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June 30, 2006

June 30th vs. The Mets

Once again, the Yankees struggle to score runs. And, this is strange, as every Yankees starter reached base in this game, at least once, with the exception of A-Rod and Cairo. You have to tip your cap to El Duque. He battled. He came back out after the rain. And, he battled some more. He may be a PITA to some, but, if he can stand out there, he's going to go at it. And, while he might bend some, he won't break a lot.

It's just a good thing that the Mets offense is even more inept right now than the Yankees offense at this moment.

Everyday Scottie Proctor and Kyle "Do I play polo? Not really, sir." Farnsworth were huge in this game. I know that there are not many options for the Yankees these days, out of the pen, sans Rivera. But, I was still repeating "Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is being afraid but doing it anyway." to myself in my head when they came into the game - thinking this is what Torre should be thinking as he went to these two in such a close game.

Man, if not for the rain delay, this game would have been over around 9:45 local time. Two and a half hour games are nice once in a while.

Lastly, thank you Florida Marlins (for showing the world that the Red Sox can be beaten) tonight.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:56 PM | Comments (8)

Yes, Even He Was Booed

"I never heard a crowd boo a homer, but I've heard plenty of boos after a strikeout."

- Babe Ruth, quoted in Grand Slams and Fumbles, by Peter Bellenson (as referenced in Baseball's Greatest Quotations).

Yeah, Yankees fans used to boo Babe Ruth. This sort of puts some perspective on all the "How can the fans boo?" talk today. Last time I checked, this Ruth fellow was a pretty fair ballplayer. It just goes to show - everyone gets booed at one time or another.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:47 PM | Comments (0)

YES, A-Rod, Justice

From the Daily News:

David Justice's pointed critique of Alex Rodriguez Tuesday night on the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network was not a solo act.

A variety of moles, some embedded inside YES, said Justice, the network's pre- and postgame studio analyst, was strongly encouraged - perhaps even ordered - to criticize A-Rod, by YES brass, including the network's production boss, John Filippelli.

"It (Justice's A-Rod rip) was verbatim what they wanted him to say," one mole said.

The question is, did the order to verbally hit A-Rod come directly from the Yankees' high command?

Justice was not the only YES voice approached to put the wood to Rodriguez, who was mired in another slump until breaking out Wednesday with a game-winning home run. The three voices who worked Tuesday night's game on YES - Michael Kay, Jim Kaat, and Al Leiter - were also "encouraged" to come down on A-Rod. Saying Rodriguez was not the only problem the Yankees have, they flat out refused to single him out and trash him.

When asked about the situation, Eric Handler, a YES spokesman, would only say: "As always, there is a healthy give and take among production personnel regarding the direction of the show."

Just a little drama for you mammas........

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 05:32 PM | Comments (7)

Yankees Are Slowing Down

I've always been a fan of CoolStandings.com.

Everyday, they simulate the rest of the season (1 million times) for each team. They take into account a team's strength of schedule and whether remaining games are at home or away. Most importantly, they take into account whether a team is improving (rather than just use their performance over the entire season).

According to their findings, on April 26th, the Yankees were on pace to win 98 games this season. Here's where the Yankees are today:

That 98 win projection is now at 92.

At this rate (92 wins) New York would miss the post-season, completely, according to CoolStandings.com's overall projections.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)

They Wouldn't Dare, Would They?

I just read that Jeff Weaver might be available for free. (Hat tip to Dodger Thoughts.)

There's no way that the Yankees would try him again in New York, would they? Not even if it was just to block Boston from getting him, right?

We saw enough of this guy in 2003, right?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:55 AM | Comments (6)

Cash: Hey, Theo, Take Your Best Shot!

From The Hatford Courant -

"Boston is throwing their best punch at us right now in this fight, and with all that's going on, we're still standing," Cashman said. "I think that's a good sign. There's a lot of fight and character on this team."

Now, if only Cashman was a greasy fast G.M. tank.........

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:10 AM | Comments (5)

AL Does It The Stein Way

From the Dallas Morning News -

George Steinbrenner turns 76 on the Fourth of July. His legacy as owner of the New York Yankees is secure.

The Boss made the American League into a powerful beast.

In the B.S. era (before Steinbrenner), the AL had turned meek and out of date. In the A.S. era (Year of Steinbrenner), the AL has been a jungle.

Follow the money.

Steinbrenner freely spent on the Yankees, showering free agents with cash. Since 2000, the Yankees have had a total payroll of $1.07 billion. The rest of the AL had two choices: find a way to compete with Steinbrenner, or give up the ghost.

Some, such as Minnesota and Oakland, turned into guerrilla fighters who showed imagination and ingenuity in the front office. A few fell into the abyss.

And others spent at close to Steinbrenner's aggressive pace.

What Steinbrenner has wrought shows in the AL's domination of the World Series, the All-Star Game and interleague play. The humbled National League suffers for never having a Steinbrenner.

The AL has won 10 of the last 14 World Series, going 50-29 overall in that span. The AL has an eight-game All-Star streak, sandwiched around the 2002 tie.

Maybe they should rename the league after George?

The American League can be called the "Steinbrenner Super League" and the National League can be called the "Waiting For Mark Cuban League."

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2006

The Mets Test

Tuesday June 27th
NY Mets 4
Boston 9

Wednesday June 28th
NY Mets 2
Boston 10

Thursday June 29th
NY Mets 2
Boston 4

Yes, the New York Mets, the team that everyone is picking to win the National League this season - and the team that many are picking to win the World Series this year - were swept in their recent series against the Boston Red Sox. And, the Mets had their two best starting pitchers throw in these games.

Seeing this result, I believe that the Mets coming into Yankee Stadium now is an excellent test for the Yankees.

If Boston could make the Mets look like Mutts for three straight without breaking a sweat, then the Yankees, if they are as good as Boston, should be able to man-handle the Mets as well, right?

And, if the Mets whoop the Yankees this weekend, on the Yankees home turf, then that is a strong signal that the Yankees are inferior to both the Mets and Boston, correct?

It's a simple "If A > B, and if C > B, then C could be at least equal to A" thing. And, for sure, "If A > B, and B > C, then it's probably true that C < A as well as B."

In a prefect world, this Yankees fan would like to see Alex Rodriguez, fresh off his Back-Monkey-Repelling homer on Wednesday, take it to the Mets this weekend, say, to the tune of a 7 for 13 series (with 3 walks) including 3 homeruns.

Is that asking for too much? Even considering that the Mets will be throwing a 50-year-old El Duque, a close-to-five ERA Steve Trachsel, and the less-than-legendary Alay Soler in these games?

