Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Where to start?
Here's what happened yesterday:
1) Phil Hughes made his third major league start for the Yankees after more than three months on the disabled list.
2) Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th career home run after 37 homerless plate appearances.
4) The Yankees beat the Royals 16-8 extending their streak of scoring seven or more runs at home to eight games.
5) The Yankees closed within 1.5 games of the Wild Card lead as Cleveland, Detroit, and Seattle all lost.
5) Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron's all-time home run record with his 755th career dinger.
I'll take the second part first. After Johnny Damon grounded out leading off the first inning, Derek Jeter singled, and Bobby Abreu walked on four pitches to bring Alex Rodriguez to the plate with one out and two on. Kyle Davies' first pitch was an 89-mile-per-hour fastball right down the middle and Alex jerked it down the left field line, a high looping hook shot that managed to stay fair, landing in the left field stands toward the back of the main boxes behind the Canon sign where it was caught by a still-anonymous Rutgers student. Rodriguez, unsure if the ball would go foul, stood at the plate, bat in hand. As the ball approached the stands he began to trot, still watching, toward first. Speeding up, he thrust both fists in the air when the ball landed, gave first base coach Tony Peña a high-ten, and proceeded to jubilantly round the bases "like a goofball," as he would say after the game. Rodriguez was greeted behind home plate by the entire Yankee bench, which congratulated him with high-fives and hugs. Once settled in the dugout, Rodriguez wore an ecstatic grin of exhilaration and relief and was seen repeatedly saying "I'm glad it's over" to buddies Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon. Me too, Alex, me too.
For his part, Phil Hughes picked up where he left off in the early innings, dominating the Royals with the laser-guided control and late movement of his fastball in the first and second innings. Hughes pitched a 1-2-3 first, striking out Mark Grudzielanek swinging on four pitches and reaching only one two-ball count. In the second he walked leadoff hitter Billy Butler after getting ahead 0-2 do to a tight strike zone by home plate ump Jerry Meals, but rebounded by striking out the next three men, again only reaching one two-ball count.
Things didn't go quite as well in the third. Joey Gathright lead off by flaring an 0-1 pitch into left field that Hideki Matsui was so convinced landed foul that he initially failed to pursue the ball, but still managed to hold the speedy Gathright to a double. Hughes threw his next pitch past Jorge Posada to put Gathright on third anyway, but got Jason LaRue to pop out to hold the runner at third. When the lineup turned over, however, David DeJesus hit a groundball single up the middle to plate Gathright and, after Grudzielanek moved DeJesus to second on a groundout, Mark Teahen flared another double to shallow left to plate DeJesus, cutting the Yankee lead in half at 4-2 (the Yanks had added a fourth run in the first after Rodriguez's homer on a Matsui double and a Cano triple).
Hughes had better luck in the fourth, erasing a Ross Gload single that whizzed past his head with a double play grounder and then ending things with his fifth strikeout. Through his first four innings, Hughes had recorded his twelve outs on five strikeouts, five groundballs (including that double play), and a pop out. The two doubles he allowed were flares down the left field line, and of the two singles he allowed, one was a well-placed ground ball. Gload's line-drive single leading off the fourth was the only hard hit ball he had allowed. Hughes had also thrown 70 percent of his pitches for strikes through the first four innings and walked just one man, but he hadn't been especially efficient, throwing 71 pitches through those first four. Between the sweltering heat and humidity and the excitement and pressure of returning to the major leagues, it seems Hughes, who had topped out at 91 pitches on his rehab assignment, simply tired early.
Hughes started the fifth by walking Gathright on five pitches. Jason LaRue then hit the first fly out of the game off Hughes. DeJesus, in his third look at the Yankee rookie, followed by jerking a two-run home run down the left field line, a shot that likely traveled little more than 320 feet, but a hard hit line drive nonetheless. Fortunately the Yankees had plated two more in the bottom of the fourth and thus maintained a 6-4 lead, but after Grudzielanek flared an out to right, Teahen singled on a bounder up the middle, and Butler laced a double into the gap in right center to score him to make it 6-5. With Hughes at 92 pitches and throwing his low-90s fastball in the high-80s, Joe Torre ended his outing there.
