.500 team. .500 pitcher. 5-5 record.
ERA near 5.00… hmm, the “Daily Number?”
Andy Pettitte tries to straighten himself and the Yanks out tonight. For the 23rd time in 66 games, the Yanks are at .500, and .500 is where Pettitte’s record stands. Andy is 5-5, and almost but not quite another 5. Andy’s ERA stands at 4.99. ERA+ just 83.
Since April 20th, Andy is 2-4, 6.21. That must change.
Tomorrow the Yanks are in Houston, where Joba must not only start, but hit (I hate interleague, and hate seeing pitchers hit). It looks like Matsui will be the odd man out.
Hmm…Interesting story in the NY Post today bout the Yanks seeking more funding for the new Stadium.
John Rauch passed away at the age of 80. He coached the Raiders in SB II, losing to Vince Lombardi’s Packers (Lombardi’s last game as Packer coach, he would later coach the Redskins for a year) 33-14.
The Yanks signed ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte, but are now labelling him as a righty. What the heck, keep him both ways. That way you carry more bullpen “arms.”
A sore shoulder puts J.B. Cox on SWB’s DL.
NoMaas.org is pretty funny sometimes with their photoshop alterations and brief but for the most part dead-on commentary. However I’m still waiting for them to say something about Derek Jeter’s sub-par season. Is attacking the Captain off-limits?
7 responses so far ↓
1 yankeemza781 // Jun 12, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I think that people have to access the state of this team. If team could win some games, do we really think that this is a World Series contender. I don’t regardless of what happens. In every franchise there is a black period. Different sport but when Danny Ainge took over the Celtics he took over a team that went to the Eastern Conference finals he summized that the team he had was good but not great and began massive changes in the organization. The team floundered for five years but finds themselves with the best team in basketball. This window closed on this current Yankee team two years. I think a gutsy move would be to swallow some money and start sending out the veterens that are holding up players like Austin Jackson, Brett Gardner and others.Great Lines in SWB are nice, but it doesn’t matter if their not brought up to the parent team. Regardless of when these players are brought up no two years from now there are going to be growing pains. This would be a perfect season to do that..
2 mike f // Jun 12, 2008 at 1:31 pm
i agree with mark - 2006 was the team we really could have won it all with- last year would have certainly been possible had wang not collapsed-
i don’t agree with getting rid of damon and abreu etc to make way for some kids that probably arent MLB ready. gardney probably would do as well as melky- i’d like to give him a shot.
this team does nothing for me except frustrate. not much fun to watch -even when they are winning
3 Mike Sommer // Jun 12, 2008 at 1:39 pm
On YFCR, we’ve (Ty and myself) been advocating that the Yanks do exactly what Ainge did with the Celts. Yanks fans don’t want to think of “Step backward to move forward” though. The end result? Stuck in neutral, spinning the wheels. Hence the 1st round exits of 2005-2007. This may not be a playoff year. To some fans, it means the apocalypse. I’ve been through the CBS years, and the late 80s-early 90s years. I’ll take a “1992″ type year, if the rewards are the “1996-2001″ years.
4 mike f // Jun 12, 2008 at 3:39 pm
but is there anything to suggest that a 1992 year would bring the results of 1996-00?
and exactly what do you guys propose?
5 Mike Sommer // Jun 12, 2008 at 5:39 pm
It’s the chance you take as you rebuild. Of course, with a new Stadium coming (and lots of crowds as they ring out the old and ring in the new) the Yanks don’t want to use the R word.
Increased empahasis on scouting and development. Better depth in the farm system. Less free agency and foreign-players (less Pavano’s and Igawas). More home-grown talent, as we saw with Jeter, Andy, Bernie, Posada, Mo. Re-emphasize players with plate patience. Diversify the attack with speed and power.
Patience with the young kids. You don’t (and can’t) change things overnight by plugging in 7 rookies or so a year, but gradually establishing three this year, three next year…
Less long-term deals that bog you down when the player a) sucks b) gets old or C) both.
A change in organizational philosophy to spend the money and assets wisely and not just throw it at any big-name free agent that comes around.
I can’t speak for the others, but I would think Ty is on the same page with me.
That’s what I’d like to see. Get younger and more athletic and don’t become like the oldest team in baseball (they are in Queens).
Hate to say it because they are in our division and had a lot of suffering…but right now, I’m worried about Tampa (3rd best record in league)…not so much as far as this year (and they are to be worried about for this year) but for the future. They have a nice nucleus of youngsters that can grow and develop. Navarro at .338(!!), our former farmhand, is 24. Carlos Pena (was at Columbus two years ago) is 30. Iwamura 29, Longoria 22, Crawford 26, Upton 23, Kazmir and Garza 24, heck, their whole rotation is 26 and under.
Yanks have Posada 36 (37 in Aug., 1st year of four), Giambi 37 (last year of deal…wonder if he gets a one year deal?) Jeter 34 soon couple years on that deal, A-Rod 33 and 1st year of 10-year (ridiculous) deal, Damon, Matsui, Abreu all 34. Molina 33. Pettitte is 36 soon. Moose is 39, Mo 38. You see where I’m going.
Being in NY brings a “Broadway” mentality. They want the “established” stars to put fannies in the seats. But the establishment often happened elsewhere. The best isn’t to come, but has happened already. I’d love to see a team more like Tampa is now…lots of 23-29 year olds just coming into their own, with just enough (but not too much) veteran leadership to show the way.
6 SuzyK // Jun 12, 2008 at 7:32 pm
NoMaas does have a history of attacking Jeter. And usually, they get complaints about it. But mostly, they attack his defense, not offense. They’ve probably laid off this year mostly because there’s a lot sucking all over this team. They attack the Captain, but only as a last resort, it seems.
I’d love for this team to take a step back and figure out how to build, not buy, a championship team. BUT you’ve got veteran players with long term deals all over the place. Obviously a “win now” team. And how do you think A-Rod, Mr. No-Ring, would take to a rebuilding year?
7 Mike Sommer // Jun 12, 2008 at 7:56 pm
You are right there, Suzy. His D gets it, but I am a little surprised they haven’t said anything about his O so far. They have a BFF up, attacking Cano and Melky, but Jeter’s stats = Melky’s right now. Melky is giving what you would expect. For Jeter to equal Melky shows that Jeter is giving far less than what you’d expect.
And yes, about the vets with long-term deals, I understand completely. Been writing about it (and concerned about it) for a while. What I’m concerned with is that there is no infusion of youth as a result of it. All you see is the same core group of veterans just continue to get another year older—with the returns diminishing relative to the age.
Another problem I think the Yanks will face is that of how to say goodbye to certain players. We know how Bernie was mishandled (although Bernie also didn’t know when to say goodbye). Tino, Bernie, Clemens…even when the Yanks traded Sheff and Johnson, people complained. They wouldn’t let go. What happens when Posada, Mo, Jeter and A-Rod get to the point where they probably SHOULD retire, but won’t? Where their presence hurts rather than helps the team? I would hope that they go out like Mike Schmidt or O’Neill did…knowing it’s time and bowing out. Not hanging on. But most players don’t go out that way. They hang on…like Willie Mays, Steve Carlton, etc.
Letting go of a legend is difficult. Over the next 5-7 years, both the legends and the Yanks will have to work out a plan of “phasing out.” If the Yanks don’t have some kind of “phasing out” plan in order for various players (see above), they may wind up with bigger messes than what they had with Bernie.
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