Off Topic · Yankees Talk thread (page 466)

So who's the Yankees' #2 starter right now?

Good question and one of the reasons I think Cashman has to make a move or resign himself to knowing that the Yanks will not be able to win it all this year. We need another SP who can become our #2 or we will have no shot at competing with Boston or the Phils (if we made it to the WS). Right now we don't have a #2 pitcher and we keep hoping that Hughes or AJ figures it out. We cannot continue to rely on Colon as our #2 and Garcia as our #3. Those guys have played well, but they are really back of the rotation starters. Our record is better than our team and I'm not sure if we have a chance to add / find that #2 starter.

Who would you target? Jimenez? Not sure there are other alternatives...

It's sick. We start out the season with one of the scariest bullpens ever assembled, and two surprise starters, and now we end up wondering if we can hold 5 run leads late in games anymore against the worst hitting teams in baseball...

I'm wondering if Hughes should just be relegated to the pen at this point.

Maybe we can get Swisher to start some games...?

So the Yanks put Posada, Burnett, and Soriano on trade waivers. I guess they are hoping some club is stupid enough to want A.J. and his titanic contract. Can't see this happening, although it is telling.

darn it arod what are you thinking....

A-Rod May Face Suspension
MLB may consider suspending Alex Rodriguez over participation in illegal poker games
Wallace Matthews

CHICAGO -- Major League Baseball is taking "very seriously" the allegations that Alex Rodriguez took part in some illegal, underground poker games, one of which reportedly turned violent, and he could face suspension if his participation in the games is confirmed.

"We're talking to people involved in the investigation and we're taking this very seriously," said an MLB executive who spoke to ESPNNewYork.com on condition of anonymity. "Because he had been warned about this before, I would say a possible suspension would be very much in play."

The allegations, first published by RadarOnline.com, are that the New York Yankees third baseman played in at least two of the games, one of which took place at the Beverly Hills mansion of a record executive at which "cocaine was openly used and a fight nearly broke out when one of the players refused to pay after losing "more than a half-million dollars."

According to the story, details of which were reportedly provided by another player at the games, Rodriguez "tried to distance himself from the game," once the violence broke out.

"He just shook his head, not knowing what the hell happened," the whistle-blower revealed. "He didn't want to deal with it at all. He was like, 'OK, whatever. It's your game.' I would estimate A-Rod lost, like, a few thousand dollars that night. After everything that happened, he paid up and left."

In 2005, Rodriguez had been warned about gambling in underground poker clubs by the Yankees and by baseball commissioner Bud Selig, both of whom were concerned that possible involvement with gamblers who might be betting on baseball games could result in a Pete Rose-type lifetime ban from baseball.

Various reports have the games under investigation taking place as far back as 2007.

Although baseball's investigation centers upon Rodriguez's card-playing and he is not thought to have gambled on the outcome of any baseball games, the fact that he may have disregarded Selig's warning is said to have angered the commissioner.

MLB is also concerned that Rodriguez's name will resurface in the ongoing federal investigation of Dr. Anthony Galea, the Toronto physician charged with smuggling human growth hormone and other illegal substances into the United States. Galea has treated numerous professional athletes, including Rodriguez and Tiger Woods.

"It's like there's something new with him every day and it's impossible to keep up with it," a baseball insider said.

Rodriguez, currently rehabbing in Miami after knee surgery on July 11, could not be reached for comment and a call to his representative, Richard Rubenstein, was not immediately returned. Previously, Rubenstein has denied Rodriguez's participation in any illegal poker games.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said, "I don't know anything about it," when contacted Wednesday afternoon.

According to the baseball executive, MLB has yet to positively determine that Rodriguez took part in the games, which reportedly included actors Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The man did not know if baseball's investigators had yet spoken to Rodriguez about the allegations, but he confirmed MLB has at least two investigators working on the case.

"I could see us trying to pursue this a lot further," the executive said. "The truth is still out there somewhere."

Recently, it was revealed that Rodriguez still employs his cousin, Yuri Sucart, after fingering him as the "mule" who transported his performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 after his steroid usage was revealed in a 2009 Sports Illustrated story, despite being told by the Yankees that Sucart would no longer be allowed in the clubhouse and encouraged to keep his distance from him.