Hughes' final line greatly resembles his line from his debut:
4/26: 4 1/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 91 pitches
7/04: 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 92 pitches
In both cases, Hughes was making a pressure backed debut at Yankee Stadium, and in both games he appeared to fatigue quickly. While there may have been less pressure on Hughes in yesterday's game, the heat and the gradual workload increases of his rehab stint made his fatigue even more understandable. Early in the game, Hughes looked every bit like the phenom who was no-hitting the Rangers in his second major league start. His fastball was low-90s with late movement and pinpoint location. His curve was high-60s with a nasty break and similarly precise location, allowing him to drop it into the zone for called strikes or have it dive into the dirt for swinging strikes, while contact with the curve almost always resulted in a groundball. He later mixed in his changeup which split the difference at around 80 miles per hour. To that end, I would say that Hughes actually pitched better yesterday than he did in his debut. What did him in was the fatigue, which saw him lose location and velocity on his fastball, which began to stay up (DeJesus's homer was an 88-mile-per-hour fastball that floated up in the zone). Prior to that, however, he didn't seem to be particularly effective in mixing his pitches, which allowed the Royals to do more damage against his fastball the second time through the order, and more still the third time through.
I would expect Hughes, Posada, and Guidry to improve the pitch selection for Hughes next start, and would also expect Hughes to be stronger, both because he's now had two consecutive 90-pitch outings, but also because the nerves and sweltering heat that accompanied yesterday's game are unlikely to follow him to Cleveland.
Back to the game, facing Mike Myers, Yankee Killer Ross Gload doubled home Butler to tie the game at 6-6, but the Yankees took the lead right back with a run off reliever John Bale in the bottom of the inning. Brian Bruney then struck out the side in the top of the sixth and the Yankees, perhaps noticing that Kyle Farnsworth was warming up in a one-run game, dropped a four-spot in the bottom half on a leadoff home run to dead center by Bobby Abreu and a series of two-out hits by Robinson Cano, Wilson Betemit (who played first base for the first time in the major leagues yesterday), and Melky Cabrera following a two-out walk by Jorge Posada. Good thing, too, as Farnsworth did indeed give up that one run in the seventh.
Zack Greinke started the bottom of the seventh for the Royals and failed to retire a batter, allowing a double to Derek Jeter on his first pitch followed by three straight singles and a four-pitch walk to Jorge Posada. Coming on in supposed relief, Jimmy Gobble gave up a single and a double before getting an unusual 9-2 double play when Meals ruled that Robinson Cano failed to touch home plate attempting to score on a fly out to right (the replays were inconclusive) and striking out Johnny Damon to end a nine-pitch battle.
It was subs in at that point as Luis Vizcaino, who must have been warming when it was a "tight" four-run game, worked a scoreless eighth and Ron Villone rounded out the scoring by allowing a run in the ninth driven in by, who else, Ross Gload. Gload is now 11 for 19 with four doubles and six RBIs against the Yankees this season.
Today the Yanks look for a sweep in a rematch of this game.
Finally, here's an update on impending call-ups Joba Chamberlain and Jason Giambi from Pete Abe. For those too lazy to click, in four relief innings, Chamberlian has faced the minimum 12 batters, one singled and was caught stealing, one of them made some other kind of out, and ten of them struck out. Giambi, meanwhile, not only has one homer and a .481 OBP in his rehab assignment, but has been playing solid defense per the first update here.
Now, I've had a front row seat for 3+ years for both the media and fan shitstorm. It's been really disturbing. In the past, even here, even when Alex winning us games and posting excellent to great numbers, there were haters. People who wanted him gone.
For me, someone who's been in a minor depression since Mickey retired, I really, really have grown to like ARod. While I've seen a guy with his foot in his mouth, I seen basically a decent, dedicated, hard working guy. And a guy who wants to win. And now I realize, I'm also seeing a truly historically great player.
For me, part if being a Yankee fan was having the greatest all-time players on the team. It seems right. New York is New York, and having great players is simply part of our tradition.
I like ARod in Pinstripes. It just seems natural. At this point, seeing him in anything BUT Pinstripes, breaking records for anyone other then the Yankees, will make me sick. (Lets not even speak about his going to Boston).
This man MUST retire as a Yankee. Must go into the HOF as a Yankee. Must have his legend and his number as part of Yankee history. It is beyond money now. Beyond his numbers. Beyond business.
Alex Rodriguez MUST remain a Yankee.
I hope Cashman knows this, and does what must be done. If for some reason the Yankeess lose ARod, it will replace the Sox letting Ruth go, as the all-time stupidest move in basebasll history.
Yankee fans don't deserve ARod. They need a True Yankee at 3B, like a Scott Brosius or an Aaron Boone.
