Off Topic · Yankees Talk thread (page 187)

I'm not really that worried either. I think our lineup will start hitting its stride with ARod back. Teixiera hasn't really found his stroke yet. The guys around him are starting to hit though- even Matsui has gotten back to his old form.

The pitching needs to settle down. Ultimately guys like Sabathia and Burnett have to perform. Its not a failure of scouting to bring these guys in. We know they can pitch. Once they take control of the top of the rotation we'll be ok. Andy is Andy so far- he's not gonna be great every night but he keeps you in games and gives you innings. Joba's control has failed him lately and he seems to still be rounding into game shape. Hopefully Hughes or Kennedy comes up and give them a boost. Its overdue.

it is overdue man, that is a good way of putting it. hughes is the light at the end of the tunnel as no mas alluded to. melancon had a great first inning today, then he kinda got in trouble but still didn't allow any damage. that was against a good lineup too, in a dicey situation in fenway. if he can be a consistent bridge to mo and the starting 5 gets rounded out with hughes or kennedy, the pitching won't be a ? mark.

what is up with humberto sanchez did they really buy him out? is he no longer a yankee i thought he was a top prospect?

also, everybody says we haven't seen anything from tex but he's played some great defense at first. i know his bat will wake up but he's at least contributing at the corner.

no doubt his D's been terrific, but let's face it, we didn't pay him all that cheddah to come & play defense... we need those 30+ HR's & 100+ RBI's in the middle of our lineup in a bad way right now... i'm sure his numbers will improve this year but w/ARod out it makes him even more important to this lineup.

to that i would say there are 144 games left this year, and then another 1,132 after that on his contract.

someone please let me know when it's finally OK to make observations on how a player or the team is performing right now... April games, September games, they all count the same in the W-L column guys... if we miss out on the playoffs by 5 games, does it really make a difference when those losses came? the same is true for player production... again, i know Mark Teix's numbers will come around & his defense has been stellar, but right now his missing bat is a big problem w/our big bopper ARod out of the lineup & no one else hitting other than Cano on a consistent basis... Swisher started out red hot & now he's coming back down to earth in a pretty bad slump of late... Melky swings for the fences in every at bat & is pretty much feast or famine... Gardner can barely hit a ball past the infield but solid defensively... Damon's been good at the plate but a nightmare in the field... Jorge & Jeter have been solid... Matsui's going through his usual hot & cold swings at the plate... Ransom has been horrendous at the plate... our pitching staff has been pretty bad overall other than Andy, Bruney & Mo... i think these are all fair observations & concerns if you've been watching the games this year.

obviously i don't think this team is gonna continue being a .500 level team, but the mental mistakes & listless play of this team has me concerned that last year may not have been a fluke... there really seems to be something missing when i watch these guys play... just a sense that they've lost that mental edge... the EYE of the TIGER man... somebody get Apollo Creed on the phone... someone needs to wake this team up from the funk they've been in.

DAMN MAN, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOIN?!! Come on Yanks, it's not a game... you wanna miss out on the playoffs by 20 games this time??? You thought last year was tough, if you don't make the playoffs this year, George is gonna kill you! Come on, get your head on your shoulders guys! Think about the season! Think about the season! Boston Red Sox, they tryin' to beat you guys, they tryin' to beat you! Now here it comes, they scorin', they scorin', they scorin'. They tryin' to beat you guys, you gotta play hard! You gotta WIN! They scorin', they scorin', they scorin'... DAMN GUYS, COME ON!!! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITCHOO?!?! (eh, it's only April, we'll get 'em tomorrow) THERE IS NO TOMORROW! THERE IS NO TOMORROW!! THERE IS NO TOMORROW!!!



[Edited by - TMS on 04-27-2009 01:34 AM]

gotta get it back guys... Eye of the Tiger

Sanchez had too many injuries and never found his command. He's like 25-26 now. THey had to drop someone from the 40 man. They have too many pitchers better than him.

Take you back...Du-do-do-do...Take you backkkkkk.....

Dude I'm with you man. Not enough emphasis is made on winning games early. Even playing well early. Too often we hear, "well, he's a notoriously slow starter...". I mean what the hell is that? They better get it together quick. Terrible showing in Boston this weekend. We're better than that. I owe my friend Craig $20 - He's from Boston & I bet the big dummy the Yanks would take the series. Friggin' guy - Love the guy but I betcha he couldn't name one guy on the Red Sox. He's one of those... Can wait to see him today and catch some abuse...

