Blyleven: Yanks Still Have Many Questions
Bert Blyleven says the “Yankees still have many questions” – with Phil Hughes and Robinson Cano being two of them:
And at this point the top candidates for the fifth slot are Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Alfredo Aceves and Phil Coke could also figure into the mix. All are highly thought of but all are unproven at the major league level.
Hughes has a lot of potential but with the young right-hander it’s looking like a question of mentality rather than one of ability. In both 2007 and 2008, Hughes missed major time due to injury. The reasons for him being sidelined were reported to be a hamstring two seasons ago and a right oblique muscle strain last season.
I know injuries come into play and I’m not passing judgment on Hughes, but whether he has that higher pain tolerance that pitchers need is probably at this point in his career a legitimate question. To come into his own, he needs time on major-league mounds. His injuries have kept him off the big-league bump too much. If nothing else, his mission for next season should be to take his regular turn should he make the Yankees’ rotation or always be available if he ends up working out of the bullpen. Bottom line: he needs to get out there and pitch.
At second base Robinson Cano is the puzzle. After batting .342 in 2006 his average fell to .306 in 2007 and last season it dipped again to .271.
Kevin Long, the Yankees hitting coach, has paid an offseason visit to Cano. The feedback from Long has the club optimistic Cano will fare much better in 2009. He has dedicated himself to physical fitness and has also made a mechanical adjustment in his swing that Long reports is paying off. Cano still has to cut down on his errors and come to play every day – something he didn’t do at times last season prompting Girardi to bench him for not hustling. Cano’s work habits and overall focus need to improve.
…Hughes has a lot of potential but with the young right-hander it’s looking like a question of mentality rather than one of ability…
…Cano’s work habits and overall focus need to improve…
It’s always interesting to see what someone who really knows baseball, and who is not in your organization, has to say about your players, isn’t it?
I don’t understand the mentality premise put forth by Blyleven. What is he referring to, exactly? When injured, Hughes had a bad hamstring injury (then an ankle injury), which was followed by bruised ribs. That doesn’t seem like a mentality issue, to me, and seems more like an injury issue that is connected to poor mechanics.
I don’t know. Is it? I’m pretty sure a five year old could come up with the fact that the Yankees have question marks. In fact, every team in baseball since the beginning of time has had question marks. Personally, I just don’t find this article interesting or unique at all – everyone in the universe knows that Cano is puzzling and sometimes lazy, and Hughes has been hurt.
One more thing, I saw this paragraph too:
“Who will be the fourth and fifth starters? Joba Chamberlain is penciled in at No. 4. This is a move I disagree with. Chamberlain should stay in the role he has excelled in and that is the set-up man to closer Mariano Rivera. That’s Chamberlain’s greatest value to the team. He got a chance to start last season and he broke down with rotator cuff problems. There are also some that believe for him to be a top starter he needs to improve his secondary pitches in order to complement his overpowering fastball.”
Guh? I have not seen anyone ever say he doesn’t have the secondary stuff. His slider literally breaks bats in half. Also, who would he want them to replace Joba with? Aceves and Coke – people he just said aren’t good because they are unproven. Finally, why do people think the Yankees need the bullpen help? The Yanks had one of the best in baseball last year. Plus, they will have a full season of Marte and Bruney (hopefully.) Here’s what I feel – say the difference between Joba and Marte/Bruney as set-up guy is three loses a year (to be generous). Wouldn’t the improvement from Aceves/Coke to Joba in the rotation be significantly more? Like, a few times that?
Finally, justifying that someone should stay in the same role because they have excelled there is awful. According to his logic, Obama should stay senator because he was good at it, and keep Bush because he has the experience.
I could not have said that better myself! Especially the Obama/Bush statement.
Please DO NOT discuss politics in this YANKEES “forum.” Anyone who attempts to turn this into a political debate arena will lose their posting rights here.
Thanks.
Please DO NOT discuss politics in this YANKEES “forum.” Anyone who attempts to turn this into a political debate arena will lose their posting rights here.
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Easy, Steve. I agree with you, but I think he was just using an analogy that happened to be political…. not really a “political debate.” (Although I am aware that even the a slight entrance of politics can spark heated debates outside the scope of WW.)
Anywho, why should we listen to Blyleven anymore than we listen to Todd Jones? Has Burt had an extensive post-MLB career as an analyst that qualifies him to talk about the Yankees anymore than any other borderline hall-of-famer could? Do these words carry more weight than if someone like, say, Jack Morris said these things? (To use someone they often compare him to for HOF stats.)
Im not into politics..just liked the analogy