Posted by: Jason
I implore you to rationally analyze why some of you are booing Alex Rodriguez:
Other weblogs linked from YB.com have done a fantastic job discrediting the assertion that Alex is "not clutch." Let's look at some past and future alternatives to the Yankees' current 3B:
Eric Duncan: In the most positive scenario, the first year ED will be ready for MLB is 2008. In the interim, there is a substantial probability that Alex will hit about 70 HR, more or less.
Aaron Boone: We all love that hoop-crazy guy for that swing, but .277/.338/.388 in 2006...
Drew Henson: 10/18, 78 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT career.
I'm not ignorant to the demands of playing in New York. Alex accepted a higher level of scrutiny along with the pinstripes. Please don't become enured to the fact that we have an extremely rare talent at third and that he is delivering as a Yankee: .303/.398/.562 in his first two seasons. He will put up numbers like that as far as the eye can see. Do not kill the golden goose for want of someone else's ephemeral idea of "clutch."
Here's my nomination for a definition of clutch: someone who is consistently among the league's finest in creating runs, VORP and wins above replacement and should be for the foreseeable future.
Other weblogs linked from YB.com have done a fantastic job discrediting the assertion that Alex is "not clutch." Let's look at some past and future alternatives to the Yankees' current 3B:
Eric Duncan: In the most positive scenario, the first year ED will be ready for MLB is 2008. In the interim, there is a substantial probability that Alex will hit about 70 HR, more or less.
Aaron Boone: We all love that hoop-crazy guy for that swing, but .277/.338/.388 in 2006...
Drew Henson: 10/18, 78 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT career.
I'm not ignorant to the demands of playing in New York. Alex accepted a higher level of scrutiny along with the pinstripes. Please don't become enured to the fact that we have an extremely rare talent at third and that he is delivering as a Yankee: .303/.398/.562 in his first two seasons. He will put up numbers like that as far as the eye can see. Do not kill the golden goose for want of someone else's ephemeral idea of "clutch."
Here's my nomination for a definition of clutch: someone who is consistently among the league's finest in creating runs, VORP and wins above replacement and should be for the foreseeable future.
Posted by: David
Another game and it seems to be the same old story. The Yankees bullpen can not get the job done. Shawn Chacon just off the DL pitched OK but left after five innings. Matt Smith struck out the first batter he faced but then walked the next. With the Yankees leading 5-4, Scott Proctor was summoned and couldn't get the job done either. The A's eventually had runners on first and third with only one out and Proctor needed to induce a double play ball. He did just that, making a nice grab on a bouncer back to the mound. He couldn't get the ball out of his glove and he threw wildly to Cairo at second which lost any hope of an inning ending double play and the tying run scored.
Kyle Farnsworth was next and let two runners on in the seventh before striking out the last two batters to end the seventh inning. In the eighth with one out he left a pitch out over the plate and Dan Johnson went the opposite way over the wall in left to put the A's ahead for good at 6-5. Mariano Rivera was then summoned with the Yankees losing and worked the last 1 and 2/3 without allowing a runner to reach base.
The Yankees could do nothing the last two innings against Kiko Calero or Huston Street. Street saved all three games of the series and each one was a perfect inning save. The Yankees really need to get Octavio Dotel healthy ASAP. These other guys just can't get it done consistently.
The Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first with the help of three Barry Zito walks. However, Chacon gave it back on the first homer to Dan Johnson and then an inside the park homer to Nick Swisher. The Swisher homer was the result of Cabrera and Damon almost colliding in left center and neither one was able to make the catch. The ball bounded away from Damon and Nick Swisher just slid under the tag at home. The A's extended the lead to 4-2 but then the Yankees were able to come back when with Damon on first, Jeter lined a double up the gap in left to score Damon. A few batters later Jorge Posada hit a two run homer to put the Yankees up 5-4.
The bridge to Rivera is just not there. He can't pitch two innings every time the Yankees are in a late inning save situation. Guys like Proctor and Farnsworth don't have the control to pitch in tight ballgames.
