I want to begin by saying that I am one of the biggest supporters of Phil Hughes, and have been preaching patience with him since spring training. I still do. I still think we need to be patient with Hughes. But I don't believe we need to be patient with him on the big league roster.
I want to be clear. Phil Hughes has the make up to become an elite pitcher in the future, but his growth has been stunted by being forced to mature too quickly. What I saw yesterday, and what I've seen all season, is a young pitcher with good stuff, but a lack of repetoire. His fastball and curve are major league ready, but that's only two pitches. He has not shown the ability to locate his changeup, and his slider, which is a new pitch for him, is not big league ready. What I saw yesterday, what I've seen all season, is a gifted pitcher weaving his way through major league lineups with 2 pitches. Its not his fault.
Last season, Brian Cashman made it very clear. Phil Hughes was to stay in triple A for the 2007 season. He needed to grow, develop his pitches, and face the competition there before he would move to the big leagues. However, he made just 5 starts at that level before injuries made it necessary to call him up. He was shaky in his first outing, but carried a no-hitter into the 7th against Texas in his second outing, before a hamstring injury pulled him from the game. After a long rehab, he came back, and pitched decently. His big performance was his relief of Roger Clemens in game 3 of the ALCS, where he was amazing. I understand why they called him up, and agree with it. He was tearing it up in triple A. But it didn't mean that he was ready.
What we are seeing now is a pitcher who has little confidence in his secondary pitches, because frankly, they're not very good. He's still working on his slider and changeup. Its not fair to ask him to toy with new pitches on the biggest stage. If you ask me, the whole point of the minors is to work on and develop your pitches. Because he was called up so early, he never had the chance to develop his pitches. He knows how to throw them, but not at a big league level. Right now, the best thing for him is to go back to triple A, and work on those pitches. He has enough natural talent to pitch well, and if he stays with the big league club I can guarantee that he'll have his moments. But the rough starts will far out weigh the good ones. The teams know him now. They know his fastball, and they know his curveball. They've scouted him thoroughly, and they know how to hit him. He's had one quality start all season. He pitched 6 innings of 2 run ball against Toronto. Since then, he has struggled to even qualify for a start. He should be taking these lumps in Scranton, not in the New York.
If they send Hughes down, I'm sure he'll be devastated. But its the best thing for him right now. It shouldn't be deemed a failure by any means. Sometimes you need to retreat before you can advance. I know people love this kid, and will argue to the death that he belongs on the big league club, but if you really want to see this kid become the elite pitcher he will be, then you need to let him go.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tough Loss Against Detroit
The Good
Was anyone else impressed with Ohlendorf's 3.1 innings of 5 strikeout no run relief? Ramirez and Hawkins also contributed shutout innings of their own. All in all, a very good effort by the bullpen. Cano hit a 2-run homerun, but came up in some big spots and was unable to deliver. Duncan went 1-2 with a double and 3 walks. Jeter did what he does best by working a bases loaded hit-by-pitch. There are less painful ways to knock in a run, but none are quite as effective as the bases loaded HBP.
The Bad
The offense just couldn't deliver, squandering bases loaded situations and failing to knock in runners in scoring position. Basically, nothings changed. The Yankee offense managed just 2 runs in 6 innings off a struggling Kenny Rogers. The Tigers also took advantage of what essentially was the worst defensive lineup the Yankees could manage. With Damon in center, the Tigers sent an extra runner to score that I guarantee would have been held up if Melky was there. Also, Matsui missed a linedrive by just a couple steps in leftfield, that I can also guarantee would have been caught if Damon were there. That's 2 runs a better defense would not have allowed. This is not to say that they are bad defenders, just to say that our best defense relies on Melky in center and Damon in left.
The Ugly
Phil Hughes lasted 3.2 innings and gave up 6 earned runs off 8 hits and 3 walks. I plan to write a commentary on this later, but basically, it wasn't pretty.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. The C&C homerun race was in full swing last night as Cano hit his 2nd homerun of the season helping him gain some ground on Cabrera:
Melky Cabrera 5hr = $5.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 2hr = $2.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $28.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Was anyone else impressed with Ohlendorf's 3.1 innings of 5 strikeout no run relief? Ramirez and Hawkins also contributed shutout innings of their own. All in all, a very good effort by the bullpen. Cano hit a 2-run homerun, but came up in some big spots and was unable to deliver. Duncan went 1-2 with a double and 3 walks. Jeter did what he does best by working a bases loaded hit-by-pitch. There are less painful ways to knock in a run, but none are quite as effective as the bases loaded HBP.
The Bad
The offense just couldn't deliver, squandering bases loaded situations and failing to knock in runners in scoring position. Basically, nothings changed. The Yankee offense managed just 2 runs in 6 innings off a struggling Kenny Rogers. The Tigers also took advantage of what essentially was the worst defensive lineup the Yankees could manage. With Damon in center, the Tigers sent an extra runner to score that I guarantee would have been held up if Melky was there. Also, Matsui missed a linedrive by just a couple steps in leftfield, that I can also guarantee would have been caught if Damon were there. That's 2 runs a better defense would not have allowed. This is not to say that they are bad defenders, just to say that our best defense relies on Melky in center and Damon in left.
The Ugly
Phil Hughes lasted 3.2 innings and gave up 6 earned runs off 8 hits and 3 walks. I plan to write a commentary on this later, but basically, it wasn't pretty.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. The C&C homerun race was in full swing last night as Cano hit his 2nd homerun of the season helping him gain some ground on Cabrera:
Melky Cabrera 5hr = $5.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 2hr = $2.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $28.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Around the Majors: Waste of Money
That's a lot of money.
Schilling them Softly
The Red Sox typically make some really good deals when it comes to pitchers and have no problems booting a pitcher who they feel has gotten too old. That is why the signing of Curt Schilling to pitch this year was such a mystery. Right now, he's rehabbing, but I suspect he won't be any good if and when he comes back. Now its not nearly as bad, as say the Carl Pavano signing, but $8 million isn't chump change either. Plus, if he makes the weigh ins he can make another $2 million. That means that he could make as much money as staff ace Josh Beckett. Not a bad deal for Schilling...pretty bad deal for the Red Sox.
GIANT Amount of Money for Middle Relief
Want to talk about a waste of money? Let's talk about the $116 million and 6 years left on Barry Zito who has recently been relegated to the Giants bullpen. That's a lot of money on middle relief. The sad thing is that the contract is back loaded, so he made $10 million in 2007, his first season, and will make $20 million in his last. Ouch.
Breaking News: Multi-Year Contracts for Aged Sluggers Not A Good Idea
So, Toronto dropped DH Frank Thomas because of the slow start that he's had at the plate, or so they say. Thomas believes it has something to do with the performance clause he was approaching that would guarantee him $9 million for next season. By cutting him, the Blue Jays still had to pay him the remainder of the $8 million for this season to not play for them. So the ever savvy Athletics signed Thomas to a league minimum deal of $390,000, and now have a slugger in their lineup.
Money's being waisted everywhere. Good thing the Yankees have so much of it. Just so you know, all the information came from Cot's Baseball Contracts, a phenomenal resource for those interested in seeing how much more baseball players make than you. Really puts that liberal arts degree in perspective.
Schilling them Softly
The Red Sox typically make some really good deals when it comes to pitchers and have no problems booting a pitcher who they feel has gotten too old. That is why the signing of Curt Schilling to pitch this year was such a mystery. Right now, he's rehabbing, but I suspect he won't be any good if and when he comes back. Now its not nearly as bad, as say the Carl Pavano signing, but $8 million isn't chump change either. Plus, if he makes the weigh ins he can make another $2 million. That means that he could make as much money as staff ace Josh Beckett. Not a bad deal for Schilling...pretty bad deal for the Red Sox.
GIANT Amount of Money for Middle Relief
Want to talk about a waste of money? Let's talk about the $116 million and 6 years left on Barry Zito who has recently been relegated to the Giants bullpen. That's a lot of money on middle relief. The sad thing is that the contract is back loaded, so he made $10 million in 2007, his first season, and will make $20 million in his last. Ouch.
Breaking News: Multi-Year Contracts for Aged Sluggers Not A Good Idea
So, Toronto dropped DH Frank Thomas because of the slow start that he's had at the plate, or so they say. Thomas believes it has something to do with the performance clause he was approaching that would guarantee him $9 million for next season. By cutting him, the Blue Jays still had to pay him the remainder of the $8 million for this season to not play for them. So the ever savvy Athletics signed Thomas to a league minimum deal of $390,000, and now have a slugger in their lineup.
Money's being waisted everywhere. Good thing the Yankees have so much of it. Just so you know, all the information came from Cot's Baseball Contracts, a phenomenal resource for those interested in seeing how much more baseball players make than you. Really puts that liberal arts degree in perspective.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Yankees Take Second Against Cleveland
The Good
Today's game just goes to show how timely hitting is much better than hitting many times. The Yankees managed just 5 hits today, 1 for extra bases, no homeruns, and yet, they score 5 runs. The Cleveland pitching staff only gave up 2 walks too, so it wasn't like they were walking runs in. Mussina put together another decent outing with 5 innings and 2 earned runs, but perhaps more impressively, Albaladejo and Farnsworth got the ball to Chamberlain and Mariano. Farnsworth had a very good inning striking out 1 and going perfect. Once again, the Chamberlain-Rivera express delivered, and Mo picked up his 8th save of the season. He's yet to give up a run.
The Bad
You hope to see more from Giambi who left 5 men on base, and Cano went 0-3 further extending his slumping ways. Not good. You also hope to get more innings out of Moose, but following up his 7 inning effort against Chicago, I'll settle for it.
The Ugly
That double that Matsui hit scored Damon from 1st without even a throw. Cleveland's right fielder could not pick that ball up for some reason. By the time he did, Damon was rounding 3rd.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. No homeruns tonight. Just means there'll be 4 tomorrow:
Melky Cabrera 5hr = $5.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $27.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Today's game just goes to show how timely hitting is much better than hitting many times. The Yankees managed just 5 hits today, 1 for extra bases, no homeruns, and yet, they score 5 runs. The Cleveland pitching staff only gave up 2 walks too, so it wasn't like they were walking runs in. Mussina put together another decent outing with 5 innings and 2 earned runs, but perhaps more impressively, Albaladejo and Farnsworth got the ball to Chamberlain and Mariano. Farnsworth had a very good inning striking out 1 and going perfect. Once again, the Chamberlain-Rivera express delivered, and Mo picked up his 8th save of the season. He's yet to give up a run.
The Bad
You hope to see more from Giambi who left 5 men on base, and Cano went 0-3 further extending his slumping ways. Not good. You also hope to get more innings out of Moose, but following up his 7 inning effort against Chicago, I'll settle for it.
The Ugly
That double that Matsui hit scored Damon from 1st without even a throw. Cleveland's right fielder could not pick that ball up for some reason. By the time he did, Damon was rounding 3rd.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. No homeruns tonight. Just means there'll be 4 tomorrow:
Melky Cabrera 5hr = $5.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $27.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Where's Marty Miller When You Need Him?
As you have all probably heard by now, Posada is going on the DL for the first time in his major league career. I thought about writing a post jokingly suggesting he'd been getting tips on how to stay healthy after signing a big contract from Carl Pavano, but Posada has been a great Yankee and deserves better. From what I've read, he seems genuinely distraught at the fact that he will have to go on the DL, and he was the first to mention that he had been given a good contract and feels like he's letting the team down. We'll be okay for now, the season is young and Molina is a more than able back up. Will he produce offensively like Posada? No, but neither would most human beings. I just hope we keep Moehler and he can come back to back up Molina. I don't know the extent of Posada's injury, but if he can come back this season than I rather he takes time off in April/May than in August/September. Feel better Posada. You can always guest blog at Respect Jeters Gangster if you get bored.
Surprise Factor
How surprised would you have been last January if I told you Melky Cabrera would be tied for the team lead in homeruns? Seriously, on a scale from 1 - 10 in surprise factor, how surprised would you be? For me, I'd be about an 8. I figured he would hit more homeruns this year, but he hit 7 all last season, so more could have meant 10. I don't tend to surprise easy, but Melky has just been on a tear. So how surprised are you?
For me, a 1 on the surprise scale would be like the time I showed up for a surprise birthday party and saw all my friends cars parked outside. A great effort, but very little surprise. A 5 would be like the time I saw Andre 3000 standing outside of a hotel in New York city. It wasn't too surprising since it was in New York, but still a little surprising. A 10 would be like the time I was robbed at a friendly dice game. I'm placing my bet when all of a sudden I get sucker punched. I looked up and who should I see but Miley Cyrus. I said "Hannah, why?" And she said, "Money earned ain't as sweet as money taken.", and then walked away with all of our dice money. That kind of caught me off guard. So a 10 would be having Hannah Montana rob your dice game, and a 1 would be the non-surprise birthday party. So, how surprised are you?
For me, a 1 on the surprise scale would be like the time I showed up for a surprise birthday party and saw all my friends cars parked outside. A great effort, but very little surprise. A 5 would be like the time I saw Andre 3000 standing outside of a hotel in New York city. It wasn't too surprising since it was in New York, but still a little surprising. A 10 would be like the time I was robbed at a friendly dice game. I'm placing my bet when all of a sudden I get sucker punched. I looked up and who should I see but Miley Cyrus. I said "Hannah, why?" And she said, "Money earned ain't as sweet as money taken.", and then walked away with all of our dice money. That kind of caught me off guard. So a 10 would be having Hannah Montana rob your dice game, and a 1 would be the non-surprise birthday party. So, how surprised are you?
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Ace Rematch Ends in Win
The Good
Wang pitched 7 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Wang has been striking out a lot more batters than usual. The Chamberlain-Rivera Express pitched another 2 perfect innings and each struck out 2. I'm really hurting on the bullpen/rotation debate with Chamberlain. I think long term he should be in the rotation, but right now, we have no one we can give the ball to in close games. Is that game won with Latroy Hawkins, Kyle Farnsworth, or Jonathan Albaladejo pitching the 8th?
Anyway, more good....Melky hit another homerun, which puts him in a tie for the team league with Jason Giambi. If you see them standing next to each other, it looks like Giambi could eat Melky. Jeter hit a double in the game, but they couldn't do anything with it.
The Bad
Although they were facing a tough pitcher, this Yankee lineup produced 4 hits, 2 for extra bases. You won't win a lot of games like that. Cano was ugly on the base paths too. Shelley went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts bringing him below .100 for the season.
The Ugly
Sabathia yelled at Cabrera for looking at his homerun too long. That's the second time this season an ace pitcher has given up a homerun to Cabrera and then yelled at him for looking at it. That's also two homeruns for Cabrera off two team aces that have won games for the Yankees. But big boys don't cry Sabathia. Instead, they hit homeruns off ace pitchers. Also, Posada is heading to the DL with a tear in his shoulder. There's no indication how long he'll be out, but its expected he'll be out long.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Melky Cabrera hit yet another homerun today as he continues his pursuit of the hallowed Derek Jeter single season homerun record, set by Derek Jeter. That was all the offense the Yankees needed:
Melky Cabrera 5hr = $5.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $27.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Wang pitched 7 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Wang has been striking out a lot more batters than usual. The Chamberlain-Rivera Express pitched another 2 perfect innings and each struck out 2. I'm really hurting on the bullpen/rotation debate with Chamberlain. I think long term he should be in the rotation, but right now, we have no one we can give the ball to in close games. Is that game won with Latroy Hawkins, Kyle Farnsworth, or Jonathan Albaladejo pitching the 8th?
Anyway, more good....Melky hit another homerun, which puts him in a tie for the team league with Jason Giambi. If you see them standing next to each other, it looks like Giambi could eat Melky. Jeter hit a double in the game, but they couldn't do anything with it.