If A-Rod can parlay the clutchness of his last At Bat into this upcoming series with the Mets, and carry the Yankees over the next three games (and enable his team to repeat what Boston has done in their last three games), he will build a cache of fan appreciation that will probably serve as a Get-Out-Being-Booed Card for the remainder of the summer.

Of course, if Alex Rodriguez goes 1 for 15 over the next three games with six whiffs, well, then you, I, and the rest of the world knows what will follow.

Yankees, A-Rod, you may now lift your pencils, turn to the first page of the test, and begin.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:37 PM | Comments (12)

Andy Dandy

The site autigers.com has a nice interview with Andy Phillips. Here are my favorite parts:

APS: When you came to bat the first time as a major league player and hit a home run on the first pitch at Fenway Park in Boston, did you reflect on some of the people who influenced you?

AP: It happened so quickly from being told I was getting the at-bat to when I actually came to bat. There wasn’t a whole lot of time to reflect on everything. I think when I reflected on it was after the year was over. I thought about getting called up for the first time and getting my first major league experience. You think about it from day one playing Little League baseball all the way up. You start to think about the coaches and players you played with thru the years. Then you reflect on all the people that have had an influence. So I don’t think it was until that off-season that I was able to sit down and appreciate the fact that I had gotten called up to the big leagues for the first time and been able to hit a home run my first at-bat.

APS: What is the scouting report on Andy Phillips?

AP: The scouting report is probably “Easy out, can’t play defense and can’t run.” Other than that I feel pretty good about what I’ve got going. I think the biggest thing hopefully that I bring to the table is competitiveness, energy and a passion to play the game. I feel like there are some tools there. You can overcome a lot by going out and competing. Ultimately that is all I can control.

APS: As a member of the Yankees, sometimes you are afforded an opportunity to meet some unique people and have some interesting experiences. Have you had either?

AP: Yes. First of all when you look around this clubhouse, you are playing with guys like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams and others. That says enough. But also in this organization you get a chance to meet guys like Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson. You get to play under guys like Don Mattingly and Mr. Torre. The list goes on and on inside this game. So it’s been quite a unique experience for me and one that I appreciate.

APS: After having your first chance to experience the Old Timers Game at Yankee Stadium this past Saturday, June 24th, what does it mean to wear the pinstripes?

AP: To me, it confirms my respect that I have had for those guys all along and the respect for this uniform. You realize that the name on the front of the uniform is a lot bigger than the person wearing it. You see that with all the greats that were in here. There is a certain sense of pride they all had wearing it. Certainly, I hope I can hold up my end of the deal wearing this uniform.

This is unrelated to the interview, but, I just noticed this today. Phillips' first name is actually "George" (and "Andrew" is his middle name). I've never heard that mentioned on a Yankees broadcast. It's an interesting fun-fact.

I saw Andy Phillips play a game during his first professional season. This was also the first year of the Staten Island Yankees - in 1999 - when they played on the field of the College of Staten Island (and before they had the ballpark down by the Ferry). Phillips was doing very well that season - coming off a college year where he was a Baseball America Third-Team All-American.

It's nice that, after eight years in the organization, Phillips is getting a chance to play at the big league level. Knowing that, and reading this interview, it's almost impossible not to like the guy.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 04:14 PM | Comments (1)

Michael & Alex, Sitting In A Tree......

This is what I hear every time that Alex Rodriguez is interviewed by Michael Kay:

Kay: We're happy to have New York Yankees great, multiple MVP Award winner, and future Hall of Famer, Alex Rodriguez with us. Alex, thanks for being on the show!

A-Rod: It's my pleasure Michael.

Kay: Alex, you're the greatest player in the game today. You can run, hit, hit with power, and field - do it all - better than any player in the game can do all those things. But, people "boo" you. I don't get it? You're the greatest player today - and will be the greatest player ever when you're done with your career. I wish that I could have ovaries implanted into my body so that I could have your baby, because I think you're so great. Why does anyone "boo" you?

A-Rod: I'm not sure Michael. I know that I wouldn't "boo" me.

Kay: Alex, you were the league MVP for the Yankees last year. You had a great ALDS in 2004 against the Twins. You were the A.L. Player of the month for May this year. What's not to love? If you were a vampire, I would want to be your familiar. Why do people say that you're not "clutch"?

A-Rod: I'm not sure Michael. I just know that I am the type of player who cares about trying as hard as I can everyday. Whatever happens after that is whatever it is.

Kay: I just don't get it. I mean, I would want you at the plate in any situation. I would want you anywhere. Are you doing anything for Halloween this year? It would be great if we could "trick or treat" together this year - dressed like a groom and his bride. If you say "yes," I swear, I can get a wedding dress to fit me by then - I'm not kidding.

A-Rod: I hope to be busy in October. I want to be on a team that wins a World Championship in New York. There's nothing better that can happen to a player than being on a team that wins in New York.

Kay: I hope you get that ring Alex. You deserve it. You're a special player. Some day, everyone is going to realize that they're watching the best player to ever play the game. I know that I will always cherish the position that I've been in these years - to watch you everyday. I want to remember it all and tell it to my children and their children some day - that I saw Alex Rodriguez. Heck, if you ever had hemorrhoids, and had them cut off, I would ask you for them - and I would have them added to a necklace to pass down in my family throughout the years. As far as I'm concerned, nothing you do should be lost or forgotten.

A-Rod: Well, Michael, I like to leave it all on the field. I like to think that no one works harder than I do. I'm a grinder. I put in lots of repetitions. I get up early in the morning. Just ask my wife, Cynthia.

Kay: I'm glad that you mentioned Cynthia. She's so smart - like a lawyer. And, she's so beautiful - like a fitness model. And, you're so beautiful too. Do you think that's why some people resent you?

A-Rod: I'm not sure Michael. That's a good question.

Kay: Well, thanks for your time Alex. You're the greatest. I know it. I don't know why others don't. Maybe they'll see it after you're done? I hope so. No one can play the game as great as you do. You had 3 homers and 10 RBI in just one game! But, some people just see what they want to see, I guess? It's just awful that you're not appreciated more.

Am I the only one who hears this each time? Is it just me? Or, is Kay's A-Rod genuflecting getting so overt that it's intolerable?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:46 AM | Comments (7)

Sweet Lou To The Rescue?

From The Record:

"I felt great at the plate all day," said [Alex] Rodriguez, who said he had some extra tutoring after going 0-for-4 in the Yankees' 5-2 loss Tuesday.

Rodriguez told Suzyn Waldman of WCBS-AM that he had a private batting-practice session with Lou Piniella, which lasted until 3 a.m. Wednesday. Piniella was "like an angel coming out of the sky," Rodriguez said.

