Except for a couple of bad pitches, Small did good. He's not primed to go long this year so I could see him tiring. Still, if the Yankees had an extra hit here or there it would have been a W. The fault lies with the hitters for last night's loss. 15 LOB is not acceptable.

I like Durazo as a righty masher. I think sticking with Melky is the way to go. He is good at working the count. It is only a matter of time before he finds his power.

I am also an ARod fan, but man he sure can stink it up some times in big spots. Doesn't he know if you are going to hit into a DP, he should just strike out?

Any word on Posada? Stinnet came up in some big spots yesterday when the Yanks could have used a pinch hitter like Andy Phillips.

I'm pleased with the Hidalgo signing. At the very least, he is a great defensive player and, even as a defensive substitute, he's useful if used properly.

I've always liked Arod and I've always defended him in the past when necessary (unfortunately, too many times for my taste).

But last night I finally saw the light and I have to now admit that he is probably the most overrated player in Baseball.

It's come to the point with me now that I don't enjoy watching him play anymore. I love watching Jeter. His confidence rubs off on most the other players that surround him. I love watching Posada and his quiet intensity. And I can count off at least a dozen other current Yanks that I really enjoy watching. But with Arod, it' no fun anymore!

He is arguably the most talented player on the field when he's playing, but he tends to play waaaaay below his level at critical situations and way too often shrinks when guys like Jetes will rise to the occasion.

Last night's at bat in the 8th inning sealed the deal for me. Instead of coming up with a potential game-winning hit and riding the self-confidence into a crucial series with the Sox, he grounds into a DP and thus carries the baggage of his failure in the clutch to Boston. Would Jeter have done this?

We all now know that Arod is a bit of a headcase. Now we have to see his failure at Shea sink into his noggin and fester throughout the series in Fenway, where he'll most probably come up in a big situation a few more times. Instead of building on his "success" last night, he'll probably just cower and fail against a guy like Schilling or Papelbon or some other hated Red Sock. Or he'll boot the ball in a critical situation. I can assure you that Sox fans were watching the ESPN game last night and won't let Arod forget about his DP.

I hate watching Arod play. Now THAT really sucks, because I should enjoy watching one of the "greatest" talents of our era play on our team.

I'm starting to lose a bit of confidence in A-Rod when he comes up in these situations.
When the team has it's injuries like it does now it would be nice to see the best player in the game and the MVP carry us for a while.

The Mets players seemed very pumped up to play and beat the Yanks, while the Yanks took it for what it was worth, a game against a NL team. I rather get pumped up for the Red Sox but now we have to play the Mets again, what a waste.

Terrance Long, Richard Hidalgo and or Mr. E. Durazo are not bad bench players and can maybe do a decent job of holding the down the fort until we get healthier.
I have a feeling if we had Sheff, Posada and Matsui we wouldn't have lost 2/3 to the Mets

Couple quick comments.

Watching the Yankees lose is bad. Watching them lose to the Mets is worse. Watching them lose to the Mets on ESPN while listening to Morgan and Gammons yammer on about A-Rod is too much. I had to click it off and catch the box score in the morning. I was this close to blowing a fuse, so it was time to chill and get a life.

When Torre pulled Bean with one ball to Reyes, I figured that's that. He's forever banished from the Circl of Trust, and if he's ever seen on the mound for the Yankees, it will be in mop-up situations only. I would be shocked otherwise. More likely he'll be traded to the Royals for some total scrub.

The Yankees probably will not score 1000 runs this year, but I like their chances of setting the league record for men left on base. Un-freakin-believable.

And now Boston? In Fenway? Time to suck it up and find a way, guys.

BP

4 Oddly enough, everyone roasted Torre for carrying a 3rd cather in the beginning of the year. We could have really used one this past weekend to even make pinch hitting in those "Stinnet" situations possible.

Is Torre smarter than we thought in knowing how much Stinnet can offer, that a 3rd cather was necessary for this team at some point in the season? Or am I just strestching it?