I think A-Rod would be a bit more likable if he didn't have Scott Boras as his agent. If A-Rod were making just slightly more than the next highest paid player, I doubt people would bitch as much. But Boras pushes for (and often gets) such a premium for his players .... (I'll blame this all on Tom Hicks)
OK .... 500 HR at age 32. Let's say 12 more homers this year, and 35 homers for the next 6 years ... gives him 722. Would he want to play past 38? Would he want to leave NY for a stadium that is better suited to right-handed batters (if the HR record really matters to him)?
And didn't one World Series clincher end with a catch by 3B Charlie Hayes?
(tangential thought .... a lot of big moments in Yankee history have ended with pop-ups to 3B .... Nettles in the 77 one-game playoff ... Brosius in the Cone no-no, Hayes in the 98(??) Series)
In any case, based on the moves that Cashman has made since George's health started to decline it is clear that his mandate from the Steinbrenners is to keep the team competitive while reducing the Yankees' payroll more manageable so they can pay less luxury tax, etc. I expect that trend to continue.
About the Scott Boras comments, the reason that players chose him to their agent is because they want lots and lots of money so it is the players that you don't like.
At some point, at least in theory, giving additional money to one player reduces your ability to sign other players. At that point, one player's "greed" can actually hurt the team. As fans, we'd like to think that players on our favorite teams care enough about winning to do what's in the team's best interest when it comes time to negotiate the salary. But I think we all know that's probably the exception rather than the rule.
Holy Crap, this guy's barely 32 years old! He has 500 career home runs? That's just absurd!
Seriously, I didn't find the moment particularly magical or anything, but somehow it didn't really hit me until he actually got there. Five-hundred homers at his age (he's younger than Posada, Damon, Matsui, Jeter, Abreu, Cairo, Giambi, Mientkiewicz, and Molina, younger than Clemens, Mussina, Pettitte, Mo, Vizcaino, Myers, and Villone) is just ridiculous.
And what makes you think Santana isn't going to go after $30M/year when he's a free agent? Dude is the greatest pitcher in baseball by far - and if Zito can get $18M/year . . .
11 Next year it could be almost half the roster, if they work in Joba, Kennedy, Britton and Edwar. The Yanks are re-tooling very nicely.
Here's to seeing A-Rod's 600th home run in pinstripes sometime in late 2009 or early 2010.
As far as I know no one is holding a gun to the head of the owners or GM's.
If a player doesn't get the money I don't think a team is going to lower its ticket prices, they'll just keep the money. That's why I don't understand why people get upset with Arod's (or anyone else's) large contracts.
1 What numbers are you looking at? Phillips hit over .300 in the first half of last year, and it's been well-chronicled that his slump in the second half coincided with his wife's medical problems.
A lot of people think Phillips is on the Yankees for his defensive abilities (and that may well be the case when it comes to 1B), but in the minors, Phillips was regarded primarily as an offensive threat (for average, not for power) and not as a particularly stellar defensive player.
One more thing -- recently I've been thinking (jinx alert) that this has the potential for being one of the most rewarding Yankee seasons since '98. The team has gotten younger, cheaper, more versatile, and better. Go figure! One of my favorite things about watching this team over the past month has been seeing how much the players are all enjoying themselves. When I look back at this season, I'll think about the big things, like A-Rod's 500th HR (and hopefully a World Series victory), but I'll also remember the pure joy of Robinson Canó and Melky Cabrera, the "I can't believe this is happening" smile of Shelley Duncan, and the dead-on impression Jeter did in the dugout of A-Rod's full body spasm after getting plunked in the ribs last week.
I know the first few months were miserable, I know the season isn't over, and I know this team isn't currently in a playoff spot, but it's still pretty damn fun.
Some Topics for conversation:
1) What does VORPD, RC, WinShares, and other 'new fangled' stats say when comparing ARod's value to Santana's or Zambrano's?
2) Boras can say what he wants, but I can't believe ANYONE will go $30m for 8 years.
3) Remember, Texas STILL owes the Yankees something like $27m on ARods current contract. This is a pretty big discount if we sign him to an extenstion.
I personally believe that ARod producing career average numbers is more valuable then ANY Pitcher (who starts 1 game in 5, at best)
4) A Financial analysis might show that ARod actually generates a lot of or even more then his salary. On a pure business move, it's not just what we pay for a player. That's why Matsui was a no-brainer (for the Yankees) at $13m.
There is no pitcher who can generate seat sales (home AND road) like ARod. Merchandise too.