The Bad
Although they were facing a tough pitcher, this Yankee lineup produced 4 hits, 2 for extra bases. You won't win a lot of games like that. Cano was ugly on the base paths too. Shelley went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts bringing him below .100 for the season.
The Ugly
Sabathia yelled at Cabrera for looking at his homerun too long. That's the second time this season an ace pitcher has given up a homerun to Cabrera and then yelled at him for looking at it. That's also two homeruns for Cabrera off two team aces that have won games for the Yankees. But big boys don't cry Sabathia. Instead, they hit homeruns off ace pitchers. Also, Posada is heading to the DL with a tear in his shoulder. There's no indication how long he'll be out, but its expected he'll be out long.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Melky Cabrera hit yet another homerun today as he continues his pursuit of the hallowed Derek Jeter single season homerun record, set by Derek Jeter. That was all the offense the Yankees needed:
Melky Cabrera 5hr = $5.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $27.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Yankees Drop Two to Cleveland
The Good
Hawkins and Farnsworth combined for 3 scorless innings. Damon had 4 hits, Jeter had 3 and A-Rod 2. Jorge Posada's pinch hit triple scored 3 runs in the 6th.
The Bad
Kennedy settled down after a rough 2nd, to finish with 5 innings pitched and 3 earned runs. He gave up 4 hits and 4 walks in that time, and threw over 100 pitches to get there. Though he has shown some improvement this just isn't a good start. Ohlendorf might need to figure out his pitching in the minors.
The Ugly
Although Jeter had 3 hits, he grounded into a double play in the 9th with 1 out and Damon standing at third. He did the same thing against Cleveland last post season to kill a rally in that game. Its a much different game with a 4-3 lead and Mariano on the mound than having it tied 3-3 and bringing in Ohlendorf.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Awful loss today, which makes three in a row for the Yankees. No homeruns:
Melky Cabrera 4hr = $4.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $26.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Hawkins and Farnsworth combined for 3 scorless innings. Damon had 4 hits, Jeter had 3 and A-Rod 2. Jorge Posada's pinch hit triple scored 3 runs in the 6th.
The Bad
Kennedy settled down after a rough 2nd, to finish with 5 innings pitched and 3 earned runs. He gave up 4 hits and 4 walks in that time, and threw over 100 pitches to get there. Though he has shown some improvement this just isn't a good start. Ohlendorf might need to figure out his pitching in the minors.
The Ugly
Although Jeter had 3 hits, he grounded into a double play in the 9th with 1 out and Damon standing at third. He did the same thing against Cleveland last post season to kill a rally in that game. Its a much different game with a 4-3 lead and Mariano on the mound than having it tied 3-3 and bringing in Ohlendorf.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Awful loss today, which makes three in a row for the Yankees. No homeruns:
Melky Cabrera 4hr = $4.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $26.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Pre-game Prediction
We don't usually do a pre-game prediction, but today we will. Our prediction is that Ian Kennedy pitches a no-hitter, Damon, Jeter, Cabrera, and Duncan all hit homeruns, and let's say Molina steals three bases. Grady Sizemore strikes out in the 9th to complete Kennedy's no-hitter, and breaks down in tears at the plate.
Update: Well Kennedy carried the no-hitter for two outs in the first, but in fairness, that Victor Martinez hit was a bloop. Either way, I'm liking Kennedy's start so far. Already has a strikeout. Its interesting to see Giambi, Ensberg and Shelley batting in a row. That's 3 first baseman in one lineup.
Update: Well Kennedy carried the no-hitter for two outs in the first, but in fairness, that Victor Martinez hit was a bloop. Either way, I'm liking Kennedy's start so far. Already has a strikeout. Its interesting to see Giambi, Ensberg and Shelley batting in a row. That's 3 first baseman in one lineup.
Mike Ashmore Brings the Trenton Thunder to You
This feature interview will remain at the top of the page for the remainder of the week. Scroll down below to read our new posts, and fill up on all that gangster goodness!
We at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog have always maintained that the future is in our children. More specifically, in the blue chip prospects making their way up through our farm system. One of the stops on the minor league train is over in Trenton, New Jersey where the mighty Trenton Thunder master their craft. Some of the Yankees biggest prospects passed through there on the way to the bigs, and some are still there waiting for their chance.
With Brian Cashman's player development philosophy in full swing, we at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog took an opportunity to ask some questions of Trenton Thunder beat writer Mike Ashmore. Mike has been working the Trenton beat for 3 years now, and has seen many prospects come and go through the farm system. Wondering what's going on with our Double A team? Mike Ashmore brings the Trenton Thunder to you.
1) You've been one of the beat writers at Trenton for the last few seasons when Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy all spent time there. Can you tell us about an interaction you've had with one of those guys that stood out in your mind?
The thing I liked so much about Phil, is that for all the hype that was around him when he came to Trenton, I never heard or saw him be a jerk to anyone. During the last Q&A we did at the end of the 2006 season, I took the time to thank him for always being so giving with his time to me, and he seemed touched by that.
With Joba, I only got to talk to him two or three times while he was in Trenton because he spent such a short amount of time there. The thing that stood out to me was how cool he was about me being a little hesitant in asking about his heritage. I know next to nothing about the Native American culture, and he was very understanding of that and was willing to explain his background and talk about how he grew up. When I went up to him, he also took the time to introduce himself to me and actually seem interested in wanting to talk...which for as stupid as it sounds to people who might not be in my position, stands out in my mind.
And with Ian, I can remember that for as good as he was to talk to last year -- and I actually only spoke to him once in Trenton -- the feature I wrote on him sucked. I went with a "Friday Night Lights" theme since he was USC's Friday night starter, and it more or less sucked. He does get bonus points for remembering me from Trenton when I spoke to him in the Yankees clubhouse earlier this month, however.
2) Its obvious that Chase Wright was brought up prematurely last season. How has he progressed since then, and do you think he can contribute at the big league level soon?
A year later, and I still don't know what to think about Wright being called up as early as he was last year. I've had people close to the organization tell me he was clearly pitching the best out of anyone in the system at the time he was called up...but when you balance that out with the fact that as far as he'd advanced in his career were two or three starts at the Double-A level at that time, and it was an interesting choice.
When Chase first came back to Trenton late last year, he struggled a little bit and didn't seem like the same pitcher he was when he did get called up. To me, I know people must think that the Fenway Park home run fest affected him adversly, or that not starting this year in Scranton did as well...but if it does, he never shows it. He always has such a positive attitude, and I think that's really shown in his outings so far this year. He's pitching like he did early last season for the Thunder, and while he doesn't have the hype around him that some of the other guys in the system have, and he's also got his age working against him as well, he's throwing the ball like someone who wants to earn another big league call-up.
According to Scott Aldred, his breaking ball needs some work. I think he also needs to do some work holding runners on base, because teams have a tendency of trying to run on him with some pretty decent success.
And not that you asked, but Chase is one of my favorite people to talk to on the team. Always willing to talk about anything and everything, and one of the more friendly guys on the team as well.
3) Phil Coke has the most gangster name of anyone on the Trenton roster. What can you tell us about him?
Good, I get to make a bunch of crappy soda jokes. Well, I can tell you I've never seen him drink Pepsi. Sticking with the soda theme, right now I think you're seeing Diet Coke. Everything I've been told is that this kid is a lot better than what you've seen so far.
He sits around 89-90 on the gun, so he has the velocity to be effective, but I don't think he's mastered his location or movement on his pitches just yet. There's such a logjam of solid pitchers in this organization, so if Coke doesn't get himself straightened out in his next few starts, it's entirely possible he could head back to Tampa for a little while.
I've spoken to him a couple times...seems like a pretty loose, friendly guy.
4) The Trenton outfield has both Jose Tabata and Austin Jackson, two prospects with high ceilings. How would you rate those two guys, and which one do you think will have a greater impact on the Yankees in the future?
Tabata hasn't shown me enough yet, so I think Austin Jackson's going to have the bigger impact on the Yankees. To be honest, I've paid much closer attention to Jackson than I have Tabata, largely in part to the fact that since Tabata doesn't speak English, I can't exactly ask him too much without the help of a translator.
I think Jackson is still very raw. You can tell that the tools are there, but I think the instincts still need work. Little stuff, like knowing how and when to tag up on fly balls are things I've noticed this year with him. I think that once he really puts everything together, he's going to be a good 2nd or 3rd outfielder for the Yankees...but maybe not until late 2009 or the start of 2010.
With Tabata, I think his plate discipline needs some work. He's swung on 3-0 pitches on more than one occasion, and hasn't really shown a knack for working the count in general. He's still very young, so he might still be having a little trouble making that jump to Double-A.
5) Have you ever been attacked by spam prevention robots?
Not that I'm aware of...but you'd be amazed at the spam comments I get and the spam e-mails that consistently flood my inbox. Also, I have a Spam clock on my shelf. I have eaten Spam before. What category does Spam fall into? It isn't necessarily a meat, sooooo...
6) What do you like most about covering the Trenton Thunder?
Every time I step into the press box, it's a reminder of how far I've come. I first came to Waterfront Park with my Little League team when I was 12 years old, and got to see guys like Nomar Garciaparra play. I started going regularly as a fan in 1999 and probably went to about 25-30 games. I'd get there early for BP and get autographs, run around and pick up the balls that were rolling around past the outfield wall, and fill my room with Thunder shirts, batting helmets, jerseys and so on.
I was the kid who waited down the first base line before the game with baseball and pen in hand. I was the kid who showed up for picture day so I could get my photo taken with all the players. I was the kid who saved every dollar he earned so he could buy the jersey of his favorite players.
Making the transition from fan to reporter -- and trust me, there is a transition to be made there...once you get into this business, you never really look at the fan side of things the same way again -- was an interesting one, going from chasing these guys around for autographs to getting daily access to them and getting to know some of them as well. I like being able to provide people updates on their favorite prospects, because I know how much I cared about that when I was on "the other side." I like interacting with the fans, and I try really hard to bring them as close to the guys as I can, because I know how much it meant to me.
The Thunder organization, especially PR man Bill Cook, have always been phenomenal to me throughout my years of covering the team, and wherever my career ends up taking me, I will never forget the people and organizations who believed in me along the way.
7) Scott Patterson was with Trenton for the majority of last season, and had great success. What did you think of the Yankees decision to keep him off the roster coming out of spring training?
Hated it. Scott is someone I got to know personally from his days with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League. That league is actually my primary beat, and I made many jokes about Patterson sharing his name with the actor who played Luke Danes on Gilmore Girls. Yes, I watched Gilmore Girls. Initially, because I thought Lauren Graham was hot. But yeah, it's a really good show.
Anyway, I happened to be in Lancaster the day Patterson signed with the Yankees, and we ended up chatting in the press box for a good half an hour. He ended up going on my laptop to check his e-mail and get directions to Trenton. I happened to have a Thunder roster in my bag, and he spent a lot of time looking it over and seeing who he'd be playing with.
On the field, Patterson has consistently shown he can get the job done. It's silly that the fact that he has no experience at the higher levels is what apparently kept him back. How can a guy get experience in the big leagues if you aren't willing to give him that chance? I'm confident he'll get up there at some point this season, but I think he deserved a spot on the Opening Day roster, no doubt about it.
8) In the time you've covered the Trenton Thunder, you must have seen many players come and go. Which player has stood out the most to you and why?
This is my third year as a writer, and fifth overall if you count when I did a handful of games in '04 and '05 as a photographer. I don't even want to think about how many players I've seen come and go through Trenton, because it'll make me feel a lot older than I actually am (25). I'd have to say Hughes. I'm a guy who always focuses a lot of his time paying attention to the pitchers, whether it's a game I'm covering or a game I'm going to as a fan.
Why would I spend $30 to see...like Jamie Moyer vs. Odalis Perez when I can spend the same amount to see Cole Hamels vs. Johan Santana?
It was the same thing with Hughes. I went out of my way to see him pitch. I would plan my schedule around the days he was pitching. You just had a feeling that you were seeing some special, and I felt fortunate to be a part of it. Even with the big league game I did this year, I specifically chose his start. I know things haven't really worked out that way so far this year, but I think that he'll be what everyone thought he'd be in some time.
9) Do you think the Trenton Thunder will ever consider changing their name to the Trenton Jeter's Gangster?
Hey, Jeter is technically a Thunder alum with his 2003 rehab stint and all. I'd much rather them change the name to the Trenton Stump Merrill's Gangster, myself. Because when I think gangster, I think Stump Merrill.
10) I look at the name of the infield prospects on the team, and none of them seem to have that blue chip prospect label that other players in the organization have. What infield prospects are the Yankees developing, and do you think any of them will develop into big league players?
As far as the Thunder infield goes, you've got Marcos Vechionacci, Ramiro Pena, Reegie Corona and Cody Ehlers. There's no obvious future big leaguer in the group, at least not yet. Pena is finally starting to hit, and he probably has the best chance of making an impact at some point down the road.
In Tampa, you've got Mitch Hilligoss and Damon Sublett hitting well. I can't wait to see Hilligoss, you hear nothing but good things about the guy. And I got to see Sublett play for Staten Island last year and came away pretty impressed...the kid can flat out rake.
Even Charleston has some solid prospects with Brad Suttle and Justin Snyder. I got to see Snyder with the SI Yanks last year as well, and he showed awesome plate discipline...I think he had three walks in the game I saw him in. It's hard to evaluate a player on just one game, but from what I saw of him, he could make an impact in Trenton sometime soon as well.
11) You have a blog (http://thunderbaseball.wordpress.com/), which you update regularly. How many times a day do you frequent the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog, and why is it your favorite blog?
I check out as many of the Yankees related jobs as I can. I don't think people realize that even though I'm only responsible for covering the Double-A level of the Yankees organization, people expect me to know everything that's going on at every level. I try really, really hard to stay as on top of things as I can, but you're never going to have as much information as you'd ultimately like to.
Why is it my favorite blog? Hmmm...how about this? If it were to be my favorite blog, it would have to be everything that you guys are doing for charity. I'm really trying to stir up some interest for Trenton's Autism Awareness Day on April 27th, so it's great to see that there are other great people who follow the organization who are looking to help out as well.
And the C&C Boys home run race thing. That's some comedy gold right there.
12) And lastly, what do you respect most about Jeter's gangster?
Take your pick: Either that the guy has dated Mariah Carey or that he has two lockers at Yankee Stadium. One for his stuff, and one just for his shoes. Mariah's "Touch My Body" video? Now that's gangster...
So there you have it! Mike Ashmore knows his baseball, and loves the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog. If you haven't done so already, check out Mike Ashmore's blog Thunder Thoughts. If you are interested in minor league happenings, its a necessary read.
Lastly, Many thanks to Mike Ashmore for taking the time to answer our questions!
We at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog have always maintained that the future is in our children. More specifically, in the blue chip prospects making their way up through our farm system. One of the stops on the minor league train is over in Trenton, New Jersey where the mighty Trenton Thunder master their craft. Some of the Yankees biggest prospects passed through there on the way to the bigs, and some are still there waiting for their chance.
With Brian Cashman's player development philosophy in full swing, we at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog took an opportunity to ask some questions of Trenton Thunder beat writer Mike Ashmore. Mike has been working the Trenton beat for 3 years now, and has seen many prospects come and go through the farm system. Wondering what's going on with our Double A team? Mike Ashmore brings the Trenton Thunder to you.
1) You've been one of the beat writers at Trenton for the last few seasons when Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy all spent time there. Can you tell us about an interaction you've had with one of those guys that stood out in your mind?
The thing I liked so much about Phil, is that for all the hype that was around him when he came to Trenton, I never heard or saw him be a jerk to anyone. During the last Q&A we did at the end of the 2006 season, I took the time to thank him for always being so giving with his time to me, and he seemed touched by that.