The situation is now even worse since the Boston Red Sox came back in the bottom of the ninth and beat the Texas Rangers. Yankee nemesis David Ortiz hit a two out, three run walk off homer to win the first game of a double dip. That win coupled with the Yankees loss extended the Bosox lead to 1 1/2 games. Pending completion of the twinbill the Yankees will either be out by 1 game or 2 games.
The Yankees have off tomorrow and then Cleveland comes to town on Tuesday night for the first of a three game series to conclude the homestand. Chien Ming-Wang will face off vs. Paul Byrd for the Tribe.
Kyle Farnsworth was next and let two runners on in the seventh before striking out the last two batters to end the seventh inning. In the eighth with one out he left a pitch out over the plate and Dan Johnson went the opposite way over the wall in left to put the A's ahead for good at 6-5. Mariano Rivera was then summoned with the Yankees losing and worked the last 1 and 2/3 without allowing a runner to reach base.
The Yankees could do nothing the last two innings against Kiko Calero or Huston Street. Street saved all three games of the series and each one was a perfect inning save. The Yankees really need to get Octavio Dotel healthy ASAP. These other guys just can't get it done consistently.
The Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first with the help of three Barry Zito walks. However, Chacon gave it back on the first homer to Dan Johnson and then an inside the park homer to Nick Swisher. The Swisher homer was the result of Cabrera and Damon almost colliding in left center and neither one was able to make the catch. The ball bounded away from Damon and Nick Swisher just slid under the tag at home. The A's extended the lead to 4-2 but then the Yankees were able to come back when with Damon on first, Jeter lined a double up the gap in left to score Damon. A few batters later Jorge Posada hit a two run homer to put the Yankees up 5-4.
The bridge to Rivera is just not there. He can't pitch two innings every time the Yankees are in a late inning save situation. Guys like Proctor and Farnsworth don't have the control to pitch in tight ballgames.
The situation is now even worse since the Boston Red Sox came back in the bottom of the ninth and beat the Texas Rangers. Yankee nemesis David Ortiz hit a two out, three run walk off homer to win the first game of a double dip. That win coupled with the Yankees loss extended the Bosox lead to 1 1/2 games. Pending completion of the twinbill the Yankees will either be out by 1 game or 2 games.
The Yankees have off tomorrow and then Cleveland comes to town on Tuesday night for the first of a three game series to conclude the homestand. Chien Ming-Wang will face off vs. Paul Byrd for the Tribe.
Posted by: Patrick
Alex has a sobering thought: have we seen the last of Sheff in the Yankee pinstripes? I agree with him - it would be a shame if it ended this way. For whatever shortcomings people talk about, personally, I like Sheff and I'm glad that we've had him.
Posted by: David
The Yankees couldn't get the big hit all night leaving the bases loaded in the sixth when Miguel Cairo struck out to end the inning. In the seventh the Yankees got two more runners aboard when the rains came and delayed the game for one hour and twenty-seven minutes. When play resumed Jason Giambi stepped to the plate and delivered a three run homer off of former Yankee Brad Halsey to make the score 6-4. With two outs Posada walked and Robinson Cano followed with a triple to right center scoring Posada and pulling the Yankees to within a run at 6-5. However, that was it as the Yankees didn't get another hit for the rest of the night. Kiko Calero worked a scoreless eighth and Huston Street saved the game in the ninth by retiring Jeter, Giambi and A-Rod in order.
Randy Johnson started for the Yanakees and only lasted four innings. He gave up three home runs and looked distracted by not getting the calls from the home plate umpire. He retired the side in order in the first inning which looked like a good sign since his first inning ERA was at 12.46 entering the action. In the second he left a fat pitch over the plate and Frank Thomas hit it over the wall in right center to put the A's up 1-0. The A's added another run the next inning to increase the lead to 2-0. The Yankees scratched back in the bottom of the third with an RBI single from A-Rod. However, the inning ended when Jeter was thrown out at third on the same play.