9 I don't understand who even pinch hits in this situation? The Third True Mitch Jones?

6 These days I love A-Rod because he's a headcase. He's trying so hard and he's also just unlucky. Jeter's "Big" "clutch" hit was a groundball to short. A-Rod came up two batters after him and choked by killing a ball on a line drive that went, unfortunately right into the glove of Cliff Floyd. A-Rod had a better at bat, but the fans and the statistics will say otherwise. I'm rooting for him to be more ununlucky. . . which actually happens pretty often. I someone keepnig track of game-winning or lead-taking RBI? Because he's got them this year.

When Jeter leads the team by a mile in making the last out in losses and hits 261 with RISP in 2005 and 267 close and late, not a peep. So the perception that Jeter is clutch continues without having much basis in fact.

Arod hit 290 with runners in scoring position and 293 close and late in 2005, but no mention is made that he outhit "Captain Clutch" in both categories.
Some people think how often you get on leading off an inning is a clutch stat. And isn't Derek's job as a hitter to get on base? In 2005 Derek did a nice job of it, getting on at a 409 clip. Alex? He got on at a 470 clip.
in 118 postseason ABs, Arod has 36 hits 9 2Bs, 6 HR, 19 runs, 16 RBI, a 305 BA, 393 OBA, and a 534 SLG.
In 462 ABs, Jeter has 81 runs and 47 RBI. Jeter has a 307 BA, a 379 OBA and a 463 SLG.

Arod has a run or RBI in 30% of his ABs. Jeter in 28%. He gets on base more often and has a SLG 71 points higher.

Over his career Arod has been the better "clutch" performer simply because he's the better player.

Arod hit a ball as hard as it can be hit with the bases loaded, but right at a fielder, so that's considered a failure. Even Kaat knows you can't aim a baseball. Jeter hits a bleeder that really should have been an error on Wright and gets credit for being a clutch hitter.

It would have helped if it didn't take glacial time for the manager and the FO to make decisions about players/the roster. With Jorge very doubtful for the weekend (and what's up with that anyway? can't we send him to a friggin' doctor? we're in NYC for chrissake!)and the offense already depleted, the Yankees had 28 hours AFTER Saturday's game to send Reese down and call up Wil Nieves or Koyie Hill...precisely so Kelly Stinnett and his .500 OPS wouldn't cost us a game. And the deal with Chacon is just another example of the Yankees fiddling around with player injuries to the detriment of the team...games are scheduled almost every day, fellas. Across town, the Mets didn't wait around to see if Victor Zambrano's shoulder would "come around" in 5 days or Brian Bannister's hammy would miraculously relax.

Well I was dead wrong. I figured Long to be nothing more than AAA fodder. With Pena starting to hit I imagined he'd be up as a lefty bat. Well what do I know anyway.

I thought Durazo was the only lumbering DH type we should have interest in last winter. It's a good signing. I wonder if these moves, (i.e. Pena, Durazo, Long, Straton, Ruiz and maybe Hedalgo) presage a move coming with Hughes, Duncan, Melky and or other prospects. Noises are starting to come out of DC about Hernandez and Sori. It wouldn't surprise me if something happened in the next couple of weeks; it's must be tough to contemplate flushing a $200 million season without feeling the need to do something drastic.

I think the current thinking is right, that they need to wait this thing out but I have a bad feeling this Sawx series will tell the tale. If we go south for three and find ourselves sitting 4.5 out there could be moves made sooner rather than later.

If waiting it out means Long, Stinnett, Erickson, et al get significant PT, I think we should make a move. What good are kids if they're not going to be used/
If it means Melky, Bean, Phillips, and another kid pitcher get some PT I'm for waiting it out.

It's fine that ARod has a better clutch record than Jeter, according to the stats you quote...but I thought the point was for ARod to help the Yankees win, not to beat Jeter in various forms of statistical analysis. Luis Gonzalez broke his bat on a hump-back liner to beat Rivera in Game 7 of 2001...the DBacks would not have won the Series if he had "hit a ball as hard as it can be hit ... but right at a fielder." It would have been nice if ARod had managed a bleeder through the left side last night. He didn't need to hit a home run. And, believe me, ARod is skillful enough a batter to do that.

Guys we are all disgusted and it pains to look up a guy with a METS cap this morning.. but lets get some perspective.. we almost beat them 2/3..

i donno who had the real moral win and we had our C- lineup out there..