With Joba, I only got to talk to him two or three times while he was in Trenton because he spent such a short amount of time there. The thing that stood out to me was how cool he was about me being a little hesitant in asking about his heritage. I know next to nothing about the Native American culture, and he was very understanding of that and was willing to explain his background and talk about how he grew up. When I went up to him, he also took the time to introduce himself to me and actually seem interested in wanting to talk...which for as stupid as it sounds to people who might not be in my position, stands out in my mind.
And with Ian, I can remember that for as good as he was to talk to last year -- and I actually only spoke to him once in Trenton -- the feature I wrote on him sucked. I went with a "Friday Night Lights" theme since he was USC's Friday night starter, and it more or less sucked. He does get bonus points for remembering me from Trenton when I spoke to him in the Yankees clubhouse earlier this month, however.
2) Its obvious that Chase Wright was brought up prematurely last season. How has he progressed since then, and do you think he can contribute at the big league level soon?
A year later, and I still don't know what to think about Wright being called up as early as he was last year. I've had people close to the organization tell me he was clearly pitching the best out of anyone in the system at the time he was called up...but when you balance that out with the fact that as far as he'd advanced in his career were two or three starts at the Double-A level at that time, and it was an interesting choice.
When Chase first came back to Trenton late last year, he struggled a little bit and didn't seem like the same pitcher he was when he did get called up. To me, I know people must think that the Fenway Park home run fest affected him adversly, or that not starting this year in Scranton did as well...but if it does, he never shows it. He always has such a positive attitude, and I think that's really shown in his outings so far this year. He's pitching like he did early last season for the Thunder, and while he doesn't have the hype around him that some of the other guys in the system have, and he's also got his age working against him as well, he's throwing the ball like someone who wants to earn another big league call-up.
According to Scott Aldred, his breaking ball needs some work. I think he also needs to do some work holding runners on base, because teams have a tendency of trying to run on him with some pretty decent success.
And not that you asked, but Chase is one of my favorite people to talk to on the team. Always willing to talk about anything and everything, and one of the more friendly guys on the team as well.
3) Phil Coke has the most gangster name of anyone on the Trenton roster. What can you tell us about him?
Good, I get to make a bunch of crappy soda jokes. Well, I can tell you I've never seen him drink Pepsi. Sticking with the soda theme, right now I think you're seeing Diet Coke. Everything I've been told is that this kid is a lot better than what you've seen so far.
He sits around 89-90 on the gun, so he has the velocity to be effective, but I don't think he's mastered his location or movement on his pitches just yet. There's such a logjam of solid pitchers in this organization, so if Coke doesn't get himself straightened out in his next few starts, it's entirely possible he could head back to Tampa for a little while.
I've spoken to him a couple times...seems like a pretty loose, friendly guy.
4) The Trenton outfield has both Jose Tabata and Austin Jackson, two prospects with high ceilings. How would you rate those two guys, and which one do you think will have a greater impact on the Yankees in the future?
Tabata hasn't shown me enough yet, so I think Austin Jackson's going to have the bigger impact on the Yankees. To be honest, I've paid much closer attention to Jackson than I have Tabata, largely in part to the fact that since Tabata doesn't speak English, I can't exactly ask him too much without the help of a translator.
I think Jackson is still very raw. You can tell that the tools are there, but I think the instincts still need work. Little stuff, like knowing how and when to tag up on fly balls are things I've noticed this year with him. I think that once he really puts everything together, he's going to be a good 2nd or 3rd outfielder for the Yankees...but maybe not until late 2009 or the start of 2010.
With Tabata, I think his plate discipline needs some work. He's swung on 3-0 pitches on more than one occasion, and hasn't really shown a knack for working the count in general. He's still very young, so he might still be having a little trouble making that jump to Double-A.
5) Have you ever been attacked by spam prevention robots?
Not that I'm aware of...but you'd be amazed at the spam comments I get and the spam e-mails that consistently flood my inbox. Also, I have a Spam clock on my shelf. I have eaten Spam before. What category does Spam fall into? It isn't necessarily a meat, sooooo...
6) What do you like most about covering the Trenton Thunder?
Every time I step into the press box, it's a reminder of how far I've come. I first came to Waterfront Park with my Little League team when I was 12 years old, and got to see guys like Nomar Garciaparra play. I started going regularly as a fan in 1999 and probably went to about 25-30 games. I'd get there early for BP and get autographs, run around and pick up the balls that were rolling around past the outfield wall, and fill my room with Thunder shirts, batting helmets, jerseys and so on.
I was the kid who waited down the first base line before the game with baseball and pen in hand. I was the kid who showed up for picture day so I could get my photo taken with all the players. I was the kid who saved every dollar he earned so he could buy the jersey of his favorite players.
Making the transition from fan to reporter -- and trust me, there is a transition to be made there...once you get into this business, you never really look at the fan side of things the same way again -- was an interesting one, going from chasing these guys around for autographs to getting daily access to them and getting to know some of them as well. I like being able to provide people updates on their favorite prospects, because I know how much I cared about that when I was on "the other side." I like interacting with the fans, and I try really hard to bring them as close to the guys as I can, because I know how much it meant to me.
The Thunder organization, especially PR man Bill Cook, have always been phenomenal to me throughout my years of covering the team, and wherever my career ends up taking me, I will never forget the people and organizations who believed in me along the way.
7) Scott Patterson was with Trenton for the majority of last season, and had great success. What did you think of the Yankees decision to keep him off the roster coming out of spring training?
Hated it. Scott is someone I got to know personally from his days with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League. That league is actually my primary beat, and I made many jokes about Patterson sharing his name with the actor who played Luke Danes on Gilmore Girls. Yes, I watched Gilmore Girls. Initially, because I thought Lauren Graham was hot. But yeah, it's a really good show.
Anyway, I happened to be in Lancaster the day Patterson signed with the Yankees, and we ended up chatting in the press box for a good half an hour. He ended up going on my laptop to check his e-mail and get directions to Trenton. I happened to have a Thunder roster in my bag, and he spent a lot of time looking it over and seeing who he'd be playing with.
On the field, Patterson has consistently shown he can get the job done. It's silly that the fact that he has no experience at the higher levels is what apparently kept him back. How can a guy get experience in the big leagues if you aren't willing to give him that chance? I'm confident he'll get up there at some point this season, but I think he deserved a spot on the Opening Day roster, no doubt about it.
8) In the time you've covered the Trenton Thunder, you must have seen many players come and go. Which player has stood out the most to you and why?
This is my third year as a writer, and fifth overall if you count when I did a handful of games in '04 and '05 as a photographer. I don't even want to think about how many players I've seen come and go through Trenton, because it'll make me feel a lot older than I actually am (25). I'd have to say Hughes. I'm a guy who always focuses a lot of his time paying attention to the pitchers, whether it's a game I'm covering or a game I'm going to as a fan.
Why would I spend $30 to see...like Jamie Moyer vs. Odalis Perez when I can spend the same amount to see Cole Hamels vs. Johan Santana?
It was the same thing with Hughes. I went out of my way to see him pitch. I would plan my schedule around the days he was pitching. You just had a feeling that you were seeing some special, and I felt fortunate to be a part of it. Even with the big league game I did this year, I specifically chose his start. I know things haven't really worked out that way so far this year, but I think that he'll be what everyone thought he'd be in some time.
9) Do you think the Trenton Thunder will ever consider changing their name to the Trenton Jeter's Gangster?
Hey, Jeter is technically a Thunder alum with his 2003 rehab stint and all. I'd much rather them change the name to the Trenton Stump Merrill's Gangster, myself. Because when I think gangster, I think Stump Merrill.
10) I look at the name of the infield prospects on the team, and none of them seem to have that blue chip prospect label that other players in the organization have. What infield prospects are the Yankees developing, and do you think any of them will develop into big league players?
As far as the Thunder infield goes, you've got Marcos Vechionacci, Ramiro Pena, Reegie Corona and Cody Ehlers. There's no obvious future big leaguer in the group, at least not yet. Pena is finally starting to hit, and he probably has the best chance of making an impact at some point down the road.
In Tampa, you've got Mitch Hilligoss and Damon Sublett hitting well. I can't wait to see Hilligoss, you hear nothing but good things about the guy. And I got to see Sublett play for Staten Island last year and came away pretty impressed...the kid can flat out rake.
Even Charleston has some solid prospects with Brad Suttle and Justin Snyder. I got to see Snyder with the SI Yanks last year as well, and he showed awesome plate discipline...I think he had three walks in the game I saw him in. It's hard to evaluate a player on just one game, but from what I saw of him, he could make an impact in Trenton sometime soon as well.
11) You have a blog (http://thunderbaseball.wordpress.com/), which you update regularly. How many times a day do you frequent the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog, and why is it your favorite blog?
I check out as many of the Yankees related jobs as I can. I don't think people realize that even though I'm only responsible for covering the Double-A level of the Yankees organization, people expect me to know everything that's going on at every level. I try really, really hard to stay as on top of things as I can, but you're never going to have as much information as you'd ultimately like to.
Why is it my favorite blog? Hmmm...how about this? If it were to be my favorite blog, it would have to be everything that you guys are doing for charity. I'm really trying to stir up some interest for Trenton's Autism Awareness Day on April 27th, so it's great to see that there are other great people who follow the organization who are looking to help out as well.
And the C&C Boys home run race thing. That's some comedy gold right there.
12) And lastly, what do you respect most about Jeter's gangster?
Take your pick: Either that the guy has dated Mariah Carey or that he has two lockers at Yankee Stadium. One for his stuff, and one just for his shoes. Mariah's "Touch My Body" video? Now that's gangster...
So there you have it! Mike Ashmore knows his baseball, and loves the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog. If you haven't done so already, check out Mike Ashmore's blog Thunder Thoughts. If you are interested in minor league happenings, its a necessary read.
Lastly, Many thanks to Mike Ashmore for taking the time to answer our questions!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Yankees Lose to Cleveland
The Good
Jason Giambi appears to be slowly but surely breaking out of his slump. He hit two homeruns today with 3 RBI's. Albaladejo's pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief.
The Bad
With Giambi being the exception, the offense was no good. The C&C boys went hitless, as did Jeter. Billy Traber walked 2 and gave up a hit and a run in one inning of work.
The Ugly
Pettitte was cruising for the first few innings but then hit a rough 5th. His final line was 5 innings and 4 earned runs, giving up 8 hits and 3 walks.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Tonight, Jason Giambi showed his true love for the children by stepping up and hitting 2 homeruns. That makes him the team leader in homeruns with 5, surpassing both A-Rod and the unlikely Melky Cabrera who are tied with 4:
Melky Cabrera 4hr = $4.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $26.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Jason Giambi appears to be slowly but surely breaking out of his slump. He hit two homeruns today with 3 RBI's. Albaladejo's pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief.
The Bad
With Giambi being the exception, the offense was no good. The C&C boys went hitless, as did Jeter. Billy Traber walked 2 and gave up a hit and a run in one inning of work.
The Ugly
Pettitte was cruising for the first few innings but then hit a rough 5th. His final line was 5 innings and 4 earned runs, giving up 8 hits and 3 walks.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Tonight, Jason Giambi showed his true love for the children by stepping up and hitting 2 homeruns. That makes him the team leader in homeruns with 5, surpassing both A-Rod and the unlikely Melky Cabrera who are tied with 4:
Melky Cabrera 4hr = $4.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $26.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
LaHawk
I was watching the game last night while Hawkins was pitching to the white sox. It was my first time actually seeing him pitch, as I am mostly relegated to following the games online or via radio. I think this guy could be successful. He's got good movement on his pitches and he throws strikes. At least from what I saw last night. The whole "21" thing still bothers me but what can I say. I do think Hawkins will be an effective reliever for us this year, and if he isn't, it's just a one year contract anyway.
Morgan Ensberg Blogs
In case you haven't seen it, Morgan Ensberg was a guest blogger on Phil Hughes blog. He was actually kind of funny. Give it a look.
Will Patterson Get His Shot? Rasner?
Last night brought some bad news to the bullpen. Bruney and Farnsworth have both sustained injuries and will likely miss some time. The good news is that perhaps, the ever deserving Scott Patterson will get his shot. The question is will he?
Thus far, the Yankees have called up Edwar Ramirez and Jonathan Albaladejo ahead of Patterson. Both of those pitchers are fine, but Patterson really earned that spot out of spring training, and they have yet to give it to him.
Yesterday's game also put into focus another need the Yankees have. Without a set long reliever, Ohlendorf stepped in and pitched a couple innings giving up 5 runs. With Rasner having a monster season in the minors, perhaps its time we bring him back up too.
Thus far, the Yankees have called up Edwar Ramirez and Jonathan Albaladejo ahead of Patterson. Both of those pitchers are fine, but Patterson really earned that spot out of spring training, and they have yet to give it to him.
Yesterday's game also put into focus another need the Yankees have. Without a set long reliever, Ohlendorf stepped in and pitched a couple innings giving up 5 runs. With Rasner having a monster season in the minors, perhaps its time we bring him back up too.
Tragic Loss to Chicago
The Good
Abreu, Giambi and Cabrera all had 2 hits, with one of Cabrera's being his 4th homerun of the season. Jeter knocked in a run, helping him break out of his recent skid. Farnsworth pitched a scoreless inning, and Hughes pitched a scoreless two inning start before a rain delay knocked him out of the game.
The Bad
We lost. Not only did we lose, but we lost in the 9th inning with Chamberlain on the mound. Tragic.
The Ugly
Ohlendorf's 2 inning 5 run relief appearance. Hard to stay in games like that. Cano went 0-3 to further extend his hitting slump.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Last night, the C&C boys were at it again. Well, one of them was anyway, as Melky Cabrera hit his 4th homerun of the season. For anyone counting at home, and I know that's all of you, that makes 4 homeruns for Melky on his quest to break Derek Jeter's single season homerun record, set by Derek Jeter:
Melky Cabrera 4hr = $4.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 3hr = $3.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $24.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Abreu, Giambi and Cabrera all had 2 hits, with one of Cabrera's being his 4th homerun of the season. Jeter knocked in a run, helping him break out of his recent skid. Farnsworth pitched a scoreless inning, and Hughes pitched a scoreless two inning start before a rain delay knocked him out of the game.
The Bad
We lost. Not only did we lose, but we lost in the 9th inning with Chamberlain on the mound. Tragic.
The Ugly
Ohlendorf's 2 inning 5 run relief appearance. Hard to stay in games like that. Cano went 0-3 to further extend his hitting slump.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Last night, the C&C boys were at it again. Well, one of them was anyway, as Melky Cabrera hit his 4th homerun of the season. For anyone counting at home, and I know that's all of you, that makes 4 homeruns for Melky on his quest to break Derek Jeter's single season homerun record, set by Derek Jeter:
Melky Cabrera 4hr = $4.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 3hr = $3.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $24.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Trenton Autism Awareness Day
The Trenton Thunder will be hosting their annual Autism Awareness Day at 1:05pm on April 27. The event will take place at Waterfront Park. Mike Ashmore is promoting it over on his blog and if you would like to donate some money you can contact him to get pointed in the right direction. If you're in the Trenton, New Jersey area it seems like a cool thing to check out.
If you don't know who Mike Ashmore is, then clearly you haven't read our feature interview posted above, and you some how managed to scroll past it on the way to reading this post without noticing it, which in fairness, requires a lot of skill. Ashmore is good people's, and has a great blog on the Trenton Thunder that I recommend to everyone.
If you don't know who Mike Ashmore is, then clearly you haven't read our feature interview posted above, and you some how managed to scroll past it on the way to reading this post without noticing it, which in fairness, requires a lot of skill. Ashmore is good people's, and has a great blog on the Trenton Thunder that I recommend to everyone.
