Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
The Yankees and Angels played and ugly, sloppy game on Friday night that saw two runs score on errors, another called back when Robinson Cano missed the bag rounding third, and several other poor plays (such as missed cutoff men and third outs made at third base) on both sides of the ball and both sides of the field.
The pitching was pretty crappy as well. Bartolo Colon, who was bounced with two on and none out in the third, allowed seven runs (including both bequeathed runners, who scored on Darren Oliver's watch). Andy Pettitte made it into the sixth, but left with none out and a man on and was charged with eight runs on the night, including that bequeathed runner, who scored with Edwar Ramirez on the mound.
Ramirez allowed an additional run of his own in the sixth to run the score to 9-9. The Yanks broke that tie in the seventh when Johnny Damon drew a leadoff walk from Chris Bootcheck, stole second, moved to third on a Melky Cabrera single, and scored when Gary Matthews bobbled Melky's hit in center. Alex Rodriguez then laced a line-drive homer to the seats in left that put the Yankees up 12-9. Remarkably, Ramirez, Scott Proctor and Ron Villone managed to shut the door at that point, while the Yankees plated two more in the eighth against Dustin Moseley to put the final score at 14-9. Ramirez earned his first major league win despite retiring just two of the seven batters he faced against their will (one of them sacrificed).
Yesterday, following a joyous Old Timer's Game that saw Paul O'Neill and Scott Brosius lace hard singles in their first Old Timer's action, and Bobby Murcer make a triumphant return to the field with a hard line out, the Yankees played a game that was very much the opposite of Friday night's circus, but was also decided by sloppy play and poor decisions. Coming off his dominant two-hit performance against the Twins, Roger Clemens held the Angels to one run on five hits and a walk over eight efficient innings (98 pitches). Angels' ace John Lackey matched Clemens almost exactly (one run on five hits and a hit batsman over eight innings), but upped the ante by striking out eleven Yankees (including Melky Cabrera four times) and throwing 72 percent of his 107 pitches for strikes.
The Yankees got their one run in the bottom of the second on doubles by Hideki Matsui and Bobby Abreu. The Angels got theirs in the top of the third on a leadoff double by Garret Anderson and a pair of productive groundouts. With the game still tied 1-1 in the ninth, both managers turned to their bullpens, doing so exactly as they should. Mike Scioscia got three scoreless innings from his set-up ace Scot Shields, then turned to his closer in a still-tied game on the road. Joe Torre worked his bullpen backwards as he should have, starting with a pair of shutout innings from Mariano Rivera, then a scoreless frame from Kyle Farnsworth, then turning to the fully rested Luis Vizcaino rather than Scott Proctor, who had thrown 21 pitches on Friday.
Vizcaino pitched around a two-out single in the twelfth, volleying back to Francisco Rodriguez, who stranded Hideki Matsui at second base following a one-out walk and a surprising stolen base by striking out Jorge Posada and getting Bobby Abreu to ground out. In for his second inning of work, Vizcaino gave up a leadoff double to Howie Kendrick, who had been making highlight reel plays at second base all day long (mostly on balls hit by Miguel Cairo). Jose Molina then attempted to bunt Kendrick over to third, but fouled off the first attempt, then missed the second, taking off the play. After ball one and a trio of fouls, Molina grounded to the left of Miguel Cairo, who was again starting at first base in place of the stiff-necked Andy Phillips. Cairo fell to his left and smothered the ball, but bobbled it as he came to his feet, then, perhaps forgetting that a Molina was running, made a desperation throw that sailed behind Vizcaino who was covering the bag. Cairo's throw sent Molina to second and allowed Kendrick to score the tie-breaking run. Cairo was charged with two errors on the play, giving him four at first base in two games (on Friday night he made a nearly identical play throwing behind Pettitte covering first and allowing a run to score, he also flubbed a ball in the tenth inning of yesterday's game) and pushing the Yankees' total to five on the day (Kyle Farnsworth threw wild to first base in the 11th, and Hideki Matsui booted a single in the fourth to putt the batter on second). Vizcaino retired the next three men in order, but the damage had been done.