5) History. What's that worth to us/the Team?
6) Competition. You want the Angels or Sox to have ARod? This alone could be the difference between winning PS and WS series.
Think of: Yankees withOUT ARod
Playing: Red Sox/Angels WITH ARod.
Even at $30m per/8yrs, that makes our cost about $26.5m per year.
He likes to make a good first impression.
Meche's control seems lost. It'd be nice if Abreu could bust this wide open.
Simone... you still around? I had fears you were driven from the Banter by people who mistook this site for 'Bronx Battering'.
Any response to 22?
Hello?
Hello?
I see where Simone is coming from in 8, and in some ways, I think she is right . . . but the Yanks need offense, and A-Rod (even in an off year) is pretty much the best available.
Good game, too. Now we know the offense isn't an illusion: Meche is a real pitcher and we're still raking.
Cleveland starts soon.
Tigers down 1-0 in the 3rd - and Sheff's shoulder is hurting, so he's sitting.
How how responding to each line in 22?
We seem to have the floor.
Matsui is on quite the tear.
It'd be nice to see a sweep, wouldn't it?
my softball game just got rained out (Pittsburgh). So I'm here for the rest of the day...
Let's knock Meche out now, score six more runs, and let Mike Myers finish the game.
I'm gonna go take my kids to see Underdog.
Do I have to get Nasty?
Do I have to start telling Mantle stories?
45 You make some good points OYF, but I don't want to steal Simone's post. =)
Have I told you my Mantle #500 HR story yet?
Jeter hit in the hand by a pitch.
Still in the game, but it hurt.
Single for Bobby. Jetes on 3rd, 1 out, ARod up.
OK, I'll bite - what's the Mantle #500 story? Please tell me it doesn't have anything to do with your parents' bed. ;)
I was actually disappointed in ARod's ovation. For all the shit NY has given him in the last 3 years, he deserved a bigger ovation.
Another RBI for ARod.
This is the Yankees 111th game, and ARod has 101 RS and 109 RBI. Pretty amazing.
Hello? Hello?
53 OYF, that's not very nice.
1) A-Rod is probably more valuable in that pitchers have the greater likelihood of getting injured.
2) I bet A-Rod will get whatever he wants - even over $30M.
3) Only thing is that the Yanks only have 10 days or so to sign him to an extension and still get Texas's dough, and Boras may well want to test the market.
4) As jersey revenue and that stuff is split between all teams equally, no gain or loss here. BUT - see 5).
5) Probably doesn't matter in the big picture; though certainly helps puts butts in the seats. Even with the new stadium, A-Rod's pursuit of 600, then 700, then 7__ (whatever Bonds gets too) will pack 'em in.
6) I'd usually say "Big deal" but not when talking about an all-time great player. Better the Yanks have him than any other team.
Wonder if we'll top 100 comments today?
Maybe Torre is getting JD's ass used to the pine?
I'd let him start.
Meanwhile, Cleveland down 1-0 after 4, Detroit down 3-0 after 7.
We have become a very well balanced team all-of-a-sudden, and not that old. Add Joba to the mix, and we are really looking good.
HELLO (ELLo... ELlo... Ello... ello)
If we don't resign Bobby, he may be in LF, Mats in RF.
He might replace Andy at 1st or he might be traded. The big question is if Andy can really be an .780-.800 OPS guy or not.
The Yanks are not about to DFA JD, and they won't give him away, but I'm sure they would trade him if a reasonable offer is made.
I like Andy, but I agree with Yu-Hsing that he will likely cool off. I don't think it was his wife's problems that led to his slump last year I think it was scouting. That, and the usual "American Idol" anxiety young players feel with the Yankees. He was so anxious to hit that he was swinging at everything. He went something like 20 games without a walk. Torre told him to be more patient at the plate, and he walked twice that very day.
I believe JD would make a decent 1st baseman. He is limber and athletic enough. The questuion is if we can find a better one via FA. Although Betelit at 1st?
It's actually pretty cool that there are a lot of options. The dynamic of this team has really changed in just 2 years.
And Betemit looks like a great pickup.
I wouldn't read too much into Damon sitting.
Cleveland still down 1-0 after 7.
Sox game just started.
Really. Did anyone think we would be this close to the WC by the first week of August? Amazing!
I'm not sure which team would take Damon, but I think he's destined to be a part-time player at most over the two years left on his contract - and he's almost certainly a bench player by year 4.
Miggy's probably gone and Andy and Betemit are BUIFs.
