I’m thinking more like an achilles tendon issue than a “sore right calf.” You don’t rush a guy – no matter what General Joe said in the post-game about the Yankees always getting a quick MRI – under the magnet for a sore right calf.
When I look at how well Tyler Clippard has done the last three seasons, and how Ian Kennedy is starring this season, and how Zach McAllister is doing well in Triple-A this year, I have to start wondering if the Yankees have something against pitching prospects who are “pitchers” and not “throwers”? I mean, the organization gets a chubby over guys like Andrew Brackman and Humberto Sanchez; but, they’re trading guys like Clippard, Kennedy and McAllister for almost nothing since they don’t light up the radar gun.
Who’s making the call on these guys? Cash? Newman? Damon? Some combination of them?
Whomever it is, at some point, they have to own up and be accountable for these calls, no?
Kei Igawa is now the all-time leader for Triple-A Scranton in career innings pitched with 453.6. (Former Red Baron Pat Combs had the record.) Hey, for $46 million, you’d expect a record set here and there…
Funny, we took the kids to the Liberty Science Center yesterday and I saw a little boy wearing a navy Yankees T-Shirt that had “Igawa” and “29″ on the back of it. Why would anyone do that to a little kid? (I’m guessing he was around the age of five or six.)
How many Yankees have hit 18+ homers in the team’s first 65 games of the season? Here’s the list:
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Tex ended up with 39 HR in 2009. How many do you think the Grandy Man will finish with this year? Heck, how about Tex this year? Between the two of them, who will finish up with more HR?
Every time I see a highlight this year featuring Jose Reyes or hear someone talking about how great he is this season, I think about Alex Rodriguez in 2007. Granted, A-Rod was 31 in 2007 and Reyes is 28 this year. So, it’s not a perfect match. Plus, one plays short and is a speed guy whereas the other played third and is a power guy.
But, without question, in both situations, you have a player who is having the best season of his career, at least in terms of OPS+, in the year in which he’s about to hit the free agent market.
Why people don’t talk more about that…I dunno?
Derek Jeter has four games left on the Yankees current homestand to reach his 3,000th career hit at home. Jeter will have to get seven hits in the four games to make it.
Can he? Sure. Will he? Dunno.
It’s almost an average of 2 hits per games to make it. And, the way Jeter hits these days, that’s a lot.
Hey, George Brett, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. all got their 3,000th career hit on the road. It just happens that way, sometimes.
What do you think? Will Jeter get there before the Yankees hit the road?
So, Bartolo Colon strained his left hamstring today and may miss some time. No shocker there – you knew he was not going to make 30 starts for the Yankees this season. The dude is not a spring chicken and does not have an “iron man” history.
The bad news here, of course, is that Colon has been one of the Yankees best starters this season. And, if he is out for a while, the Yankees rotation is now: Sabathia, Burnett, Garcia, Nova and TBD. Or, in other words: The Hoss, The Girl with The Curl, Mr. No Margin for Error, The Inconsistent Rookie and Joe Mystery Meat.
Add that to a bullpen that’s Mo Rivera, Bases Juiced Robertson and sundry members from the Island of Misfit Toys. Ouch.
The Yankees bats are going to have to carry them for a while, eh?
Catch it.
Nice to have a laugher for a change in the Bronx.
Thank you, Fausto “Sore Loser” Carmona.
Last month, I shared some information on the Damon Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium. And, now, I have some more information to share via a recent press release:
When thousands of avid runners, passionate baseball fans, cancer survivors, and supporters from across the country gather at the Damon Runyon 5K starting line on August 7 to support the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, they will get the signal to run from New York Yankees great Roy White, one of the race’s official starters.
The only charitable run/walk that uses the legendary ballpark as its course, the third annual Damon Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium will take place on Sunday, August 7, 2011. Participants will run or walk the Stadium’s concourses, climb stairs between levels, appear on the video board, and follow in the footsteps of their favorite players by taking their own victory laps on the warning track that circles the field. The event is on track to reach a three-year total of $1 million raised to fund groundbreaking cancer research by the nation’s most innovative young scientists.