The Yankees staged a rally in the bottom of the 13th. Cairo, attempting to atone for his errors, singled with one out, stole second, then moved to third on a ball that Rodriguez threw clean over Molina's head to the backstop. Suddenly the Yankees were a productive out away from re-tying the game.
In the third inning of Friday night's mess, with one out, the Yankees up 6-3, and runners on the corners, Joe Torre called for a suicide squeeze, which was perfectly executed by Miguel Cairo with Jorge Posada charging from third base. Now, with Cairo on third and Johnny Damon at the plate, Damon stood tall as Francisco Rodriguez threw three more balls, resulting in the same set up (runners on the corners, one out) in a sudden-death situation (extra-innings, down by one). Unlike the meaningless squeeze on Friday, a squeeze bunt here would have tied a game that otherwise could have been lost on a single double-play grounder. The man at the plate was Melky Cabrera, who already had five successful sacrifice bunts on the season. In addition to the squeeze, having Damon, who had stolen two bases on Friday night, steal second on Rodriguez (who had already allowed a steal to Hideki Matsui of all people) would have eliminated the double play and could have resulted in either a delayed double steal or a throwing error that would have gotten Cairo home without any help from the batter.
I probably don't need to tell you what happened, or rather, what didn't. No steal. No bunt. Melky struck out for the fifth time in the game, and Derek Jeter, who had hit into an inning-ending double play in the eleventh, grounded into a fielder's choice to give the Angels a 2-1 win in 13 innings.
I've lost track of the number of times Joe Torre has failed to employ the squeeze bunt when a successful one would either tie or win a game, but I can approximate that number by saying it's every time. According to Baseball Prospectus 2007, Joe Torre did not call for a single squeeze from 2004 to 2006 and he sure as hell didn't call for one in the 11th inning of Game 4 of the 2003 World Series. In a lineup that includes Damon, Cabrera, Jeter, Abreu, Cano, and Cairo, all of whom will lay one down from time to time, be they bunting for a hit or, in the case of Cabrera, Cairo, and, stupidly, Jeter, sacrificing, the squeeze bunt should come in to play regularly in sudden-death situations. Instead it never does, and the Yankees are 6-14 in one-run games.
Today they try to win the rubber game behind Chien-Ming Wang who threw seven scoreless innings against the Twins in his last outing. The Angels counter with Ervin Santana, who has a 6.88 ERA over his last three starts, though he did strike out 11 Rangers in his last outing.
I wish there was mandatory instruction in the Yankees minor league system for EVERY batter to learn to sacrifice bunt. In the playoffs, and other tight games, it is necessary to be able to get a bunt down, whoever you are. I don't want the excuse available that Batter X isn't a good bunter, doesn't know how to bunt, etc. I want to score the damn runner from third with less than two outs, 9 times out of ten.
Why does every pitcher become Cy Young when they face the Yankees?
Joey. 5 errors! But they weren't really errors? What were they?
Just musing into my java.
So Brian Cashman, you thought Doug Mghdsxfkj would be a capable 1B even as he was barely a starter for the Kansas City Royals last year? Really?
Or that Josh Phelps would be a capable platoon partner with Torre filling out the lineup card based on the BFoG scale? Really?
Or that Andy Phillips would be called up and simply inserted at 1B even after he was deemed the starter in spring training last year and sat behind Cairo? Really?
Or that Miguel Cairo is ever an option at 1B even as he's played more games there over the last two years than he has in the rest of his career? Really?
Meanwhile, has Lackey (career ERA+ = 112) ever gotten one CY vote?
Should the Yanks trade Jeter for Morneau? They need a first baseman.
Mussina, Clemens, and Wang have all been better than Lackey over their careers. Probably since 2001 (your criteria - or 2004 for CMW) too.
Going forward, Lackey might be better, but he hasn't been so far. Now if you want to pick and choose which years to include and which to ignore...
There was no reason to believe Melky could hit Rodriguez, a near-unhittable pitcher.
He looks every bit as dominant today as he did in 2002 when he made mincemeat out of our guys, winning the series singlehandedly, as it seemed.
