic offense, we need two of Kenndy, Pavano, and Hughes to be solid.

This from Pete:

"JOBA ON DL: Joba Chamberlain has been placed on the 15-day DL. RHP Chris Britton was recalled from AAA Scranton. More on this later as it develops.

No official word yet on what he has, but it sounds like it could be enough to end his season."

crapola...

The options aren't that pretty, I will admit."

Even Melky is a better alternative to that plan. Stick with Melky until we can pull off a trade or someone from below proves themselves. I would be willing to plug Cameron in there, but he will get hurt leaving the dugout, or in the parking lot, or on the subway, or at the theatre or. . .

19 Or the Yanks are just being cautious, or trying to use "Joba is out" as a motivating factor for the team. Though I'm sure I'll get some disagreement on this statement - these guys aren't the type of guys to say, "Well, there goes the season," and give up. They are much more likely to use it as motivation to try even harder.

I hope.

The guys who advocate watching pitch counts for young pitchers (those under 25), and those (of any age) coming off of injury, are 100%, absolutely without a doubt correct to do so. There is mountains of evidence on this point. Those guys don't need this to prove their point; the point has been proven and is not in doubt.

At the same time, why would anyone correlate Joba's injury with high pitch counts? He's been handled very appropriately in that regard.

As for inning counts, Joba threw 124 innings (combining 4 levels) last year and has pitched 89 so far this year, so he seems to have been on safe ground. Of course, Will Carrol claims that minor league innings cannot be compared to major league innings, but you have to start somewhere.

So no, it will be very difficult to label Joba a victim of abuse.

I've never heard of this blog "Ultimate Banter", but David Pinto passed it on.

http://tinyurl.com/68c7u7

In the last hour there have been some underground rumblings about Joba Chamberlain, suggesting that he has a torn (or partially torn) rotator cuff. I've checked with some reliable sources and nothing is confirmed but if this is true – calling it "bad news" would be an understatement.

that's twice in 2 years.

just awful.

awful.

