I know that Chamberlain is supposed to be a starter but I would like to see him take the same path that Mo took. If Mo does sign an extension (hopefully a year) let Joba be the set up man next year and then take over the closer role in 09.
agree to disagree ButtleMan. I for one really want Joba to return to his starter role. In my opinion, it is better to have an incredible, young staff than a good, young set-up man and future closer. Potentially, by the end of next season, we could have Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy all in the starting rotation for a combined 1.2 million. Then, after the season, Pettitte's and Mussina's contracts expire, so thats about $30 mill opening up. Can you see a huge bidding war for Johan Santana? How about this potential rotation? Santana - Hughes - Chamberlain - Wang - Kennedy
Santana will probably be traded this winter and it would take half our cheap young pitchers to get him.
chamberlain is insane.. the kid is for real.. great game tonite, mo has been off.. hopefully no matter wat he has the day off 2morrow.. dont want his confidence to drop.. but a win is a win..
Job aaced his first pressure test but now we have to worr about mariano. he needs a few days off, he didn't have it Sunday and he didn't have it yesterday. Hopefullythis is a mini-slump and not something to be concerned w/ down the stretch.
Honestly, I'm more concerned with Wang right now than I am Mo. I talked about it his last start (and maybe the one before it, I don't remember at this point,) but he's trying too hard to place his pitches. Last night when he just threw his slider and sinker, he performed fine, but when he tries to throw strikes he leaves the ball out over the middle. He has to remember he doesn't need to strike guys out. He just needs to throw his good pitches, and let the defense do its job. Mo should get a night off tonight. I'm not worried about him though. He looks more like he doesn't have his confidence than any physical problem. He looks absolutely shocked that anyone can hit him. When you see his face on replays, his eyes are wide open. C'mon Mo, most of the league has seen you at this point. Guys are going to make contact. Just relax and do what you do. The thing is, last night may have been good for this team. It pushed the "never say die" attitude into the spotlight again. Plus, the defense in the ninth showed it is not to be discounted. Melky made a fantastic play (twice,) and had Abreu's throw been down a foot or two, the game was over. But the bottom of the ninth was exactly what the Yankees need. Melky taking that hit well. Then Giambi PHing for Duncan (and Duncan taking it in stride, which should not be discounted.) Then Derek just making something happen. That's the kind of win that makes this team believe they are never out of games, and that can't be overstressed. BTW: Anyone notice the strong comraderie with Jeter and ARod lately? They look like more than teammates, and more like friends again. That's a BIG DEAL.
Posada said in the post game that Wang has been too strong lately, something I suspected. He is throwing harder and that is keeping his ball up. He should still have received credit for the win. He pitched well enough. They should just phone in tonight's game and give everybody a day off. Karstens will probably last 2+, then it will be Brower, Viz and whoever is left. I'm guessing the lineup will be similar.
Bleh, like I said, I see Wang as trying too hard at throwing strikes. Whatever though, he's still great once he settles down. Let's see what happens against the really good teams. I'll worry when he gives up 8+ to the playoff teams. Then there will be something to be worried about. Right now, I'm not going to get too worried. As for tonight's game, I think what you said is just the opposite of what I'd do. I wouldn't pack it in at all. The key to this team is being able to overcome problems. Just because we don't have an ace on the mound doesn't mean we should act like it doesn't count. Remember, we don't have Chamberlain or Mo tonight. So the pen is going to have to pull some extra duty, making tomorrow's day game even tougher. The offense needs to get out to an early lead, so Karstens can go more innings, regardless of his performance. The fewer guys we can put on the mound tonight, the better, and that entails getting a big offensive showing. Besides, it's not like we're facing a Cy Young candidate tonight. Cabrera is 8-12 with a 5.14 ERA. Here's the scouting report on him: Maybe tonight Duncan can have a shot at first, with Giambi as the DH. Obviously, Giambi's patience at the plate should pay dividends with a guy who walks a lot of guys, and Duncan may be able to take advantage of the high ERA. Phillips and Damon can be available off the bench. (Man this bench is scary!) Not to mention, let's try to capitalize on last night's emotional win.
I don't think we will see Duncan unless we are going against a leftie. There is really no reason not to use Giambi or Damon against righties.
The Yankees line-up is now the best in baseball again. With everyone hitting, and good players to pinch hit when needed. When a pinch hitter comes up, you are sitting a quality player in his place, you gotta like a line-up like that.
Every now and again, Cabrera throws a gem. When he's on, he's ON. Hopefully, tonight isn't one of those nights, and the Yanks can put up some runs early and often. I don't trust Karstens with anything less than a six run lead. (And even then, my trust is minimal.)
Alio since I have no job now I think Im gonna critique all your posts and cite minutia.....you said earlier that you were glad to see shelley duncan "take it in stride" when he was pinch hit for....hahaha who the hell is duncan not to take it in stride dude? he should be floating on marshmellows every second hes in that dugout! actually getting onto the field is a bonus that he can treasure for the rest of his life.....steroids or not Shelley duncan can one day tell his grand kids that he played with jason giambi.....and everyone else
And if your fat ass is going to critque every post in between battles with Twinkies wrappers, I'm going to fire back. :wink: Yes, take it in stride. The kid was on deck, with a chance to be a hero. Would anyone have given him a hard time had he came to bat and failed? Nope, it would have been chalked up to him being a rookie. That situation for him was all potential reward with no potential risk. You could see his disappointment at first at being pulled, but he didn't mope, as he well could have IMO. Instead, he got pumped up, as usual, and was right there to arm bash Giambi when Melky scored. That's professional maturity bro. I know, a hard concept for a guy sitting on unemployment. Okay, okay, enough with the beating on fat jonny now. You know I got nothin' but love for ya bro! :beer:
hahah dude youre arguing my point beautifully....hes a rookie....noone expects him to pull off anything...sooooo, with that said, he was yanked.....for a guy who has won an mvp! thats why its really not shocking that he "took it in stride" thats what hes supposed to do you banana......and heres some breaking news....my retiremnet may well be over....looks like a got another fuckin job...sucks balls
The fact that he didn't let it get him down at all was what I thought was mature. Bah, forget it. Good for you on the job front. What are you doing? Serving pizza?
