A Yankees fan walks into a bar in Nashua. Gets into a beef with a chowderhead over their respective teams. The chowderhead appeals to his fellow New England lowlifes to join in and abuse the Yankeegirl verbally. When they leave the bar she runs over him with her car, killing him. I don't want to say serves him right....
but I still feel a helluva lot worse for the horse.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
LAGGING INDICATORS,
UNDESERVED FATE
Third straight win, a nice offensive performance, and once again Giambi goes hitless, leaves 4 on, and Cano, while homering, goes one for four. On the Cano front, Giardi sounds like old Joe, which can't be good. He says his work habits are good, he just needs to get going, he just needs to hit them where they ain't, there's no need to bench him. Hey, I don't want to see him benched either, but let's ackowledge there is a technical problem, let's set him to work fixing it, and let's admit that he's not going to "get going" until the problem has been addressed.
As for Giambi, when Jorge began to hurt, he said he wan't going to play first because "we already have 7 first basemen." Well, at the moment they have none who can hit, some who can't field, none who suffice as an everyday player. So my question is this, since it will be 5-6 weeks before Jorge can catch again, is there a time prior to that--after the 15 day list for example--when he could hit effectively without risk and play a position where one only makes a throw or two a game? And can Jorge, who played first one game already, field well enough to do so regularly? If so, my feeling is they should give Giambi whatever time there is before Jorge can do these things to start hitting the ball the other way and putting up some productivity, and if he doesn't send him down to AAA, like they threatened to do last time and make Jorge the first baseman. Right now Giambi is a huge void in the middle of the lineup. The Yanks would be so much better with Posada following AROD (yes he should hit fifth so Matsui could bring in Damon, Jeter and Abreu and AROD can do what he does best--crush the ball with the bases empty) and Moeller or Molina bringing up the rear.
Great outing from Rasner today. He always did pretty well until he got hurt last year. He might help shore things up. But I think the Yankees are pressing their luck bringing up Igawa to replace Kennedy. I think the odds of Ian returning to form are better than Kei finding the form he never had.
Proverb of the day: There's no crying in baseball--and I never do. Strangely however I can be brought to tears by horseracing. I admit to crying when I saw Secretariat run the Belmont--the only time in my life I have ever witnessed complete, indisputable perfection--and I cried when Eight Belles went down on Saturday. For a filly to turn in that kind of performance against the best 3 yr. old colts in the world under the kind of structural distress she must have been in--well it merited something better than death. Far more tragic, to my mind, than Barbero, and I couldn't tell my wife what had just transpired without weeping.
Third straight win, a nice offensive performance, and once again Giambi goes hitless, leaves 4 on, and Cano, while homering, goes one for four. On the Cano front, Giardi sounds like old Joe, which can't be good. He says his work habits are good, he just needs to get going, he just needs to hit them where they ain't, there's no need to bench him. Hey, I don't want to see him benched either, but let's ackowledge there is a technical problem, let's set him to work fixing it, and let's admit that he's not going to "get going" until the problem has been addressed.
As for Giambi, when Jorge began to hurt, he said he wan't going to play first because "we already have 7 first basemen." Well, at the moment they have none who can hit, some who can't field, none who suffice as an everyday player. So my question is this, since it will be 5-6 weeks before Jorge can catch again, is there a time prior to that--after the 15 day list for example--when he could hit effectively without risk and play a position where one only makes a throw or two a game? And can Jorge, who played first one game already, field well enough to do so regularly? If so, my feeling is they should give Giambi whatever time there is before Jorge can do these things to start hitting the ball the other way and putting up some productivity, and if he doesn't send him down to AAA, like they threatened to do last time and make Jorge the first baseman. Right now Giambi is a huge void in the middle of the lineup. The Yanks would be so much better with Posada following AROD (yes he should hit fifth so Matsui could bring in Damon, Jeter and Abreu and AROD can do what he does best--crush the ball with the bases empty) and Moeller or Molina bringing up the rear.