Danny Haren looked good for the A's but was over the 100 pitch mark when he left in the sixth. He was relieved by Chad Gaudin who ended the Yankees hope for a rally by striking out Cairo with the bases loaded.
Although A-Rod got two hits including an RBI single he was 1 for his last 15 AB's prior to the game and is starting to hear the boo birds again for not coming through in the clutch.
One positive from last night's game for Yankees fans was the pitching of Aaron Small who pitched three scoreless innings and looked the best he has looked all year. Farnsworth and Rivera pitched scoreless eight and ninth innings to finish for the Bombers.
The series resumes this afternoon with Mike Mussina going for this ninth win vs. Kirk Saarloos for the A's on a FOX game of the week.
Randy Johnson started for the Yanakees and only lasted four innings. He gave up three home runs and looked distracted by not getting the calls from the home plate umpire. He retired the side in order in the first inning which looked like a good sign since his first inning ERA was at 12.46 entering the action. In the second he left a fat pitch over the plate and Frank Thomas hit it over the wall in right center to put the A's up 1-0. The A's added another run the next inning to increase the lead to 2-0. The Yankees scratched back in the bottom of the third with an RBI single from A-Rod. However, the inning ended when Jeter was thrown out at third on the same play.
Danny Haren looked good for the A's but was over the 100 pitch mark when he left in the sixth. He was relieved by Chad Gaudin who ended the Yankees hope for a rally by striking out Cairo with the bases loaded.
Although A-Rod got two hits including an RBI single he was 1 for his last 15 AB's prior to the game and is starting to hear the boo birds again for not coming through in the clutch.
One positive from last night's game for Yankees fans was the pitching of Aaron Small who pitched three scoreless innings and looked the best he has looked all year. Farnsworth and Rivera pitched scoreless eight and ninth innings to finish for the Bombers.
The series resumes this afternoon with Mike Mussina going for this ninth win vs. Kirk Saarloos for the A's on a FOX game of the week.
Posted by: Patrick
This is interesting:
It might be pretty funny, the first time he throws it. I'd like to see how the hitter handles it.
Pitching coach Ron Guidry has been working with Rivera on a changeup, a pitch that would complement his cutter in a way his two-seam and four-seam fastballs cannot. Everything that Rivera throws always hits in the 90s on the radar gun; a changeup would cruise in at hitters in the low-to-mid 80s. Certainly no hitter could see that one coming.
"It's not something that he's going to throw a lot," Guidry said, "but there's going to be some point in time when he decides to throw one to some hitter, and it will scare the hell out of them and it will send a message to somebody else." ...
... "We're working on it," Guidry said. "He hasn't used it. I keep telling him, 'You have to use it one time.' "
Kyle Farnsworth said Rivera pulled him aside about a month ago...
"He said I need to go out there and feel like no one can hit my fastball, and to go out there, be aggressive and just keep throwing it," Farnsworth said. "He said I need to have the attitude that they can't hit it, so there's no reason to throw any other pitch."
"It's not something that he's going to throw a lot," Guidry said, "but there's going to be some point in time when he decides to throw one to some hitter, and it will scare the hell out of them and it will send a message to somebody else." ...
... "We're working on it," Guidry said. "He hasn't used it. I keep telling him, 'You have to use it one time.' "
Kyle Farnsworth said Rivera pulled him aside about a month ago...
"He said I need to go out there and feel like no one can hit my fastball, and to go out there, be aggressive and just keep throwing it," Farnsworth said. "He said I need to have the attitude that they can't hit it, so there's no reason to throw any other pitch."
It might be pretty funny, the first time he throws it. I'd like to see how the hitter handles it.
06/09: Leyritz Used Amphetamines
Posted by: Patrick
Leyritz: I was taking 'greenies':
Via Steve.
In an interview yesterday morning with radio shock jocks Opie and Anthony, Leyritz confessed to taking "greenies," or amphetamines.
