June 2007 Survey Question #1
Posted by Steve L. on June 5th, 2007 · Comments (14)
Do you agree that Brian Cashman’s decision to count on Carl Pavano and Kei Igawa as being members of the Yankees starting pitching rotation is the biggest reason why the Yankees have found themselves to be seven games under .500 on June 4, 2007?
Update, 6/29/07: This poll is now closed. Click on the thumbnail below to see the results:
No, I’m still buying the “unlikely probability of 2-10 in one run games and other pitching injuries” hypothesis.
That hypothesis only holds for another 5-10 games, however. If they don’t win 7-8 of the next 10, the party’s over.
I am pretty shocked by the results of this poll so far. So, Yankees fans, in your opinion, what is the biggest reason why the Yankees have found themselves to be seven games under .500 on June 4, 2007?
The rash of starting pitching injuries to start the season, necessitating the use of unready rookies and burning out the bullpen.
I think the Yankees are just in a losing mentality right now, which is partly Torre’s responsiblity — dunno what he’s trying, but it isn’t working.
Now all the bad hammies may be related to hiring a country club guy right at the start of ST, which is Cashman’s responsibility.
Mostly, though, I look at the season as a regression to the mean, whereby good teams tend to perform worse the next year, with the current Yankees & the recent Braves teams being outliers.
You should be shocked, Steve – because the question is a push-poll style query: a question designed to elicit a specific response.
I.E. – Democrats want to raise your taxes and surrender to al Qaeda – do you agree with their strategy? Of course people are going to say “no,” but the question is out there to make people think that Democrats really want to raise taxes and surrender to al Qaeda.
As for the reason for the underperformance – in no particular order: Mo’s spotty start, prolonged slumps by key contributors on the offense, a preponderance of games against a very hot Boston team, poor team defense, the Kei Pavano issue, nagging injuries, a lack of depth…
It’s hard to single out a biggest factor, but I feel confident saying it’s not the Kei Pavano issue – there are too many other factors to throw it all on one decision.
I dunno. If you look at those two turns in the rotation – Kei and Pavano – and the results for them, and those subbing for them – and then apply a decent starter instead…I think that gets the team to (at least) .500
SMinDC is right. My first reaction to the polling ‘question’ was that Steve wanted to see if others agreed with this premise.
From the winter reports, it seemed as though Carl actually was healthy, though it turns out he did have a legitimate injury, so I’d give Cashman only a C- on that part, not a D or F.
I just thought there weren’t really any decent starters out there, for a reasonable price, well, except for Pettitte.
~~~My first reaction to the polling ‘question’ was that Steve wanted to see if others agreed with this premise.~~~
Well, the poll does start with.. “Do you agree that….”
~~~I just thought there weren’t really any decent starters out there, for a reasonable price, well, except for Pettitte.~~~
For what they paid for Igawa – they couldn’t try for Lilly, Suppan or Lieber?
I blame the bad start primarily on the lack of hitting, and the poor bullpen. I wasnt expecting much more of our pitching then what we have gotten minus the injuries. I think our team ERA is mid to high fours which is what i expected, but this offense has sucked and the bullpen has blown way too many games.
Its all about expectations, I was expecting very little from both Igawa and Pavano so when they did nothing it wasnt that big of a deal. The whole Karstens, Hughes, DeSalvo getting hurt was way more unexpected and IMHO hurt us more
~~~The whole Karstens, Hughes, DeSalvo getting hurt was way more unexpected and IMHO hurt us more~~~
Yeah, but, if Pavano and Igawa were solid, and taking regular turns, then you don’t need Karstens, Rasner or Hughes.
You can’t ONLY blame pitching. I mean, that 11-15 loss to Texas in that ridiculous day game was pretty much just awful. But that wasn’t the norm. Pettitte gave a number of great starts that were either not backed by run support or blown by the bullpen. It’s just a combination of things. When they have the pitching, they don’t have the offense. When they don’t have the pitching, they happen to have the offense.
Except for Jorge, Jeter and Pettitte all season, Mo now, and ARod in April, no one has pulled his weight this yr.
You can’t just blame Pavano and Igawa.
I always thought there would be a trade at the end of spring training. I couldn’t believe he would bet the family jewels on an unknown quantity like igawa. I DID believe he was absolutely sold on Pavano coming back with at least one good year so he could show his face. Pavano has really been a black mark on his reputation.
Vizcaino had such a promising spring training. I had been hoping Farnsworth would have had a character transplant over the winter and have a great year. The real problem is the relief. We have one last shot to get it right but who knows what the solution will be. Chris Britton? Hmmm…. Problem is there is no one there. Or is there?
Will the Twinkies move Santana? When do the Mariners cut Ichiro loose? George is 76 and not in good health. I don’t think Brian waits. I see some big moves and those are the two I long for. Can’t let the Sawks get either of those. Baltimore gets Teixeira…after all my work to learn how to spell his name e-i e-i oh or ay as the case may be.
I live in Boston. This has been a looooooong year and we’re not even to the all star game yet. Feels like it was held two weeks ago…