I guess those sessions with Donnie, ten days ago, were a waste of time.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:58 AM | Comments (3)

June 28, 2006

June 28th vs. The Braves

As I type this, it's 3-2 Braves, top of the 12th.......

even if the Yankees come back and win this game, it's bothersome that they have to struggle against teams like the Braves, Marlins and Nationals.

This weekend against the Mets may be very painful for Yankees fans.

If the Yankees lose today, they will be 4 games back of Boston - and maybe 4 1/2 if the Red Sox win tonight. This time last year - after 76 games - they were 5 1/2 back of Boston. The more things change, the more they........

I hope the Yankees comeback in this game. But, I don't expect it. Why should I, given the way they have played this month?

The shame is that they are blowing games where their starting pitching has been OK. Today was another prime example of that. Who would have thought that the Yankees offense would be the weak link this season?

Update: 6/28/05 5:06 PM - Yanks down by one. There's one out in the bottom of the 12th, Giambi on 1st, A-Rod up......could he???????

Update: 6/28/05 5:08 PM - OK, now, that was clutch!

The turning point of the season?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 04:52 PM | Comments (18)

TradeARod.com

I just saw this site.

Amazingly, there was no www.tradeTonyWomack.com site last year.

Go figure.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 01:24 PM | Comments (9)

Playing Cashman

If you were Brian Cashman, and the Phillies called you today, and offered (to trade you) Bobby Abreu, David Bell and Brett Myers in exchange for Alex Rodriguez, Jaret Wright and Kevin Thompson - straight up, no cash involved - what would you do?

It's an interesting question.

The thought of playing in that bandbox in Philly and getting away from New York might interest A-Rod. And, while Myers has serious baggage, he would be (talent-wize) a welcome addition to the Yankees rotation this season.

You could bat Abreu second in New York, and just let him take his walks, and then bat Jeter in the 3rd slot. Bell has no stick - but he can catch the ball and he plays hard all the time.

The Phillies could just slide in Shane Victorino to take over for Abreu. And, A-Rod at 3rd would give Philly one of the best offensive infields in the National League.

If this was a real situation, because of A-Rod's contract, etc., it would take weeks to be worked out. But, assume that you could do it with a quick pull of the trigger.

As a Yankees fan, would you make his deal, today?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:37 AM | Comments (14)

Giambi & A-Rod Failing Since June 6th

From the Star Ledger:

Since scoring 13 runs against Boston on June 15, the Yankees have scored 77 runs in 19 games (an average of 4.1) and been held to two runs or fewer eight times.

There's an error in this statement. The Yankees have played 11 games since June 15th - not 19 games. I think they mean "June 5th" and not "June 15th."

So, let's check the stats since June 6th:

There's your answer (as to "Why are they not scoring?"). It's the following: Giambi's playing "all or nothing." And, A-Rod, well, what more can you say?

Sure, you could also finger Cairo, Bubba and Melky. Or, Torre for playing them. But, if A-Rod and Giambi would produce to the level that their salary suggests that they should, well, then you can carry some "good glove, weak stick" guys.

What I find interesting about this list is the split. All the guys in green, who are doing well, are home-grown sans Damon. And, in the other color, meaning the guys not doing well, are all imports sans Melky.

This split may mean nothing - after all, it's just a 19 game sample. Still, it's interesting.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:15 AM | Comments (5)

June 27, 2006

June 27th vs. The Braves

With the exception of Jaret Wright and Melky Cabrera, the Yankees played (today) like a team that partied way too hard last night. They were flatter than Debra Messing before she had her baby.

Really, where was the Yankees offense in this game? Or, the last four games (for that matter)?

Just look at the 8th inning of tonight. Yankees down by two, runner on 2nd, one out, and the batter has a 2-0 count. Who's the batter? A-Rod. What does he do? He whiffs. It's almost predictable.

Looking at how Atlanta has played this month, and how bad their starter for this game pitches on the road, the Yankees have to win this game. Throw in 6 good innings from Jaret Wright and it stings even more.

I'm starting to think that the month of May was a fluke (for New York). The Yankees were just about a .500 team in April. And, this month they're just about a .500 team.

Really, if the Yankees played .500 ball for the next two months, I would not be shocked (at this point). They're not playing like a playoff contender. That much is obvious.

If they lose tomorrow, then I expect something to happen on Thursday (in terms of a trade). With the Mets coming into the Stadium, George will want something to shake the Yankees cage. It's an even money bet.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:20 PM | Comments (7)

Carlos Lee

From the Boston Herald via SI -

The Yankees may be on the verge of acquiring slugger Carlos Lee from the Brewers. Former Sox executive Lee Thomas, who is now an assistant to Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin, was seen in Trenton, N.J., on Friday night scouting Yankees pitching prospect Philip Hughes, who allowed one hit and struck out eight for the Double-A Thunder.

Carlos Lee. His nickname is "El Caballo." Great year in 2004. Pretty good season last year and this year, to date. Defensively, he's challenged. He'll be a free agent after this season. If I recall correctly, he's been a good citizen with the Brewers. And, he's durable.

That all said, is he worth Philip Hughes?

Is a 1998 Ford Mustang worth a 2006 Dodge Viper?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 04:55 PM | Comments (12)

He Couldn't Tell Him In 2004?

From the AP -

He points to one moment, one conversation with his pal from Cuba.

Jose Contreras was struggling, and his friend Orlando Hernandez wanted to know what had happened to the pitcher who triggered an auction between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox before ever slipping on a major league uniform.

So El Duque asked: "Why'd you stop throwing sidearm?"

The answer was that a coach in Cuba had told Contreras to stop, saying the herky-jerky motion would scratch valuable years off his career.

Contreras smiles.

"I regret it all the time, because I lost four years," Contreras says through an interpreter.

But the turning point probably was that talk with El Duque.

Contreras started dropping his arm and rediscovered his form, going 11-2 after the All-Star break and winning his final eight regular-season starts. He helped the White Sox hold off Cleveland for the AL Central title and started the first game of each postseason series, going 3-1 in four outings.

These two - Duque and Contreras - were together, in the Bronx, during July 2004. Why couldn't they have talked about this then?

Imagine how things might be different if they did - just starting with the 2004 ALCS.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 02:11 PM | Comments (10)

Marchman: Reyes Better Than Jeter

In the New York Sun, yesterday, Tim Marchman wrote (about the Mets Jose Reyes):

To put it another way, salary considerations aside, I not only wouldn't trade Reyes for Derek Jeter straight-up, I would laugh at the idea. His numbers will go down, but Jose Reyes has arrived.

Reyes might end up as good as Jeter, in time. But, then again, Wil Cordero looked good at age 23 as well (in terms of being a great offensive SS).