"I can remember my first amphetamine," Leyritz said on the "Opie and Anthony Show," which airs on 92.3 FREE FM as well as XM Satellite Radio. "I was out all night drinking with Andy Hawkins and some of the guys on the team. I was a young player."
"I can remember my first amphetamine," Leyritz said on the "Opie and Anthony Show," which airs on 92.3 FREE FM as well as XM Satellite Radio. "I was out all night drinking with Andy Hawkins and some of the guys on the team. I was a young player."
Via Steve.
06/08: Official News on Sheff
Posted by: James
It's bad. Gary Sheffield will undergo surgery to repair his injured wrist on Tuesday, and Sheff isn't expected to return to the Yankees until September.
Matsui out until August (though I personally feel it will be Sept.) and Sheff out until September. "Right now, we're a little thin," Torre said. "We're going out every day and finding a way to win. We've been pretty fortunate lately."
If the Yankees go against their traditional thinking and use this time to give Kevin Thompson an extended shot as the starter and see what he brings to the table, this could prove interesting. However, using Bubba or Bernie as the primary right-fielder would be an excercise in futility. That being said, Craig Wilson, who for some reason keeps getting benched in Pittsburgh, is looking more and more enticing.
Matsui out until August (though I personally feel it will be Sept.) and Sheff out until September. "Right now, we're a little thin," Torre said. "We're going out every day and finding a way to win. We've been pretty fortunate lately."
If the Yankees go against their traditional thinking and use this time to give Kevin Thompson an extended shot as the starter and see what he brings to the table, this could prove interesting. However, using Bubba or Bernie as the primary right-fielder would be an excercise in futility. That being said, Craig Wilson, who for some reason keeps getting benched in Pittsburgh, is looking more and more enticing.
06/08: Promotions & Demotions
Posted by: James
Eric Duncan is (thankfully) being moved back down to AA Trenton from AAA Columbus. Duncan seemed overmatched at AAA from the beginning (honestly, he never should have started the year there) and injuries didn't help him on his quest to get on track. He's lost a lot of luster as a prospect so far this year and hopefully, he can finish up strong and reestablish himself (both at AA and the AFL).
Matt DeSalvo, another guy who was horrendous at AAA, is being sent down as well. I have no idea what happened to DeSalvo. He went from good to "wow, that's bad" in a matter of a couple of weeks.
On a positive note, Steven White was promoted to AAA Columbus after a solid showing in AA this year (68.3 IP, 52H 16ER, 28BB, 45Ks). It looks like he might be getting closer to some of the promise he showed in 2004. He might never be a star but it's always good to have some capable pitching in your system. He made his first start in AAA today and pitched very well, going 7 innings while giving up only 3 hits and one unearned run. T.J. Beam, who was promoted a couple days ago, also chipped in with a scoreless inning in relief.
Matt DeSalvo, another guy who was horrendous at AAA, is being sent down as well. I have no idea what happened to DeSalvo. He went from good to "wow, that's bad" in a matter of a couple of weeks.
On a positive note, Steven White was promoted to AAA Columbus after a solid showing in AA this year (68.3 IP, 52H 16ER, 28BB, 45Ks). It looks like he might be getting closer to some of the promise he showed in 2004. He might never be a star but it's always good to have some capable pitching in your system. He made his first start in AAA today and pitched very well, going 7 innings while giving up only 3 hits and one unearned run. T.J. Beam, who was promoted a couple days ago, also chipped in with a scoreless inning in relief.
Posted by: Jason
The issue of the potential return of Alfonso Soriano has weighed heavily on my mind since I first heard it mentioned on a media/radio report 10-12 days ago during the saga of that moderately above average pitcher who recently signed with Houston.***
My first reaction is to categorically dismiss the notion, then you travel to Baseball-Reference.com and notice .307/.360/.623. Salivate. However, someone with those kind of power numbers and 22 bombs should have an OBP higher than approx. 30 bps above the league average.