Great outing from Rasner today. He always did pretty well until he got hurt last year. He might help shore things up. But I think the Yankees are pressing their luck bringing up Igawa to replace Kennedy. I think the odds of Ian returning to form are better than Kei finding the form he never had.
Proverb of the day: There's no crying in baseball--and I never do. Strangely however I can be brought to tears by horseracing. I admit to crying when I saw Secretariat run the Belmont--the only time in my life I have ever witnessed complete, indisputable perfection--and I cried when Eight Belles went down on Saturday. For a filly to turn in that kind of performance against the best 3 yr. old colts in the world under the kind of structural distress she must have been in--well it merited something better than death. Far more tragic, to my mind, than Barbero, and I couldn't tell my wife what had just transpired without weeping.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
THE RIGHT AND THE WRONG
Everybody contributed to today's solid win against the Mariners except Cano and Giambi, who remained in their respective death spirals. Baseball Tonight addressed thier problems and provided confirmation, positive and negative, of what I said in the next to last post. Little Buster Brown asked Fernanado Vina if could explain what is going wrong with Robby, and he provided a quite compelling analysis that made one wonder what the Yankees hitting instructor is doing. According to Vina, Cano is not getting his front foot down quickly enough so that he has a split second moment of equipoise during which he can read the spin on the pitch. He is trying to step and read the pitch in the same motion, which Vina said is impossible. A very small adjustment will fix matters spake the Vina and I must say I believed him. If I were the Yankees, the week probation for the hitting coach just became 5 days. If Cano is not hitting by the end of the Cleveland series...
Giambi was more interesting, at least as a testament to the blind spot people have concerning the shift.. Olney showed a lot of Yankee hits, all of which, he noted, went the other way or up the middle. Vina supplied the technical commentary on what a batter does with his body to keep inside of the ball. All very edifying. But then Olney took over the analysis of Giambi, claiming the Yankees are actually happy with the way he is swinging the bat, though they might lose all patience with him should the results not improve, particularly as he is a contractual lame duck anyway. He then showed Giambi rolling over on one pitch and hitting the ball smartly to second on another. He is just being defeated by the shift Olney proclaims. But that begs the question is the key to hitting a hard thrower like King Hernandez is to go the other way, and if that rule holds for the Jeter, Abreu, Damon, Cabrera and Matsui, why doesn't it hold for the one man whom the defense is daring to hit the other way? Olney made no mention of the obvious fact that if Giambi did what the other hitters did, he would have collected knocks without even hitting the ball well. With Cano, you have three consecutive years telling you he will surely hit eventually, but I just don't see how they can accomodate in Giambi a stubborness that might keep him at or below the Mendoza line for the entire series, especially not with his inability to field, throw or run the bases.
Observation of the Day: Have you noticed the ESPN visual advertising Sunday Night baseball? It is a portion of the left field wall at Fenway, a strange unconscious concession that they are indeed Red Sox Network. The same sort of brazen obtuseness characterized their pre-season reaction to Hank Steinbrenner's claim of bias on their part. They trotted out Peter Gammons, aka Theo Epstein's bathroom attendant, to mock Steinbrenner by likening him to Joseph McCarthy. Yeah, like anyone would need a "secret list" to establish that Gammon of all people is the biggest Chowderville homer since Johnny Most (who once claimed Wilt Chamberlain had bludgeoned Bill Russell in the elbow with his eye). The salient difference being of course that Most was in fact a home town announcer, while the Dali Lama as they call him (why exactly, do they mistake his triteness for profundity, his vacuousness for wisdom--a gross insult to Tibetan Buddhism in any case) purports to be a national commentator.