I want to see more than three great months from Reyes before I start putting him in the Jeter class.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 12:41 PM | Comments (7)

Two Parties In One Week For Jeter?

You can have dinner with Derek Jeter on Thursday this week. But, it's going to run you at least ten grand to get in the door.

Still, it's for a good cause.

I wonder if any other Yankees players will be there as well? Many were there last year.

Between his birthday party last night, and this on Thursday, it's a busy four days, partying, for Derek. Think Big Stein minds?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)

Mark Hendrickson

From the St. Pete Times:

...interest in starter Mark Hendrickson is building, with the Yankees among the possibilities

Hendrickson is having a decent year this season - which is atypical for him. Basically, he's a "Pitches Well Against The Yankees But Stinks Against Everyone Else" type pitcher.

If the Yankees are smart, they should call Lou Piniella before making a move on Hendrickson. He could tell them whether he's worth it or not.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:57 AM | Comments (5)

It's Not All Right

An interesting stat that I saw on the 'net today:

The Yankees have a .700 winning percentage vs. lefthanded starters, and a .529 mark against righties.

I know that A-Rod is only slugging .410 against RHP. And, Bernie is at .375 vs. RHP. But, the rest of the Yankees do well against RHP.

I wonder why the Yankees don't do better against RH starters?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)

July 2nd Is Francisco Pena Day

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel -

The Marlins met with 16-year-old Dominican catcher Francisco Pena in New York over the weekend.

Pena, the youngest son of Yankees coach Tony Pena, is considered among the top amateurs on the international market. The Yankees, Mets, Nationals and Reds have been the most aggressive. The international signing period opens Sunday. ...

Considering how bad the Yankees system is with respect to catching prospects, and the fact that Tony Pena works for the Yankees now, I would hope that the Yankees can get this deal done quickly.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

June 26, 2006

June 26th vs. The Braves

Seeing the Braves' Bobby Cox come out in the 9th of this game, to beef with home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt, after getting tossed, was sad. He looks very old. Maybe it's just the combo of the huge pot belly and the bad legs? But, he looks more like a 75-year old than a 65-year old. Maybe he should retire?

Hey, a win is a win, right? And, the Yankees won tonight - with Randy Johnson looking great in the process. What's not to like about the results of this game?

Actually, two things tonight concern me.

First, why can't the Yankees batters play a full nine innings lately? It just seems like, at least to me, again, these days, the Yankees score some runs and then take the rest of the game off.

This evening, thanks to Giambi, New York got five on the board in the first two. Then what happened?

3rd inning: They get the first two batters to reach (with no outs!) and score none.

5th inning: They have a runner on 2nd with one out and cannot get him home.

6th inning: Same thing as the 5th inning.

7th inning: They get a runner to 3rd, albeit with two outs, and he's left there.

8th inning: The lead-off batter in the inning reaches with the top of the order coming up. And, they cannot move him over and score any runs.

It just seems like the Yankees line-up is not capable of an A-B-C type attack. And, that's bad. Good teams can do that.

Secondly, and this might just be me, but, I did not see many smiles on Yankees faces during the post-game high-five parade tonight. (In fact, the only player that I noticed cracking a smile was A-Rod.)

What's up with that? Were they just pissed that Mo had to come into the game and that he was off a bit? Or, is this team not having fun - even when they win?

I'm just starting to get the feeling that, maybe, this Yankees team is lacking the proper attitude that seems to go with a winner. Maybe they had it in the Spring and all the injures have sucked the life out of them? Or, maybe they never had it at all?

I don't know the answer. And, this all may be the wrong take (on my part). But, something just seems missing. I hope that I'm mistaken on this read. Because, if I am right, it's going to be a long summer in the Bronx.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:23 PM | Comments (6)

Randy Velarde

When I saw this list, I did a double-take. It's most games played for the Yankees for the period 1981 through 2005:

Rank/Player/Games

1 Bernie Williams 1945
2 Don Mattingly 1785
3 Derek Jeter 1525
4 Paul O'Neill 1254
5 Dave Winfield 1172
6 Jorge Posada 1145
7 Tino Martinez 1054
8 Willie Randolph 997
9 Mike Pagliarulo 703
10 Randy Velarde 673

Yes, prior to this season, in the last quarter-century, only 9 men played more games for the New York Yankees than Randy Velarde.

Wow.

But, then I remembered something that I wrote 14 months ago -

Randy Velarde appeared in twenty more games as a member of the New York Yankees than Reggie Jackson did as a Yankee.

Velarde was in New York for a while, eh? Maybe they should write a song about Randy? How about.....

Velarde, oh, oh!
Cantare, oh, oh, oh, oh!

OK, so, it's been done before. Still, how many Yankees fans think of Randy Velarde in terms of being a Yankees icon?

Before seeing this list today, when I thought of Velarde, I would think of one of five things:

1. He had Rickey-Henderson-like low body fat.
2. His wife (once) referred to him, over the air on a Yankees broadcast (one day) while she was in the booth, as "My sweetie." (If I recall correctly, they showed him on the screen and she said "There's my sweetie" in a Texas accent.)
3. He fielded the grounder that was the last out in Jim Abbott's no-hitter.
4. After leaving the Yankees, he turned an unassisted triple-play against them.
5. He got busted in the BALCO scandal.

I guess now I should think "Modern day Yankees staple" when I think of Velarde. The numbers back it up.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 04:00 PM | Comments (3)

Jesus Is Coming?

Just some Jesus Colome news from OurSports Central -

The Trenton Thunder, the Double-A Affiliate of the New York Yankees, announced that RHP Jesus Colome has been promoted to Columbus (AAA of the International League) and RHP Francisco Butto has been transferred to Trenton.

Colome went 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in three appearances for Trenton. He was signed by the Yankees to a Minor League contract on April 15, 2006.

For those who don't know it, Jesus Colome is Spanish for "Tanyon Sturtze."

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 02:04 PM | Comments (5)

Ducks On The Pond

One of the cool things that they track over at Baseball Musings is RBI Percentage. Here's how the Yankees have done in this stat, so far, for the month of June:

Melky, A-Rod and Cano have not been getting the ducks off the pond this month. That's been a big part of the Yankees poor record during June.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:07 AM | Comments (4)

Tony Solaita

My recent observation on # 51 led to this e-mail from Repoz on the subject:

A little note on Tony Solaita wearing #51...If I'm not mistaken, the Yankees gave him that Sept. number call-up number because he had just come off hitting 51 bombs during his just finished minor league season (49 big flys at High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms in the Carolina League (A) and 2 taters skinned during the Carolina League Playoffs for a total of 51).

Trust me in saying that in Yankeeland...Solaita was the talk of the season...and the wait was on...for one stinkin' Yankee at bat!