David:
You're right, I'll never admit something that is wrong. Meanwhile Phelps has yet to get an at-bat this month with the Pirates, a bad National League team. So that makes seven teams (Toronto, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Detoit, Baltimore, the Yankees and now the Pirates) who either cut him, traded him, left him unprotected or didn't use him.
It's staggering that all of those baseball people know less than you about evaluating players.
Cairo botched it up today but good. But anybody would have to admit he has played pretty well for them in the last month, offensively and defejnsively. I didn't see you calling for Phelps the other day when he put down that squeeze bunt.
Meanwhile, if I had the power to run people out of town I'd certainly use it on somebody other than Phelps.
Thanks for checking in.
I wonder whether Wang's stuff will be as effective against these Californias. Wang's a contact pitcher and the Californias a contact team.
Perhaps Wanger should try to execute his strikeout game plan today. Should be a good game, Wang's always fun to watch.
I was just thinking that with a team that likes to put the ball in play anyway, they might be more practiced at hitting those sinkers hard enough to find holes whereas other teams, when they hit the sinker don't hit it hard enough to find those holes as often.
It just seems to me that attempting to keep them from putting the ball in play is a more effective way to thwart their game plan than conceding the ball put in play, which plays to their strength.
I could be way off, I don't know.
That low moving curveball gets batters hitting chopping weak ground balls. However, a weak ground ball here probably scores the run unless it's right back to the pitcher.
My questions:
1) Anyone know the odds of scoring with 1st and 3rd and one out (yes... I know it's highly dependent on who's pitching, batting, etc... but in general)?
2) If KRod was tough to hit because of that nasty curve, how hard is he to bunt, when's he's looking for a bunt?
3) If the SuiSqz failed and the runner was out at the plate, who here would NOT immediately call for Torre's job?
I don't know what the 'right' call was. The situation was prime for a Suisqz, but I didn't like the FRod/Melky matchup. I don't think there is an obvious 'right' answer here. Given the circustances (FRod/Melky and the top of the order coming up) I don't know what the better choice was.
Didn't Torre try the SuiSqz last week (got a foul ball on it)? That would be 2 in the last week. Isn't that a better indicator of Torre's immediate frame of mind then "Torre did not call for a single squeeze from 2004 to 2006".
DJ/Melky/Jetes/AGod: 1 for 20. Thats the story to me. However, since if Torre had call the Suisqz, and IF it had been executed, and IF a Mo-less BP could have held on for a win... well I guess you can blame this one on Torre.
Jim Tracy has unusual relationships with first basemen. If Tracy isn't using Phelps in Pittsburgh, he must find Phelps's defense extremely deficient.
Tracy will base this on one error normally.
And he's hitting better than half our lineup. When did that happen?
http://www.tangotiger.net/RE9902.html
So it's 1.2 runs/inning following 1st/3rd and one out. Perhaps the thinking was that Torre wanted to win the game, not tie it up, and even giving up the out on the squeeze for one run would then give the Yankees a runner on second and two out for Jeter. Then again, the chances of Cabrera grounding into a double play are perhaps great enough to suggest the squeeze.
If anyone missed it, Phil Huge is starting in Tampa tomorrow.
Man, just when we needed some power, Godzilla Awakes.
Wang's been having trouble with that finger nail for a long time.
Who was it the other day who pointed out Hideki's batspeed and how explosively the ball leaves his bat?
Well there we saw it again.
Man.
http://tinyurl.com/34qm5u
For comparison, he calculated that the homer when Mantle hit the facade at Yankee Stadium must have traveled 125 mph off the bat.
What if they said: Shef, you're the DH. And no extension until you prove you're healthy.
What if they stuck Giambi at 1B? It's not like they prevented an injury by having him DH. And it's not like they got a 1B.
Then Melky and Phillips are on the bench for the injuries that cropped up. Yanks are still at the same place but with at least 5 more wins.
40 What's interesting is that Shef has already been worth 3.8 wins above replacement. And he would have been replacing a replacement level player (Mhgjfk, Cairo). Over the course of this season, Shef alone could have easily been worth 10 wins.