First and foremost: Would sufficient value be created for both teams to achieve a deal? I am not convinced of the value proposition for Washington...I've read gauzy claims of "clearing the decks" and "new management" without seeing any concrete advantages, save a Loria-esque pure salary dump.
Moving to the Yankees, It's clear that Melky has solidified his position as a regular corner outfielder. Does the value of the remaining outfield rotation surpass AS's value minus his price? Perhaps the promising Kevin Thompson should be given several at bats to determine his marginal value...if it's anything like Melky, then a Soriano trade is obviated.
The media reports ad nauseam that Soriano longs for New York...does this provide Cashman with additional leverage?
Your thoughts?
***Large, pungently sour grapes.
My first reaction is to categorically dismiss the notion, then you travel to Baseball-Reference.com and notice .307/.360/.623. Salivate. However, someone with those kind of power numbers and 22 bombs should have an OBP higher than approx. 30 bps above the league average.
First and foremost: Would sufficient value be created for both teams to achieve a deal? I am not convinced of the value proposition for Washington...I've read gauzy claims of "clearing the decks" and "new management" without seeing any concrete advantages, save a Loria-esque pure salary dump.
Moving to the Yankees, It's clear that Melky has solidified his position as a regular corner outfielder. Does the value of the remaining outfield rotation surpass AS's value minus his price? Perhaps the promising Kevin Thompson should be given several at bats to determine his marginal value...if it's anything like Melky, then a Soriano trade is obviated.
The media reports ad nauseam that Soriano longs for New York...does this provide Cashman with additional leverage?
Your thoughts?
***Large, pungently sour grapes.
Posted by: Seamus
Who would've ever guessed that the pitcher who would end the Yankees' streak of games with at least 10 hits would be...David Pauley? If there was ever a night where I expected the Yankees to light up the scoreboard against the Red Sox like they did the night before, it would've been last night. Instead, we got a great pitchers duel as Chien-Ming Wang pitched seven solid innings and improved his record to 6-2 as the Yankees defeated the Red Sox 2-1 to take a 1.5 game lead in the division.
Boston struck first in the third with a solo shot by David Ortiz. Bernie Williams answered back in the 5th with his 3rd home run of the season to tie the score at 1. In the 7th, David Pauley was pulled with the bases loaded and two outs for Rudy Seanez, who promptly walked Jason Giambi to put the Yankees ahead 2-1. That would be all the Yanks needed as Melky Cabrera made an incredible catch, pulling a shot from Manny Ramirez in from over the wall, robbing him of a game-tying home run. Mariano Rivera closed the game out with an easy 1-2-3 9th for his 12th save of the season.
The Yankees will go for their 5th straight victory against the Red Sox tonight as they'll send Jaret Wright to the mound to face Curt Schilling. With the way Wright has pitched lately, do we actually have the edge in the pitching matchup tonight? Probably a stretch, but let's hope he holds it down again tonight and the Yankee hitters give Schilling the Josh Beckett treatment (no, not the '03 Marlins version please).
Boston struck first in the third with a solo shot by David Ortiz. Bernie Williams answered back in the 5th with his 3rd home run of the season to tie the score at 1. In the 7th, David Pauley was pulled with the bases loaded and two outs for Rudy Seanez, who promptly walked Jason Giambi to put the Yankees ahead 2-1. That would be all the Yanks needed as Melky Cabrera made an incredible catch, pulling a shot from Manny Ramirez in from over the wall, robbing him of a game-tying home run. Mariano Rivera closed the game out with an easy 1-2-3 9th for his 12th save of the season.
The Yankees will go for their 5th straight victory against the Red Sox tonight as they'll send Jaret Wright to the mound to face Curt Schilling. With the way Wright has pitched lately, do we actually have the edge in the pitching matchup tonight? Probably a stretch, but let's hope he holds it down again tonight and the Yankee hitters give Schilling the Josh Beckett treatment (no, not the '03 Marlins version please).