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09160DET1968.htm

And his sad obit...

http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Solaita.Tony.Obit.html

OK, so, Solaita was the hot-shot power prospect at the end of the '60s. And, we had Bam Bam Meulens at the end of the '80's. Where's the one for now?

It should be one every twenty years, right?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:37 AM | Comments (1)

June 25, 2006

June 25th vs. The Marlins

The Yankees have now scored 2 runs in their last 21 innings at the plate. How is that possible when you have players like A-Rod, Giambi, Jeter, Damon, and Posada in your line-up?

And, now, with Cano's hammy, it could be more of a struggle to score runs - if Robinson is out as long as it took Bubba Crosby to heal his hamstring.

Thank goodness for Mussina's effort in the first game today.

The Yankees are now 11-11 for the month of June - with 4 games to go this month. That's bad news. This was supposed to be an easy month for New York.

The Yankees schedule in July and August is tough. We may just be looking at a killer June swoon here. The Yankees better play better against the Braves now - with the Mets coming after that.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:00 PM | Comments (12)

Carl Pavano's Ain't Got Nothin' On Me!

This morning, I was lying on the floor playing with our new puppy - who is now 4-months old.

He was making this whiney-type noise, and, I decided, trying to be cute but really being stupid, to mimic him. Well, I guess that whiney-noise is puppy-speak for "OK, sucka, let's rock!"

Because, the second that I started making the noise, he pounced out at me and got his mouth on my right ear. And, his teeth sunk into the top of my ear like fish hooks. I quickly went one way, and he went the other, and, well, let's just say that my ear got ripped open like a bag of potato chips. So, it was quickly off to the local ER.

Long story short, I'm fine. I just needed to get some stitches - so that they could put my ear back together. I should be healed in a week - with a small scar at the worst.

But, as I'm sitting in the ER, waiting to get the stitches, I noticed that there was a radio playing at the nurse's station. And, what song was playing? True story: It's was Stuck in the Middle With You by Stealer's Wheel.

Anyone who has seen Reservoir Dogs can appreciate this connection. I just starting to laugh out-loud when I realized what song was playing. The nurses probably thought "This guy is nuts!"

Funny song-story aside, this whole episode has given me a new level of understanding for when ball players get injured doing stupid things. Trust me, it can happen quickly and easily!

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 03:31 PM | Comments (11)

June 24, 2006

Sunday Night Blackout

I've read that the second game of the double-header tomorrow, between New York and Florida, will not be on TV because "ESPN holds exclusive rights to major league baseball on Sunday night."

Can't the YES Network make a case that it's not a "Sunday Night Telecast" and claim it's a "remake" of the "Saturday Afternoon Telecast" that was rained out today?

I mean, shoot, if a Sunday game was a 4 pm ET start, and it was still being played at 8 pm ET, YES (or any network) would not have to cut the coverage because ESPN has all the rights to baseball from 8 pm on, right?

Can't we just call this delay, on the game from today being played, one long rain delay and have the Yankee game on TV tomorrow?

If not, I hope that the second game tomorrow is the greatest game ever played in baseball history - and baseball shoots itself in the foot by not having it recorded on TV. It would serve them right.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:41 PM | Comments (5)

June 23, 2006

Et Proctor, Torre?

Watching Everyday Scottie Proctor warm up in the pen today, I thought "What kind of pace is he on, in terms of appearing in games, etc., this season?"

So, I checked.

At his current pace, Proctor will pitch in 82 games this season and throw 109 innings.

That seemed like a record to me, of some sort, until I checked.

In 2004, Paul Quantrill appeared in 86 games for the Yankees and threw 95.3 innings. Heck, in 2002, Steve Karsay pitched in 78 games for the Yankees and threw 88.3 innings.

Run 'em out, and run 'em into the ground, eh, Joe?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:02 PM | Comments (4)

June 23rd vs. The Marlins

This game was.......

PS - Happy 63rd Wedding Anniversary to Scooter and Cora. I thought I once heard Phil say, during a broadcast (from Seattle?) that he would never book a round hotel room because then he would never be able to corner Cora.

Hopefully, there's an octagon-shaped room somewhere up at Penny's house. I have no idea how old Cora is now - but, Scooter is eighty-eight. They deserve to have some fun tonight.

Holy Cow!

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:49 PM | Comments (5)

Area 51

I've been thumbing through "Now Batting, Number... The Mystique, Superstition, and Lore of Baseball's Uniform Numbers."

This book includes listings of the complete rosters of all thirty Major League teams with each player’s number and position since 1929.

It has some typos on player names - that I've noticed already. But, it's a fun book. For instance, who were the men to wear # 51 for the Yankees? Here's the list:

George McQuinn 1947
Frank Leja 1954-55
Jim Coates 1956
Gordon Windhorn 1959
Pete Mikkelsen 1964-65
Tony Solaita 1968
Ron Klimkowski 1969
Terry Whitfield 1974
Larry McCall 1977-78
Cecilio Guante 1987-88
Don Schultze 1989
Chuck Cary 1989-91
and, Bernie Williams since 1991.

Pete Mikkelsen was a Staten Island native (like myself). If I remember right, no Staten Islander has pitched in more big league games than him.

But, clearly, when the Yankees retire #51 for Bernie, there will be no debate on "They should have retired it for so-and-so first."

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 03:42 PM | Comments (1)

The Kid Is Alright

The Daily News takes a look at how Johnny Damon has been doing so far:

Damon is on pace to score 125 runs, which would be the second-highest total of his career. Damon's .367 on-base percentage is 14 points higher than his career mark and he's batting .299. He could eclipse his career-high of 20 homers and get close to his personal best of 94 RBI.

"I think Johnny drives in a lot of big runs for a leadoff guy, especially late in games," Jason Giambi said.

While Damon doesn't have a strong arm, he's also played "an exceptional center field," according to Mike Mussina and several other teammates. "He's getting to balls that a lot of people wouldn't get to," Mussina said. "We're covering a lot more ground in the outfield."

Four and a half months ago, I suggested that we should expect the following from Damon this season:

Games: 149
At Bats: 615
Runs: 114
Hits: 177
Batting Avg: .288
On Base Avg: .350
RBI: 72
Doubles: 33
Triples: 7
Homeruns: 14
Steals: 25

So, he's been better than what should be normally expected. Now, factor in that Damon has had health issues this season with his foot, elbow, and hamstring. Impressive.

I would say that Damon's winning over Yankees fans quickly this year - and he's doing it the right way.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2006

Me Likey

They keep all kinds of great stats over at The Hardball Times - including two of my personal favorites, Line Drive Percentage (LD%) for batters and the Number of Pitches that a batters sees per Plate Appearance (P/PA).

