Because he was good coming out of the pen, aside from 3 games not so much as a starter. I'm not sure I have the confidence in him as a reliever anymore anyway..you know who you can thank for all of this.
Might not be the strongest, but Yankee bullpen is way up there: http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2009/10/bullpen_managem.php
So you mean that the Yanks D is going to carry ARod to his first championship? I'm only half serious about that part but I do think ARod is going to have a huge postseason this year.
Come on, man! You're making my point for me! :lol: Even the clutchiest of clutch players fail six out of ten times with RISP. And RBI are a product of who's on base ahead of you (if anyone) more than anything else. So you'll be there bitching about A-Rod only having 2 RBI if the Yanks lose, and you'll point to the situations where he failed with RISP as evidence of him choking, despite the fact that he might only have had two or three chances in the scenario I laid out. And if they win, something tells me that the same line by A-Rod would be overlooked, and you won't hear much - if anything - about him being a choker. But fine. Like I said before, we haven't defined what "hitting well" is. So let's say he hits .320 with 5 RBI and the Yanks lose. If there were a few spots where he didn't come through (and since even the clutchiest hitters fail six out of ten times, it's likely there will be a few sports), people will call him a choker. Do you see what I'm getting at here? Unless A-Rod puts up a Herculean effort -- hits .500 and doesn't strand a man on base for the entire postseason -- there will be people who will rip on him if the Yanks lose. But if the Yanks win, people will accept much less from him.
Don, do you realize how stupid/petty you look continuing to rip on the GM who put together the team with the best record in baseball? Sure, Cashman has it easy considering the money at his disposal, but you bitch about him like he's put together a stinker of a team. And you shouldn't have confidence in Joba as a reliever. His problems are not from being in the rotation and not the pen. His problems started when he hurt his shoulder last year and (it seems) they changed his mechanics to protect it. That's when the lack of velocity happened (even from the pen). That's when the inconsistency started. So there are three possibilities (none of which are Cashman's fault): 1. Joba's shoulder injury doesn't allow him to get the velocity he used to get. (I don't think this is it, given the velocity of his secondary pitches hasn't dropped much at all.) 2. His new mechanics are messing with his fastball velocity. (This seems likely.) 3. His lack of consistency as he spent this year working with the new mechanics has gotten into his head and that's mucking it up even more. (This seems likely, as well.)
Uhhh, yeah. No shit. As for him putting up a Herculean effort in a loss, you're just wrong. He hits .400+ and doesn't strand a man, the least flattering thing you'll hear is "Well, you definitely can't put this one on ARod." He hits .320, with 5 RBI and doesn't strand more than 4, and doesn't GIDP with RISP, he won't get shit for his performance. If, however, he hits under .300, or leaves more than 4 RISP, especially if he GIDPs to end an inning, and the Yankees lose, he's going to get ripped. Justifiably so. I make the argument in the Jets forum regarding Ghoslton that he cannot be held to the supposed standard of being a #6 draft pick. The fact that he was picked in the top of the draft is the Jets' doing, not his. In ARod's case, this is his bed he's made. Now he is the one who has to lay in it. And keep in mind that I've been one of ARod's staunchest defenders. No one twisted his arm to opt out of his contract. There was bad blood with the fans before that because bringing in the best player in the sport is supposed to help your team win, not drop 4 straight to allow the hated Red Sox to win their first title in 80+ years. He pulled that opt out shit, thinking he could demand more on the open market. Well, he miscalculated, and had to come crawling back. That's two strikes. This year started off with the steroids admission. It was compounded by his desire to play for his "native" country, rather than the one where he makes all of his money, in the WBC (regardless of the fact that he didn't play.) Add in the GQ spread, his public divorce, and then his injury, and it's not hard to understand that the guy isn't exactly most Yankees fans' favorite player; especially given the year Jeter has had. But go ahead. Stick to your statistics as the "be all, end all." Just make an attempt to understand that most people aren't watching their favorite teams with their heads stuck up their maths.
The truth always hurts..so what? He fucked up Chamberlain completely and it is all on him. Live with it. If he coul;dn't pitch an entire season as a starter he should have never started as one. Only a complete fool would have done what Cashman did..of course he is one so no suprises there. Oh, and the only reason the Yankees have the best record in baseball is because the Steinbrenners said go buy Teixiera, Burnett and Sabathia...I can't believe you keep giving Cashman credit for anything. Give GMs that run teams like Florida and Tampa Bay and Minnesota credit. They build teams with no money at all.