In addition to serving as an official starter for the race, White will be featured at a private reception for the Runyon 5K’s leading early fundraisers on June 21 at Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant in New York City. He will tell stories about his days with the Yankees, participate in a Q&A, sign autographs, be available for photos and watch the Yankees play the Cincinnati Reds in an interleague showdown.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the 1976 Yankees team that won their first American League pennant in 12 seasons before being swept by the Cincinnati Reds. The year was important in Yankees history as it marked their first pennant under late owner George Steinbrenner, who promised a swift return to the World Series when he bought the team in 1973.
For a Roy White fan like me, this is exciting news. I think it’s great that he can be part of the race and also have some time to share memories of that great 1976 season.
Here are Brett Gardner’s career big league stats, to date:
| Year | Age | G | PA | AB | R | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 24 | 42 | 141 | 127 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 30 | .228 | .283 | .299 |
| 2009 | 25 | 108 | 284 | 248 | 48 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 5 | 26 | 40 | .270 | .345 | .379 |
| 2010 | 26 | 150 | 569 | 477 | 97 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 47 | 47 | 9 | 79 | 101 | .277 | .383 | .379 |
| 2011 | 27 | 59 | 197 | 169 | 27 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 21 | 37 | .254 | .339 | .379 |
| 4 Seasons | 359 | 1191 | 1021 | 190 | 37 | 18 | 11 | 100 | 97 | 22 | 134 | 208 | .265 | .355 | .369 | |
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Note his Slugging Percentage the last three seasons. Pretty consistent, huh?
Since July 1, 2010, in his last 127 games, Nick Swisher has a BA/OBA/SLG line of .261/.348/.448 (in 487 AB). In addition, he has 21 HR and 68 RBI during this span.
Now, that’s not terrible. But, it’s not the “thump” that you would expect from a right fielder in the American League.
But, maybe that’s just me? What do you think? Are you happy with the production the Yankees are getting from Swisher? Or, if they had a chance to upgrade in right, should they go for it?
Since July 1, 2010, in his last 142 games, Robinson Cano has a BA/OBA/SLG line of .282/.342/.495 (in 554 AB).
Those are still very good numbers for a second baseman. Put those up, year after year, for a dozen years or so, and maybe people will talk about you joining the rest of the second-sackers in Cooperstown.
But, in Yankeeland this season, many think that Cano is having a down year and they want to know where the Cano of last year went. How about you? What do you think of Cano’s performance this season and over the last 140 games that he has played? Happy with it, or, want to see more?
Via the Daily News -
After David Ortiz was done taking out the Yankees in the three game series that concluded Friday morning, he turned his sights on the media.
The Red Sox slugger blamed the writers and broadcasters covering the series for his getting hit by a CC Sabathia pitch in the fourth inning of Boston’s 8-3 win at the Stadium.
It was the first time in 161 games played against the Yankees that Big Papi had been drilled.
Ortiz seemed agitated and angry when he turned to speak with the media after the game, first announcing that he would not take questions. Then he said, “I just want to thank you guy(s) – not all of you, most of you – for the stat today: me not getting hit by the Yankees. I finally got hit. I hope you (jerks) are happy.”
Next Ortiz called the group “unprofessional.”
He concluded the interview by saying, “You guys like to criticize us when we (mess) up. Criticize yourself now.
“I’m not talking no more. Good night.”
Next, Big Papi can thank the media for getting him an endorsement contract with Pampers – because, obviously, the dude looks great in a diaper (when he makes comments like these).
So, the Boston Red Sox beat, and swept, the Yankees, again. Man, was that painful. It was boys against men. The Sox just walked all over the Yanks – seemingly at will. It was just like an army marching through a village of grass huts. Since May 2nd, Boston has made up 7 games in the standings against New York – going from 5 games out to 2 games up. If this pace keeps up, the Yankees will be close to ten games out by the Fourth of July.
So, what’s next?