That Young Man is Going to Be Alright
If you're anything like me, and most of you are, then you've spent the last few weeks asking yourself, "I wonder how Rasner's doing?" Well, the New York Times has answered our collective prayer with this article concerning the Yanks prospect. Apparently he's killing the minor leagues. The Yanks don't have a long man and with the youngsters struggling we may be seeing Rasner sometime soon.
This got me thinking though, when Girardi came into spring training he said that every player had a clean slate. That's good if you're Farnsworth, but if you're a guy who pitched on a broken leg (Karstens) or were willing to reach out with your bare hand to try and stop a hit (Rasner; admittedly a stupid play but ballsy) maybe you didn't want a clean slate. Showing heart should count for something, especially when you risk injury. My point is we have no long man and maybe if those things had been kept in mind we would have. It could just be that they wanted Karstens, he got hurt, and so they decided to wait, but Rasner deserves a chance to pitch the extra 4 or 5 innings Hughes and Kennedy have left on the table recently.
This got me thinking though, when Girardi came into spring training he said that every player had a clean slate. That's good if you're Farnsworth, but if you're a guy who pitched on a broken leg (Karstens) or were willing to reach out with your bare hand to try and stop a hit (Rasner; admittedly a stupid play but ballsy) maybe you didn't want a clean slate. Showing heart should count for something, especially when you risk injury. My point is we have no long man and maybe if those things had been kept in mind we would have. It could just be that they wanted Karstens, he got hurt, and so they decided to wait, but Rasner deserves a chance to pitch the extra 4 or 5 innings Hughes and Kennedy have left on the table recently.
Is Mike Mussina Done?
There has been a lot of talk about whether or not Mike Mussina is done as a pitcher, and his most recent start certainly makes it less clear. After two rough starts against the Red Sox, Mussina bounced back with a 7 inning 2 run performance against the offense heavy White Sox. His start before the two games with the Red Sox was a 6 inning 1 run effort against Tampa. So the question remains, is Mussina done as a pitcher?
My take on it is that he's just getting older. He's going to have some rough starts and he's going to have some good starts. In fairness, his first start against the Red Sox, a 5.2 inning effort giving up 4 runs, was not awful, and his first start of the season, another 5.2 inning effort with 3 runs against Toronto wasn't either. His one awful start was his second game against the Red Sox where he lasted 3 innings and gave up 5 runs. Even then, his troubles with the Red Sox were really just troubles with Manny Ramirez. So is Mussina done? I'm not convinced that he is.
If you're counting on Mussina to be your number 2 starter (as he is in the depth chart) then yes, you're in for some dissapointment. However, if you're looking for Moose to be a 4th or 5th starter, give some quality starts, keep the Yankees in some games, and help coach the youngsters, then you will get exactly what you want. I still believe he can pitch in this league, just not like he used to.
I do have some concerns about Mussina. Namely, the fact that he has given up 7 homeruns this season. The two runs he gave up yesterday were off two solo homeruns, and the one run he gave up against Tampa was also off a solo homerun. When his curve is flat, it gets hit hard. I was initially concerned yesterday when the YES guns had him topping out at 80 mph on the fastball and was throwing his change and curve in the mid-60's range, but then they had Mariano topping out at 87 mph, so I think it was just the gun. Is Mussina done? I say give him a chance.
My take on it is that he's just getting older. He's going to have some rough starts and he's going to have some good starts. In fairness, his first start against the Red Sox, a 5.2 inning effort giving up 4 runs, was not awful, and his first start of the season, another 5.2 inning effort with 3 runs against Toronto wasn't either. His one awful start was his second game against the Red Sox where he lasted 3 innings and gave up 5 runs. Even then, his troubles with the Red Sox were really just troubles with Manny Ramirez. So is Mussina done? I'm not convinced that he is.
If you're counting on Mussina to be your number 2 starter (as he is in the depth chart) then yes, you're in for some dissapointment. However, if you're looking for Moose to be a 4th or 5th starter, give some quality starts, keep the Yankees in some games, and help coach the youngsters, then you will get exactly what you want. I still believe he can pitch in this league, just not like he used to.
I do have some concerns about Mussina. Namely, the fact that he has given up 7 homeruns this season. The two runs he gave up yesterday were off two solo homeruns, and the one run he gave up against Tampa was also off a solo homerun. When his curve is flat, it gets hit hard. I was initially concerned yesterday when the YES guns had him topping out at 80 mph on the fastball and was throwing his change and curve in the mid-60's range, but then they had Mariano topping out at 87 mph, so I think it was just the gun. Is Mussina done? I say give him a chance.
Rivera Sets Clock Back
Before the season started, I wrote a post about how Mariano was going to be entering his decline years and that we as fans, couldn't expect the same production from him going forward. I wrote that Papelbon was young, and dominant, and that would carry him to have a better year than Mariano. I used Mariano's concerning numbers from last season as indications that he was declining, and Papelbon's great numbers to show what we could expect. So far, Mariano has shut me the crap up.
Mariano has yet to allow a run this season in 9 innings. In that time, he's recorded 6 saves and has struck out 8. At this time last year, Mariano was giving up walk off homeruns to the likes of Marco Scutaro. We were making excuses for his performance saying that Torre wasn't using him enough to keep him sharp. Now, there's no need for excuses. Mariano has set back the clock. I know there's still a lot of baseball left this season, and a lot of things can happen in that time, but Mariano has been truly dominant thus far, and I am thoroughly impressed. Not that being impressed by him is a new thing, but I'm circa 1996 impressed. Keep throwing that cutter, Mo. Keep throwing that cutter.
Mariano has yet to allow a run this season in 9 innings. In that time, he's recorded 6 saves and has struck out 8. At this time last year, Mariano was giving up walk off homeruns to the likes of Marco Scutaro. We were making excuses for his performance saying that Torre wasn't using him enough to keep him sharp. Now, there's no need for excuses. Mariano has set back the clock. I know there's still a lot of baseball left this season, and a lot of things can happen in that time, but Mariano has been truly dominant thus far, and I am thoroughly impressed. Not that being impressed by him is a new thing, but I'm circa 1996 impressed. Keep throwing that cutter, Mo. Keep throwing that cutter.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Chi City Out Hit by Boogie Down Bronx Crew
The Good
Well, Mussina showed enough to keep the critics off his back with a 7 inning 2 run performance. Both runs came on solo homeruns by Joe Crede and Quentin Tarantino. This was a huge outing for Moose, and it wasn't against some push over team. Posada had a 4 hit night, with 3 of those hits being doubles. Damon continued his recent hot streak with a pair of hits, and even Melky got busy with a couple hits of his own. Giambi had a hit and was walked 3 times. Mariano closed the game with a perfect 1.2 innings.
Perhaps the best thing of the game is that the Yankee offense got scored 6 runs without one long ball. Bad news for the children (more on that below), but good news for this offense.
The Bad
Hawkins just can't seem to get groundball outs as was advertised. Traber can't get out lefties easily either. Hopefully they pick it up, but is anyone else not concerned about the bullpen when
Chamberlain leaves? I'm having my doubts...
The Ugly
Abreu's 0-5 night with 2 strikeouts was ugly, but not as ugly as Robinson Cano's streak of ugliness. He extended his hitting slump tonight going 0-4 with a walk. He did score a run, but he's also batting .165, so its a trade off. Honestly though, I'm not concerned.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Tonight, the Yankees had a lot of hits, but none left the park. The C&C boys were limited to no homeruns for a second consecutive night, throwing yet another roadblock on their way to Derek Jeter's single season homerun record, set by Derek Jeter:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 3hr = $3.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $23.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Well, Mussina showed enough to keep the critics off his back with a 7 inning 2 run performance. Both runs came on solo homeruns by Joe Crede and Quentin Tarantino. This was a huge outing for Moose, and it wasn't against some push over team. Posada had a 4 hit night, with 3 of those hits being doubles. Damon continued his recent hot streak with a pair of hits, and even Melky got busy with a couple hits of his own. Giambi had a hit and was walked 3 times. Mariano closed the game with a perfect 1.2 innings.
Perhaps the best thing of the game is that the Yankee offense got scored 6 runs without one long ball. Bad news for the children (more on that below), but good news for this offense.
The Bad
Hawkins just can't seem to get groundball outs as was advertised. Traber can't get out lefties easily either. Hopefully they pick it up, but is anyone else not concerned about the bullpen when
Chamberlain leaves? I'm having my doubts...
The Ugly
Abreu's 0-5 night with 2 strikeouts was ugly, but not as ugly as Robinson Cano's streak of ugliness. He extended his hitting slump tonight going 0-4 with a walk. He did score a run, but he's also batting .165, so its a trade off. Honestly though, I'm not concerned.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Tonight, the Yankees had a lot of hits, but none left the park. The C&C boys were limited to no homeruns for a second consecutive night, throwing yet another roadblock on their way to Derek Jeter's single season homerun record, set by Derek Jeter:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 3hr = $3.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $23.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Yesterday's Windy City Victory
The Good
Yankee offense came up big in the 7th, loading the bases and having Abreu hit a grand slam. Damon hit a 3-run shot of his own to put it a little further out of reach. He may have known Farnsworth was going to pitch. Wang did not have his best stuff, but he limited the White Sox to 3 runs over 6 innings, striking out 5. He gave up 10 hits and 2 walks, so the 3 runs scored is near miraculous considering. Don't look now, but Wang has been striking out more batters than usual. Chamberlain came into the game in the 7th with the bases loaded, and got out of the jam with only one run scoring.
The Bad
Billy Traber came in the 7th to face lefty power bat Jim Thome, he walked him after working a full count. Bruney came in and loaded the bases on a walk and a hit after recording one out. Farnsworth came in the 9th and gave up 1 run on a homerun. Outside of Chamberlain, relief was shaky. Makes you wonder about that 8th inning spot, once Chamberlain is gone.
The Ugly
Derek Jeter's swinging strikeout on a high fastball with the bases loaded. Abreu cleared everything with his grandslam, but it was still an ugly strikeout.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Last night, Johnny Damon continued his quest for his first 30 homerun season with a shot to right field, Giambi knocked one out as he continues to fight his way out of his slow start, and Abreu hit a grandslam to help win the game. The C&C boys were limited to no homeruns despite their opposite field power:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 3hr = $3.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $23.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Yankee offense came up big in the 7th, loading the bases and having Abreu hit a grand slam. Damon hit a 3-run shot of his own to put it a little further out of reach. He may have known Farnsworth was going to pitch. Wang did not have his best stuff, but he limited the White Sox to 3 runs over 6 innings, striking out 5. He gave up 10 hits and 2 walks, so the 3 runs scored is near miraculous considering. Don't look now, but Wang has been striking out more batters than usual. Chamberlain came into the game in the 7th with the bases loaded, and got out of the jam with only one run scoring.
The Bad
Billy Traber came in the 7th to face lefty power bat Jim Thome, he walked him after working a full count. Bruney came in and loaded the bases on a walk and a hit after recording one out. Farnsworth came in the 9th and gave up 1 run on a homerun. Outside of Chamberlain, relief was shaky. Makes you wonder about that 8th inning spot, once Chamberlain is gone.
The Ugly
Derek Jeter's swinging strikeout on a high fastball with the bases loaded. Abreu cleared everything with his grandslam, but it was still an ugly strikeout.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit. We will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit and the money donated throughout the season. Last night, Johnny Damon continued his quest for his first 30 homerun season with a shot to right field, Giambi knocked one out as he continues to fight his way out of his slow start, and Abreu hit a grandslam to help win the game. The C&C boys were limited to no homeruns despite their opposite field power:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 3hr = $3.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 3hr = $3.00
Johnny Damon 3hr = $3.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $23.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
A WTF Moment
So, I'm not exactly the manager of the New York Yankees but when you have a save situation in the ninth (4 runs or less) and its the game after an off day, don't you bring your closer in instead of Kyle Farnsworth? Just Curious.
30 seconds later update:
I guess Girardi is a sportsman and he didn't want to show the Sox up by winning by more than three runs.
30 seconds later update:
I guess Girardi is a sportsman and he didn't want to show the Sox up by winning by more than three runs.
A World Without Cashman
I don't know about anyone else, but I've been thinking a lot lately about how life would be without Brian Cashman. After Hank had his first Steinbrenner melt down about the rotation the other day, it seems that he has now calmed down after speaking with Cashman, and they are sticking to the original plan. Cashman also had to explain to him that the reason they put Joba in the bullpen last season was because of inning limits, not because they were making him a reliever. Steinbrenner stated that he wasn't around last season, so he didn't know, but c'mon. Everybody in the tri-state area knew about Joba's inning limits, the Joba rules, and the whole "we plan on keeping him as a starter" thing. Well, everybody except Hank.
With this likely being the first of many Steinbrenner melt downs, I started thinking about how good Cashman was at putting out fires. He did it with Sheffield during his walk year when he came into spring training running his mouth, and he did it dealing with George Steinbrenner all these years. Like the middle child, Cashman has been forced to resolve all the issues within the ever dysfunctional Yankee family, and it has to have gotten old by now. So what would happen if Cashman walked at the end of this year? Went to another team that can appreciate the kind of player development approach he has? What if Hank becomes the GM, or installs a puppet GM so that he can call all the real shots? What would life with the Yankees be like without Cashman?
For starters, you can say goodbye to the kids. Hank was very vocal about wanting Santana last season, which would have meant sending Hughes, Melky, and potentially Ian Kennedy to the Twins for him. This coming off season, you could expect Hank to go for free agents Sabathia and Teixeira, but the smart money says he tries a trade to fill the other spot in the rotation, or to find a true setup guy for Mariano Rivera. Remember when we were shopping Melky Cabrera for Mike Gonzalez a couple years back? And then we shopped him for Santana last season? I think Melky would be gone if Hank took over. Thankfully, next off season will have a good free agent crop, so he won't need to architect the trade of our entire tripple A roster to land somebody, but if someone becomes available through trade, Hank will be like his father, and will send away anyone he needs to.
Some people welcome this approach. They hate Cashman for preaching patience, and want him to just sign every big name that becomes available. This is probably because they don't remember our mercenary teams of the early part of this decade. When the Yankees went way over $200 million in payroll, for over the hill, under achieving veterans with no real allegiance to the Yankees, but some allegiance to their big pay check. The whole all-star at every position plan didn't work. If Cashman goes, I fear we'll be back to that. Remember Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Tony Womack, distraction crazy Sheffield, and Quantrill? We would be back to that in no time.
With this likely being the first of many Steinbrenner melt downs, I started thinking about how good Cashman was at putting out fires. He did it with Sheffield during his walk year when he came into spring training running his mouth, and he did it dealing with George Steinbrenner all these years. Like the middle child, Cashman has been forced to resolve all the issues within the ever dysfunctional Yankee family, and it has to have gotten old by now. So what would happen if Cashman walked at the end of this year? Went to another team that can appreciate the kind of player development approach he has? What if Hank becomes the GM, or installs a puppet GM so that he can call all the real shots? What would life with the Yankees be like without Cashman?
For starters, you can say goodbye to the kids. Hank was very vocal about wanting Santana last season, which would have meant sending Hughes, Melky, and potentially Ian Kennedy to the Twins for him. This coming off season, you could expect Hank to go for free agents Sabathia and Teixeira, but the smart money says he tries a trade to fill the other spot in the rotation, or to find a true setup guy for Mariano Rivera. Remember when we were shopping Melky Cabrera for Mike Gonzalez a couple years back? And then we shopped him for Santana last season? I think Melky would be gone if Hank took over. Thankfully, next off season will have a good free agent crop, so he won't need to architect the trade of our entire tripple A roster to land somebody, but if someone becomes available through trade, Hank will be like his father, and will send away anyone he needs to.