I just like it when a batter works a pitcher. And, I like it when a batter hits a line-drive. Of course, I like it when a batter is good at both of these things. So, why not combine the two (with some multiplication) to come up with an overall rate? Such as this, for the Yankees this season, to date:

Pretty interesting to see how this shakes out, huh?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 05:26 PM | Comments (3)

Torre On Pavano Comeback

From the S.I. Advance -

Carl Pavano -- coming back from surgery to remove "four or five" bone chips from his elbow -- yesterday threw 50 times at 45 feet, as he did Monday. Tomorrow he will increase to 75 throws.

"I'm confident he will help us before the year is over," Torre said.

Just for the record, next Tuesday (6/27) will be one-year anniversary since the last time that Pavano put his toe to a major league mound.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 01:12 PM | Comments (11)

Tangotiger On Jeter & A-Rod

Tom Tango goes behind the clutch numbers for the Yankees in his blog today. (Hat tip to BaseballThinkFactory.org.) Here's the meat of what he says:

Fangraphs is keeping track of the change in win expectancy for the season. How is Derek Jeter, the clutchest of all clutch players doing? Don’t look now, but he is leading the Yankees in win probability added, with +3.2 wins!

Their best overall hitter (in terms of OPS) is Giambi, and he’s at +1.7 wins. Their next best hitter is Posada at +2.2 wins. Then it’s Jeter, someone else, and then it’s Damon at +1.1 wins and Bernie at +0.4 wins. In the middle of all that is Jeter, and he should be, if he performed the same regardless of the situation, around the +1.5 win level. He’s at +3.2 wins, giving him +1.7 wins of clutch performance, in only 64 games. That’s a +4.3 wins of clutch performance over a season. That is better than David Ortiz did last year. Ladies and gentlemen, we may be witnessing the greatest clutch season of all players, and this will cement Jeter’s status as the God of all that is Clutch.

And who is that “someone else” that I just mentioned. Why, no other than what New Yorkers consider the antithesis of Jeter: ARod. His stat line is similar in quality to Jeter, and he should be a shade below +1.5 wins. He is instead at zero. Zero! Average. He has performed, with all those home runs, all those runs scored and ribbies, and that .500 slugging percentage, he has performed, if you include the game situation, as if he were an average hitter. He is at 1.5 Choke wins. As great as Jeter’s Clutch performance has been, ARod’s Choke performance has been almost its equal.

Hey, didn't I just say this, albeit in a different fashion, two days ago about A-Rod this season?

It is interesting to see two different roads lead to the same destination.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

June 21, 2006

Rudernyi Melky Cabrera

The Daily News is running a great feature on Melky Cabrera. Here are the highlights:

Melky Cabrera began playing baseball at age 3, with a stick and a rock and a plea to anyone who visited the family's humble roadside home on Carretera Sanchez, in the village of Haina, not far from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

"Pitch it! Pitch it," he would say, holding out a rock.

"He was born with a ball in his blood," says Maria Teresa Aspacio, 47, Cabrera's mother. "He loved to play ball more than anything."

Cabrera wakes up in his New Jersey apartment, an upscale, low-rise building a few miles from the George Washington Bridge, and a million figurative miles from the cramped home he shared with his mother, grandmother, two older sisters and three other relatives growing up. Melky slept in a room with his mother.

The apartment is in the same complex as Robinson Cano's: his fellow Dominican and closest friend on the team.

Through the end of last year and right into spring training, Cabrera put special emphasis on his defense - reading balls off the bat, improving his jumps. His speed is good, but not enough to outrun balls. As recently as a few weeks ago, Joe Torre lifted him for a defensive replacement in the late innings. Now he makes stellar plays almost regularly.

Says Cabrera, "I think that (inside-the-park-home-run) pushed me hard and made me better."

Cabrera's commitment to his loved ones is all over him, literally. He has the names of his mother and grandmother - Teresa and Delores - tattooed on his back, inside a baseball logo. Inside his cap are the words, "God, Teresa, Melky."

Everyone seems to love Melky's name. Whoever heard of a Melky? "I wanted to name him Dario, after his godfather," his mother says. Her daughter, Ladi, came up with Melky on the way home from the hospital.

A natural lefty hitter, Cabrera taught himself to switch-hit as a youngster, after a Dominican scout said to him, "You are not going to be so tall. You will make it to the big leagues faster as a switch-hitter." It's no coincidence that Cabrera's favorite ballplayer as a youngster was a switch-hitter - Chipper Jones.

What a great story. I think "Rudernyi" is Spanish for "Ruettiger." Maybe Kuno Becker can play the lead role in the movie version of "Melky"?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:40 PM | Comments (1)

June 21th @ The Phillies

When I left work today, I asked one of my Yankees fan friends there what the odds were of Jaret "Five & Pine" Wright throwing a good game in the Philly bandbox. He laughed and said "You never know." I answered back with "Sorry, I don't have a lot of confidence in him tonight."

So, it's not an understatement to say I'm surprised - but happy - that Wright posted goose eggs tonight (albeit in his customary five spot). With an off-day tomorrow, it's not so bad that he didn't pitch the 6th today. (And, I buy into what they said on YES - that it may have been all those LHB coming up, in what was then a 1-0 game, that was the driver to go with Villone.)

In closing tonight, I would like to personally "thank" the Washington Nationals for rolling over to the Red Sox (for three straight) like a patient at the proctologist after playing the Yankees like it was the 7th game of the World Series for three days in a row. Everybody wants to beat the Yankees but nobody ever shows up against the Red Sox. Let's just say that I'll be rooting against the Nationals now, when given the chance, whereas before they were never on my radar. They've made my "list" after this past week.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:24 PM | Comments (4)

Jason Johnson

From a Red Sox Press Release:

The Boston Red Sox today acquired righthander Jason Johnson and a cash consideration from the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named or cash. Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein made the announcement.

This is funny. Just this morning, seeing that the Tribe had let him go, I wondered to myself "Could he possibly help the Yankees rotation?"

Looking into it more, the answer was "No!" (That's why I didn't write about it here.)

I think the only thing he provides is a view of just how bad the back end of the rotation is for Boston this year.

If Jason Johnson is better than what you have there - you don't have much at all.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 02:58 PM | Comments (5)

Yanks Acquire Outfielder!

Well, sorta.

From the Chico Enterprise Record -

The rest of the Golden Baseball League won't have to worry about facing Victor Hall of the Reno Silver Sox, because his contract was purchased by the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

Hall, a 25-year-old center fielder, was batting .362 with three home runs, not to mention leading the league with 23 runs scored and 15 stolen bases through the first 16 games.