Simple. The Yankees need to get instant amnesia and forget this whole thing – and fast. And, they need to show some heart – much more than we’ve seen in the last three games, for sure – and man-up against the incoming Indians and Rangers.
If they don’t, and New York plays their next seven games they way they played their last three, there’s a good chance the plug will come out and this season will go swirling down the drain. Com’on Yankees – show us what you got, please.
Per Chad Jennings, tonight’s first pitch scheduled for 10:30 PM. The fans who have been sitting in Yankee Stadium for the last 3 1/2 hours, or more, for this game to start deserve a Croix De Steinhouse pin or something.
Over the last three days, I’ve noticed a cyberspace commotion in Yankeeland. It’s one that Bernard Sumner may have sung about in 1986.
Yes, as far as I can tell, there are three fronts to this situation.
On one hand, we have a party poking and prodding for more information regarding a prominent member of the Yankees organization and their potential extramarital activities. On another hand, we a diametric party who has been targeted by the aforementioned party as being a player in this drama – and who is vehemently attempting to squelch any reference to this situation via sundry requests and litigious threats. And, finally, we have another party who is either trying to defend the targeted party or assist the inquiring party – it’s hard to know which side, for sure – by adding their voice to what’s being said out there.
I’ve been in contact with two of the three parties – albeit one much more than the other.
Yet, I have no idea if this is some sort of verifiable tempest forming on the Yankeeland horizon, or, if this is just one or more individuals engaged in jejune shenanigans. It very well could be the latter as the internet is replete with such activities. But, then again, at this junction, if the former is the case, it would not be the first time that something like this has happened in the arena of those with a high public profile.
I will not speculate on what the truth is here as I have nothing to extrapolate outside of some electronic chatter from individuals who cannot be identified or verified as who they claim to represent. For all I know, this entire matter is a game being played by two or more with the aim to yank as many chains as possible while hiding in the crevices of cyberspace. Therefore, file this one under: Wait and see. Maybe it’s something? Maybe it’s nothing? Dunno. All I do know is that I’d rather not hear any more on it until it’s proven true or debunked.
I first came to know WasWatching late in the 2005 season: A-Rod was having an MVP campaign, the Yankees were in the midst of a furious September push to win their 10th consecutive AL East Division title and a playoff date with the Angels loomed on the horizon.
Since that time – has it really been almost six years! – I’ve grown as a person and as a baseball fan. I can unequivocally say that I know more about baseball today than I did when I first came to this site a half-decade ago and so it goes without saying that WasWatching has had a meaningful and positive impact on my life.
More than any Yankee site on the internet, this place where I’ve spent innumerable hours (more than my employer would even care to know) fosters a community in the truest sense of the word. It’s the only place that I can think of where the great majority of the commenters are both intelligent and friendly and the discussion rarely, if ever, devolves into a forum for inside jokes, snarky retorts and arrogant one-upmanship. There may be bigger, more popular or more forward-thinking sites out there but no site is better at making a commenter feel at home.
To wit: I’ve made a handful of “friends” on this site. I use the term in quotes because, despite conversing with these individuals for several years, I’ve only met a scant few in person. Despite that, I feel a genuine affection for these people and, thanks to things like Facebook and Twitter, I can actually interact with them in a non-baseball context as well. I know about their jobs, their kids, their girlfriends and wives, the vacations they take, the food they like to eat and anything else one friend would share with another. In short, it’s been wonderful having an outlet like WasWatching because it has expanded my appreciation and love for baseball and allowed me to share that passion with some truly fantastic people.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the dedication of one person. Thus, a special thank you goes to Steve for creating this site and, more importantly, for keeping it going through the various ups and downs in his personal and professional life. He’s wanted to quit and close up shop more times than one can imagine but, deep down, it’s obvious that his passion for the Yankees and for this community is very real. If it weren’t, I wouldn’t be able to type this message to you…
Today is my last day as a member of the WasWatching community: I’ve decided to cease contributing and commenting. The reasons for this decision aren’t terribly important to anyone else so there’s no reason for me to leave on a sour or down note. I’d rather go out the way I came in: happy, optimistic, proud to be a Yankee fan. The rest will just fade away over time.