Some people welcome this approach. They hate Cashman for preaching patience, and want him to just sign every big name that becomes available. This is probably because they don't remember our mercenary teams of the early part of this decade. When the Yankees went way over $200 million in payroll, for over the hill, under achieving veterans with no real allegiance to the Yankees, but some allegiance to their big pay check. The whole all-star at every position plan didn't work. If Cashman goes, I fear we'll be back to that. Remember Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Tony Womack, distraction crazy Sheffield, and Quantrill? We would be back to that in no time.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Joba Chamberlain: Setup Man or Starting Rotation?
Hank Steinbrenner has spoken and it appears he is most interested in moving Joba Chamberlain into the rotation. With regards to Chamberlain's position as a reliever Hank stated: "The mistake was already made last year switching him to the bullpen out of panic or whatever, ... I had no say in it last year and I wouldn't have allowed it." Apparently, he has no recollection of the young arms and increasing work load argument that was the entire reason for the Joba rules and his move to the bullpen. After saying that Mussina needed to pitch like Jamie Moyer, Hank made it clear that he wants Chamberlain in the rotation, and he wants it now. With that being the situation it brings to the front the on-going debate of where Joba Chamberlain can best help the team. Here are the two sides of the debate:
Chamberlain as a Starter
The decision is easy, do you want to see Chamberlain pitching 200+ innings a year, or do you want him throwing 70-90 innings a year? As a starter, Chamberlain can be the hard throwing ace with 20 win potential. When we get to the playoffs, an arm like Chamberlain will be necessary seeing as our lack of pitching strength has knocked us out of the playoffs in recent years. A one-two combination of Wang and Chamberlain can easily grab us 40 wins in a season, and lead us to perennial division titles.
Chamberlain as a Reliever
Yes, 200+ innings of Chamberlain gives you more than 70-90 innings of Chamberlain, but how many games will he end up effecting? If Chamberlain starts, he will pitch in a maximum of 35 games. As a reliever, he has the ability to get into 60-70 games, and is a near lock to hold all of them. The biggest weakness of the Yankees in recent years has been the bridge between the starter and the closer. That weakness has also been exploited by opposing teams in the post season. If you keep him in the bullpen, he can eventually grow into the closer when Mariano retires.
So what do you think? Should Chamberlain be a starter, or should he stay in the bullpen?
Chamberlain as a Starter
The decision is easy, do you want to see Chamberlain pitching 200+ innings a year, or do you want him throwing 70-90 innings a year? As a starter, Chamberlain can be the hard throwing ace with 20 win potential. When we get to the playoffs, an arm like Chamberlain will be necessary seeing as our lack of pitching strength has knocked us out of the playoffs in recent years. A one-two combination of Wang and Chamberlain can easily grab us 40 wins in a season, and lead us to perennial division titles.
Chamberlain as a Reliever
Yes, 200+ innings of Chamberlain gives you more than 70-90 innings of Chamberlain, but how many games will he end up effecting? If Chamberlain starts, he will pitch in a maximum of 35 games. As a reliever, he has the ability to get into 60-70 games, and is a near lock to hold all of them. The biggest weakness of the Yankees in recent years has been the bridge between the starter and the closer. That weakness has also been exploited by opposing teams in the post season. If you keep him in the bullpen, he can eventually grow into the closer when Mariano retires.
So what do you think? Should Chamberlain be a starter, or should he stay in the bullpen?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
C&C Boys Pursuing Homerun Record
It was back in 1999 when Yankee captain Derek Jeter reached the highly coveted 24 homerun mark that he had pursued his entire career. Prior to that season he had been unable to break the 20 homerun mark, but found the extra strength necessary to reach that plateau as he led the Yankees to another world series title.
Now, Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano's pursuit of the ever elusive Derek Jeter single season homerun mark, set by Derek Jeter, is one for the ages. Cabrera has jumped ahead with 3, while Cano has languished in a seemingly unending slump, which has him stumped at 1. Although this homerun race has not gotten the press coverage it deserves, we at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog feel the need to keep Yankee fans posted. So from now on, we will keep you updated on all the happenings of the legendary C&C homerun chase.
Now, Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano's pursuit of the ever elusive Derek Jeter single season homerun mark, set by Derek Jeter, is one for the ages. Cabrera has jumped ahead with 3, while Cano has languished in a seemingly unending slump, which has him stumped at 1. Although this homerun race has not gotten the press coverage it deserves, we at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog feel the need to keep Yankee fans posted. So from now on, we will keep you updated on all the happenings of the legendary C&C homerun chase.
Yankees Avoid Sweep
The Good
They call Andy Pettitte the stopper, since he's very good at giving the Yankees a phenomenal pitching performance after they've been losing a few games in a row. I for one don't feel like that credits him enough. The Yankees did have quite the losing streak, but the last game they won was pitched by, well, Andy Pettitte. So instead of calling him "the stopper", can we just call him "the sole reason the Yankees have any wins in the last week"? I feel it has a better ring to it. Pettitte pitched 7 innings and gave up no runs while striking out 5. He even had it perfect through the first few innings, until Jay Payton hit that cowardly infield single.
The offense stepped up with back to back doubles by A-Rod and Matsui scoring a pair of runs, and Johnny Damon cracking a monster 2-run homerun on his way to a 30 homerun season. Later on, Jeter put the game further out of reach with a bases loaded double.
Bruney and Mariano combined for two scoreless innings of relief.
The Bad
Chamberlain had his first really shaky appearance giving up a pair of hits before a rain delay took him out of the game. Bruney took over and recorded the three outs of the inning, but not before one of those runs scored. It is Chamberlain's first run of the season. Giambi continued his slide with an 0-3 night.
The Ugly
Andy Pettitte had Brian Roberts caught stealing when he threw to first, but Jason Giambi threw the ball into the outfield further proving that he cannot throw a ball to save his life. Jeter pretended to have caught the ball and put an imaginary tag on Roberts which may have kept him from going to third. Also, A-Rod came out of the game with a quad injury. He'll probably be out a few days, but luckily they have an off day tomorrow, and with his wife set to give birth soon, he was probably going to miss these games anyway.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The Respect Jeter's Gangster blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club that raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit. Johnny Damon added to the cause with his 2nd homerun of the season:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 2hr = $2.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 2hr = $2.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $20.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
They call Andy Pettitte the stopper, since he's very good at giving the Yankees a phenomenal pitching performance after they've been losing a few games in a row. I for one don't feel like that credits him enough. The Yankees did have quite the losing streak, but the last game they won was pitched by, well, Andy Pettitte. So instead of calling him "the stopper", can we just call him "the sole reason the Yankees have any wins in the last week"? I feel it has a better ring to it. Pettitte pitched 7 innings and gave up no runs while striking out 5. He even had it perfect through the first few innings, until Jay Payton hit that cowardly infield single.
The offense stepped up with back to back doubles by A-Rod and Matsui scoring a pair of runs, and Johnny Damon cracking a monster 2-run homerun on his way to a 30 homerun season. Later on, Jeter put the game further out of reach with a bases loaded double.
Bruney and Mariano combined for two scoreless innings of relief.
The Bad
Chamberlain had his first really shaky appearance giving up a pair of hits before a rain delay took him out of the game. Bruney took over and recorded the three outs of the inning, but not before one of those runs scored. It is Chamberlain's first run of the season. Giambi continued his slide with an 0-3 night.
The Ugly
Andy Pettitte had Brian Roberts caught stealing when he threw to first, but Jason Giambi threw the ball into the outfield further proving that he cannot throw a ball to save his life. Jeter pretended to have caught the ball and put an imaginary tag on Roberts which may have kept him from going to third. Also, A-Rod came out of the game with a quad injury. He'll probably be out a few days, but luckily they have an off day tomorrow, and with his wife set to give birth soon, he was probably going to miss these games anyway.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The Respect Jeter's Gangster blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club that raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit. Johnny Damon added to the cause with his 2nd homerun of the season:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 2hr = $2.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 2hr = $2.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $20.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
I Feel Like I Haven't Seen You in Forever
So the offense showed up today. Something they didn't do much at this time last year for Andy Pettitte. Great game by Andy, the bullpen needed that. What they didn't need was two rain delays. Oh well, Joba was less than sharp but he's been away for a while, we'll have to forgive him. Not much to complain about other than the fact that we just lost a series to Baltimore, but we already knew that.
There is something to worry about, however. A-Rod left the game with a strained quad. Is it serious? We don't know, but if it is that could be a problem. Hopefully he's okay, but at least he's getting hurt just as his wife is due, so we were probably going to lose him right about now a few games anyway. Maybe he faked the injury to spend more time with his family. Selfish bastard! I wonder if he's started saving for college?
That's the second quad injury of the season. I don't even think that is a common injury. Have you ever strained a quad? Ankle, knee or hamstring injuries I'm used to hearing about, not quad so much. So last year Marty Miller got the axe for all the hamstring injuries the team suffered. This year Girardi made everyone run, a lot, to avoid such injuries. Are the running drills and the quad injuries correlated? I don't know, but I'm guessing they won't fire Girardi over it. Maybe it's just bad luck, or maybe guys in their mid 30s shouldn't do that much running in preparation for the season. It seems all we've done is move the injuries to the front of the leg.
There is something to worry about, however. A-Rod left the game with a strained quad. Is it serious? We don't know, but if it is that could be a problem. Hopefully he's okay, but at least he's getting hurt just as his wife is due, so we were probably going to lose him right about now a few games anyway. Maybe he faked the injury to spend more time with his family. Selfish bastard! I wonder if he's started saving for college?
That's the second quad injury of the season. I don't even think that is a common injury. Have you ever strained a quad? Ankle, knee or hamstring injuries I'm used to hearing about, not quad so much. So last year Marty Miller got the axe for all the hamstring injuries the team suffered. This year Girardi made everyone run, a lot, to avoid such injuries. Are the running drills and the quad injuries correlated? I don't know, but I'm guessing they won't fire Girardi over it. Maybe it's just bad luck, or maybe guys in their mid 30s shouldn't do that much running in preparation for the season. It seems all we've done is move the injuries to the front of the leg.
Respect Bradley's Gangster
As our feature interview, this post will remain at the top of our page for the rest of the week. Scroll below this post to view our new posts. Keep it gangster!
Recently, our reporters here at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog had the pleasure of interviewing author Richard Bradley. Bradley wrote the New York Times best seller "American Son: A Portrait of John F. Kennedy Jr.", but has placed politics aside to write a book about baseball. Specifically about the 1978 playoff game between the Yankees and Red Sox.
"The Greatest Game: The Yankees, The Red Sox, and the Playoff of '78" is a thorough account of the one game playoff between the two teams. I don't read many books, but this one had me pulled in. Bradley covers the story of the playoff game from the perspective of both teams, and provides a ton of background. One thing to note, the rivalry in '78 meant much more than it does now.
Besides being a great author, Richard Bradley is a good guy. He answered 17 questions for us, and some of those questions would have been scoffed at by most academics. He also flashed some gangster (See answer to question 14), which earned immediate respect in our camp.
I highly recommend this book for fans from both sides of the rivalry. It is well researched and well written. Not convinced? Read the interview.
1) This is your first baseball book. What made you want to write about this topic?
Well, if you're a guy and a writer, baseball is kind of like why you climb Mt. Everest: Because it's there. You just have to write about it. Plus, as a kid I was a Yankees fan—still am—and doing this book gave me an opportunity to interview almost all of those guys I'd hero-worshipped when I was a boy.
2) Why is this game important to you?
I was 13 when this playoff happened, but I never got to see it; I was stuck in school. So I really wanted to go back and examine this game that had become such a part of baseball history. But really, all the Yankee teams of that era were important to me. I grew up with two parents who had a bad marriage and fought a lot, and baseball—specifically, the Yankees—was one of the few things that brought our family together.
3) In your book, you go into quite a bit of detail describing the rivalry between the Red Sox and the Yankees. How do you feel the rivalry between the '78 teams compares to the rivalry now?
I think it was even more intense and personal then than it is now. Plus, on a personal note, it was more fun when the Yankees always won in the end. 2004 was rough.
4) How did you come up with the format of your book where your chapters go back and forth between each inning of the playoff game, and the progression of the regular season?
I wanted to tell readers what was happening on every pitch in a way that can't happen watching a game live, so I interviewed players, coaches, umpires, everyone I could. But I also wanted to show just why this game mattered so much—even at the time, everyone felt that it did—and to do that, I had to use flashbacks not just to the season, but to the very beginning of the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry in the early 1900s.
5) How important do you think it was for the Yankees to replace manager Billy Martin in the middle of that season?
Absolutely crucial. There wasn't a single Yankee player I interviewed who thought that the Yankees would ever have come back if Billy Martin had stayed as manager. Goose Gosssage and Bucky Dent were both adamant about that.
6a) Do you think the Yankees will have another free candy bar give away ever again?
(Note: Favorite quote "People are starving all over the world, and there's thirty billion calories laying on the field" (p.80).)
I wish they would. I mean, how much fun must it have been to be one of thousands of people tossing those awful Reggie! bars—which looked kind of like cow flop, and didn't taste much better—onto the field? And you're right--that was a great quote. I also liked Catfish Hunter, who was a hilarious guy, saying, "When you unwrap a Reggie! bar, it tells you how good it is."
6b) Do you think the Yankees will ever consider doing a free beer day at the stadium?
That is such a good idea. But, um, no.
7) The '78 Yankee team was clearly an embattled group of guys, and often times the controversy was as much between themselves as it was from outside of the team. Many people would consider team chemistry a crucial characteristic of a championship team. Why do you think this team was as successful as it was, without the cohesion that some championship teams have?
In a strange way, I think, that Yankees team did have cohesion, and it came from the feeling that they were all part of this bizarre, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes painful, but ultimately bonding experience. This was a team that knew how to handle pressure, and I'm not sure you could say the same of the Red Sox. The one part the Yankees needed was Bob Lemon, who put the whole team at ease with his laid-back style.
8) How much of an effect did free agency have on these two teams?
More on the Yankees than on the Sox, I think. Their big free agents were Reggie, of course, Catfish Hunter, and Gossage. The Sox's free agents—Torrez, mainly—had a lesser impact on the team. At the same time, the cores of both teams at that point were still players either developed in the minor leagues or acquired through trades. On the Yankees, for example, that meant Munson, Chambliss, Randolph, Dent, Nettles, Roy White, Mickey Rivers, and Lou Piniella.
9) Who do you think was the better catcher, Thurmon Munson or Carlton Fisk? Why?
Munson. Just because. He was my hero when I was a kid, and so I have to say that. Here's the more serious case for Munson: Though it wasn't Fisk's fault, he did miss a lot of games with injuries. Also, every Yankee I spoke with, asked to name the team leader, immediately said "Munson." No question in their minds. That wasn't really true with the Sox. Carlton Fisk was a great catcher and an intense guy, but he didn't seem to have that leadership effect that Munson did. Also, I think Munson was funnier. There are some stories in the book of things he used to do to his teammates that are hilarious. I think also the pitchers really liked working with Munson; they felt he adjusted his style to work with them. But Mike Torrez, whom I interviewed, expressed some irritation at Carlton Fisk's painstakingly slow style, and I got the sense that pitchers had to adapt to Fisk rather than the other way around.
10) Jim Rice was an important piece of that Red Sox offense, in how many ways was Rice inferior to Reggie Jackson?
That season, not many. He was a better fielder than Jackson and his offensive numbers were much better. If there was one shortfall for him that year, it was that he didn't seem to come up as big in crucial moments. Reggie Jackson hit what proved to be the game-winning home run; Jim Rice could have won the game in the bottom of the ninth, but flied out.