Damon CF
Jeter GIDP
Abreu RF
A. Rodriguez DH
Giambi 1B
Nady LF
Cano 2B
I. Rodriguez C
Betemit 3B

~~~~~~~~~

two things ...

1) yes you read teh captain's position right

2) hacky mcheadfirstslide has officially been served notice.

To say the point has been proven is just wrong. There is a correlation, but even the correlation isn't significant, scientifically speaking.

I wasn't saying I would correlate it, but that many will, given his rapid increase from 40 to 60 to 80 to 100 with few games in which he was kept at a certain pitch count for multiple starts. Many will argue not that the overall number was too high, but like any excercise, it is always safest to plateu for a period of time once increases in weight or duration are addded. In other words, a runner doesn't run 10 miles, then 15, then 20 without running a few days or weeks at each before increasing the distance. A weightlifter doesn't add 20 pounds each workout, he/she does a week or two at one weight and only then increases it. Otherwise, muscle tears and setbacks occur. With Joba, I think the argument will be that his pitch count should not have increased so dramatically with each start, and that his former status as a starter notwithstanding, he should have had a few starts in the minors at 60, then 70-80, then 90-110, and so on. But that isn't what happened. Each start involved significantly more pitches without a plateu, and if anything helped cause this, that is what did it.

The sad thing, regardless of diagnosis, is that mainstream writers just don't seem to understand the pitch count thing either, so the speculation and hysteria and blame game is going to be off the charts if the news is as bad as some are venturing.

Even players who project as possible Type B free agents are considered more valuable than in the past, thanks to a change in the most recent labor agreement.

A team can now gain a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds for such a player without even offering him arbitration.

Case in point: Braves left-handed reliever Will Ohman. Though Ohman had trade value, the Braves did not receive an offer that amounted to the equivalent of a pick between the 31st and 45th selections overall.

All the Yankees are saying for now is that Joba is on the DL. Brian Cashman is flying to New York from Oklahoma City (where he attended the Bobby Murcer Memorial Service) and all the information will come from him.

Girardi claimed to have no knowledge of what Dr. Andrews said.

That's a little misleading. With RISP is avg. is .245, but his OPS is .819. He gets walked a lot with RISP, unsurprisingly, and he slugs well.

With a man on third and two out, his OPS is 1.076.

So, yeah, I guess I'd give him a pass.

This from Brian Cashman: Chamberlain has what is being described as rotator cuff tendinitis. He will be rested for "about a week" and then start a throwing program after being evaluated again.

He will return to New York.

Just for your own reference: "tendinitis" is a nice way to say he has a little tear in his rotator cuff.

Joe Girardi said before the game he was optimistic Joba would play again this season. But a rotator cuff issue is nothing to mess around with. Don't expect to see Chamberlain any time soon this season, if at all.

Oh, wait, I see, that's Pete Abe giving the interpretation, not randym77.

Until I looked it up just now I didn't realize that a rotator cuff included some tendons.

So, this injury doesn't seem as serious as Pete Abe thinks. If the report is all on the level.

Inflammation of the tendons of the shoulder muscles can occur in sports requiring the arm to be moved over the head repeatedly as in tennis, baseball (particularly pitching), swimming, and lifting weights over the head. Chronic inflammation or injury can cause the tendons of the rotator cuff to tear.

X-rays may show a bone spur, while MRI may demonstrate inflammation in the rotator cuff. If a tear in the rotator cuff is present, this can usually be identified on MRI."

So... if it is a tear, they should know about it. If they are telling the truth, he should be back in Sept.

"If the rotator cuff has sustained a complete tear, or if the symptoms persist despite conservative therapy, surgery may be necessary. Arthroscopic surgery can remove bone spurs and inflamed tissue around the shoulder.

Small tears can be treated with arthroscopic surgery. Newer techniques allow even large tears to be repaired arthroscopically, although some large tears require open surgery to repair the torn tendon."

If it's a tear, you would think he would have surgery in near future.

I hope you are right ....

but this is the Yankees we are talking about ...

If it's plain old inflammation of a tendon, it could be gone in a few days. (He's a kid, after all.) Or it could last much longer, obviously. In any case, they're committed to 15 days. I give it a 50-50 chance that that will be enough.

IIRC, that's what happened with Wang his first year. It unfolded almost exactly like this. Shoulder injury, he got an MRI and the results were bad enough that they sent him to see Dr. Andrews.

At first, the Yankees wouldn't say what was wrong or whether he would return that season. Eventually, they admitted it was a torn rotator cuff. They opted for conservative treatment, and Wang did in fact get back before the end of the year. Without surgery.

It was earlier in the year for him than for Joba, though.

i went to dr. andrews when i was in high school. he had just started making a name for himself. it was obviously and assuredly an awful experience - that i cringe for anyone to even have to go there - you are surrounded by injury.

Ach, I scare myself.

.
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.
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(Awed silence)

Let's Go Yankees!

i guess it is an official game now that the bases are loaded

in other news, have i mentioned how much i hate the fact that for some reason baseball is allowed to turn into football for 1 play and one play only ... ban catchers blocking the plate, ban hitters from playing linebacker

As I always say, that stupid play will continue (just good baseball, playing the game right, etc) until some beloved player--or someone threatening a record--gets his neck broken.

Now, maybe if Albert Pujols were to get hurt, in a season where he was chasing the HR record or a hitting streak or something...

I pissed him off .... :-)

Robin Ventura destroyed his ankle sliding into home one year.

114 but is the base, or in this case the plate, part of the basepath?

All MLB needs to do is clarify what a runner is and is not allowed to do on plays where he is beaten to the base/plate by the throw. Can he punch the fielder? Kick him in the nuts? Kick him in the face? Poke him in the eye? etc.

I don't see what rule change would be reasonable on that play. At every other base, the rule is that the runner has to be going for the base - at least, he has to be making some vague approximation of it. But as long as he is, he's got the right to try to knock the ball out of the fielder's glove, or even to knock the fielder down. If the second baseman were fool enough to stand in front of the base and try to block the runner, he'd get knocked down, too.

119 I agree wholeheartedly. Something needs to be clarified in there.

i still think his next facial hair should be mutton chops ...

http://tinyurl.com/63lxtb

