And when is Hank Steinbrenner going to put the coat on Joe Girardi for being the greatest in-game manager ever? Girardi has a HOFer Rodriquez, Jeter, and Rivera, and the team SUCKS.
Let's see. Both the Yankees and the Mets are 1 1/2 back in their respective divisions so I guess what you are really trying to say is that the Yankees suck just as much as the MEts do, right?
After 20 days in a row and 18 of 20 on the road the Yankees finally catch a break if today's game doesn't get snowed out in Cleveland. It will be nice to have a 9 game home stand. They survived this brutal start to the season and I'm guessing things will only start getting better now.
Let me clarify a little bit. I asked days ago for an update on what is down in the minors as far as pitching help. I even remember specifically asking about Igawa. No one answered me, so I assumed that we were just promoting the "best we had", like Albaladejo. If we've promoted the best we've got, we're in deep shit regarding the pen. If there are arms we can use in AAA, then we should have them with the pro team. Of course I'd rather use in-house options if we can, since they cost us nothing in a trade. Hopefully this clarifies my position better. Cappy, as for Traber, the last time I saw him was Friday night, and he sucks. That's why I mentioned him. Now Posada is out. The Yankees believe it's a strained muscle, but Jorge thinks it's more. Just wonderful. He's sorry he's doing this after getting a big contract. Yeah, Jorge, so is everyone else. Unfortunately I missed Wang's gem yesterday. And I am paying attention to the Dodgers. All I can say is :rofl:
With middle relievers, it's really hard to say what "the best you've got" is, since they're notoriously fickle. The Yanks have a bunch of quality arms, though, any one of which is capapble of doing the job. I do think you should give guys like Albaladejo a few more chances before closing the book on them. Same for Ohlendorf. I didn't see the post you made days ago. Yup. Traber's an odd case. He's supposed to be a lefty specialist, or at least was being used in that role, but couldn't get lefties out in his last three outings. Part of that was his own fault (walks). Part of that was shitty luck (the hits off of him weren't much). And he was lights out in spring training, started off okay, and then lost it for his last three appearances. I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more of him again this season if others don't work out.
That's another situation where I wasn't as clear as I meant to be. I'm not anti-Albaladejo. I think he'll be good, and I like Ohlendorf in short work as well. I just thought guys like Igawa were supposedly making progress, and we know that Igawa can eat innings. We need more guys in the pen who can go 2-3 innings over these guys that can get that "critical out", like a Hawkins, or Farnsworth. (That's how I see those guys. They can be super-effective if they only need to get one or two outs. After that, the hitters catch up to them, and we're down 4.) Cool. He just irked me. He just reminded me of Myers. The lefty specialist who can't get lefties out. Also, I have to admit, and I know it's silly, but Hawkins' and Traber's deliveries make me want to throw something at the tv. The other thing that's killing me is that so many guys are getting hurt early. I thought Girardi's boot camp was going to get these guys into good condition? It's not much different than last year right now, except our manager is actually awake to see it.
I think conditioning is still a factor, and something to be desired. It's not a cure-all. Over the long run, you'd see less injuries with a fit bunch than an out-of-shape bunch. I'm sure this isn't groundbreaking news, though. Playing eighteen out of twenty games on the road, and having the first month of the season played in 40-degree weather most of the time might have something to do with it. With Molina, Posada, A-Rod, and Jeter, being on the wrong side of 30 might have something to do with it. Chamberlain, Farnsworth, and Bruney all were injured because of slips thanks to shoddy playing conditions.
Well, Posada gets under my skin. I was big on his side with him being so demanding contractually last year. Now he's out, and it really bothers me. I think you make a good point about age, but I just find it strange that guys are having leg issues when such a focus was put on running in camp. The mound issues we've seen lately are inexcusable. WTF is wrong with teams? I'd be going crazy if I were their front offices, considering that it could be their own guy on the mound who goes down.
I guess... but like I mentioned in the previous post, conditioning/running is not a cure-all for leg injuries. It'll just make them less likely in the long haul. And last year's injuries were a little different. You were seeing them in spring training (Wang, Abreu, Damon), and in the first week of the season (Matsui, Moose). Still older players for the most part, but with Abreu and Damon, at least, they both admitted that it was due to being out of shape (oblique and calves, respectively). Really, though, I think the conditions and schedule probably had more to do with A-Rod's and Jeter's quad strains (those are the only non-freakish circumstance leg injuries, right?) than conditioning. I mean, those two are both known for staying in very good shape.
I know what you're saying. I'm just annoyed that even with all of the extra conditioning, the team is still falling like dominoes, while the Rays take over the division.
Igawa has a 2.93 ERA in 27 + innings at Scranton (and ONLY 6 walks. 29 Ks. so it sounds like he has found his control too). Do we have anybody up here that is any better in relief? No. He should be brought up. Hell, he should have already been brought up. Of course he is a starter in Scranton. They may be holding him back to replace Kennedy if he continues as bad as he has been up till now. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&cid=531&stn=true&sid=t531
WTF was Arod replaced? Please don't tell me he's hurt too. This week I'm in Idaho and I don't think they even know what baseball is here.
We got a very good pitching performance all around tonight. Moose pitched well. The offense finally showed a spark tonight. As for ARod, he was HBP, and Waldman was speculating that they pulled him because it's a bit cold, and they don't want it to tighten up. He should be fine. BTW: I'm going to start being really negative. Going back to last year, when I'm ultra-negative, they play better.