Victor Hall. He's this year's version of Vince Faison.

What's the line from The Natural?

Another brilliant find from our scouting system. Geniuses.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 01:14 PM | Comments (7)

Yankee Birthday Data

Did you know (?) that:

+ Jim Beattie and George Steinbrenner share the same birthday.

+ There have been 88 men to play for the Yankees who were born in the month of May - the only month in the year to have less than 100 men born (in it) who went on to wear the pinstripes.

+ The only "Leap Year Baby" to ever play for the Yankees was Terrence Long.

+ There's never been someone, yet, born in 1985 to play for the Yankees.

Lee Sinins was very kind to supply me with the birth dates of everyone to play for the Yankees to date. Putting it into a spreadsheet allows for lots of sorting fun.

Did you know that Alan Embree and Mark Wohlers were born on the same exact month/day/year? Bernie Williams and Denny Neagle were born on the same month/day/year as well. Ditto Clay Bellinger and Gary Sheffield.

Did you know that Tony Clark, Ramiro Mendoza and Andy Pettitte were all born on the same exact month/day/year?

Fun stuff. (Thanks Lee!)

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:30 AM | Comments (11)

Jacque Jones

The Daily News is reporting that the Yankees "have had recent internal discussions about the Cubs' Jacque Jones." (Hat tip to Bronx Banter.)

Jones can do a decent job against right-handed pitching. And, anyone who has read Fantasyland can tell you that he's stand-up person in the clubhouse.

Then again, this time last year we also heard about a deal that was coming. This story could be just a 'Tis the season thing.

The strange part about the interest in Jones is that he's under contract through 2008. You know Matsui will be back in the OF next year with Damon. Does the interest in Jones mean that Sheffield is not coming back? Does it mean that Melky does not get a shot at RF in 2007? If this trade does happen, it starts a whole slew of questions towards the future.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:58 AM | Comments (9)

June 20, 2006

June 20th @ The Phillies

I wonder how many Yankees fans, like me, given the events of the three games prior to this contest, expected (at some level) to see Ryan Howard blast another HR to win the game in the bottom of the 9th?

Whew!

Maybe all that fisting that Jeter did with that kid in the stands tonight has brought on some good luck?

Before I forget - is Bernie Williams really batting .294 now? Yes, this is true. But, it's a strange thing - because his OBA, now, is only around .334 (by my rough count). So, he's not really like the Bernie Williams of old - he's more like the Robinson Cano of now. But, given the Yankees' choices for outfielders these days - Kevin Reese anyone? - Bernie's helping the team as best he can (at this stage of his career).

It was sort of scary seeing Mo Rivera swing a bat for the first time since Game 4 of the 2000 World Series. Why was he swinging from the heels? Torre should have ordered him to stand there for three pitches and not risk any injury. Just imagine if Mariano ended up on the D.L. this year because he hurt his shoulder swinging the bat in an inter-league game?

Lastly, yes, A-Rod, Melky, Damon.....fill in the blanks. But, more importantly, Arthur Lee Rhodes Jr., well, thank you for being you. It's nice to know there are still some things that you can count on almost every time.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:17 PM | Comments (11)

Mantle, Warming Up In The Pen

By now, you may have seen the story about Mickey Mantle's reported personal "experiences" at Yankee Stadium.

Part of me questions how such documents have fallen into the hands of those who are reporting this story - and therefore I have to wonder if this is legit or not.

But, part of me thinks that it could be true - based on an encounter that someone (close to me) had with Mantle back in the 1980's.

Mantle was at a function held in the Binghamton Club. The person (close to me) was working at the event - and they thought this was a great chance to get Mick's autograph (for me).

Mantle was more than willing to sign. But, as I was told, "He tried to sign my boob first." It seems Mantle had a few (what the Scooter would call) "lollipops" at the club that day and was feeling free and easy.

When his idea was rejected, Mickey did agree to sign a cocktail napkin (for me). I have it somewhere - I should look for it. (I haven't looked at it in years.)

Anyway, it seems from most reports that Mantle had a very bawdy-side to him. So, the answer that he reportedly provided in the documents does not shock me.

I would just like to know the source of the documents before I waste any serious time considering if they're real or not.

Update, 11:14 pm ET, 6-20-06: The author of the Mantle report was very kind to contact me and share some information - that I will not detail here, out of respect for the author and to ensure that I do not cause problems for their source - that now makes me believe that the Mantle documents in their report are the real deal. I'm not 100% certain on this - as a fact. But, I think the odds are in favor of these documents being what they appear to be in the report.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 04:38 PM | Comments (5)

Bronx Boss Blog

Hearing today that (NBA) Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has his own blog, I began to wonder - How much fun would it be if the Big Stein had a blog?

By this I mean the Stein that we knew from years ago - not the one today who does all his speaking via canned statements from Howard Rubenstein, his personal spokesman.

Oh, what fun reading that would be........

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 03:14 PM | Comments (6)

Leather Game Faces

Defense Efficiency Ratio is the percentage of times a batted ball is turned into an out by the teams’ fielders, not including home runs.

Baseball Prospectus tracks this statistic. Here's the AL leaders as of this morning:

The good news here is that the Yankees are doing a very good job, so far, this season, at turning batted balls into outs. The bad news here is that column above titled "ROE" - that's "Reached On Error" (meaning the number of times a batter reaches base as a direct result of a fielding error).

Only the Angels are worse, so far, this year, in the AL, in terms of allowing guys to reach base via an error.

I guess this should not be a shock. A-Rod has 11 errors this season already. Cano has 7 and Jeter has 6 to his discredit. Giambi has 5 and Phillips has one less than that. When your infield has 33 errors in 68 games, I would imagine that some of those allowed people to reach base safely.

The Yankees are also second-worst in the AL, to date, in terms of allowing unearned runs (UER):

Just imagine how bad things would be for the Yankees, in the field, if more of those batted balls went for hits instead of outs? Better lucky than good, right?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 02:14 PM | Comments (3)

It's A-Rod Season!

I just noticed the following entry over at NoMaas.org -

06.19.2006 We should release Arod

2006 with Runners on Base:
.290 BA / .407 OBP / .556 SLG / .963 OPS

2006 with Runners in Scoring Position:
.299 BA / .444 OBP / .558 SLG / 1.002 OPS

2006 with Runners in Scoring Position, 2 outs:
.343 BA / .511 OBP / .600 SLG / 1.111 OPS

Even Yankee fans can be ignorant.

Related, Peter Abraham has an A-Rod "clutch" stat in his blog today:

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Alex Rodriguez has had four hits this season that have given the Yankees the lead in the seventh inning or later.

In all of baseball, only Minnesota's Justin Morneau and Michael Young of Texas have more with five each.