People bashing Arod.. cool down guys.. let me give u a pop quiz.. D Ortiz and his 300 pound visceral fat went through a slide that plain stunk 3 weeks back.. DID it make national news?? NO .. ARod gets a bad rep..

what he did yesterday was bad.. but as people point out U can hit it hard and get unlucky sometimes and thats what happened..

STOP comparing or debating Arod v Jeter.. its not good for the team or for the unity of the fans.. we dont want another Winfeild situation here..

Jeter hits a 2 run lucky single.. i take that.. but do u think he planned or plantde it.. to say "what use is hitting a scorcher to RF" opposed to "hitting a 2 run error scored as a hit" is not fair..

and its a team.. drink some green tea and root for the TEAM..

Sheff is reportedly ready to go and hes gonnab in trenton tonight...

and they say he will be back tomorrow (ESPNRadio) .. so that shud help us too..

Amazingly he took a cortisone shot, when 5 days back he said NO WAY

maybe.. maybe the OPTION has been picked..

11 I probably opened up a can of worms by even mentioning Jeter when criticizing Arod, but part of my point was that Arod is supposedly one of the top 3 hitters in the whole Game. He SHOULD be outperforming guys like Jeter who, with or witout the "intangables," is not even in the top 10-15 best hitters in Baseball.

The other point is not just that Arod needs to perform in the clutch, the point is also that a player of his calibre doesn't need to ground into a DP. Remember the 9th inning of Game 5 in last year's ALDS vs. the Angels?

16 YankA, Well something had to happen to put that big smile on Shef's puss last night.

Take a chill pill with A-Rod. When he hits, he is padding his stats. When he makes out, he chokes. Give it a rest. He earned his stripes with me when he took Schilling deep in Boston last year.

They would have taken 2 of 3 if not for Randy Johnson's stinkfest on friday night. Giambi has 5 hits in May. The bench can't hit or field. Plenty of blame to go around.

I come to defend Alex. Yeah, it was disappointing when he grounded into that DP, but Derek did the exact same thing a couple innnings earlier. I just think that because Alex is one of the best players in baseball that the expectations on him are unrealistically high. He is a slumping a bit right now, but he will be hitting up a storm soon enough.

whoa...5 and if you pinch hit for Stinnett, is it time to move Cairo behind the plate?

whoa...I wish I had this stat handy but there was something quoted about game leading rbi's and arod the other evening on YES that totally puts everything you all say about arod's performance out to pasture. As for last night: You have to hit a ball sharply to ground into a double play for one thing AND at the other at bat he crushed a pitch to the outfield. He is the AL MVP for chrissakes. A "head case"? Get a hold of yourselves, form a 12 step recovery group, please. Seek help.

Jorge out of the lineup is major, much more than missing 3 outfielders. The Will Nieves Solution? Hadn't even thought of it myself. Sounds like a good name for some alternative music group, though.

2 Durazo is a lefty masher, No?

I thought Colter's debut was inspiring. The carefully cultivated Ruthian poise on the mound was nothing short of majestic. Problem was the damned cold, what's an Alabama lad to do?

Actually, if you think of it, the whole B rotation did a great job to keep us in the game. Small-Myers-Bean-Villone-Erickson held the mets to 4 runs. That means we have Farnworth-Rivera ready to blow smoke after our Mighty Wang drops a load on those dickless rsox.

The real matchup is Johnson-Clement, a 14-13 game if I ever sensed one. Watch it turn out to be a 2-1 pitching classic with both teams thrilled with the outcome...

We can try and spin it whichever way we want. We could have swept them, they could have swept us - it's all talk as far as I'm concerned. The bottom line for me is that the Mets outplayed the New York Yankees. If it weren't for a miraculous 2nd game comeback, RJ sucked on Friday, Reyes made key plays stopping singles short of reaching the outfield and preventing key runs from scoring, yesterday it was a non-ABomb from ARod.

I'm not feeling too happy right now. Not so much because of the loss to the Mets, but more because the Yanks now go to Boston and I feel they might start to feel defeated because the injuries have taken their toll on the team. I hope they don't quit....I really hope....but they have been through a lot and Boston can drive the nail in the coffin with this series. I hate this feeling right now. I can deal with my girl cheating on me more than having to see the Yanks go down like this. This is not a good. I think they are playing hard and trying, but they have key people who are missing from this lineup.