It seems Cashman would rather go with an inhouse, non-great at a position, rather then overpay or trade quality for a position.
And maybe that's a good thing.
When Mo's on, he really does put on a clinic.
91 If a decent young 1B is available via trade, I'm sure something could be done. But of all the positions that are easy to fill, 1B tops the list (in theory). Of course, Joe won't play some no-name guy . . . but Joe might not be around.
Game, set, Mo - and we didn't hit 100. Everyone must be enjoying the weather.
"Underdog" was fun. A lot of the on-location stuff was in Providence, which was cool for me.
So, maybe Joba is going to come and save our bullpen. Because I think the bullpen is all that stands between us and the play-offs.
I was in Providence earlier this year. They chased me out of Swanpoint Cemetery because I had a camera. I wanted to take a picture of Lovecraft's grave, but apparently it's not allowed. Sheesh. They've got million rules posted on their web site, but nothing about cameras. How was I to know?
I used to go running right by that cemetery almost every day. None of the movie was shot near there, except maybe Molly's house.
I think I'll get the old cartoons from Netflix.
Sox win. We're zero games behind Seattle in the WC, behind by % points. Wow, the Yankees caught up fast. Tiggers tanking didn't hurt.
And Chicago Sox claimed Tejada but a deal couldn't be worked out. How do they know that if it's secret, or does it become public knowledge only after a player is either claimed, or clears?
If you want to be liberal and say he finishes the year with 20, that would be 47 career wins. If you want to give him 15 wins a year, he's need to play another 17 seasons. He'd have to be good until he's pushing 45.
1 game under .500
8.5 games out of the WC
In 5th place for the WC
Now, we are:
11 games over .500
0.5 games out of the WC
Tied for 2nd place for the WC
I wonder If someone here On July 10th predicted that by Aug. 5th, we would be where we are now, what the reception would have been. I dare say there are few, if any, who would have believed it.
With Cleveland and Detroit going head-2-head for 8 games, I wonder if the real 'enemy' is Seattle?
We have: 3 against Cleveland, 3 against Seattle, 8 against Detroit left (and 6 against the Bloody Sox).
RCNB + Yankee Magic = October Baseball!
I think RJ does NOT get there.
Wang? Seriously? I could say that's 15 years of 20 wins, but how many pitchers win 20 these days? When's the last time a pitcher won 20 three years in a row, no less 15?
For the best pitchers, 300 wins means 16 wins/yr for 19 years. I can't see it. Glavine WILL be the last (short of a medical science that can keep pitchers from getting arm injuries).
I agree. But the five man rotation is to blame for that money being thrown around for mediocre pitchers. In my heart of heart I hope it changes at some point. "Specialization" of the bullpen has been horrible for baseball, and its fans.
It's really a case of longevity. If a great pitcher can pull a Clemens, and pitch well for over 20 years, they have a shot.
Buehrle has close to identical numbers, with one year more under his belt.
Note that both pitchers have had 15 wins or more 3 times (including C.C. for this year). So all-in-all, it's a pretty daunting task.
But good call, RIYank.
I think Seattle is pretty much toast. They've scored fewer runs than they allowed. They should be expected to play .500 ball from here on, which I figure puts them maybe seven games out at the finish.
If the Yanks play at a .600 clip, then we'd need either the Indians or the Tigers to be merely "pretty good". As 121 notes, they have eight games against each other. If one of them dominates those eight games, that would make the Yankees heavy favorites to win the WC.
If the Yankees play anything close to the kind of ball they've been playing the last ten games, then they'll coast to the play-offs. That would be very satisfying, but really unlikely. They'll stumble at least one more time in these last fifty games. I fully expect someone at the Banter to declare them dead at that point :-) (I remember someone just recently saying that if they didn't win the final two games against the Orioles, the season was over. Well, they didn't, and it wasn't.)
When I was younger, I heard that there would be no more 300 game winners, at least after the spate who retired in the 1980s. And there none in the 1990s, but here we are with three or four in the 2000s.
If you look at all the 300 game winners who have retired in teh 1970s or later, they have all played at least 20 years (and so averaged 'only' 15 wins/year. OYF is right--the real issue is longevity. But I think that we'll see another 300 game winner sometime. Maybe no one who's in t he league now, but someone ho comes up at 21 or 22 y.o. and has a few big seasons early.
The fewer number of decisions relates more to IP per start, which declined through the 30s, jumped up a bit in the war years and in the high-mound/huge strike zone 60s, but has been otherwise decreasing a bit each decade.