11) What was the significance of the "Boston Massacre"?
Well, the four-game sweep of the Sox at Fenway completed the Yankees' comeback from 14 games back in late July. But in a weird way, I think, it helped the Sox. They'd been losing ground for weeks, and it was psyching them out. With the Massacre, they hit rock bottom, and it seemed to take the pressure off them. With their lead gone, they actually started playing better.
12) Who was the favorite going into that game and why?
Excellent question. The answer is, there really was none. That's partly why it was such a great game: You could argue that Guidry was better than Torrez, but then, Guidry was only pitching on three days' rest, and the only other time he did that in 1978 he got beat; the Sox had home field advantage, but the Yanks had destroyed 'em in the Massacre. I could go on, but you take the point: the game was just too close to call. If you really forced me to choose, though, I'd say the Yanks had a slight edge, in that they really believed that they were going to win. They were just a tough, hardened bunch, and nothing seemed to scare them. The Red Sox, on the other hand, thought that they *could* win, and that's an important difference.
13) You put a lot of emphasis on the matchup between Carl Yastrzemski and Goose Gossage in the 9th inning of this game. How important was that moment for Gossage considering the season he had?
Huge. Career-defining, I'd almost say. It'd been a very tough, emotional season for Gossage, joining the Yankees as a free agent, losing a bunch of games early, and getting booed by Yankee fans in New York. He'd eventually gotten into his groove--he was too good not to--but who knows how it would have turned out for him if he'd blown that game? As it was, he gave up two runs in three innings of work, which showed that he wasn't particularly sharp that day.
14) I see your publisher is Simon & Schuster. How do you intend to compete with other Simon & Schuster sports authors, namely Jose Canseco?
I plan to take him out with a one-two combination to the head and stomach. Seriously: I challenge Jose to an ultimate fighting match any time, any place. And then I'm taking his wife to dinner.
15) What do you think today's Yankees can learn from that '78 team?
I think that team had heart. In the end, they willed themselves to victory; as Dent told me, "We just were not going to lose to the Boston Red Sox." That's a spirit I'd like not just current Yankee fans, but Yankee teams, to internalize as their ethos.
16) You have a blog (http://www.richardbradley.net/index.php), which you update regularly. How many times a day do you frequent the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog, and why is it your favorite blog?
Too many times to count. I can't get enough of its intelligence, wit, and expertise. And those t-shirts make great presents for the whole family!
17) Lastly, what do you respect most about Jeter's gangster?
Probably the fact that he dated Jessica Alba. That is what you meant, right?
Yes it was Richard, yes it was. So there you have it! The book is great, and Canseco does not stand a chance. Get your copy of "The Greatest Game" at a book store near you. Many thanks to Richard Bradley for taking the time to answer all our questions. Good luck on the book tour!
Recently, our reporters here at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog had the pleasure of interviewing author Richard Bradley. Bradley wrote the New York Times best seller "American Son: A Portrait of John F. Kennedy Jr.", but has placed politics aside to write a book about baseball. Specifically about the 1978 playoff game between the Yankees and Red Sox.
"The Greatest Game: The Yankees, The Red Sox, and the Playoff of '78" is a thorough account of the one game playoff between the two teams. I don't read many books, but this one had me pulled in. Bradley covers the story of the playoff game from the perspective of both teams, and provides a ton of background. One thing to note, the rivalry in '78 meant much more than it does now.
Besides being a great author, Richard Bradley is a good guy. He answered 17 questions for us, and some of those questions would have been scoffed at by most academics. He also flashed some gangster (See answer to question 14), which earned immediate respect in our camp.
I highly recommend this book for fans from both sides of the rivalry. It is well researched and well written. Not convinced? Read the interview.
1) This is your first baseball book. What made you want to write about this topic?
Well, if you're a guy and a writer, baseball is kind of like why you climb Mt. Everest: Because it's there. You just have to write about it. Plus, as a kid I was a Yankees fan—still am—and doing this book gave me an opportunity to interview almost all of those guys I'd hero-worshipped when I was a boy.
2) Why is this game important to you?
I was 13 when this playoff happened, but I never got to see it; I was stuck in school. So I really wanted to go back and examine this game that had become such a part of baseball history. But really, all the Yankee teams of that era were important to me. I grew up with two parents who had a bad marriage and fought a lot, and baseball—specifically, the Yankees—was one of the few things that brought our family together.
3) In your book, you go into quite a bit of detail describing the rivalry between the Red Sox and the Yankees. How do you feel the rivalry between the '78 teams compares to the rivalry now?
I think it was even more intense and personal then than it is now. Plus, on a personal note, it was more fun when the Yankees always won in the end. 2004 was rough.
4) How did you come up with the format of your book where your chapters go back and forth between each inning of the playoff game, and the progression of the regular season?
I wanted to tell readers what was happening on every pitch in a way that can't happen watching a game live, so I interviewed players, coaches, umpires, everyone I could. But I also wanted to show just why this game mattered so much—even at the time, everyone felt that it did—and to do that, I had to use flashbacks not just to the season, but to the very beginning of the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry in the early 1900s.
5) How important do you think it was for the Yankees to replace manager Billy Martin in the middle of that season?
Absolutely crucial. There wasn't a single Yankee player I interviewed who thought that the Yankees would ever have come back if Billy Martin had stayed as manager. Goose Gosssage and Bucky Dent were both adamant about that.
6a) Do you think the Yankees will have another free candy bar give away ever again?
(Note: Favorite quote "People are starving all over the world, and there's thirty billion calories laying on the field" (p.80).)
I wish they would. I mean, how much fun must it have been to be one of thousands of people tossing those awful Reggie! bars—which looked kind of like cow flop, and didn't taste much better—onto the field? And you're right--that was a great quote. I also liked Catfish Hunter, who was a hilarious guy, saying, "When you unwrap a Reggie! bar, it tells you how good it is."
6b) Do you think the Yankees will ever consider doing a free beer day at the stadium?
That is such a good idea. But, um, no.
7) The '78 Yankee team was clearly an embattled group of guys, and often times the controversy was as much between themselves as it was from outside of the team. Many people would consider team chemistry a crucial characteristic of a championship team. Why do you think this team was as successful as it was, without the cohesion that some championship teams have?
In a strange way, I think, that Yankees team did have cohesion, and it came from the feeling that they were all part of this bizarre, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes painful, but ultimately bonding experience. This was a team that knew how to handle pressure, and I'm not sure you could say the same of the Red Sox. The one part the Yankees needed was Bob Lemon, who put the whole team at ease with his laid-back style.
8) How much of an effect did free agency have on these two teams?
More on the Yankees than on the Sox, I think. Their big free agents were Reggie, of course, Catfish Hunter, and Gossage. The Sox's free agents—Torrez, mainly—had a lesser impact on the team. At the same time, the cores of both teams at that point were still players either developed in the minor leagues or acquired through trades. On the Yankees, for example, that meant Munson, Chambliss, Randolph, Dent, Nettles, Roy White, Mickey Rivers, and Lou Piniella.
9) Who do you think was the better catcher, Thurmon Munson or Carlton Fisk? Why?
Munson. Just because. He was my hero when I was a kid, and so I have to say that. Here's the more serious case for Munson: Though it wasn't Fisk's fault, he did miss a lot of games with injuries. Also, every Yankee I spoke with, asked to name the team leader, immediately said "Munson." No question in their minds. That wasn't really true with the Sox. Carlton Fisk was a great catcher and an intense guy, but he didn't seem to have that leadership effect that Munson did. Also, I think Munson was funnier. There are some stories in the book of things he used to do to his teammates that are hilarious. I think also the pitchers really liked working with Munson; they felt he adjusted his style to work with them. But Mike Torrez, whom I interviewed, expressed some irritation at Carlton Fisk's painstakingly slow style, and I got the sense that pitchers had to adapt to Fisk rather than the other way around.
10) Jim Rice was an important piece of that Red Sox offense, in how many ways was Rice inferior to Reggie Jackson?
That season, not many. He was a better fielder than Jackson and his offensive numbers were much better. If there was one shortfall for him that year, it was that he didn't seem to come up as big in crucial moments. Reggie Jackson hit what proved to be the game-winning home run; Jim Rice could have won the game in the bottom of the ninth, but flied out.
11) What was the significance of the "Boston Massacre"?
Well, the four-game sweep of the Sox at Fenway completed the Yankees' comeback from 14 games back in late July. But in a weird way, I think, it helped the Sox. They'd been losing ground for weeks, and it was psyching them out. With the Massacre, they hit rock bottom, and it seemed to take the pressure off them. With their lead gone, they actually started playing better.
12) Who was the favorite going into that game and why?
Excellent question. The answer is, there really was none. That's partly why it was such a great game: You could argue that Guidry was better than Torrez, but then, Guidry was only pitching on three days' rest, and the only other time he did that in 1978 he got beat; the Sox had home field advantage, but the Yanks had destroyed 'em in the Massacre. I could go on, but you take the point: the game was just too close to call. If you really forced me to choose, though, I'd say the Yanks had a slight edge, in that they really believed that they were going to win. They were just a tough, hardened bunch, and nothing seemed to scare them. The Red Sox, on the other hand, thought that they *could* win, and that's an important difference.
13) You put a lot of emphasis on the matchup between Carl Yastrzemski and Goose Gossage in the 9th inning of this game. How important was that moment for Gossage considering the season he had?
Huge. Career-defining, I'd almost say. It'd been a very tough, emotional season for Gossage, joining the Yankees as a free agent, losing a bunch of games early, and getting booed by Yankee fans in New York. He'd eventually gotten into his groove--he was too good not to--but who knows how it would have turned out for him if he'd blown that game? As it was, he gave up two runs in three innings of work, which showed that he wasn't particularly sharp that day.
14) I see your publisher is Simon & Schuster. How do you intend to compete with other Simon & Schuster sports authors, namely Jose Canseco?
I plan to take him out with a one-two combination to the head and stomach. Seriously: I challenge Jose to an ultimate fighting match any time, any place. And then I'm taking his wife to dinner.
15) What do you think today's Yankees can learn from that '78 team?
I think that team had heart. In the end, they willed themselves to victory; as Dent told me, "We just were not going to lose to the Boston Red Sox." That's a spirit I'd like not just current Yankee fans, but Yankee teams, to internalize as their ethos.
16) You have a blog (http://www.richardbradley.net/index.php), which you update regularly. How many times a day do you frequent the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog, and why is it your favorite blog?
Too many times to count. I can't get enough of its intelligence, wit, and expertise. And those t-shirts make great presents for the whole family!
17) Lastly, what do you respect most about Jeter's gangster?
Probably the fact that he dated Jessica Alba. That is what you meant, right?
Yes it was Richard, yes it was. So there you have it! The book is great, and Canseco does not stand a chance. Get your copy of "The Greatest Game" at a book store near you. Many thanks to Richard Bradley for taking the time to answer all our questions. Good luck on the book tour!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The Curse of Scott Patterson Continues
I didn't really follow the game tonight, I'm too busy researching a paper, but I saw the final line. There's only one way to explain this. Well, there's two actually. The first is Baltimore's obvious April dominance. They own this month, there's nothing you can do about that. The second explanation is much more dark, much more occult, much more horrifying: Scot Patterson cursed us. We didn't put him on the 25 man roster coming out of spring training, he couldn't sleep the night he got cut, so he cursed us. Can't blame him, he pitched his heart out and got cut and left behind for less effective closers. Sure, he said Girardi had a stupid haircut, but that's no reason to cut the guy. So we can only reverse the curse by calling him up. With two young pitchers who can't stay in games long it will only be a matter of time.
Seriously, This is Getting Old
The Good
Jeter had a triple, um, Chamberlain hasn't missed a step.....Traber's doing good. What the crap is going on with this team?!!?!?!?!??!
The Bad
Kennedy pitched 2.2 innings and threw 85 pitches giving up 4 earned runs. He also walked 5 batters, in that time.
The Ugly
0 runs from the offense.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The Respect Jeter's Gangster blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club that raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to give $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit. Didn't matter today though, as the Yankees didn't score any runs, and therefore, didn't hit any homeruns. Here's the tally thus far:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 2hr = $2.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $19.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Jeter had a triple, um, Chamberlain hasn't missed a step.....Traber's doing good. What the crap is going on with this team?!!?!?!?!??!
The Bad
Kennedy pitched 2.2 innings and threw 85 pitches giving up 4 earned runs. He also walked 5 batters, in that time.
The Ugly
0 runs from the offense.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The Respect Jeter's Gangster blog joined Johnny Damon's homerun club that raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to give $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit. Didn't matter today though, as the Yankees didn't score any runs, and therefore, didn't hit any homeruns. Here's the tally thus far:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 2hr = $2.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $19.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Hottest Team in April Beats Yankees
The Good
Chad Moeller had a pair of RBI's and a homerun! Edwar Ramirez had a solid 2.1 innings of relief, which included 3 strikeouts.
The Bad
Despite a good first five innings, Phil Hughes just couldn't get out of the sixth. His final line was ugly at 5.1 innings with 5 earned runs, but the pitching talent is there. This is the kid who carried a no-hitter last season against the Rangers, and had that amazing playoff appearance in place of Clemens. Hopefully, he can find that. Latroy Hawkins followed up his stellar outing against the Red Sox, with a not so stellar 3 runs while recording 1 out.
The Ugly
This Yankee offense has slowly moved from the bad part of the game to the ugly part of the game. Daniel Cabrera was good, but should he have kept the Yankees to 2 runs? And should 3 Baltimore middle relievers shut down these Yankee bats? When you give up 8 runs, it doesn't really matter, but we have some under performers on this team and they need to pick it up. Cano and Giambi have averages in the .100's range, and Damon is well on his way to being there too. A-Rod can't seem to hit when it matters anymore. When Chad Moeller is out hitting your regulars something needs to happen.
Respect Jeters Gangster is for the Children
We at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog are all about the children. To that end we joined Johnny Damon's Homerun club, which helps raise money for the Children's Health Fund. We are set to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit. Throughout the season, we will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit, and the money raised. It looks like the scrappy Chad Moeller has added to the cause with a homerun of his own. Didn't see that coming:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 2hr = $2.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $19.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Chad Moeller had a pair of RBI's and a homerun! Edwar Ramirez had a solid 2.1 innings of relief, which included 3 strikeouts.
The Bad
Despite a good first five innings, Phil Hughes just couldn't get out of the sixth. His final line was ugly at 5.1 innings with 5 earned runs, but the pitching talent is there. This is the kid who carried a no-hitter last season against the Rangers, and had that amazing playoff appearance in place of Clemens. Hopefully, he can find that. Latroy Hawkins followed up his stellar outing against the Red Sox, with a not so stellar 3 runs while recording 1 out.
The Ugly
This Yankee offense has slowly moved from the bad part of the game to the ugly part of the game. Daniel Cabrera was good, but should he have kept the Yankees to 2 runs? And should 3 Baltimore middle relievers shut down these Yankee bats? When you give up 8 runs, it doesn't really matter, but we have some under performers on this team and they need to pick it up. Cano and Giambi have averages in the .100's range, and Damon is well on his way to being there too. A-Rod can't seem to hit when it matters anymore. When Chad Moeller is out hitting your regulars something needs to happen.
Respect Jeters Gangster is for the Children
We at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog are all about the children. To that end we joined Johnny Damon's Homerun club, which helps raise money for the Children's Health Fund. We are set to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit. Throughout the season, we will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit, and the money raised. It looks like the scrappy Chad Moeller has added to the cause with a homerun of his own. Didn't see that coming:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 2hr = $2.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Total = $19.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Three In A Row
That's three stinkers in a row for Hughes. His first five innings were pretty good though and he should try to build off of that rather than spend the rest of the time between now and his next start thinking about the sixth. I know we have to have patience with these young pitchers but it's hard sometimes. But the season is young and it is still way to early to get worried.