I actually came on here to talk about Pettitte. He pitched great last night IMO. If Berroa makes the play there early, he doesn't even give up that 1st run, then they just got to him a little when he gave up the 3 piece a little later - got unnerved a little bit after Ellsbury stole home - still don't understand why he didn't deliver the ball to home quicker than he did. He short-armed it to the plate. He throws a normal fastball there, Ellsbury's dead meat. Maybe he was about to throw a breaking ball and got screwed up and thought he'd screw up Posada if he delieverd it quicker?? Whatever, outside of a few little breakdowns, he looked good to me. The stuff looked real good. Very crisp. I was wrong about him. I didn't think he'd be able to change his approach much from the way he's pitched in the past, but he's proved me wrong. Instead of going cutter, cutter, cutter 80-85% of the time, he's throwing his big curveball & changeup a lot more this season - then when he does throw the heat or cutter, it's a lot more effective. Love how he's throwing the ball so far - he lookin' real strong out there. This new approach of incorporating more off-speed stuff looks like it's less taxing overall and he might be able to go deeper in games and stay stronger longer as a result. Glad I was wrong. He looks like he's got plenty of gas left in the tank. Andy's actually been one of the few bright spots so far this season...


[Edited by - finestrg on 04-27-2009 10:26 AM]

Posted by BigSm00th:

to that i would say there are 144 games left this year, and then another 1,132 after that on his contract.

His OPS is around .800 when it should be around .900. That's underachieving a little but I definitely expect that he'll pick it up. I just hope his wrist injury is not the reason he's been struggling and is not going to be a season-long problem. Tendinitis can take a very long time to heal if you're not resting the area.

That said, the offense has been pretty good. 6 runs per game without A-Rod is as much as I could have asked for. The problem has been that the bullpen is terrible and the starting pitching is underachieving. I expect the starters to return to their career #s and am not worried about them. I do not like how the bullpen is constructed though. If there aren't any changes, it will be our achillies heal.

Posted by Finestrg:

Take you back...Du-do-do-do...Take you backkkkkk.....

Dude I'm with you man. Not enough emphasis is made on winning games early. Even playing well early. Too often we hear, "well, he's a notoriously slow starter...". I mean what the hell is that? They better get it together quick. Terrible showing in Boston this weekend. We're better than that. I owe my friend Craig $20 - He's from Boston & I bet the big dummy the Yanks would take the series. Friggin' guy - Love the guy but I betcha he couldn't name one guy on the Red Sox. He's one of those... Can wait to see him today and catch some abuse...

I actually came on here to talk about Pettitte. He pitched great last night IMO. If Berroa makes the play there early, he doesn't even give up that 1st run, then they just got to him a little when he gave up the 3 piece a little later - got unnerved a little bit after Ellsbury stole home - still don't understand why he didn't deliver the ball to home quicker than he did. He short-armed it to the plate. He throws a normal fastball there, Ellsbury's dead meat. Maybe he was about to throw a breaking ball and got screwed up and thought he'd screw up Posada if he delieverd it quicker?? Whatever, outside of a few little breakdowns, he looked good to me. The stuff looked real good. Very crisp. I was wrong about him. I didn't think he'd be able to change his approach much from the way he's pitched in the past, but he's proved me wrong. Instead of going cutter, cutter, cutter 80-85% of the time, he's throwing his big curveball & changeup a lot more this season - then when he does throw the heat or cutter, it's a lot more effective. Love how he's throwing the ball so far - he lookin' real strong out there. This new approach of incorporating more off-speed stuff looks like it's less taxing overall and he might be able to go deeper in games and stay stronger longer as a result. Glad I was wrong. He looks like he's got plenty of gas left in the tank. Andy's actually been one of the few bright spots so far this season...


[Edited by - finestrg on 04-27-2009 10:26 AM]

right now bro, the Red Sox are Clubber Lang & the Yanks are Rocky in this clip:



Yanks have been more focused on their fancy new digs at the new Yankee Stadium & on the glitz & glamor of a new beginning in the House that George Built & they forgot what it takes to win championships... u gotta fight & claw every day, every game... u can't take even 1 game for granted no matter if you're playing in April or September... the season is a marathon but even marathon runners don't start out a race sleepwalking... the Red Sox are a hungry team... they got their eyes fixed on doing some damage in the AL East this year... the Yankees don't look hungry at all right now.

after last year u'd have figured this team would be old school Rocky... we lost the "ADRIAN! I DID IT!" mentality bro... we lost the edge... we gotta be able to take the best shot that other teams give us & come back & put it right back in their faces... the Yankee teams that made it into the WS all used to do that.