I think that's a double edged sword: careers are lasting longer, making 300 wins more likely, but pitchers are getting fewer decisions per start which makes it less likely.
This has to be for Joba, right? RIGHT??
I have to admit that he was useful for long relief. But, it's a small price to pay.
Let's see, Joba clearly replaces Myers on the roster (with Villone or Henn becoming the LOOGY?). Giambi is supposed to join the roster Monday or Tuesday. THEN we'll see if Cairo or Duncan or Phillips takes the fall.
Or will they really rock the boat an carry only 12 pitchers?
I wish. They have to carry at least six bad relievers. With Joba and Mo, that would leave only five. If I were Cash I would accept a deal for Farny through waivers for any decent prospect under tewnty three, and DFA Villone or Henn. The added offense gives the team the option of going with starters longer, resting every day players, and using relievers for more than one inning, but what do I know? Rosters expand soon so I guess its not the end of the world, but we do not need thirteen pitchers.
Someone here might have said that, but so did Steve Lombardi over at Was Watching. I found the alarmism annoying myself.
Find the good in everything.
Delaying until Tuesday makes me wonder if there isn't some sort of internal discussion or debate over what the 'final' (before Sept. 1 call-ups) roster will look like.
By the ay, am I the only one who thinks that September call-ups/expanded rosters are sort of a sill, antiquated relic from the old days? To be honest, I find it a bit irritating that the penant races are decided by teams playing with bulging benches.
===
The waiver "wire" is a secret within the personnel of the Major League Baseball clubs; no announcement of a waiver is made until a transaction actually occurs. Many players are often quietly waived during the August "waiver-required" trading period to gauge trade interest in a particular player. Usually, when the player is claimed, the waiving team will rescind the waiver to avoid losing the player unless a trade can be worked out with the claiming team.
===
Obviously, there are going to be leaks, since every team in the league has access to the information. But you aren't going to find websites with lists of all the players that have been put on waivers and whether they've cleared or not. There are a few leaks, but usually only about big-name players.
Or perhaps, they activate Giambi to take Myers roster spot. Without a LOOGY you can go with one less pitcher. Then you can choose to bring up Joba/Russ for Cairo or simply another pitcher depending on whether you want to go with a bigger bench or BP.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spybox0608,0,2521691.story
Looks like no Joba for now..
I dont agree with it though, if they wanted a temporary fix they should just have called up Edwar again..
And I frankly just can't take it.
So, go Yanks! I'll see you all in September.
My favorites-
"Q: Three dinner guests.
A: Martin Luther King; Babe Ruth; Roger Clemens. "
and
"Q: Favorite actress?
A: Jessica Biel. "
Maybe the Captain can introduce them.
I thought B.Bruney would help, but he's been FarnsJunior. He needs to go for now.
Boo! to Brian Cashman (for leaving Joba in Scranton).
Hey, guess whose post-All-Star OPS is .965?
Easy on Cashman. Myers DFAed. Shelly and Andy up. Hughes up. Joba soon. It's all coming together, but Cashman can't just jump into everything at once.
Look at our 25 man roster on April 1st and look at it now. We have a different club. With Giambi up, we should have have a very good bench (JD, Shelly, Betemit, Molina hopefully).
Not to mention being 0.5 games out of the WC.
I said it before. We WILL make the PS, but how far we go will be determined by our pitching, and Hughes and Joba will be probably have the most impact in terms of how 'improved' we are.
It's the Yankees. How sick is that?
The bottom line is we are now doing battle with 3 teams. In order to make the PS, we have to post a better record then Seattle and either Cleveland or Detroit. So it's not how many games we win as much as how we play compared to these 3 teams.
There is still an outside shot at Boston, but as I said earlier, we will probably have to take 5 of 6 from them to have a shot.
I think we need to give kudos to ManOfCash.
Maybe his moves were slower then we would have liked... maybe they were obvious... maybe bringing up the kids won't count as 'moves' to Jim Dean... but LOOK AT THIS TEAM!
Put Giambi and Joba in there and LOOK AT THIS TEAM! We had a really shitty bench in April. Now, if Torre plays it right, our bench is Damon, Shelly, Betemit, Molina and maybe Cairo. This is a great bench, is it not?
Our BP is still questionable, but it is with most teams. Gag-me would have been nice, but I agree the price was to high for a rental. I think next year, the Sox move Papsmear to the rotation.
But right now, the Post Season is ours to lose!
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