At least the Sopranos was really good last night…..oh well!!!

I think about what Uncle Vince once said, "winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing". The Yanks can't keep losing like this, I don't want them to get into the habit. Terrence F-ING LONG!!!!! Oh my...

I meant Proctor-Farnsworth-Rivera

Although we trash Bernie here, he is hitting well from the right side. Why not bring up Pena and platoon him with Bernie? When Pena plays, he plays first and Giambi DHs; when Bernie plays, he DHs, and Giambi plays 1B.

Bean does not look like a major league player. Man, he's sloppy looking. I had never seen him before. He looks like he's a White Castle cheesburger away from keeling over.

You know I was discussing this whole A-Rod, Jeter thing with my wife, and she brings up a great point. People are often fooled by confidence. When Jeter fails in a big situation he just sloughs it off. Where as A-Rod...well he wears it like a scarlet letter. Confidence really is everything.

15"It would have been nice if ARod had managed a bleeder through the left side last night. He didn't need to hit a home run. And, believe me, ARod is skillful enough a batter to do that."

I don't think anyone is so skillful that they can find the gaps between infield defenders when they want to. You find the gaps by hitting the ball hard. Then the fielders have less time to react and the ball goes thru. You hit it softly and the fielders eventually get to it. See all the Double Plays turned in on bleeders past the pitcher. That's why they gave Jeter the hit on the Wright misplay. The umps felt that Jeter hit it so hard that Wright couldn't play the ball cleanly.

Fact is, you have Giambi who they play a shift on. Why isn't he good enough to go the opposite way, where they don't play the fielders? Even Fat Papi, when Tampa shifted on him, put down a bunt and got a hit out of it.

Arod is doing his job even if he doesn't get hits at the "clutch" situations. Even if he gets his RBI's in blowout games, I am fine with it. Otherwise those games wouldn't be blowouts and we would see the middle relief pitching a lot more.

If A-Rod hits that smash in the 4th ten feet to the right or left of Floyd its a 2 or 3 run double and my suspicion is that most of this conversation does not occur. That was bad luck.

Does anyone know anything about Colter Bean (other than his minor league stats)? His delivery is so akward. Was he a former knuckleballer? Is it a "ball hiding" technique or something? Does he have OCD?

He looks like a flabby Charlie Hough, minus the knuckleball of course. But I was real interested in seeing him after all the talk.

Perception, perception, perception.

Jeter is a living legend, a clutch god, a man who can do no wrong.

A-Rod is a greedy #%(^&@$ who signed a $252 million contract, the richest in history.

That will always be most people's perception, and it's a shame.

This Yankee fan, for one, is still thrilled to see A-Rod in pinstripes, at the plate and in the field. He'll be fine.

And just like last year - when the lineup is carrying 4 automatic outs (sorry, Melky) bad things happen. That isn't A-Rod's fault. Personally, I think Mr. Cashman and Mr. Torre are to blame. Every team has to deal with injuries. The Yanks have the personnel to address them. Instead, we fans are treated to the likes of Terrance Long and Scott Erickson - because Joey Four Rings won't use non-vets, and Cashman won't force him to. Except for Melky, the guy who gets pulled for a defensive replacement most nights. Because, you know, riding the bench will surely improve his outfield play. What a joke.

Maz, great call by your wife. I think she's got something there.

Colter Bean looks like one of those really tall dudes playing pool in a cramped bar. 6'6 and bent over throwing those frisbee sliders. Pretty odd-looking.

The following website is devoted to furthering the legend of Mr Bean:

http://freecolterbean.com/beansbio.aspx

27 See, I would say that Bean really DOES look like a pitcher. He's like Clemens to the extreme. Big lower body, in his case, real big! I see no reason why Bean can't fill the Jeff Nelson role, they are very simmilar though Bean is pretty much guaranteed to be less of a jerk...The key is that he has to somehow make it know that he too is a warrior, that he has a lot of heart etc etc...

Anybody remember just two weeks ago when A-Rod hit that bomb of the Billy Big Mouth Bass Schilling? Let's hope for another one or two of those tonight to quiet everyone...