"IF the Queen had balls... she'ld be King"
48 Read again 39. Tell him he needs to prove he's healthy with a solid year. And 43 he didn't cause a stink in 2003 when he was in a walk year - 167 OPS+, 3rd in MVP voting. If anything, the man knows how to play for a contract.
1) Did they know that Sanchez would need TJ? Or that it was highly likely?
2) Did they know they'd aim for nothing at 1B or on the bench?
#1 we can't know one way or another. But #2 looks like a solid yes. If only that is true - it was a terrible call.
(The 'ouch' was for Posada HBP.)
50 My rough count is at 1750 comments that mention the Sheffield deal, the Unit deal, or both. That's from the start of the season, BTW, and doesn't include the 1500 or so comments from the offseason and spring training.
And boy do I wish I was kidding.
Santana isn't really a very good pitcher.
Matsui SLG in July: .630
(not including today)
It helps that E. Santana cannot win away from the Big A. (Road stats: 1 W, 10 starts (including today), 51.1 IP (so far today), 17 HR allowed (including the two today), ).
Where are the people who wanted to trade A-Rod for this guy now?
But that aside, I will cease and decist with any mention of Sheffield b/c apparently I am waaaaay behind in chiming in on it.
Ha!
And A-Rod with another meaningless homer.
73 Gameday is slow for me, so I wondered why you said that when Jeter grounded out.
HA!!!!!!!!
Pour it on!!!!!
The mics picked up Alex in the dugout afterwards talking to Phillips. "I was just trying to put the ball in play," I heard him say, and "He can score on anything."
I wish we could have heard more but stupid Kay wouldn't shut up, talked right over him.
Bob,
You remember Bobby Knoop?
Meanwhile, who'd the Yanks get again?
Knoop was an all-star for Angels in the 60's
Give it a rest, Jim, everyone knows your opinion. Do you have a macro for those posts?
EDWAR!!!!
At any rate, Andy Phillips should eclipse Miggy's season production in about another 4 games.
A lot of folks seemed to loathe Cano in 2005. I thought that was weird too.
I loathe the first pitch swinging GIDP. Take a pitch fer crissakes.
He'll learn.
Second of all, the result was fine, imo, because Melky hit the ball pretty hard, which is all we can ask of these guys.
If he'd swung at the first pitch and hit a weak-ass tapper somewhere, I'd share your frustration.
Sometimes you make outs.
Derek yesterday, for instance, was smart to attack that first pitch from Rodriguez. He hit it pretty hard, but it failed to make its way through the infield. He hit the ball about as hard as you'd expect against a pitcher like Rodriguez.
See, A-Rod shows how it's done. Make it clear that you could hit it out, if you wanted to, but don't show up the opposition.
BTW bob, to link a comment, just put the number between square brackets: [X] where X is the number of the comment you want to link to - it took me forever to figure that out.
Well, pretty good couple of series, despite the infuriating loss yesterday.
The Tigers go to the ninth. They've made 5 errors, allowing Boston to score five runs on just five hits.
Todd terrible Jones in and promptly gives up a single to face Ortiz...
I always enjoy it when the Sox lose.
And they do, as Drew pops out.
Its much easier for those three games to just root for the Tigers
153, 154 so the general concensus is to root for the Tiggers now and then hope their season implodes upon itself after the break?
BTW... the Future's Game is on ESPN 2 right now... Joba Chamberlain is pitching for the US teamd... he's our ONLY representative... We've really only got one kid in this entire friggin all star game? wow!
Actually, that's exactly what I don't want. Last year's Cards were a mediocre team, but I suspect that winning the WS made them think they were better than that. They're paying the price for that now.
I want the Yankees to have the incentive to rebuild/retool as aggressively as possible. If they sneak in and have a moderate hot streak at the right time, that won't happen. I mean...just think of all the grit and heart and clutchitudeness and Warriortude that would require - how could you break up a team like that, or change the manager or GM?
And I just heard that Buerhle signed up for a long term deal with the ChiSox.