UPDATE, 9:21 p.m.: Pudge has a bruised right knee. No tests required. He's day-to-day. Now that I actually believe.

not so funny to hear him talk about riding his young pitchers like rented mules ...

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he had no specifics to report regarding Chamberlain's examination by noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Alabama, but a source told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney that Andrews told the Yankees he doesn't believe Chamberlain's injury is a long-term problem.

I'm not talking about bang-bang plays, where the runner and ball arrive at the same time. I'm talking about plays at home where the runner is out by 15 or 20 feet. It just doesn't seem right to me that the runner, in that case, should be allowed to obliterate the fielder.

The way details are being shared/not shared/lied about is remarkably similar to the way the Patriots leak out details/non-details about their players. Pete is a Pats fan, so he's probably very familiar with the doubletalk.

154 i know that it is a blog, and he is entitled to his opinion, but as a
credentialed reporter and someone who built his blog up quite successfully by providing information, i don't think his snarky comments as cult aptly describes it are necessary, and i think it detracts from what he is doing - i can surely ignore what i don't care for, and plan to.

Just look at Rule 7.06 Note: [paraphrase] The catcher has the right to block the base path if he has the ball, he has no right to block the path without the ball.

Also, look at rule 7.09 (L): [paraphrase] the runner has to avoid a fielder who is trying to field a batted ball, even if it is in the basepath.

Taken together, these rules suggest that the runner's right to the base path is not unlimited. The runner should not be allowed to collide intentionally with a fielder with the ball, who has the right to his position (which, as I see it, should supersede the runner's right to the path).

So long as the fielder has the ball.

i'm also pissed that this umpire is calling strikes a foot outside the zone on either side.

With Minn and TB winning, and Boston on it's way, this is a big Win (chickens... hatch... count) especially with Snacks on the mound.

as i said in 161 it's his blog - he can basically do what he wants, i am not a fan of that part of the blog, and i think that he is getting away from what he made his name on

Not for nothing, but I'd say Pudge stepped up tonight. That play in the first--after that hilarious sequence with Cano the Melon Headed--was c***nballs all the way. If it had happened at the Stadium, Pudge would be an instant hero.

Nice game for Jetes and man, a little slump for A Rod, huh? But Nady is looking good and another dinger for Stacheless Giambino.

I didn't actually see the play when it happened, so I just saw the replay for the first time. The runner wasn't out by 15-20 feet, not by any means.

(wiping water off the monitor) lol

Guys like Feinsand and Kepner are very bland by comparison. I think you have to take a bit of the bad with the good in the way Pete runs his blog, and (for now) I think it's weighted heavily toward the good...or at least interesting.

Also, keep in mind that his tone is calibrated toward his audience, which tend to be fans that are a little more excitable, entitled, and pugnacious, and there's a lot of "backup quarterback" type excitement around certain players and prospects that Pete likes to have fun with. Pete is who he is, but he might be a little less snarky around Banter or RLYW type commenters.

I argue that the right of the runner is much more limited, both according to the letter and the spirit of the rules. Therefore, I tend to favor the right of the fielder, so long as he has the ball.

Compare the "collision play" with A-Rod's slap play. To tag A-Rod, the Red Sox fielder (who was that, anyway?) had to obstruct the base path in some way. Yet A-Rod was not allowed to intentionally dislodge the ball by slapping the fielder's glove...in fact, he was called out.

I simply do not see how the "collision play" is any different. If the catcher has the ball ahead of the runner, I do not see why the runner is allowed to intentionally dislodge it in the most violent of fashions.

You could probably throw in Gentle Ben or Ling-Ling the panda in that gene-pool...

You could probably throw in Gentle Ben or Ling-Ling the panda in that gene-pool...

Note to Joe: you have Edwar, Marte and Mo available today. Please do not allow your relievers to throw 40+ pitches and pitch themselves out of bases loaded jams when they've lost the zone by two to three feet (well, except for Mo obviously).

"Although Rodriguez committed interference, there is no language in the rulebook that is available to the public that prohibits a runner from using his hands to avoid a tag or any other reason. It is. however, outlined in the supplemental rulebook given to umpires in section 6.1. It reads: "While contact may occur between a fielder and runner during a tag attempt, a runner is not allowed to use his hands or arms to commit an obviously malicious or unsportsmanlike act--such as grabbing, tackling, intentionally slapping at the baseball, punching, kicking, flagrantly using his arms or forearms, etc. to commit an intentional act of interference unrelated to running the bases."

Notice the rule allows for contact. If Rodriguez lowered his shoulder and ran over Arroyo, this would have been perfectly legal."

http://tinyurl.com/56wn6u

Weird.

Well, if I ruled the universe--bwahahahah--I would clarify things more explicitly: no crashing into the fielder intentionally.

wow.

does this guy have any idea what he's talking about???

I hate, hate, hate ESPfuckingN.

Translation: don't trust what the Yankees tell you about an injury. Good advice.

Sut must still be hitting the bottle and hoping to bang Erin Andrews ...

Again, if any other baseman deliberately blocks the runner from reaching the bag - independently of his efforts to make the tag - the runner has the right to go through him.

It's not that the runner has unfettered rights, it's that both players have equal rights.

Oh well, bring on The Great One.

Maybe even two horses' asses.

And of course, this would depend on the judgement of the umpire in the case of close or bang-bang plays. I didn't see tonight's particular play, but if the ball only just arrived at the same time as the runner, then a no call is in order.

What a revelation.

I caught the beginning of the game, up to when I-Rod got blasted. And now I've got back just in time for Mo time!

oops, jinxed it. Single.

Tip of the hat.

Well, let's do it again tomorrow.

Ask the Tigers, ask the Mets about once or twice a week. ;-)

We're in a special situation. Any given year, only a few teams have a real lights-out closer. And only one team has had one for a decade.

I was in denial, hoping he'd just miss a start.

Damn it.

Not good.

I'm happy to have him.

We should definitely bring him back next year, if he and Jorgie could somehow work out an arrangement.

An exceptional relief pitcher has significant value.

Using that pitcher in the rigid "closer" role - essentially, having his usage defined by a statistic rather than a game situation - is a poor way to maximize that value.

It's all on the hitters.

Robby has to remain hot and Alex has to step up a bit more and be a flat-out menace.