31 I'm no expert on the guy but I've seen him a couple of times. He was doing a little more hand licking than I have seen last night but what you saw is basically what he is; a side armer with a fastball, slider and change. He has that weird looking delivery and usually pretty good control without much power. He once struck out 8 straight a couple of years ago with Trenton so that's an indication that his control can be pretty good. I think Morgan was right, the cold and the wind seemed to have affected his performance.

He sort of has that Myers deal except from the other side in that lefties get a good long look at the ball hence the higher lhb average against. He's fun to watch in that most guys that big aren't usually so idiosyncratic in their mannerisms or approach. To me he physically resembles a slightly taller Mickey Lolich. There has got to be a place for a guy like him at the MLB level; he's just too much fun to watch.

On Colter Bean, what is the deal with him constantly licking his hands? It really is a true testament to his body's immunity that he isn't sick more often.

And what happens to him when his mouth dries up? Does he have to be taken out of the game? Does he lose his stuff? Or does Guidry have to run out there with some water?

I love how much people (read the press) read into the early season. Not only are we stuck with all the crazy pieces about how these early contenders and stats just could hold up (and they rarely do) but we get the articles like in today's times about how the Mets may just have overtaken the Yanks, ignoring the C team the Yanks through out there, or the fact that it is May! Which is why this schedule with the Sox is so stupid. Let's schedule most of their matchups in the first half of the season, nevermind the second half when teams usually start to resemble themselves.

Wait until the second matchup with the Mets. If fthe Yanks still look like this, and get beaten again, so be it, the Mets may be better this year. But for now, its hard for me to take these games as indicitive of anything besides a team waiting for its all-star starting catcher and right fielder to return...

"There has got to be a place for a guy like him at the MLB level; he's just too much fun to watch."

Yes!

Quote from my girlfriend: "Is this guy for real?"

If you can't laugh at a 250 lb pear-shaped man, squeezed into snug pinstripes, sweating and maniacally licking his palms, you have no sense of humor.

Colter Bean is Lee Gutterman on crack.

Pinstriped blog has it that we DL'd Chacon and brought up Long. Maybe that's been posted alreayd, but man. Seriously, that's just sad. Can't we just throw Mitch Jones out there. This makes me think we might actually want to play Long, sigh.

See, here is a case clearly of Cashman bowing to Torre's demands. Joe tells Cashman, "what kind of team are you giving me?" aka, I can't play these kids, I don't know what to do with them, I might actually have to coach them. So Cashman realizes that if he puts TLong on the roster, Joe won't go into total panic mode.

The problem is that Cashman just needs to say "f you Joe, you will make do with what I give you"

22 I meant he mashes righty pitchers. I guess that is kind of unclear unless you are in my brain.

41 Sorry Dude, I figured you did and that it was something like that, I regretted it as soon as I posted. I just wasn't sure what was going on; doubting what I thought I knew.

Yeah he is and he could be of some real help. I wanted them to sign him over the winter so I like that signing. I like the move to youthful speed but of all the big heavy legged mashers I think he may fit best in the lineup; good OBP, some nice lefty power and sees a lot of pitches. As long as we can't get Nick Johnson back someone like Durazo will have to do.

How do some of you know so well the conversations that Torre and Cashman are having?

I've always defended A-Rod against his bashers and the Cult of Jeter folks, but watching him come to the plate last night with the trying run on 2nd in the 8th inning, I had the same sinking feeling I used to have when a ground ball left the bat headed for Chuck Knoblauch.

It's pretty bad when you're just praying the guy will strike out or pop up but you can just feel that dp coming.

.250 w/ risp just ain't getting it done.

Good chatter as usual everyone. Seems quiet here - maybe the sox fans think it's "ovah" and they've already clinched....

Interesting article in today's Boston Globe on Arod getting help from a sports psychologist:

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2006/05/22/thought_processor/

Man, I want him to do better in the clutch ! Just one hit last night would have helped things wouldn't it ?

As an aside: someone in our neighborhood (north of Boston) stole our Yankee flag from our garage...

That article in Boston Herald.. i think we saw something like that in the Daily News last year, thats when he said he went for mental treatment.. coz of a rocky childhood?

45
That article is too funny. I had to double-check just to make sure I wasn't reading 'The Onion'.

I'm starting to warm up to Arod and that article helps solidify my image of him as a Lovable Loser.