Thanks everyone, its been a blast.
According to @Ledger_Yankees (Newark Star-Ledger’s NYY-related Twitter feed), Yankees RHP Joba Chamberlain has a torn ligament in his elbow and could be out for the remainder of the season.
Update via Mark Feinsand -
Joba Chamberlain has a torn ligament in his right elbow and is likely headed for season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Joe Girardi delivered the news shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday during his pregame press conference.
Chamberlain was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday with a strained flexor tendon, but the Yankees sent him for a dye-contrast MRI exam on Thursday. The test revealed the ligament tear.
Chamberlain has not reported any severe pain or problem, so the discovery of a tear was a surprise for the Yankees and the reliever. Surgery has not been set, as Girardi said he thought Chamberlain would visit orthopedist Dr. James Andrews.
“I think he’s a little confused by it all,” Girardi said.
Via Bob Klapisch -
Still, [Joe Girardi] has to be furious at the way A.J. Burnett keeps self-destructing against the [Red] Sox – the very team he was recruited to beat as a free agent. Girardi’s players made mistakes everywhere, including in the field and on the base paths, but nowhere is the gap between expectation and performance greater than Burnett and his winless streak against Boston.
He hasn’t beaten them in nine starts, dating back to 2008. The very premise of Yankee superiority in the East in 2011 was based on Burnett’s ability to handle the Sox’ lineup. Indeed, he came to spring training with a new delivery, not to mention a new attitude, which team officials hooped would mean the end of the “Bad AJ” era.
Instead, Burnett was just awful, allowing David Ortiz a long home run in Boston’s three-run rally in the first inning, then allowing the Sox to take a 4-0 lead in the second. It was 7-0 by the fourth inning, which has Yankee officials worried that Burnett is ready to give back the gains he’d made in April and May.
A little history: the right-hander was 6-3 at exactly this point last season, before losing 12 of his last 16 decisions, posting a 6.34 ERA. Burnett is well aware of the organization’s wariness. He knows the fans don’t trust him. Questions about his past success against the Red Sox as a Blue Jay only serve to peel away layers of Burnett’s psychological flesh.
What’s underneath is frustration and anger.
“Well, I’m not in Toronto anymore, so I’m tired of hearing that. That’s just retarded,” Burnett said testily. “If anything’s different, I made pitches in Toronto, I didn’t make pitches tonight. That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.”
The Yankees will certainly speak to Burnett about his tone, not to mention his choice of words. But they’re otherwise looking for the same answers as the media: what’s happened to the right-hander who once had unbelievable stuff?
There are two telling stats about Burnett’s enduring mediocrity: his average fastball is now down to 92.5 mph, the lowest of his career. In addition, only 41.2 percent of his pitches are strikes, also a career-worst.
This means Burnett has lost the muscle on what used to be his most dominant weapon – the four-seamer – and, because he has to resort to secondary weapons, including the curveball which all too often bounces in the dirt, he’s not throwing enough strikes.
That’s Brian Cashman’s $82.5 million purchase speaking there…and, the Yankees will have him until 2013!
Pretty hot out there today. What’s the odds that CC Sabathia looks like Dave Rajsich when he’s done with his work this evening?
Shoot, I think Alfredo Aceves lost ten pounds of water when he was throwing last night.
On April 23, 2004, when Jose Contreras was getting pounded by the Red Sox, on the YES coverage, Paul O’Neill said something like “You can pitch great against all the other teams, but, if you play for the Yankees, sooner or later, you’re going to have to prove you can pitch against the Boston Red Sox, or you’ll be done.”
After today’s game, you can pretty much say the same thing about the 2011 Yankees. Sooner or later, they’re going to have to prove that they can beat the Boston Red Sox – and tomorrow would be a great time to start.
Yeah, I know it’s only June. But, I’m sorry. Another sweep by Boston this season, at home in the Bronx, will just be too much to take.