Uhhh, yeah, then why ARE you giving me shit about it? Which is what I said. Doesn't strand more than four? It's that set in stone? All of which is missing my point, which you said you agreed with in the first sentence. The same exact line from A-Rod would have people calling him a choker if the team loses, but not if they win. How the fuck am I sticking to my statistics as the be all, end all here? Huh?! This isn't even ABOUT analyzing statistics, for Christ's sake! This is about people and their perceptions. All I'm saying is that how people view A-Rod's postseason will be affected by how the Yankees fare. If they win, people will go easier on A-Rod. If they lose, they'll give him shit. Even if he performs exactly the same in both scenarios. You seem to disagree with this, but apparently don't even get the point I'm making, and resort to some bullshit about me only using statistics. What. The. Fuck.
You did a terrible job of explaining yourself Cappy, because that's not what it sounded like you were saying.
These are my first two posts on the subject: To the second one, you responded, "I don't think so." What is hard to understand about that?
No, I don't think most baseball fans think A-Rod is close to being the best player in baseball right now. But I think they're pretty stupid not to think that. Um... that's why I posted what I did. But he can change it all in one huge postseason? *shakes head* I don't understand how people come up with this stuff.
No, smart guy, that's not what I said. Not if you actually quote the whole thing rather than the part you snip to make your point. For reference, here's what I actually wrote: If he plays shitty, even if the Yankees win, he'll be a choker. He needs to perform well this postseason, regardless of what the team does. If they win, and he underperforms, he's a choker. If he underperforms and they lose, he's to blame. If he has a good postseason, regardless of the team's performance, he gets credit where due.
BTW: As I said, if he hits .250 and only drives in 3 runs, he will be beat up, and justifiably so. Those were your numbers, Mr. Let'sQuantifyWhatPoorPerformanceMeans.
If they lose, he will be beat up. If they win, I doubt people will say a damned thing about his failures. They might even frame it somewhat positively. "A-Rod didn't completely choke!" Hello, and welcome to the point. Nice of you to join us. And "quantifying what poor performance means" is not really what I was trying to do. The only reason I brought it up is because you were missing my entire point (to the extent that you were actually accidentally proving it for me), saying if he hits "well" no one will give him shit. The point I was making was that how people perceive his performance.... whether they think he did "well" or did "shitty" is going to be affected more by how the Yankees do in the postseason than by A-Rod's actual performance. And that the same line put up by A-Rod in a winning or losing series will be viewed differently. What you were saying was a tautology -- that people will think he did well if he did well.
With Verlander slated to start on Sunday, lets hope the division is on the line. If it's more than just a tune-up start, he'll have to wait until game 2 to pitch (as we'll be taking the earlier ALDS start date). This will help us get off on the right foot with CC on the mound. So let's go ChiSox and the Twins gotta dominate the Royals.
And I'll say it again, since you're obviously incapable of understanding. You. Are. Wrong. I underfukingstand what you're saying, and I'm saying you are wrong. Your pompous bullshit in your responses doesn't make you any more correct. If they WIN and he doesn't perform WELL he will be BEAT UP. (Caps are teh awesome, huh?) If he hits .250, with 3 RBI, and the Yankees WIN the World Series, he will be CALLED A CHOKER. Those are YOUR NUMBERS. Welcome to the conversation. Have a seat in the back while you catch up.
Here's the problem I'm having, Alio. You say you understand, but then you go on to say things that show that you don't. You keep putting it in these vague terms. "If he does well..." "If he underperforms..." Those are pretty much meaningless phrases, given what I'm talking about here. You want to harp on "[MY] NUMBERS" from the first post and ignore any context. Just admit that you misinterpreted what I said, because it's a pretty simple concept. Certainly not one that deserves this kind of reaction from you. For any given line that A-Rod puts up -- no matter what it is -- he will catch far less shit if they win than if they lose. (Maybe not from you, O Prescient One.) And the perception of his performance will always be weighted to the negative side more than other players. You say you agree with this, but then continue to give me crap. This is no longer my problem. I'm done.
Who fuckin cares if A-Rod gets beat up or not? If the Yankees don't win the World Series it's a TEAM-WIDE failure. If they win the World Series, it's a TEAM-WIDE success
