yeah i know but like i said, so far...
we'll see about the long haul... Abreu will probably come around offensively but his defense has been very shoddy in his advancing age... he's gonna be a DH in a year or 2 IMO & Nady isn't the answer for us either... Swisher's got plenty of baseball left in him at 28 years & i think he can be a longterm solution for us as a super utility player that starts in RF & fills in at 1B, LF or DH when players need to be rested.
And if Gardner keeps this up, I would not be surprised to see Swisher getting time in CF
i think Melky would see time in CF before Swish, he doesn't really have the range to play the position fulltime... in a pinch he can play there but i think Joe would go w/Melky if Gardner keeps struggling.
how about Robbie Cano? i had a feeling he'd have a great bounceback season & so far he's gotten off to the great start he was looking for.
I was a huge fan of the Swisher acquistion when it went down.. he's playing great, although I don't expect him to keep up these multi-hit games. He's a good source of energy and you can tell is already keeping that clubhouse loose.
Nady will be fine. I'm expecting 20-25hr--80-90rbi this year and I think it's a safe bet he'll get there, unless he's dealt or whatever.
Also, I will say.. Cano looks like a totally different player. I don't know who got to him this offseason, but whoever did deserves a raise. My main beef with him and reason I wanted him gone was that he was always so lackadaisical and didn't appear interested in improving his game.
If Cano keeps taking pitches like we've seen so far he's going to win the batting title THIS YEAR.
Cano took it upon himself to dedicate to a strenuous offseason conditioning program & hired a personal trainer to get in shape... he also played in the DR Winter League so he could be ready to start the new year & not get off to his customary slow start... so far u can clearly tell it's paying dividends... i think w/Robbie it's not a case of him just not caring, but it's just a young guy who got by on his talent in the first couple years of his career & maybe now he finally realizes it takes a lot more than talent alone to be good over the long haul... i think last year's bad season was a wake up call.
Cano has traditionally underperformed when it's been colder at the beginning of the season, then turns it on when it gets warmer... which makes sense when you consider where he's from. A good way to avoid a slow start when it's colder is to avoid playing your way into shape, doing what TMS just mentioned
jeez, how about that bullpen
At least Baltimore lost also and we didn't lose any ground in the wild card race
Posted by Bonn1997:
At least Baltimore lost also and we didn't lose any ground in the wild card race
I'm trying to figure out if you're being sarcastic.
There is still, what, 157 games left?
Posted by GKFv2:
Posted by Bonn1997:
At least Baltimore lost also and we didn't lose any ground in the wild card race
I'm trying to figure out if you're being sarcastic.
There is still, what, 157 games left?
yeah, just kidding around. I think I had too much caffeine--it makes me act goofy.
[Edited by - bonn1997 on 04-13-2009 06:42 AM]
Posted by djsunyc:
jeez, how about that bullpen
Yeah right? WTF? Just got done singing their praises and then the wheels feel off yesterday. We're still in good shape though. Tell you what, my man Phil Coke's lack of velocity early on here concerns me a little bit. This guy was consistently 95-96 last year - this year so far he's 90-91. Big difference esp. if you want to use him more than in 'one & out' situations against lefties. It's early though so hopefully the velocity comes back up as it gets a little warmer. No problem with Girardi trying to piece together the 8th yesterday mixing and matching but as of right now, I'd like to see Bruney and Veras go after it in the 8th as the bridge. He pulled Veras after that one batter yesterday and I don't know if I would've done that esp. with Coke not going full throttle yet. No big deal though. Joe will figure this out as he goes along...
[Edited by - finestrg on 04-13-2009 08:52 AM]
coke may have to build up arm strength since he is/was a starter. so that might be an adjustment for him this early in the season. the guy that i'm not a big fan of is veras. i don't think he's that good. and he did pitch the game before. bruney should take that 8th inning spot and i think we'll see melancon up here soon enough.
Posted by djsunyc:
coke may have to build up arm strength since he is/was a starter. so that might be an adjustment for him this early in the season. the guy that i'm not a big fan of is veras. i don't think he's that good. and he did pitch the game before. bruney should take that 8th inning spot and i think we'll see melancon up here soon enough.
What's Marte's job then? Strictly a lefty-specialist?
Posted by Bonn1997:
Posted by djsunyc:
coke may have to build up arm strength since he is/was a starter. so that might be an adjustment for him this early in the season. the guy that i'm not a big fan of is veras. i don't think he's that good. and he did pitch the game before. bruney should take that 8th inning spot and i think we'll see melancon up here soon enough.
What's Marte's job then? Strictly a lefty-specialist?
yeah.
Veras should be the long guy/mop up guy. He's really bad in pressure situations (close games, runner on base), but lights out otherwise. His command is a little suspect but he has good stuff.
Veras was very good last year & struck out more batters than innings pitched or hits allowed, which is always good for any pitcher... strikeouts to walks ratio wasn't bad either at better than 2 to 1... he's got nice movement on his fastball & velocity is topnotch... so far he's only allowed 1 ER this season in 3 appearances... he'll be fine... i like Veras & combined w/Bruney they make a nice 1-2 combo as the bridge to Mo in the 8th... Joe will just go w/whoever's throwing better at that particular point in the season... if u go w/Bruney too much this early on his arm will be spent by the time late Sept. & Oct. rolls around... this is why u always want depth in the bullpen, & Veras gives us that.
Wang looks terrible right now. He can't get his sinker down and is getting hammered.
wang's mechanics are all screwed up after the injury. something's not right.