Joba Chamberlain will be out for at least the next three weeks after he was placed on the disabled list with a strained flexor muscle in his right elbow. Jeff Marquez has been claimed off waivers. Also, Hector Noesi has been sent back to AAA – Amaury Sanit has been called up to take his place.
No pressure A.J., no pressure at all.
Also, Yanks are without Jorge Posada tonight (son’s surgery) and Russell Martin has sore back. No pressure Francisco, no pressure at all.
Has anyone else noticed that Curtis Granderson is just 2 for his last 19 with 10 strikeouts in those 19 ABs? You can’t get much colder than that, right? Just a blip, or, are we looking at a June swoon for the Grandy Man?
Here they are, as of this morning:
| Rk | Tm | W | L | pythWL | Luck | ≥.500 6 | <.500 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CLE | 34 | 25 | .576 | 32-27 | 2 | 18-11 | 16-14 |
| 2 | TEX | 34 | 28 | .548 | 35-27 | -1 | 18-16 | 16-12 |
| 3 | CHW | 30 | 33 | .476 | 31-32 | -1 | 21-19 | 9-14 |
| 4 | BOS | 34 | 26 | .567 | 33-27 | 1 | 17-16 | 17-10 |
| 5 | SEA | 31 | 30 | .508 | 30-31 | 1 | 15-14 | 16-16 |
| 6 | TBR | 32 | 29 | .525 | 32-29 | 0 | 15-15 | 17-14 |
| 7 | DET | 33 | 27 | .550 | 31-29 | 2 | 16-18 | 17-9 |
| 8 | LAA | 30 | 33 | .476 | 31-32 | -1 | 18-20 | 12-13 |
| 9 | NYY | 33 | 25 | .569 | 36-22 | -3 | 15-18 | 18-7 |
| 10 | TOR | 31 | 30 | .508 | 33-28 | -2 | 16-21 | 15-9 |
| 11 | BAL | 28 | 31 | .475 | 25-34 | 3 | 15-22 | 13-9 |
| 12 | KCR | 26 | 35 | .426 | 26-35 | 0 | 13-21 | 13-14 |
| 13 | OAK | 27 | 35 | .435 | 29-33 | -2 | 12-22 | 15-13 |
| 14 | MIN | 22 | 38 | .367 | 22-38 | 0 | 9-28 | 13-10 |
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O.K., I’ll just hang up now and listen to your reaction…
Tonight’s game between the Yankees and Red Sox was kinda-close.
It would have been closer if Freddy Garcia didn’t spit the bit…and if Hector Noesi didn’t serve one up to ol’ Man Bat Flipper…and maybe if Derek Jeter didn’t swing at ball four in the 9th inning…
But, then again, Kim Jones would look more like Heidi Watney if…well…you get the point.
We can “if” this one for the next 24 hours and it will still be another loss to Red Sox for the Yankees this season. What’s that now, six of seven?
Three games against the Red Sox, four games against the Indians, and three games against the Rangers.
Oh, and, by the way, if the post-season started today, the four teams in would be New York, Cleveland, Texas and Boston.
It doesn’t get any better than this…and it will be a great test for the Yankees. It will be interesting to look back on this, on the morning of June 17th, and see just how the Yankees did with this challenge.
The Yankees drafted Dante Bichette Jr. yesterday with their first pick (#51 overall) in the draft.
Baseball America considered Bichette to be the 108th best prospect in the draft. So, I guess the Yankees really liked him to take him that high.
Maybe someone like Hudson Boyd, Dwight Smith Jr., Brett Austin, or Grayson Garvin would have made more sense at #51 – since they were available? Time will tell, in the next few years, if this was the right thing to do. Reportedly, Joe Girardi is tight with Dante Bichette Sr. – so, maybe the Yankees think they have some inside intel on this one?
…and they average less than 80 fans per game:
No home advantage for college-aged Webster Yankees
For those of you who are fans of organizations like the Cape Cod League this article should interest you—particularily with regards to the amateur draft.
