Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
A thermometer on the field at Yankee Stadium read 120 degrees. Imagine how it felt to be a Blue Jay pitcher, with the Yankee offense grinding-out at-bat after at-bat? The Bombers put eight runs up on the board, led by Jason Giambi's four RBI (dinger, double) and completed a one-sided, three-game sweep by beating Toronto 8-1. The Bombers are a game ahead of the Red Sox, who were finally unable to come back in the bottom of the ninth against the Tribe (though they made it close, as both Ortiz and Manny hit long fly ball outs).
Corey Lidle pitched reasonably well and was rewarded with treats after the game. In other Yankee news, Robinson Cano went 2-5 in minor league game last night, while Hideki Matsui's progress hit a minor snag.
Finally! sheesh
Given that the remaining dirty dozen games in that span are against the White Sox, Angels, and Red Sox, the Yanks need to take care of business against the O's at every opportunity. Got that, Randy Johnson?
Jeter, Giambi, and A-rod remain from '05.
Melky, Damon, Abreu, Wilson, Fasano, Green, and Lidle are newcomers (yeah, it's sort of a stretch to include Melky here but technically correct).
Throw in Proctor (version 2.0), Farnswacker, and Ponsoon, who worked out of the bullpen yesterday, and the team we saw complete the Toronto sweep looks almost nothing like the '05 Yanks.
$!man has been busy.
Sure, Boston's field goal kicker has nailed a few in the final minutes, but Jeter, currently the MLB leader in VORP, is looking Joe Montana clutch.
At the game the other night, my buddy and I fired up the Jeter MVP chants in our neighborhood of the upper deck. Voices quickly joined the chorus.
The over the shoulder catch, the seemingly endless string of hits, stolen bases, and scored runs. Even after all these years, Jeter is the straw that stirs the Yankees. The Prince of the City is partying like it's 1999. Keep up the good work, Captain MVP.
True, but slightly misleading because of injuries - not that guys were shipped out.
Matsui, Sheff, and Cano would all be starting, which shifts the ratio the other way.
However, the point remains, Cash has been busy and he's done a helluva job without sacrificing the future at all. Chacon for Wilson was highway f'in robbery.
But I think there must be something I'm missing. Can someone explain it to me?
14 Keith Law over at baseballanalysts.com just had an excellent article describing waivers, if you want to check it out. Since the trade deadline, the Yankees have been behind the Red Sox in waiver claims either because of record, or because tiebreakers go back to previous years (in this case, 2004.) So the Red Sox can claim Lopez off waivers, before the Yankees or Tigers can. Then the Orioles can do one of three things: pull him back, stick the Red Sox with Lopez's full contract, or work out a trade. So the trade can occur without the influence of any team with a better record than the Red Sox.
Lopez
2006: 279 AB, .265/.314/.412
2005: 395 AB, .278/.322/.458
It would be like replacing Ghost of 'Tek with Ghost of J-Lo.
Andruw Jones, I'd be more concerned about. But then Sox fans wouldn't be able to complain about the Yankees adding Abreu and his contract (Jones is making $13 mil this year).
I agree that we shouldn't be too worried about the addition of the mighty J-Lo to the Red Sox. And I can't believe Andruw will really clear waivers. I know he's an aging CF, but he's still one of the best players in all of baseball. Wouldn't the Dodgers claim him, for instance?
Or is the point that nobody will claim him because they know Atlanta will just withdraw him?
Word to your Cashman, yo.
• The Blue Jays and Yankees played for 3 hours and 15 minutes in brutal heat at Yankee Stadium Thursday afternoon, but Toronto clearly got the worst of it. They were on the field for 2 hours and 12 minutes, while the Yankees were on the field for 1 hour, 3 minutes.
• In Bobby Abreu's first 14 plate appearances for the Yankees, he has seen 76 pitches, a staggering 5.4 per game; the major league average is about 3.76.
• In three games against the Yankees this week, Toronto's starting pitchers accumulated 12 innings and 243 pitches.
The other thing about waivers is that the teams making claims are not disclosed. So unless the Yanks have a guy on the inside, there's no way to know who the Sox have put a claim on.
BTW, why hasn't anyone suggested trading Phillips while his stock his high? After the A-Rod stuff he can only go downhill. Who should ESPN get for him? Maybe some prospects?
12, 31 Steve Phiilips is already preparing the draft for his DJ trade talk after DJ gets the AL MVP later this year.
Javy to Boston for someone (mid-level) from Boston's 40 man roster, PLUS Orioles pay approx $1.4million of Javy's $2.7mill salary.
ALSO, one of the reasons the Braves might have put Andruw Jones on waivers is to gauge interest and discover possible trades. Andruw is great, but if he stays with the Braves next year, he becomes a 10/5 guy, which means he can't be traded without his consent. If they don't want to get stuck with him for many years in the future, they might look to trade him now.