"You get the feeling that Alex says what he thinks he needs to say to get by, and then goes out and does what he wants," the MLB executive said.

dopey stooge. Like losing thousands of dollars at a casino would just not be cool enough.

Upwards of 550 million dollars. You'd think with that kind of scratch, you'd be able to buy some brains with your growth hormones.

Check this out:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/28864...

Bonn1997 wrote:Check this out:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/28864...

Was he traded? I forgot how Ian departed.

From wikipedia:

In December 2009, Ian Kennedy went to the Diamondbacks in a three-way trade with the Detroit Tigers and the Yankees, in which Detroit received starting pitcher Max Scherzer from the Diamondbacks and outfielder Austin Jackson from the Yankees and New York got center fielder Curtis Granderson from the Tigers.[16]

Now that I see that we got Granderson for him, I don't feel as bad. At least we got something great for him, although I usually would pick a starting pitcher over a position player.

Bonn1997 wrote:From wikipedia:

In December 2009, Ian Kennedy went to the Diamondbacks in a three-way trade with the Detroit Tigers and the Yankees, in which Detroit received starting pitcher Max Scherzer from the Diamondbacks and outfielder Austin Jackson from the Yankees and New York got center fielder Curtis Granderson from the Tigers.[16]

Now that I see that we got Granderson for him, I don't feel as bad. At least we got something great for him, although I usually would pick a starting pitcher over a position player.

it was either Kennedy or Hughes... the Yanks held their ground and gave up Kennedy. I know Hughes has had a tough year but that appears to be the correct choice.

SupremeCommander wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:From wikipedia:

In December 2009, Ian Kennedy went to the Diamondbacks in a three-way trade with the Detroit Tigers and the Yankees, in which Detroit received starting pitcher Max Scherzer from the Diamondbacks and outfielder Austin Jackson from the Yankees and New York got center fielder Curtis Granderson from the Tigers.[16]

Now that I see that we got Granderson for him, I don't feel as bad. At least we got something great for him, although I usually would pick a starting pitcher over a position player.

it was either Kennedy or Hughes... the Yanks held their ground and gave up Kennedy. I know Hughes has had a tough year but that appears to be the correct choice.

Career #s
Hughes - WHIP: 1.30, ERA: 4.45, having an alarming season
Kennedy - WHIP: 1.23, ERA: 3.84, improving each year

Granderson is a top 10 MVP candidate this season. Sometimes you got to give up quality to get quality.

Hughes was fine until his injury. This shit happens.

Yankees did fine. Better then we used to give up guys like Milton and Shilling like they were throwaways.

Granderson's been an outstanding hitter this season. But watch this video: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6860415 I think it will make you hesitate before ever calling him an MVP candidate again.

Bonn1997 wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:From wikipedia:

In December 2009, Ian Kennedy went to the Diamondbacks in a three-way trade with the Detroit Tigers and the Yankees, in which Detroit received starting pitcher Max Scherzer from the Diamondbacks and outfielder Austin Jackson from the Yankees and New York got center fielder Curtis Granderson from the Tigers.[16]

Now that I see that we got Granderson for him, I don't feel as bad. At least we got something great for him, although I usually would pick a starting pitcher over a position player.

it was either Kennedy or Hughes... the Yanks held their ground and gave up Kennedy. I know Hughes has had a tough year but that appears to be the correct choice.

Career #s
Hughes - WHIP: 1.30, ERA: 4.45, having an alarming season
Kennedy - WHIP: 1.23, ERA: 3.84, improving each year

Two very rock solid starts in a row for Hughes now.

Supposedly Kennedy was real tough to manage in the clubhouse. From what I remember, the guy had a big ego out of the gate, even when he pitched like crap. I don't think the Yankees wanted to deal with that.

Bonn, really? Are you watching the games or just going by this ESPN stat that probably shows very little. Granderson f's up a few plays now and then, but he's been very reliable out there and does a pretty good job. He chases down almost every fly ball he calls as well. To me, that's pretty damn good. I have had no problems at all with our outfield.

Let me ask you this. What is defensive runs saved? Is this a result of hits hit into centerfield leading to runs scored? Or is this another mathematical thing that just doesn't make sense (As is the case with a good portion of stats.)

I agree with Allan...I watch most of the games and I've never felt that Granderson was a defensive liability. I think he's definitely been an MVP caliber player and certainly the MVP for the Yanks this year.