Justin Upton though, kid can hit.
Steve Phillips alone is enough to make me turn this game off.
KEI IGAWA??????
We've been hanging on for five or six years now with duct tape and mercenaries.
I was excited about Nick Johnson and Sori forming the youth nucleus of the team of the future, much like what the Mets have managed with the left side of their infield.
Hopefully the new tandem can be Melky and Robbie.
In any event, I'd love to see the team be built on a lasting and inspired foundation going into the future. I can live without the playoffs if it means a bright new future.
Jim Dean the day after the Sheffield trade:
"I like Cash more and more these days."
Answering his own question on who to sign as the 1B:
"At #4, I got nothing from the free agent list - maybe Hillenbrand or Mientkiewicz?"
Later, after someone questioned the Sheff deal:
"Where was he going to play? 1B? He said he wanted an extension to do so. The Yanks had no choice to trade him after acquiring Abreu (who pushed them to the playoffs).
Nah, that's one move I can't second guess - though the return in the trade..."
Today: "So Brian Cashman, you thought Doug Mghdsxfkj would be a capable 1B even as he was barely a starter for the Kansas City Royals last year?"
Maybe he was taking your advice?
Today's 39 pretty clearly contradicts the "I can't second guess" thing.
I'm surprised that some around here haven't learned that some people will argue no matter what, even if it means backtracking on previous positions.
Cue Jim Dean typing away trying to defend all this. I'm not going to argue back.
192 I could be in NH tomorrow night (I live in MA), but the wife might not appreciate me doing that. =) But maybe someday . . . Thanks, OYF.
Also, I just loved Kruk's analysis that Vlad is the AL MVP at the break, because his team is better and he has "less protection" in the lineup than A-Rod. Lets just ignore the number of games the Yankees would have lost if say A-Rod stopped hitting walk off HRs. Or the 185 to 169 OPS+ difference.
The huge sticking point is how you define "valuable."
If it was a Most Outstanding Player or Willie Mays Best Hitter award, it would be a lot easier for me to give it to Alex.
But if I'm going to sit here last year and scream that the fat ass in Boston can't be an MVP because his team sucks in spite of him, I'd have to be a huge hypocrite to give it to Alex at this juncture.
The Yankees would have had a lost season without Alex, and they're probably going to have a lost season in spite of him. If Magglio Ordonez is going to be the difference between the Tigers sitting at home and making the playoffs, I think that's far more valuable than someone being the difference between their team finishing 3rd and 5th.
I just in no way find the best player on a bad team more valuable than the best player on contender.
Has anyone else noticed that after a slow start (adjustment?) that Andy Phillips is sorta hitting pretty well? IS h the .850 OPS guy that we have seen so far? Probably not. But hopefully he plugged that spot for the rest of this (probably) lost season.
202 How contending does a team have to be before the value of the individual player can "count" in an MVP discussion?
So was I, until we all learned that Sorian was actually a few years older than we thought, and that Nick the Stick would be perpetually hurt.
My concern with him was whether he'd ever lay off that slider in the dirt. I don't see him play enough to know whether he has or not.
And as to Nick, I was mildly concerned about his injury-proneness, but didn't think it was a reason not to keep him around.
In retrospect, the guy we got for him was run out of town after one season and we're still without a replacement for Tino, six years later.
I liked the idea of Nick being the successor to Mattingly and Tino.
205 I think the Yanks have a great bunch of kids at the ML level or coming up soon. I forsee a rotation with Wang, Hughes, Kennedy, Joba, Clippard, or Sanchez, maybe some outside help in the event injuries or a trade. Robbie and Melky have a lot of years ahead for them. EDWAR could possibly the closer of the future (though he's a bit old to play Mo's understudy for another 3-4 years).
With position players, I don't think the Yankees are really the type of organization that trades pitching prospects for hitting prospects, they'd rather have they guy that's proven he can hit MLB pitching. Eh, We'll see.