The MY9 announcers made a good point that the Yankees should probably try to get a rotation order that doesn't have Hughes and Kennedy going back to back. That way when they take their lumps its at least not in consecutive games.
Offense is looking lethargic again. Cano can't hit at all, A-Rod can't hit with men in scoring position, so on and so forth. Cabrera is always a tough pitcher though, he almost no-hit us once until Cano broke it up in the ninth.
The MY9 announcers made a good point that the Yankees should probably try to get a rotation order that doesn't have Hughes and Kennedy going back to back. That way when they take their lumps its at least not in consecutive games.
Offense is looking lethargic again. Cano can't hit at all, A-Rod can't hit with men in scoring position, so on and so forth. Cabrera is always a tough pitcher though, he almost no-hit us once until Cano broke it up in the ninth.
Breaking News: Manny Can Hit
So the big story seems to be that Manny can hit. Other headlines in today's paper included "Gravity Pulls Objects Towards Earth." I don't know what we'd do without sports writers and their oft overwhelming incite, but maybe Mussina, who I think reads newspapers regularly, might find out that he can't pitch anywhere near Manny. He and Girardi may be the only two people who don't quite appreciate that.
We know play Baltimore for a few games. I know you probably think Baltimore sucks, but this is their month. That team is always dangerous in April. We face Cabrera tonight and he is a good pitcher. But we should win the series even if we are playing the best April team in history.
Cano is still mired in a pretty bad slump. Part of the problem is he swings at everything, the other problem is that up to now he's gotten away with it. Frankly, he'll probably heat up, hit over .300 swinging at everything and continue to get away with it and not really change his approach. But I remember last year, after he and Melky started off really slow, they both agreed to stop swinging for the fences and just focus on getting hits. They both started hitting after that. Cano's only hit recently is a home run, I wonder if he's just trying to hit for power too much and that's messing up his approach. Not that he would be more patient, but he might adjust in a way that he's not grounding or flying out as much.
We know play Baltimore for a few games. I know you probably think Baltimore sucks, but this is their month. That team is always dangerous in April. We face Cabrera tonight and he is a good pitcher. But we should win the series even if we are playing the best April team in history.
Cano is still mired in a pretty bad slump. Part of the problem is he swings at everything, the other problem is that up to now he's gotten away with it. Frankly, he'll probably heat up, hit over .300 swinging at everything and continue to get away with it and not really change his approach. But I remember last year, after he and Melky started off really slow, they both agreed to stop swinging for the fences and just focus on getting hits. They both started hitting after that. Cano's only hit recently is a home run, I wonder if he's just trying to hit for power too much and that's messing up his approach. Not that he would be more patient, but he might adjust in a way that he's not grounding or flying out as much.
Red Sox Take it Back to Yankees
The Good
At least Derek Jeter appeared interested in scoring runs with another 2 RBI game. Melky hit his 3rd homerun of the season, and both Farnsworth and Traber combined to throw three scoreless innings.
The Bad
Dear Respect Jeter's Gangster,
Sorry for the late notice, but we were just visiting for the day. Hopefully next time we'll stay a little longer.
Sincerely,
The Offense
Alright, I can't be too upset with the offense since Beckett was solid last night, and they scored 5 runs. Any rally the Yankees had going would get squashed, and there's nothing more frustrating than that. And what's going on with A-Rod this season? I know its still early, but he had an opportunity to do some damage yesterday, and he popped up in foul territory. I don't expect him to replicate the season he had last year, but get some timely hits! It doesn't need to be a homerun. It can just be a single, or even a walk, anything to keep the momentum going.
Mussina was awful last night going 3 innings giving up 5 runs, not to mention 2 homeruns to Manny Ramirez. Albaladejo was rocked for a pair of runs in his first inning of relief, but then settled down to throw two scoreless innings.
The Ugly
Kyle Farnsworth threw a high fastball behind Manny Ramirez. It didn't hit him, but both teams were warned and the fans cheered him for it. Afterwards, he said the ball had "slipped". I think he should have came clean, but I guess when you have to face a team another 15 times or so, its better to keep that crap to yourself.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
We at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog are all about the children. To that end we joined Johnny Damon's Homerun club, which helps raise money for the Children's Health Fund. We are set to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit. Throughout the season, we will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit, and the money raised. Yesterday, it didn't appear the Yankees would help the cause, until Melky Cabrera stepped up against Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th and deposited one in the right field seats:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 2hr = $2.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Total = $18.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
At least Derek Jeter appeared interested in scoring runs with another 2 RBI game. Melky hit his 3rd homerun of the season, and both Farnsworth and Traber combined to throw three scoreless innings.
The Bad
Dear Respect Jeter's Gangster,
Sorry for the late notice, but we were just visiting for the day. Hopefully next time we'll stay a little longer.
Sincerely,
The Offense
Alright, I can't be too upset with the offense since Beckett was solid last night, and they scored 5 runs. Any rally the Yankees had going would get squashed, and there's nothing more frustrating than that. And what's going on with A-Rod this season? I know its still early, but he had an opportunity to do some damage yesterday, and he popped up in foul territory. I don't expect him to replicate the season he had last year, but get some timely hits! It doesn't need to be a homerun. It can just be a single, or even a walk, anything to keep the momentum going.
Mussina was awful last night going 3 innings giving up 5 runs, not to mention 2 homeruns to Manny Ramirez. Albaladejo was rocked for a pair of runs in his first inning of relief, but then settled down to throw two scoreless innings.
The Ugly
Kyle Farnsworth threw a high fastball behind Manny Ramirez. It didn't hit him, but both teams were warned and the fans cheered him for it. Afterwards, he said the ball had "slipped". I think he should have came clean, but I guess when you have to face a team another 15 times or so, its better to keep that crap to yourself.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
We at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog are all about the children. To that end we joined Johnny Damon's Homerun club, which helps raise money for the Children's Health Fund. We are set to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit. Throughout the season, we will keep a running tally of the homeruns hit, and the money raised. Yesterday, it didn't appear the Yankees would help the cause, until Melky Cabrera stepped up against Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th and deposited one in the right field seats:
Melky Cabrera 3hr = $3.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $4.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $3.00
Bobby Abreu 2hr = $2.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Total = $18.00
If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Offensive Surge Attributed to Motivational Speaker
In the last three games the Yankees have scored a combined 28 runs, taking two from the Rays, and the first game of a 2 game set against Boston. Last night however was the best offensive performance of the season as the Yankees went on the score 15 runs. Prior to these games, the Yankee offense looked inconsistant, lethargic, and disinterested in scoring runs. To help break his offense out of their slump, Yankee skipper Joe Girardi hired a motivational speaker for the game against Boston. The speaker worked wonders.
"I was running late yesterday." recounted Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi, "I was kind of speed walking my way towards the clubhouse, when I noticed this rythmic stomping. I couldn't really tell where it was coming from, but the closer I got to the clubhouse, the louder it got. When I got to the door the stomping was deafening, and it sounded like people were also pounding on metal trashcans or something. I opened the door slowly and was met by Girardi. He threw a navy blue underarmor shirt at me and told me to put it on. Man, I looked awesome! My biceps were bulging, my gut was tucked in, I felt like I could do some damage! I headed towards the locker room and saw the entire team wearing navy blue underarmor, and they were all stomping to the same beat. I joined in with them, not knowing what else to do. Myself, Farnsworth, Kennedy, Hughes, Moeller and Ohlendorf were all off beat, but we still stomped anyway. Some players were banging on trashcans just like I had thought. Then, this roided out black guy who was leading the stomping told us that we needed to protect this house. I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but he was pretty adament about it. He led us in a chant of 'We must protect this house!' for about a half hour, which he finished by yelling 'Underarmor!', to which we all responded with a manly 'Hoomph!'. After that, we suited up, and hit the field. It was awesome."
"I was running late yesterday." recounted Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi, "I was kind of speed walking my way towards the clubhouse, when I noticed this rythmic stomping. I couldn't really tell where it was coming from, but the closer I got to the clubhouse, the louder it got. When I got to the door the stomping was deafening, and it sounded like people were also pounding on metal trashcans or something. I opened the door slowly and was met by Girardi. He threw a navy blue underarmor shirt at me and told me to put it on. Man, I looked awesome! My biceps were bulging, my gut was tucked in, I felt like I could do some damage! I headed towards the locker room and saw the entire team wearing navy blue underarmor, and they were all stomping to the same beat. I joined in with them, not knowing what else to do. Myself, Farnsworth, Kennedy, Hughes, Moeller and Ohlendorf were all off beat, but we still stomped anyway. Some players were banging on trashcans just like I had thought. Then, this roided out black guy who was leading the stomping told us that we needed to protect this house. I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but he was pretty adament about it. He led us in a chant of 'We must protect this house!' for about a half hour, which he finished by yelling 'Underarmor!', to which we all responded with a manly 'Hoomph!'. After that, we suited up, and hit the field. It was awesome."
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Yankees Beat Sox
The Good
Dear Offense,
The season started a couple weeks ago, but we're glad you finally made it. Hope you stay for a while!
Sincerely,
The New York Yankees
Wow, what a clobberfest. Its not every day your pitching gives up 9 runs and you still win by 6, but tonight was that night. Even though Wang wasn't very good, giving up 9 runs in 4 innings of work, several relievers stepped up to finish this game. Ohlendorf gave up a run on a couple hits and walks in an inning of work, but he struck out three batters to close the inning. Hawkins stepped up with a big 2 innings of scoreless relief with 2 strikeouts, and Traber and Bruney finished the game without allowing another run to score.
The story however was the offense. Every starting player had a hit today, with Abreu and A-Rod hitting homeruns, and Posada knocking in 3 runs on 2 doubles. Jeter, who has been on an absolute tear since returning from his quad injury, had 2 hits and 2 RBI's. The most inspiring bat however is Chad Moeller, who no one believed could hit. He had 3 singles and a walk today. With that kind of output, there's no real pressure to get Molina back before he may be ready.
The Bad
Well, Wang's 9 runs in 4 innings.
The Ugly
I watched tonights game on NESN, and one of their regular sponsors is Sullivan Tires. Sullivan Tires commercials are just awful, and tonight's one followed in line. It featured Dustin Pedroia getting interviewed by a little girl, who asks him the square root of 196. He doesn't know so she gives him a hint saying that its the number of a famous player. He still doesn't know, so then Jim Rice shows up and gives the answer, 14. Pedroia says "Whoa, its Jim Rice." in the most unsurprised voice as possible, and the commercial ended shortly thereafter. Sullivan Tires, if you're reading our blog, which I know you do, let us write your commercials. We couldn't do any worse.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
Respect Jeter's Gangster has joined Johnny Damon's Homerun Club which helps raise money for the Children's Health Fund (Both linked in the top right hand corner of our page). We are set to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. Tonight, A-Rod and Abreu helped the cause by hitting homeruns of their own. Thank you A & A boys. Thank you:
Melky Cabrera 2hr = $2.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $3.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $2.00
Bobby Abreu 2hr = $1.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Total = $17.00
Dear Offense,
The season started a couple weeks ago, but we're glad you finally made it. Hope you stay for a while!
Sincerely,
The New York Yankees
Wow, what a clobberfest. Its not every day your pitching gives up 9 runs and you still win by 6, but tonight was that night. Even though Wang wasn't very good, giving up 9 runs in 4 innings of work, several relievers stepped up to finish this game. Ohlendorf gave up a run on a couple hits and walks in an inning of work, but he struck out three batters to close the inning. Hawkins stepped up with a big 2 innings of scoreless relief with 2 strikeouts, and Traber and Bruney finished the game without allowing another run to score.
The story however was the offense. Every starting player had a hit today, with Abreu and A-Rod hitting homeruns, and Posada knocking in 3 runs on 2 doubles. Jeter, who has been on an absolute tear since returning from his quad injury, had 2 hits and 2 RBI's. The most inspiring bat however is Chad Moeller, who no one believed could hit. He had 3 singles and a walk today. With that kind of output, there's no real pressure to get Molina back before he may be ready.
The Bad
Well, Wang's 9 runs in 4 innings.
The Ugly
I watched tonights game on NESN, and one of their regular sponsors is Sullivan Tires. Sullivan Tires commercials are just awful, and tonight's one followed in line. It featured Dustin Pedroia getting interviewed by a little girl, who asks him the square root of 196. He doesn't know so she gives him a hint saying that its the number of a famous player. He still doesn't know, so then Jim Rice shows up and gives the answer, 14. Pedroia says "Whoa, its Jim Rice." in the most unsurprised voice as possible, and the commercial ended shortly thereafter. Sullivan Tires, if you're reading our blog, which I know you do, let us write your commercials. We couldn't do any worse.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
Respect Jeter's Gangster has joined Johnny Damon's Homerun Club which helps raise money for the Children's Health Fund (Both linked in the top right hand corner of our page). We are set to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. Tonight, A-Rod and Abreu helped the cause by hitting homeruns of their own. Thank you A & A boys. Thank you:
Melky Cabrera 2hr = $2.00
Alex Rodriguez 4hr = $3.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $2.00
Bobby Abreu 2hr = $1.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Total = $17.00
I Just Witnessed A Car Crash
What can you say about a game like that? It was ugly, but it was beautiful at the same time. The pitching was horrendous on both sides, at least until the Yankees got to Hawkins. Ohlendorf wasn't terrible but one inning pitched with one run is hardly good. The Sox pitching was way worse though, or at least 6 runs worse. The beauty was this offense coming alive in a major way. Not that they hadn't been scoring runs lately, they had, but not like this. Both offenses had great games, it was just a matter of whose pitching would be worse. Today it was Boston's.
Hawkins to Wear 22
Hawkins, probably tired of getting booed for trying to honor a man who played the game hard, is a hall of famer, and died trying to deliver humanitarian aid to earthquake victims, has decided to take number 22.
The reaction to Hawkins' wearing of number 21 was decidedly ungangster. I know O'Neil was a fan favorite, but come on, he's not Jeter, he's not Mo, he was never the face of the franchise or anything like that. Melky's a fan favorite, maybe his number should be off limit too.
I know O'Neil was a big part of those championship teams, but so was Tino, hell, Scott Brosius was a mad man when we played San Diego. Should all their numbers be retired? Of course not. The fans were wrong on this one, and booing a guy for honoring a veritable baseball hero is outright ridiculous. As a Yankee I pride myself on rooting for a class act of an organization, but the fans definitely fell short of that standard on this one.
The reaction to Hawkins' wearing of number 21 was decidedly ungangster. I know O'Neil was a fan favorite, but come on, he's not Jeter, he's not Mo, he was never the face of the franchise or anything like that. Melky's a fan favorite, maybe his number should be off limit too.
I know O'Neil was a big part of those championship teams, but so was Tino, hell, Scott Brosius was a mad man when we played San Diego. Should all their numbers be retired? Of course not. The fans were wrong on this one, and booing a guy for honoring a veritable baseball hero is outright ridiculous. As a Yankee I pride myself on rooting for a class act of an organization, but the fans definitely fell short of that standard on this one.
Hawkins Going to Give Up Number
Peter Abraham is reporting on his blog that Latroy Hawkins is going to give up wearing jersey number 21 due to the negative response he has been getting from Yankee fans. If you're just catching on, the basic story is that Hawkins chose the number 21, which was formerly worn by Paul O'Niell. Hawkins chose it in memory of Roberto Clemente, which earned him points in my book.