Alright. Who else is tired of the Yankees being the flucking Coyote to the Sox's Road Runner every year. Yeah, we punked them for close to a century, but for about a good five years now they have been the sleeker, more professionally run, harder nosed, and flat out better organization.

Outperformed is one thing, but we are being outworked and it is clear.

It would be one thing if we were just having a down time, but as I've stated earlier we have haphazardly spent as a way to play catch up rather than putting in the due diligence and fielding a better team. I'm not panicking yet, but keep in mind that we gave 160 of them thangs to a pitcher who is way overweight and 80 million to a pitcher who hasnt really had a good career, but gets by because scouts are in love with his "stuff".

As GKF and Bonn have stated, why do we have such a bloated payroll and an almost non-existent bench and bullpen. Thats just absurd and a glaring sign that we are an organization with misguided priorities.

Straight up, I'm just really disillusioned with the Yanks. They strike me as a lazy, greedy corporation that looks to take the easy way out. That steal to home summed up how things have gone this decade in a nutshell. Its not even about winning the chip every year...not about that at all. But has this organization, with the way they have gone about the business lately, made you proud?

We are getting embarrassed by teams that have payrolls more that 100 million dollars less than ours. That makes me embarrassed to be a Yankee fan. Yankees are the trust fund babies that go out and buys a Porsche on Tuesday to make themselves feel better.

Posted by sebstar:

Alright. Who else is tired of the Yankees being the flucking Coyote to the Sox's Road Runner every year. Yeah, we punked them for close to a century, but for about a good five years now they have been the sleeker, more professionally run, harder nosed, and flat out better organization.

Outperformed is one thing, but we are being outworked and it is clear.

It would be one thing if we were just having a down time, but as I've stated earlier we have haphazardly spent as a way to play catch up rather than putting in the due diligence and fielding a better team. I'm not panicking yet, but keep in mind that we gave 160 of them thangs to a pitcher who is way overweight and 80 million to a pitcher who hasnt really had a good career, but gets by because scouts are in love with his "stuff".

As GKF and Bonn have stated, why do we have such a bloated payroll and an almost non-existent bench and bullpen. Thats just absurd and a glaring sign that we are an organization with misguided priorities.

Straight up, I'm just really disillusioned with the Yanks. They strike me as a lazy, greedy corporation that looks to take the easy way out. That steal to home summed up how things have gone this decade in a nutshell. Its not even about winning the chip every year...not about that at all. But has this organization, with the way they have gone about the business lately, made you proud?

We are getting embarrassed by teams that have payrolls more that 100 million dollars less than ours. That makes me embarrassed to be a Yankee fan. Yankees are the trust fund babies that go out and buys a Porsche on Tuesday to make themselves feel better.

They re-hired the GM who took a team at the top of the baseball world into the laughing-stock of the baseball world. I too am embarrassed to be a Yankees fan. It stinks.

i'm sitting here in vegas watching the yankee game before i head out to dinner and then blackjack. yes, it's stinks with the way they are playing but i am not upset or panicking.

baseball is a very funny game. there is no way to tell how any player will perform in ny. none. and that's where it's all about luck. yanks were LUCKY to get all those players that helped us win all those titles. the 03 yanks showed major heart coming down from 5-2 to tie and then beat the redsox...but then couldn't beat the huge underdog marlins. was that cashman's fault? was that management's fault? b/c they were still spending money on big time names.

once you get to the postseason, it's really a crapshoot. it comes down to whoever has the hottest pitching and the biggest clutch hits. the redsox have been lucky the past 5+ years building their team - just like we were the previous decade. it's not a science.

cc sabathia was the best pitcher in the market. he pitched well for a few years now. he dominated last year - to the point where he could've won the MVP of the NL. does it really matter that we signed him for $160 mil? he was the best pitcher. is he another sign of corporate greed? were we to know that in the first month of the season, he was to post a 5 ERA? his overweightness didn't hurt him for the previous 5+ years...all of the sudden it matters now?

relief pitching is a CRAPSHOOT. they are pitchers that aren't good enough to be starters or closers. so you will get inconsistency with them. ask the mets. in 06 their bullpen was really solid - and they almost went to the series. the same pen a year later collapsed.

why are y'all embarrased about the team? you are not entitled anything as a fan. they are spending money on quality players. and since cashman has taken over, he has a bigger emphasis on the draft and farm system and going after free agents that are not over the hill. since 2007, name 1 old over the hill free agent we brought in for a big contract?