This season has been painful, but to see Melky hitting his stride and seizing the CF job from Damon and watching Cano round into what is apparently his second-half surge is fun to watch. Add in EDWAR and that sick change-up and I don't cringe as much when a starting pitcher has to make way for bullpen help.
When he's healthy, he's really good, but that's a huge when. Since he was traded, out of a possible 590 games, Nick has played in 349 (very close to 60%). I know the latest injury is something of a fluke (he collided with the RF chasing a pop up, IIRC), but it doesn't change the results.
I saw this at RLYW, and thought I'd share:
http://tinyurl.com/2e5rxa
http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/660521.php?contentType=4&contentId=673542
My only real gripe:
Farnsworth has been marginally better than Vizcaino. And Britton (in a much too small sample) has been better than both of them.
But what's done is done.
I loved how Sori and Nick were polar opposites. Sori never saw a pitch he didn't like whereas Nick would often watch these big fat meatballs go right by. The one too aggressive, the other not aggressive enough.
It was interesting to watch.
Meanwhile, Giambi was excellent in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. He was hurt and/or really bad in 20004 and 2007. In his first five years with the Yankees he played 1B more than DH (though increasingly he split time between the two positions).
The team did find a more than adequate replacement for Tino, at least for the first three or for years of Giambi's contract.
But you're right, I'm being pretty subjective and probably overstating the case.
By this argument, Ortiz shouldn't be a candidate. Assuming the season continues more or less as it has been so far, the Sox are likely to win the division by 15 games or so. Replace Ortiz with an ordinary DH and what happens - they win the division by 8 or 10 games instead?
So let's see: the MVP has to be on a team that wins, but only by a little bit. The team also can't have too many good players on it, because otherwise the "value" is more diluted. And the winning has to be done by overachieving - if the Red Sox collapse but still win the division by 2 games, it's a lot less likely that they'll have an MVP.
What you end up with is Justin Morneau: an HR/RBI guy having a breakout season on a decent team that overachieves enough to win. Isn't that setting the sights a little narrow?
And isn't it possible that the choice of "Most Valuable" rather than "Best" was more a marketing decision than anything else? It just sounds better than way, and maybe that's the whole reason. After all, we never argue that "fame" should be the primary criterion for the Hall of Fame.
Bill James, in his Baseball Book 1992, essentially frames an argument supporting Cal Ripken Jr as MVP around the concept of replacement level. It goes: Cal was (by James's calculations) significantly above a replacement level SS (85 runs, IIRC), compared to Cecil Fielder, who wasn't that far above a replacement level 1B (25 runs, I think?). I bought that argument then, and I still buy it today. Note too that the O's finished 6th in the East in '91, while the Tigers finished in a tie for 2nd, 7 back of Toronto.
215 I'd love to, but I never have. I do want to go, if not sometime in what's left of this year*, then certainly next year. I haven't been to the Stadium in years, and I want to go again before its gone.
(*I figure if the Yanks are out of the playoff chase come September 1, good tickets will be available very cheap, making that a prime time for a visit. Also my 3-week-old son won't be quite so "newborn", meaning the wife probably won't mind me going to the City for a day, especially if I get tickets for my dad as well. We haven't been to a major league game together in almost ten years.)
The guy does NOT get fooled on pitches. He does not chase outside sliders or curves in the dirt. Like Giambi (but better), he is selective and waits for pitches he can handle. If our guys had 50% of that batting eye/discipline, they would be fantastically more productive.
The hell with swing and mechanics. If I were the batting coach for the Yankees, I would have a huge program to help/train players to recognize pitches. This one factor would have immeasurable impact on our offense.
OBP - BA
Cano: +27
Cairo: +47
Damon: +64
Melky: +70
Jeter: +71
Matsui: +76
ARod: +81
Posada: +103
Abreu: +109
Giambi: +122
I don't know what 'league average' is for this (feedback requested), but a gut-guess says +60 is good, +90 is outstanding, and +120 leads the league (after Bonds retires).
As a team, these career numbers are excellent. Actually, Melky is better here then I thought. Cano, for all his talent, will be a terrible underachiever if he doesn't change his ways.
Ichiro, with a carrer .333 BA, is at +46.