Agreed... WIth that said, Texeiras defense (and power numbers at the plate) and Canos overall game make them just as valueable as Granderson. To me, Texeiras and Canos defense are irreplaceable.

A few comments:
-I've watched some games but my schedule has been crazy since I moved.
-I believe statistics can often shed light on things that the naked eye misses.
-Unless the player makes a lot of errors (like Nunez), I think most players will look like very good fielders to the naked eye. Among players who make it to the mlb level the difference between an outstanding and a mediocre fielder tends to be whether the player makes occasional or frequent outstanding plays. I think it's very hard to make this estimation unless you've watched several games from several teams and compared each player at the relevant position. And even then you have to have an outstanding memory too.

Bonn1997 wrote:A few comments:
-I've watched some games but my schedule has been crazy since I moved.
-I believe statistics can often shed light on things that the naked eye misses.
-Unless the player makes a lot of errors (like Nunez), I think most players will look like very good fielders to the naked eye. Among players who make it to the mlb level the difference between an outstanding and a mediocre fielder tends to be whether the player makes occasional or frequent outstanding plays. I think it's very hard to make this estimation unless you've watched several games from several teams and compared each player at the relevant position. And even then you have to have an outstanding memory too.

The only problem with that is... to me, the naked eye is enough in most instances. If you are watching and paying attention to the games and observing what's going on, and you are knowledgable about the game, then you will have a good idea of what's happening, who is performing well and who isn't. Some stats are important, but I don't think you need to go too deep into the stat book to figure things out. The stat you brought up, IMO, is worth nothing for a few reasons I'll state later.

With Granderson, if you watch, you would see that he hunts down fly balls very well and rarely makes mistakes. He's had a couple of games that cost the teams games (I believe one was against Toronto) but that's extremely rare. Overall, his defense has been solod and is helping he Yankees win games. If it wasn't, don't you think Girardi would show no hesitation at all, putting Brett Gardner in there? Afterall, I'm pretty sure Brett played center a number of times last year.

With that stat in particular, again I ask you, what is it? How is it determined? To me, it sounds like nonsense b/c they are calling Granderson the worst centerfield in baseball when in fact he's played an excellent centerfield. Based on that, it must mean that dang, every centerfielder must be awesome. I call nonsense on that.

Allanfan20 wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:A few comments:
-I've watched some games but my schedule has been crazy since I moved.
-I believe statistics can often shed light on things that the naked eye misses.
-Unless the player makes a lot of errors (like Nunez), I think most players will look like very good fielders to the naked eye. Among players who make it to the mlb level the difference between an outstanding and a mediocre fielder tends to be whether the player makes occasional or frequent outstanding plays. I think it's very hard to make this estimation unless you've watched several games from several teams and compared each player at the relevant position. And even then you have to have an outstanding memory too.

The only problem with that is... to me, the naked eye is enough in most instances. If you are watching and paying attention to the games and observing what's going on, and you are knowledgable about the game, then you will have a good idea of what's happening, who is performing well and who isn't. Some stats are important, but I don't think you need to go too deep into the stat book to figure things out. The stat you brought up, IMO, is worth nothing for a few reasons I'll state later.

With Granderson, if you watch, you would see that he hunts down fly balls very well and rarely makes mistakes. He's had a couple of games that cost the teams games (I believe one was against Toronto) but that's extremely rare. Overall, his defense has been solod and is helping he Yankees win games. If it wasn't, don't you think Girardi would show no hesitation at all, putting Brett Gardner in there? Afterall, I'm pretty sure Brett played center a number of times last year.

With that stat in particular, again I ask you, what is it? How is it determined? To me, it sounds like nonsense b/c they are calling Granderson the worst centerfield in baseball when in fact he's played an excellent centerfield. Based on that, it must mean that dang, every centerfielder must be awesome. I call nonsense on that.

Also, he is an upgrade over what we've had to deal with the last few years...Damon's arm still makes me cringe, at least Grandy can make a throw to the cut off man. Seriously, I'm surprised that he is regarded as a liability (according to these ESPN stats). I just don't think he is and I think he's a better than average center fielder.

If you go to Granderson's profile (http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grandcu01.shtml)and click on rdrs, it tells you what defensive runs saved is comprised of, although you'd then have to look at the formula for each of the metrics included in the runs saved metric.