Braves probably have no interest in trading, but it's always good to see what's out there - you never know what you might get, and Schuerholz is a very good GM so he'd be unlikely to miss it if a really good trade offer came around.
Andre in Boston
37 I can't wait for ESPN to proclaim that the Sawx now have a terrific offensive catcher now that they have Lopez and his pathetic .726 OPS and how he will lead them to the playoffs.
Destrade also seemed more even keel. Both seem much less apt to make grand statements after one game or something. I'd much rather have a name or two messed up than listen to how A-Rod should be traded because he bobbled a ball the other day.
And much as I hate to admit it, Kruk has been better as of late. He was the one who called out Phillips (and HR) for being morons to suggest trading A-Rod and he's been making a few decent points here and there. He's still not great, but he has been improving.
Did you read SG's comment on Replacement Level Yankees Weblog re: tonight's matchup? If not - here you go. Ouch!!
Friday 8/4
R. Johnson (11-9, 5.07) vs. B. Chen (0-6, 7.07)
An exciting battle of two soft-tossing, junkballing lefties.
Was it the heat?
I hope they're right, and Unit comes out dealin' tonight.
I have a feeling the BoSox desperately want in on the Andruw sweepstakes.
Will be very interesting to see how it shakes out. I'm not sure what the Phillies are thinking, but I wouldn't be surprised if they try to use the Abreu savings for A. Jones.
He sure pitched like something was wrong, though.
"Javy Lopez will be in uniform tonight for the start of the Sox three-game series with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after the Sox make official their acquisition of the veteran catcher from the Baltimore Orioles, plus cash considerations, for a player to be named later.
The Orioles expect to receive a player from Boston's 40-man roster, believed to be either switch-hitting outfielder Adam Stern or switch-hitting infielder Alejandro Machado, but those plans could hit a snag.
According to major league sources, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays would likely place a waiver claim on Machado and would consider doing so on Stern, effectively blocking those players from going to Baltimore. As of this afternoon, neither of those players had been placed on waivers by the Red Sox. Any players offered on waivers do not clear for 72 hours, so it is unlikely that the deal will be completed for another week, or more.
While the Devil Rays have legitimate interest in both players, there is another component that could motivate them to place a claim. According to multiple major league sources, the Devil Rays are convinced that the Red Sox made illegal contact with the agent for infielder Julio Lugo before the July 31 trading deadline, while Lugo was still under Tampa Bay's control. The Red Sox allegedly reached out to the agent, Dan Lozano, about whether Lugo would be willing to play second base and whether Lugo, a prospective free agent this winter, would be open to signing an extension. If true, that would constitute tampering, which is not allowed under Major League Baseball rules.
Talks the Devil Rays were conducting with the Sox about possible three-and-four-team trade scenarios involving Lugo essentially dried up once the Rays heard reports of the alleged contact between the Sox and Lozano, though sources say the Devil Rays did not confront either the Sox or the agent with their suspicions. In the absence of proof, the Devil Rays also do not have plans to file a grievance against the Red Sox with the commissioner's office, those sources say..."
This isn't the first time that the Sawx front office has been accused of tampering or 'dirty' tactics. Wasn't there a similar situation that resulted in Millar coming to Boston even though the Marlins had an agreement in place to trade him to Japan?
And THEY call US the Evil Empire?
Geez, the Iraq war started before Millar was a Red Sock???
Is that how the Sox do business? Sheesh.
"There are all kinds of waivers for all different occasions. But essentially, here is how waiver deals can be made between Aug. 1 and the Aug. 31 deadline for setting potential playoff rosters:
Virtually every player in the major leagues will be placed on waivers this month, whether a team intends to trade that player or not. If nothing else, the sheer volume of names can at least disguise players whom clubs do want to sneak through so they can be dealt.
If a player isn't claimed by any team in either league, he can be traded until the end of the month to anyone.
If a player is claimed, but only by one team, the player can be traded only to the team that claims him.
If a player is claimed by more than one team, the club with the worst record in that player's league gets priority -- and the player can be traded only to that team.
If a player is claimed only by teams in the other league, the club with the worst record in the other league gets priority -- and the player can be traded just to that team.
If a deal can't be worked out or the team doesn't want to trade that player, he can be pulled back off waivers once in August. If he is placed on waivers again before September, he can't be recalled a second time.
Or, if a team is just hoping to dump a player's salary, it can simply allow a team which claimed that player to have him for a small waiver fee. If that happens, the team that gets the player has to pay his entire salary. That's how the Yankees were stuck with Jose Canseco and the Padres were stuck with Randy Myers in recent years: They claimed those players, thinking they were just blocking other teams from getting them. Instead, their old clubs said: "You claimed him. You got him."
In the past, many teams claimed players just to keep them from being traded to contenders with a better record. This year, that isn't expected to happen as often, because most teams can't afford to get stuck with a big contract if they're awarded a player they really didn't want."
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