our staff had holes - so what should've the yankees done? they spent on CC and burnett. what was the alternative? please give me your plan b/c it's alot easier to criticize after the fact.

they had a major hole at 1B and in the lineup - so they went out and got tex. is that another sign of corporate greed?

yanks spent on the bullpen before on guys like flash gordon and quantrill. quality relievers that turned out to be busts in ny.

that's why building a winning team in ny is SO hard and i truly believe luck plays as much as making smart moves.

btw, before the season, i felt the biggest concern for the yanks was the lineup and it's turning out to be true. our hitting with RISP is what's killing us. maybe arod's return changes that, but who knows. hopefully it changes as the season goes along but our offense can be stopped.

btw, it's subtle but damon's bobble in the 1st allows polanco to get to 2nd. then jeter's lack of range allows the ball to get through the infield in the 1st allowing detroit to get their first run. then damon bobbles it again allowing granderson to score from 1st.

speaking of luck - how many of you guys thought jason bay would be such a clutch hitter for the red sox replacing manny?

that's what i mean by luck.

Posted by djsunyc:

speaking of luck - how many of you guys thought jason bay would be such a clutch hitter for the red sox replacing manny?

that's what i mean by luck.

i thought Jason Bay was the guy we shoulda traded for instead of Nady... go ahead & look it up if u like... i never thought he'd be this clutch for them tho after he replaced Manny, but he was definitely the guy to go after... Nady was never a guy i wanted on this team.

Posted by djsunyc:

btw, before the season, i felt the biggest concern for the yanks was the lineup and it's turning out to be true. our hitting with RISP is what's killing us. maybe arod's return changes that, but who knows. hopefully it changes as the season goes along but our offense can be stopped.

the pitching has been the major reason why we've been losing games this year, not the offense... our ERA is dead last in the majors bro... if that doesn't concern u i dunno what else to say.

Posted by djsunyc:

i'm sitting here in vegas watching the yankee game before i head out to dinner and then blackjack. yes, it's stinks with the way they are playing but i am not upset or panicking.

baseball is a very funny game. there is no way to tell how any player will perform in ny. none. and that's where it's all about luck. yanks were LUCKY to get all those players that helped us win all those titles. the 03 yanks showed major heart coming down from 5-2 to tie and then beat the redsox...but then couldn't beat the huge underdog marlins. was that cashman's fault? was that management's fault? b/c they were still spending money on big time names.

once you get to the postseason, it's really a crapshoot. it comes down to whoever has the hottest pitching and the biggest clutch hits. the redsox have been lucky the past 5+ years building their team - just like we were the previous decade. it's not a science.

cc sabathia was the best pitcher in the market. he pitched well for a few years now. he dominated last year - to the point where he could've won the MVP of the NL. does it really matter that we signed him for $160 mil? he was the best pitcher. is he another sign of corporate greed? were we to know that in the first month of the season, he was to post a 5 ERA? his overweightness didn't hurt him for the previous 5+ years...all of the sudden it matters now?

relief pitching is a CRAPSHOOT. they are pitchers that aren't good enough to be starters or closers. so you will get inconsistency with them. ask the mets. in 06 their bullpen was really solid - and they almost went to the series. the same pen a year later collapsed.

why are y'all embarrased about the team? you are not entitled anything as a fan. they are spending money on quality players. and since cashman has taken over, he has a bigger emphasis on the draft and farm system and going after free agents that are not over the hill. since 2007, name 1 old over the hill free agent we brought in for a big contract?

our staff had holes - so what should've the yankees done? they spent on CC and burnett. what was the alternative? please give me your plan b/c it's alot easier to criticize after the fact.

they had a major hole at 1B and in the lineup - so they went out and got tex. is that another sign of corporate greed?

yanks spent on the bullpen before on guys like flash gordon and quantrill. quality relievers that turned out to be busts in ny.

that's why building a winning team in ny is SO hard and i truly believe luck plays as much as making smart moves.

anyone who wants to sit & cry about being embarassed about being a Yankee fan should grow up or stop following this team... the Yankees' braintrust do their best every year to try & put together a contending team & never spare any expense, & they do that for the fans of NY... if u can't appreciate that, go root for another team.

now that said, there's a BIG difference between expressing concern over the way the team's playing & saying you're embarassed to be a fan of the team... just wanna make that clear.

my God, could Jorge have lollygagged it any more down the line on that little dribbler in the 9th inning to keep the tying run on base & beat out that double play? that was pretty pathetic.

this team is sleepwalking through another season... wonderful.