Giambi was more interesting, at least as a testament to the blind spot people have concerning the shift.. Olney showed a lot of Yankee hits, all of which, he noted, went the other way or up the middle. Vina supplied the technical commentary on what a batter does with his body to keep inside of the ball. All very edifying. But then Olney took over the analysis of Giambi, claiming the Yankees are actually happy with the way he is swinging the bat, though they might lose all patience with him should the results not improve, particularly as he is a contractual lame duck anyway. He then showed Giambi rolling over on one pitch and hitting the ball smartly to second on another. He is just being defeated by the shift Olney proclaims. But that begs the question is the key to hitting a hard thrower like King Hernandez is to go the other way, and if that rule holds for the Jeter, Abreu, Damon, Cabrera and Matsui, why doesn't it hold for the one man whom the defense is daring to hit the other way? Olney made no mention of the obvious fact that if Giambi did what the other hitters did, he would have collected knocks without even hitting the ball well. With Cano, you have three consecutive years telling you he will surely hit eventually, but I just don't see how they can accomodate in Giambi a stubborness that might keep him at or below the Mendoza line for the entire series, especially not with his inability to field, throw or run the bases.
Observation of the Day: Have you noticed the ESPN visual advertising Sunday Night baseball? It is a portion of the left field wall at Fenway, a strange unconscious concession that they are indeed Red Sox Network. The same sort of brazen obtuseness characterized their pre-season reaction to Hank Steinbrenner's claim of bias on their part. They trotted out Peter Gammons, aka Theo Epstein's bathroom attendant, to mock Steinbrenner by likening him to Joseph McCarthy. Yeah, like anyone would need a "secret list" to establish that Gammon of all people is the biggest Chowderville homer since Johnny Most (who once claimed Wilt Chamberlain had bludgeoned Bill Russell in the elbow with his eye). The salient difference being of course that Most was in fact a home town announcer, while the Dali Lama as they call him (why exactly, do they mistake his triteness for profundity, his vacuousness for wisdom--a gross insult to Tibetan Buddhism in any case) purports to be a national commentator.
RISP WATCH
About 4 games ago, I remarked that the Yankees had left 18 men on base, a ridiculous number by any standard. Well after not even getting on base the following game, they came back with a 20 LOB game to finish the Tigers series and then a 16 LOB game in the Wang-win last night, for an average of 18 per game. This simply cannot continue. One remedy might be to sit Giambi, who seems unable to lift that 160 batting average. The other might be to play Chad Moeller for awhile, if his defense suffices. He seems a much better hitter than Molina. Finally, I'll repeat, play Gonzalez at third for now (Ensberg can play first with Duncan). I will keep a running account of the RISP situation.
PARADOXES, PARADOXES
Going into the season, many people, myself included, felt that the Yankees' major problem might be that they had no true ace at the start of their rotation. Well, it looks like they have one alwright. Too bad they have little else.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
CAN'T BUY ME FUNDAMENTALS; OR UNSOUND
AT ANY PRICE.
With the Yankees payroll, one would expect that the rudiments of the game at least would be well attended to: you know bunting, the hit and run, putting the ball in play, hitting the other way, taking the extra base and, oh yes, lest we forget, FIELDING YOUR FUCKING POSITION.
The state of the Yankee starting rotation and their anemic offense has so far occupied us that we have forgotten a major bugaboo of Torre: The Late Years. I refer of course to their awful glovework. Putting Melky in center on a regular basis had amended matters some, but tonight was proof that they are still able to lose games entirely on their ineptitude in the field. The box score will say that Ian Kennedy failed to hold up again, but if Damon doesn't misplay a flyball in the most amatuerish manner possible and if Abreu doesn't allow his wall-phobia to prevent from tracking down an eminently catchable ball in right, Kennedy takes his lead lead into the 6th and maybe beyond, the Yankees don't have to rely on their pathetic middle relief--send Albajendo back down, please--but can go directly to the back end, and they probably win the game. Instead they get Tiger-swept in the Stadium for the first time since 1966, which may well be an index of exactly how crapulent this team can be if they really apply themselves.
Bad fielding is always a demoralizing proposition, but when you have young inexperienced hurlers (Kennedy, Hughes, Chamberlain, Ohlendorf), supersensitve pitchers (Mussina, Fahrnsorth), control-put the ball in play pitchers (Pettite, Wang, Mussina)--well that's everyone but Mo--then poor fielding is fatal, even when the offense is as good as the Yankees' reputation (as opposed to their performance).
