Aug 23
John Harper and Bob Klapisch have the story. And, George King touched upon it the other day too.
A simple game of self-respect…
You flick a switch, and, the world goes off.
Nobody jumps as you expect…
I would have thought you would have had enough, by, now.
Hey, A.J., and, ‘Sado…O.K. Com’on guys…can we stop the Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe routine and just all get on the same page?
19 Responses to “Burnett & Posada”
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August 23rd, 2009 at 10:53 am
Mate, thought I seen everything here, but Nick the Knife and Declan McManus mentioned, damn! My favorite Elvis-Lowe album is Blood and Chocolate, the album where they had reunited after many years of not working with each other. That was also the same year(86) that Elvis put out the great King of America album where he collaborated with Elvis Presley’s band(James Burton,Jerry Scheff,and Ron Tutt).
That brings us to Two Little Hitlers…you think that Georgie and AJ can find some peace ,love and understanding? When you put these two together accidents will happen, ya know? Anyway, these two are Big Boys so they will get past this!:)
August 23rd, 2009 at 10:59 am
Pete Abe wasn’t taken in by this nonsense:
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:15 am
AJ’s numbers by catcher, to date, this season:
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:29 am
Do you really think that those sample sizes reveal more information than his last 12 starts, 10 of which were with Posada? Come on.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:48 am
It is very hard to really know what is going on from outside the clubhouse but clearly there are issues. This is where the manager earns his money (and reputation). Most fans analyze managers based upon the lineup and in-game player moves. But it is these personnel issues that really matter. And being a former catcher, Joe Gym has a particularly good insight to the problem. It will be interesting to see how this is handled for the rest of the season.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:53 am
Rich wrote:
Amazing what a little research will do.
August 23rd, 2009 at 12:06 pm
butchie22 wrote:
Hey, all baseball and no culture makes Jack a dull boy.
August 23rd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
@ Rich:
Well, you have 15 games with Posada and 10 games without. And, in those 10 games without, batters are hitting .224 against AJ – compared to .260 with Posada. That’s not a huge difference – but, when you combine that with the quotes coming from Burnett, like:
“I didn’t have a lot of conviction in my pitches today,”
when he’s working with Posada. You have to think about the potential of an issue – sample size be damned.
August 23rd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
@Steve
Of all the things that AJ is, articulate and introspective probably aren’t among them. Consequently, I wouldn’t put much stock in anything he says, particularly in the aftermath of a disappointing outing.
Sample size is way too important a concept to be so easily dismissed. From reading many of your posts over the years, I think you know that.
August 23rd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
bold off
August 23rd, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Rich wrote:
Strangely, that may serve him well. Just clear the head and go out and pitch.
August 23rd, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Rich wrote:
Rich – a question for you. Here’s the scene:
It’s the bottom of the 9th, of Game 7 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. New York is losing, 2-1, with two outs. But, they have runners on 2nd and 3rd.
Ramiro Pena is due up and the opposing team has their stud closer on the mound. For kicks, let’s say his name is “Rich Sample.”
Joe Girardi has two potential pinch-hitters on his bench: Eric Hinske and Hideki Matsui.
In his career, Matsui has faced Rich Sample 6 times and has gone 6 for 6 with 2 homers and a double.
In his career, Hinkse has faced Rich Sample 5 times and is 0 for 5 with 4 strikeouts and a foul pop-up.
Girardi decides to have Hinske PH for Pena in this spot…and he strikes out on three pitches. Inning over. Ballgame over. World Series over. And, the Yankees lose.
After the game, when asked about his choice of pinch-hitters, Girardi says “I know that Matsui was 6 for 6 and Hinske was 0 for 5. But, those are very small sample sizes and anyone who knows anything about baseball and statistics will tell you that you can’t base a decision on small sample sizes. And, today, I thought that Hinske was due, so, I had him hit for Pena.”
Rich, as a Yankees fan and someone who appreciates the “important concept” of small sample sizes, how are you feeling after this situation, Girardi’s call, and comment? Would you back him up on that call and logic?
August 23rd, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I’d think Girardi was an idiot, like I thought Torre was an idiot for starting Enrique Wilson against Pedro Martinez in a playoff game.
August 23rd, 2009 at 2:24 pm
@ Raf: So, either way, the MGR is an idiot?
August 23rd, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Steve Lombardi wrote:
In the examples cited, certainly. Just like Torre wasn’t an idiot in 2006 trying to squeeze Sheffield and Matsui into the lineup.
Go with your best players, and let the chips fall where they may.
August 24th, 2009 at 2:09 am
Raf wrote:
Raf, I’m no Torre buy BUT Enrique Wilson had nice numbers against Pedro. It made sense, so i don’t grok your example……..
August 24th, 2009 at 11:05 am
By that logic, the players that didn’t have good numbers against Pedro should’ve sat in that game. That they didn’t shows that the logic doesn’t work.
Wilson may have had nice numbers against Pedro, but at the end of the day, he’s Enrique Wilson.
And to compound it, he batted him leadoff…
September 7th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
[...] Speaking of Molina…A.J. Burnett, after the first inning, seemed to find himself in this game, huh? And, Jose Molina was catching him. Oh, boy, here we go again… [...]
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:58 pm
[...] yes, this is back-to-back good starts for A.J. Burnett! Well, here’s two words for you: Jose Molina. The Panda has caught both of these games for Burnett. That’s not going to happen in the [...]