I can imagine him stopping a dice game in one of those illegal gamling palours he goes to. Puts in an urgent call to his shyster guru and asks for a special mantra.

"I toss the dice with a solid roll. Sevens and Elevens is all I shall throw" (repeat 10,000 times)

Maybe ARod whould be a snob.. a boring idiot who talks nothing a la Scott mclellan, sometimes he says so much, he leaves the door open for people to ram him on that nose..

joe in boston -

Thanks for the link. I skimmed it and, boy, do I find it troubling. Isn't the goal of therapy to get the patient to eventually be self-sufficient? You mean to tell me 13 hasn't played a game in almost 10 years w/o talking to his shrink?

Disturbing...

"maybe the sox fans think it's "ovah" and they've already clinched"

In general, I think it's rude for Sox fans (like myself) to post on another team's site after a loss. (I hate it when BigBri shows his ugly pinstripes on Surviving Grady after a Sox loss.) But since you mentioned it, I'll post what I was going to say earlier:

24 "they have been through a lot and Boston can drive the nail in the coffin with this series"

Even if the Sox sweep the series (unlikely, even with the Yanks' current situation) it's far too early to be ordering coffins for any team outside of KC.

And doesn't making $25mil disqualify someone as being "a Lovable Loser"?

I am a Mets fan and I would just like to say that Alex Rodriguez is a great player but he will never be a true Yankee. He will never be a Lou Gehrig a Mickey Mantle or even Derek Jeter. Those guys can hit in the CLUTCH not like A-ROD. I gotta say it felt pretty good taking 2/3 from the YANKS.

This thing with A-Rod is so strange. People seem to expect him to be a combination of Joe DiMaggio, Albert Schweitzer and Stephen Hawking. He can't possibly live up to the expectations people have set for him. Additionally he is young, incredibly talented, good looking, wealthy and successful; all are attributes that seem to inspire jealousy. He's also just a freaking human being who happens to be a ball player. I'd be willing to bet that he's subject to the same self doubts and anxieties that haunts each of us. If he doesn't perform optimally at all times the best explanation may simply be that he is human.

It's unfortunate that he also seems to have set his own bar impossibly high in that he can't seem to attain his own expectations at times. He seems quite wiling to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders like he's some sort of all-star version of St. Christopher or Atlas. Unless he finds a way to simply relax and just be a ball player I think it's quite possible that it will always be this way for him in New York. Winning the Serious and playing a role could help him find a way to figure out who he needs to be.

I wonder if in a way that was what was wrong with Contreras and maybe Vazquez. They just wanted to win so much that they overreached while they were here which made them look very bad and very human at times. Could that be Johnson's problem. Maybe that's the difference with guys like Jeter and Ortiz; they want it just as badly but they, for some reason, can control themselves enough to keep a nice calm brain when things get nuts. Maybe A-Rod can find that somewhere.

Additionally the guy was the freaking AL MVP last year. If what A-Rod is infact is infact represented by what he has given us for the last 2.25 seasons haven't the Yankees managed to obtain a top 5 player? How can we realistically complain about that?

53 MFD, no one should realistically complain about A-Rod. That contract, though, has done strange things to people's minds.

Where's George and his "Stop worrying and just play like you can!" line? It seemed to work last year . . .

D'oh meant 52

53 MFD, Yeah I guess you're right, just "follow the money".

Jetes makes $20 million this year? I guess he's "ours" in a way A-Rod can't be at this point. Jeter catches crap but not like A-Rod. That contract shines the light of a white hot sun on him and it seems he never stands in the same shade that appreciation provides for Jeter. It looks awfully hot and lonely out where A-Rod is.

The discussion of ARod is fascinating. The performance analysis types can marshall data to show accurately that ARod is more clutch than we rabid fans think. They can show he has better numbers in the subsets of tight games and key situations than Jeter. We fans on the other hand don't think all "clutch situations" are created equal. A double in the gap with runners on to erase a one-run Royals lead somehow doesn't do it for us like dominating a Red Sox or playoff series. So tonight if one of those "unrepresentative," big game turning situations occurs --- one that for performance analysis represents nothing more than one data point ---give me Jeter, give me juicer Giambi, give me anyone in reason to get it done (that excludes Bernie and Cairo)but don't give me ARod.

56 What do you mean "we fans" Kemosabe?