People are stupid moment of the day: Many Yankee haters are already crowing in the wake of theHughes injury, that they should have shipped him off for Santana. This piece of obtuseness overlooks 2 salient points. First, the Twins were unwilling to trade him for Hughes even up, or even for Hughes and Cabrera. They wanted Hughes, Kennedy and Cabrera, which would have left the Yankees with a huge hole in center and in their rotation. Second, this team isn't good enough for Santana to help, particularly if the woeful Damon were in center. Santana is only 3-2 with the Mets, a much better team than the Yankees, particularly relative to their competition. His ERA is over 3, which is over 4 translated into AL stats, andn the Yankees are typically not getting 4 runs a game anyway. Santana would have been wasted on this team; better he should be where he can do some good, and the Yankees keep a purchase on the future. They have none on the present regardless.
With the Yankees payroll, one would expect that the rudiments of the game at least would be well attended to: you know bunting, the hit and run, putting the ball in play, hitting the other way, taking the extra base and, oh yes, lest we forget, FIELDING YOUR FUCKING POSITION.
The state of the Yankee starting rotation and their anemic offense has so far occupied us that we have forgotten a major bugaboo of Torre: The Late Years. I refer of course to their awful glovework. Putting Melky in center on a regular basis had amended matters some, but tonight was proof that they are still able to lose games entirely on their ineptitude in the field. The box score will say that Ian Kennedy failed to hold up again, but if Damon doesn't misplay a flyball in the most amatuerish manner possible and if Abreu doesn't allow his wall-phobia to prevent from tracking down an eminently catchable ball in right, Kennedy takes his lead lead into the 6th and maybe beyond, the Yankees don't have to rely on their pathetic middle relief--send Albajendo back down, please--but can go directly to the back end, and they probably win the game. Instead they get Tiger-swept in the Stadium for the first time since 1966, which may well be an index of exactly how crapulent this team can be if they really apply themselves.
Bad fielding is always a demoralizing proposition, but when you have young inexperienced hurlers (Kennedy, Hughes, Chamberlain, Ohlendorf), supersensitve pitchers (Mussina, Fahrnsorth), control-put the ball in play pitchers (Pettite, Wang, Mussina)--well that's everyone but Mo--then poor fielding is fatal, even when the offense is as good as the Yankees' reputation (as opposed to their performance).
People are stupid moment of the day: Many Yankee haters are already crowing in the wake of theHughes injury, that they should have shipped him off for Santana. This piece of obtuseness overlooks 2 salient points. First, the Twins were unwilling to trade him for Hughes even up, or even for Hughes and Cabrera. They wanted Hughes, Kennedy and Cabrera, which would have left the Yankees with a huge hole in center and in their rotation. Second, this team isn't good enough for Santana to help, particularly if the woeful Damon were in center. Santana is only 3-2 with the Mets, a much better team than the Yankees, particularly relative to their competition. His ERA is over 3, which is over 4 translated into AL stats, andn the Yankees are typically not getting 4 runs a game anyway. Santana would have been wasted on this team; better he should be where he can do some good, and the Yankees keep a purchase on the future. They have none on the present regardless.
WHY NOT
Joba? With Hughes out until July with a fractured rib, you have to slot somebody as the number 3, and I'm thinking it might as well be Chamberlain. The sad fact is the yankees don't need an eigth inning set up man because they aren't going to have the lead often enough to support his activity. Might as well promote Farnsworth and see if Joba can be the starter they hope. This is not a team with a back end of the rotation, a consistent offense or any real character. Giardi would have to blow them up and do a miraculous reconstruction job just to get them to the playoffs. Forced to rebuild, they might as well do what rebuilding teams do: take inventory. This is Mussina's last year (one hopes) , Pettite's last year (almost certainly), and it is now unclear when and whether Kennedy and Hughes will be reliable starters. you might as well begin refashioning the rotation for next year right now. Let's take a look at Joba.
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