Bonds, with a carrer .299 BA, is at +146.
Giambi, with a carrer .291 BA, is at +122.
Helton, with a carrer .332 BA, is at +99.
Right now, Bonds is at: +217 (insane!)
There was an interesting point made by Paul O'Neill a few days ago. Matsui was still opening up and pulling off the ball and Kay asked him, why, as a ML hitter Matsui couldn't just stop himself from doing that. O'Neill replied that it was something else going wrong in his swing, so he was trying to speed his bat up artificially which led to his pulling off the ball. When he didn't do it, he was way behind a pitch or two later.
I guess its a bit like golf. Everytime I slice the ball, its obvious that my arms and hips aren't in synch and I tell myself to swing smoother the next time. Its not that easy though.
217 Absolutely.
218 "..when it really is absolute". Perfect
219 I think VORP should probably be a major factor. If I got to design the rule, here it is
85% absolutes
... 60% of that: VORP (it's adjusted, yes?)
... 25% of that: WinShares (it's adjusted, yes?. This is what we consider valuable, yes? Winning? Helping your team win? And this also considers defense)
... 15% of that: SBs and other stats that might be missed/understated by the other 2. (Do they account for ZR, SBs, throwing arm?)
15% Intangibles
... attitude and work ethic
... team value in clubhouse
... winning/PS team?
... (other)
I got to watch Bonds play fairly regularly back in 2002 because I had a couple of friends who were big Giants fans.
What amazed me about Bonds was exactly what you say. Sure, he hit the ball a mile, but his plate discipline, his eye, and the fact that he never, ever missed that one pitch he'd get to hit in a game were nothing short of miraculous.
Just watching him get in the box and knowing he wasn't going to get himself out was really like nothing I'd ever seen.
I'll use another golf analogy. I don't think myself on steroids could outdrive or outplay Tiger Woods, but Phil Mickelson on the other hand, I'd bet it'd help him.
He's having a pretty goo year at 44.
God... I hate these 3 days.
"Every team knows the importance of pitching. But under General Manager Brian Cashman, the Yankees' strategy of taking risks on amateur pitchers and exceeding industry standards for bonuses seems to be working. It suggests that the Yankees may not be down for long, and other teams have noticed.
'He recognized a few years ago the need to fortify his system and has taken advantage of every opportunity possible to infuse talent into it,' Cleveland Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro said.
"The system is now one of the stronger ones in the minor leagues, and at some point, as those players become major-league-ready, the Yankees will have the most deadly combination of depth of young talent combined with elite payroll resources at the major league level."
When Cashman assumed greater authority over baseball operations in 2005, he wanted clearly defined roles for others in the department. With Damon Oppenheimer running the draft and Mark Newman overseeing the farm system, the Yankees have steadily raised their profile in the minors.
In 2004, Baseball America ranked the Yankees 27th in minor league talent. Before this season, they ranked 7th. While the system is thin in position players, Cashman is closely guarding his pitching depth as the trading deadline nears."
The guy is absolutely worthless.
Juan Miranda: 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 K.
13 for his last 31 (.419) with 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers and 10 RBI…say hello to next year's first baseman!
YANKEES - RCAA
Alex Rodriguez 42
Derek Jeter 14
Jorge Posada 14
Jason Giambi 5
Hideki Matsui 3
Chris Basak 0
Kevin Thompson 0
Andy Phillips -1
Johnny Damon -3
Josh Phelps -5
Miguel Cairo -6
Melky Cabrera -7
Doug Mientkiewicz -8
Wil Nieves -8
Bobby Abreu -9
Robinson Cano -10
(Giambi is #4. Is that a hoot?)
We could have over 1000 posts on what is wrong with this team.. but I propose the following.
1) Take the bottom 2 on that list.
2) Be conservative and reverse the -19
3) Thats 38 more runs. How many more wins would we have. 4? 6? 8?
I say we would be 4 games behind the Sox.
I don't know why they don't DL Damon. How much worst could KT be? With 2 weeks of absolute rest, he might actually help this team in the 2nd half.
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