I can understand having an emotional attachment to a player, but Yankee fans really acted disgracefully in this case. How are you going to boo your own player on opening day? This isn't Kyle Farnsworth. He hadn't even thrown a pitch, and yet because he chose to honor one of his idle's in Roberto Clemente, the fans decide to boo him, because of an imaginary insult to Paul O'Niell. Yankee fans always talk about how much class the organization has, but the way they acted was completely classless.
If someone out there wants to defend their booing of Hawkins, I would love to hear your argument, because it has me completely dumbfounded. Its not like Hawkins was walking around saying "Screw Paul O'Niell, I'm the real 21!".
I loved Paul O'Niell as a player. He had a canon for an arm, and his temper tantrums were legendary. He had a lot of fire in his belly, and wanted to play the game right. Whenever I see a player strikeout in a big spot and just walk away like nothing happened, I remember Paul O'Niell destroying water coolers and batting helmets. He had a lot of passion. If you want to honor Paul O'Niell, go to some Yankee games and cheer for the team he played so hard for.
O'Niell should have stepped in and squashed this thing himself, and I wonder if he is hurt by the team not retiring his number. The Yankees abuse retiring numbers. Don't get me wrong, many are legit, but when you have as many numbers retired as the Yankees do, you really need to be more selective before every player has to pick numbers in the 70's.
I can understand having an emotional attachment to a player, but Yankee fans really acted disgracefully in this case. How are you going to boo your own player on opening day? This isn't Kyle Farnsworth. He hadn't even thrown a pitch, and yet because he chose to honor one of his idle's in Roberto Clemente, the fans decide to boo him, because of an imaginary insult to Paul O'Niell. Yankee fans always talk about how much class the organization has, but the way they acted was completely classless.
If someone out there wants to defend their booing of Hawkins, I would love to hear your argument, because it has me completely dumbfounded. Its not like Hawkins was walking around saying "Screw Paul O'Niell, I'm the real 21!".
I loved Paul O'Niell as a player. He had a canon for an arm, and his temper tantrums were legendary. He had a lot of fire in his belly, and wanted to play the game right. Whenever I see a player strikeout in a big spot and just walk away like nothing happened, I remember Paul O'Niell destroying water coolers and batting helmets. He had a lot of passion. If you want to honor Paul O'Niell, go to some Yankee games and cheer for the team he played so hard for.
O'Niell should have stepped in and squashed this thing himself, and I wonder if he is hurt by the team not retiring his number. The Yankees abuse retiring numbers. Don't get me wrong, many are legit, but when you have as many numbers retired as the Yankees do, you really need to be more selective before every player has to pick numbers in the 70's.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pettitte Calls Gomes a Sissy
The Good
Matsui has had an amazing start this season showing why we were foolish to think about trading him. He hit his third homerun of the season tonight, and knocked a couple runs in. Jeter had 3 hits tonight and knocked in a run showing that his quad injury is simply ungangster. Pettitte has pitched another quality game recording his second win of the season, limiting the Rays to 3 runs in 7 innings. Damon had a couple walks, and even Farnsworth had a good inning recording a strikeout while retiring the side. Chad Moeller has a couple walks as well, and has proven to be a serviceable plan B. The biggest surprise is how well Mariano has started the season. Not that I thought he'd get off to the same start as last season, but I definitely didn't expect him to be this sharp. That's his 5th save of the season.
The Bad
A-Rod, what's going on? Bases loaded 3-pitch strikeout? Get it together! Cano had some good at bats but no hits. I hope he does not continue in his slumping ways. Giambi is in the same boat as he went 0-4 bringing his season average below .100.
The Ugly
The Yankees loaded the bases three times this game and did nothing with it. They need to start capitalizing on these situations. I understand its cold and whatever crap excuses that have been used to explain their bad offensive start, but seriously, cut this crap out!
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
We at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog have joined Johnny Damon's Homerun Club, which helps raise money for the Children's Health Fund. We will donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. Tonight, Hideki Matsui, cared enough to hit one out. Hopefully, his Yankee brethren will follow suit tomorrow:
Melky Cabrera 2hr = $2.00
Alex Rodriguez 3hr = $3.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $2.00
Bobby Abreu 1hr = $1.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Total = $15.00
For more information about Johnny Damon's homerun club or the Children's Health Fund, click on the links provided on the upper right hand side of our page.
Matsui has had an amazing start this season showing why we were foolish to think about trading him. He hit his third homerun of the season tonight, and knocked a couple runs in. Jeter had 3 hits tonight and knocked in a run showing that his quad injury is simply ungangster. Pettitte has pitched another quality game recording his second win of the season, limiting the Rays to 3 runs in 7 innings. Damon had a couple walks, and even Farnsworth had a good inning recording a strikeout while retiring the side. Chad Moeller has a couple walks as well, and has proven to be a serviceable plan B. The biggest surprise is how well Mariano has started the season. Not that I thought he'd get off to the same start as last season, but I definitely didn't expect him to be this sharp. That's his 5th save of the season.
The Bad
A-Rod, what's going on? Bases loaded 3-pitch strikeout? Get it together! Cano had some good at bats but no hits. I hope he does not continue in his slumping ways. Giambi is in the same boat as he went 0-4 bringing his season average below .100.
The Ugly
The Yankees loaded the bases three times this game and did nothing with it. They need to start capitalizing on these situations. I understand its cold and whatever crap excuses that have been used to explain their bad offensive start, but seriously, cut this crap out!
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
We at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog have joined Johnny Damon's Homerun Club, which helps raise money for the Children's Health Fund. We will donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. Tonight, Hideki Matsui, cared enough to hit one out. Hopefully, his Yankee brethren will follow suit tomorrow:
Melky Cabrera 2hr = $2.00
Alex Rodriguez 3hr = $3.00
Hideki Matsui 3 hr = $2.00
Bobby Abreu 1hr = $1.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Total = $15.00
For more information about Johnny Damon's homerun club or the Children's Health Fund, click on the links provided on the upper right hand side of our page.
Jeter, Humanitarian and Gangster
Pete Abe is reporting on his blog that it was none other than Derek Jeter who arranged for a private jet to take Joba Chamberlain to Nebraska to be with his ailing father. A classy move by a classy guy.
Having a parent in bad health is never easy, here's wishing Harlan, Joba and the rest of the Chamberlain family the best during a difficult time.
Having a parent in bad health is never easy, here's wishing Harlan, Joba and the rest of the Chamberlain family the best during a difficult time.
Monday, April 14, 2008
For Tomorrow...
Now that we're back...
We have something we've wanted to post for a couple days, and now that we're back on line we have something for all our readers that we are putting up tomorrow. So check back!
We have something we've wanted to post for a couple days, and now that we're back on line we have something for all our readers that we are putting up tomorrow. So check back!
Yankees Give it to Rays
The Good
Ian Kennedy gave up 3 runs over 6 innings of a quality start, and really that last run shouldn't have scored. 4 Yankees hit homeruns tonight including A-Rod, who went 4-5, Morgan Ensberg, Johnny Damon, on the road to having his first 30 homerun season, and Robinson Cano. That couldn't have been a better at bat for Cano who came into a tied game as a pinch hitter, and crushed one into right field to end the Rays rally, and put the Yankees ahead. Hopefully, this breaks Cano out of his funk. Mariano Rivera closed the game recording 4 outs, 2 of them strikeouts, and made them look easy. The Yankees got to Al Reyes who pitched like he got tasered last Friday night....twice.
Jeter returned to the lineup tonight and had a pair of hits and a pair of RBI's. Your gangster has been sorely missed.
The Bad
Brian Bruney was not sharp today. The first homerun he gave up was suppose to be high heat out of the zone, but instead was knee high and down the center. Upton knew what to do with that. Evan Longoria hit his first major league homerun off Bruney too. Billy Traber also gave up a homerun of his own. Between the two of those pitchers, they almost put the Rays back into the game. The Yankees could not score off Danny Glover to make this a more comfortable game.
The Ugly
Ian Kennedy took a line drive off his hip. He jumped on the ball and tried to make the out at first anyway, but it was too late. I respect his gangster, but it looked fairly painful. My favorite part of the game was when Evan Longoria took the 2-1 pitch low for ball 3 and ran to first. Kennedy started flashing a three to the umpire who eventually realized that Longoria only had 3 balls and called him back to the plate.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The Respect Jeter's Gangster blog has joined Johnny Damon's Homerun club, which helps raise money for the Children's Health Fund. We are donating one dollar for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. Today, the Yankees got ahold of 4, making up for their recent malaise that has hurt no one more than the children:
Melky Cabrera 2hr = $2.00
Alex Rodriguez 3hr = $3.00
Hideki Matsui 2 hr = $2.00
Bobby Abreu 1hr = $1.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Total = $14.00
Ian Kennedy gave up 3 runs over 6 innings of a quality start, and really that last run shouldn't have scored. 4 Yankees hit homeruns tonight including A-Rod, who went 4-5, Morgan Ensberg, Johnny Damon, on the road to having his first 30 homerun season, and Robinson Cano. That couldn't have been a better at bat for Cano who came into a tied game as a pinch hitter, and crushed one into right field to end the Rays rally, and put the Yankees ahead. Hopefully, this breaks Cano out of his funk. Mariano Rivera closed the game recording 4 outs, 2 of them strikeouts, and made them look easy. The Yankees got to Al Reyes who pitched like he got tasered last Friday night....twice.
Jeter returned to the lineup tonight and had a pair of hits and a pair of RBI's. Your gangster has been sorely missed.
The Bad
Brian Bruney was not sharp today. The first homerun he gave up was suppose to be high heat out of the zone, but instead was knee high and down the center. Upton knew what to do with that. Evan Longoria hit his first major league homerun off Bruney too. Billy Traber also gave up a homerun of his own. Between the two of those pitchers, they almost put the Rays back into the game. The Yankees could not score off Danny Glover to make this a more comfortable game.
The Ugly
Ian Kennedy took a line drive off his hip. He jumped on the ball and tried to make the out at first anyway, but it was too late. I respect his gangster, but it looked fairly painful. My favorite part of the game was when Evan Longoria took the 2-1 pitch low for ball 3 and ran to first. Kennedy started flashing a three to the umpire who eventually realized that Longoria only had 3 balls and called him back to the plate.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children
The Respect Jeter's Gangster blog has joined Johnny Damon's Homerun club, which helps raise money for the Children's Health Fund. We are donating one dollar for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. Today, the Yankees got ahold of 4, making up for their recent malaise that has hurt no one more than the children:
Melky Cabrera 2hr = $2.00
Alex Rodriguez 3hr = $3.00
Hideki Matsui 2 hr = $2.00
Bobby Abreu 1hr = $1.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 1hr = $1.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 1hr = $1.00
Total = $14.00
Weekend Red Sox Series
The Good
Well, for starters Wang pitched a complete game 2-hitter giving up one homerun that in fairness should have been caught. Giambi came alive a little with two homeruns this series, and both Molina and Alberto Gonzalez stepped up with their bats. Cano had a couple hits and an RBI on the Saturday game but couldn't stay consistent. Mike Mussina pitched a pretty good game until he went after Manny. Ohlendorf and Bruney held things down in the bullpen.
The Bad
Phil Hughes lasted 3 innings for a second consecutive start, and the team as a whole could not get the big hit to save their lives. A-Rod was particularly awful in this stretch. Especially on that 3 pitch strike out to Papelbon in the 8th inning with two runners on and down by one run on Saturday.
The Ugly
Kevin Youkillis. That is one ugly looking dude.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is For the Children
The Respect Jeter's Gangster blog has joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which helps the Children's Health Fund. We are set to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We used to link to the Children's Health Fund page, but we believe that's what shut down our blog. That's right, charity got our blog shut down. Oh well, what can you do? Jason Giambi jacked a pair of homeruns over the weekend to help the cause.
Melky Cabrera 2hr = $2.00
Alex Rodriguez 2hr = $2.00
Hideki Matsui 2 hr = $2.00
Bobby Abreu 1hr = $1.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Total = $10.00
Well, for starters Wang pitched a complete game 2-hitter giving up one homerun that in fairness should have been caught. Giambi came alive a little with two homeruns this series, and both Molina and Alberto Gonzalez stepped up with their bats. Cano had a couple hits and an RBI on the Saturday game but couldn't stay consistent. Mike Mussina pitched a pretty good game until he went after Manny. Ohlendorf and Bruney held things down in the bullpen.
The Bad
Phil Hughes lasted 3 innings for a second consecutive start, and the team as a whole could not get the big hit to save their lives. A-Rod was particularly awful in this stretch. Especially on that 3 pitch strike out to Papelbon in the 8th inning with two runners on and down by one run on Saturday.
The Ugly
Kevin Youkillis. That is one ugly looking dude.
Respect Jeter's Gangster is For the Children
The Respect Jeter's Gangster blog has joined Johnny Damon's homerun club, which helps the Children's Health Fund. We are set to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We used to link to the Children's Health Fund page, but we believe that's what shut down our blog. That's right, charity got our blog shut down. Oh well, what can you do? Jason Giambi jacked a pair of homeruns over the weekend to help the cause.
Melky Cabrera 2hr = $2.00
Alex Rodriguez 2hr = $2.00
Hideki Matsui 2 hr = $2.00
Bobby Abreu 1hr = $1.00
Jorge Posada 1hr = $1.00
Jason Giambi 2hr = $2.00
Total = $10.00
Jeter and Respect Jeter's Gangster Are Back
Well that was unpleasant. Both Derek Jeter and the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog have been held out of their respective games for a time now, but they're respective gangster's have brought them back.
The short version of our deactivation story is this: Blogger.com's Cyberdine Model T-1000 Liquid Transforming Cybernetic Metal Terminator robots believed our blog was spamming the world. This was shortly after the Cyberdine system became self aware. Cyberdine attempted to shut us down, but it was fairly ungangster. They punked out, and now we're back up.
We have some catching up to do, so expect a lot of posts in a short burst.
The short version of our deactivation story is this: Blogger.com's Cyberdine Model T-1000 Liquid Transforming Cybernetic Metal Terminator robots believed our blog was spamming the world. This was shortly after the Cyberdine system became self aware. Cyberdine attempted to shut us down, but it was fairly ungangster. They punked out, and now we're back up.
We have some catching up to do, so expect a lot of posts in a short burst.
We're Back Folks!
So Blogger lifted their authoritarian sanctions against respecting Jeter's gangster. My brother can probably explain what exactly happened since he communicates directly with Blogger's attorneys and robots, but I just wanted to give everyone the heads up that we are back online and will be posting baseball and gangster related nonsense in no time.
Friday, April 11, 2008
What A Game!
Wang, who has traditionally had trouble with Boston, needed just 93 pitches to dispose of them tonight. Only two hits and one run allowed, that's pretty impressive against this Boston team.
Also important, though it may get overshadowed by Wang's performance, was Girardi's managing of the offense. We manufactured a lot of runs tonight with sac bunts and flys and the credit has to go to Girardi for not letting us wait around until Giambi hit a homerun, which he did eventually anyway.
Moving on to the next game, it should be interesting to see if Hughes, who I believe is pitching tomorrow, can rebound from his last start. He's got a tough offense to do it against so it will definitely be an uphill battle for the youngster.
Carl Pavano earned about $117,000 for today's game, which may be the only major downside.
Also important, though it may get overshadowed by Wang's performance, was Girardi's managing of the offense. We manufactured a lot of runs tonight with sac bunts and flys and the credit has to go to Girardi for not letting us wait around until Giambi hit a homerun, which he did eventually anyway.
Moving on to the next game, it should be interesting to see if Hughes, who I believe is pitching tomorrow, can rebound from his last start. He's got a tough offense to do it against so it will definitely be an uphill battle for the youngster.
Carl Pavano earned about $117,000 for today's game, which may be the only major downside.
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