Not Derek Jeter. Not Big Papi Ortiz. Nobody else.

Around three weeks ago, I looked at A-Rod's numbers this season in a different light.

And, I thought that I would re-look at them today. Here's what I saw:

A-Rod's Batting Results - By Game Score

Bottom line, this season, when the Yankees are tied, ahead, or trailing by three or more runs, Alex Rodriguez has been a monster with the stick - everything that the Yankees (and their fans) could expect from him (and maybe more).

Where A-Rod has been a no-show, this season, is when he comes to the plate and the Yankees are losing by 2 runs or less. These are the spots where one swing of the bat can get the Yankees back into the game, etc. Here, he's batting .087 this season - yes, oh-eighty-seven.

So far, to date, Alex Rodriguez has come to the plate 54 times this season where the Yankees were trailing by 1 or 2 runs (in that game) - and, in those 54 PAs, he has produced 4 hits (all singles) while striking out 13 times.

Yes, he was also walked 7 times out of those 54 PAs, and HBP once, but, given his lack of stick in those spots, his OBA is still near .200 in those 54 PAs.

To me, it's these "down by one or two" moments (or chances) that are what many see as "clutch" opportunities.

Batting with runners on? Or, in scoring position? If a guy gets a hit in those spots and the score is already 15-2 (in favor or against) is he being clutch?

As far as the hits that have given the Yankees the lead, so far, this season, A-Rod has 9 hits (regardless of the inning) all year where the Yankees were trailing by 4 runs or less. They have come in 63 ABs. That's a batting average of .143.

Again, I think this is what the fans see, this season, when it comes to A-Rod. They don't see the 9 times that he's come through in these spots - they see the 54 times that he has failed.

And, I have to wonder, how many times did he fail, in the seventh inning or later, where he could have given the Yankees the lead, as compared to the four times where he came through? I wish Elias Sports Bureau would provide those numbers as well.

For all we know, Justin Morneau could be 5 for 5 in these spots and Alex Rodriguez is 4 for 18? All of a sudden, that four doesn't seem so close to the five anymore.

There's still a lot of season to be played, but, to me, A-Rod has not been "clutch" for the Yankees this year. Hopefully, this will change over the next four months.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:29 AM | Comments (10)

The Melking Point?

Thanks to the Baseball Musings Day by Day Database, we can slice and dice baseball stats to see things behind the overall numbers.

Melky Cabrera, in his first 25 games with the Yankees this season, batted .286 with an On-Base Average of .375. This was over the course of 91 ABs. His Slugging Percentage was low during this time (.352) - but, he was getting on base enough, and making plays on the bases and in the field, to offset the lack of power.

Then on June 6th, Melky made a great play to rob Manny Ramirez of a homerun.

Since that great play, Melky Cabrera's bat has disappeared. In the 11 games since June 6th, Cabrera is batting .150 with an On-Base Average of .292 (in 40 ABs). His Slugging Percentage during this time is just .225.

Either Melky hurt himself making that play on June 6th or the fame that's come with that catch has taken him away from what was helping him do well in his first 25 games this year.

Oh, and, by the way, the Yankees have lost 8 of those 11 games since June 6th.

Sure, it's only 40 ABs where he's been slumping. That's a small sample size. And, hopefully, Cabrera will start playing better soon.

But, if Melky continues down this current road that he's on, well, then the Yankees are going to need to address the situation (in some way). Cabrera probably knows this as well. It will be a good test for the kid.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:16 AM | Comments (4)

June 19, 2006

June 19th @ The Phillies

Something like 20-years ago, the "Magic Eye" thing was really big. I first remembered seeing them in the local mall. Then, they got so popular that the newspaper was carrying them in the comics section.

The way it worked was - you would stare at a point in the picture, and then relax your eyes, and then you would see these "magical" things inside the picture - like rivers of color, or a funky space alien, or something silly like that.

It never worked for me. All my friends would carry on about all the "cool" stuff that they could see - like it was an acid trip. Me? I would stare, and stare, and stare - and I'd get nothing.

Basically, looking at these things was a total waste of my time - and the more I did it, the more annoyed I would become (since I knew there was "something" good in there, according to others, but all I could see was a blur of seemingly nothingness).

For roughly two decades, since the height of the "Magic Eye" craze, I do not recall having this experience - of watching something, staring at it with great intent, thinking it was going to be good, and it essentially becoming a mind numbing waste of time.

But, I swear, watching this game tonight, it all came back to me. The more that I stared at this game, the more I saw nothing. The whole thing is just one big blur. And, it's not pretty - at least not to me.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:01 PM | Comments (10)

Cano, Wang & The Debate

Lately, when I look at Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang, all I can think about is the Scouts versus Sabermetrics Debate.

The scouts say that Chien-Ming Wang has nasty stuff and nerves of steel - and should be a very good pitcher for the Yankees. The stats say that Chien-Ming Wang's low strikeout rates should be a red flag - and that he'll always be at the mercy of luck to determine if he'll have a good outing or not.

The scouts say that Robinson Cano has fast hands and a sweet swing and should be the next Rod Carew. The stats say that Robinson Cano's low walk rate means that he'll have to hit .330 just to be an average offensive player.

So, if you're the Yankees, which road do you follow? Do you go by the advanced numbers and trade these players while they still have value? Or, do you listen to the scouts and keep your home-grown talent?

I think we all know that it's the latter. Cashman has said that Cano and Wang are not available.

That's fine. There comes a time to make a call and the Yankees have made their decision. I can roll with that.

Still, part of me wonders - "If the Twins offered Johan Santana in exchange for Cano and Wang, should the Yankees make that deal?"

It's a fun question, no?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 05:08 PM | Comments (12)

ROTFLMAO

From the Florida Marlins site:

As for all the speculation, once again, [Dontrelle] Willis isn't a free agent until after the 2009 season. There is no urgency to trade him from within the organization. Yes, the Marlins will listen to offers because they feel obligated to see what might be out there. To give you an example of what it might take to get Willis, consider this possible offer that was mentioned by league sources recently. One source said the Yankees were told it would take Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and Chien-Ming Wang to land Willis. The Yankees, according to a source, said no thanks.

Cano, Cabrera, and Wang.

Thanks Marlins, it's Monday and I needed a laugh today.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 02:34 PM | Comments (6)

Karsay Kurse?

The Yankees signed Steve Karsay on Pearl Harbor Day 2001 - partly in response to the Yankees losing Game 7 of the 2001 World Series - as a result of not having an "ace" to pitch the 8th inning (other than Mo Rivera). At least, this was the reason for the loss in the eyes of some of the Yankees brass, I would bet.

The Yankees threw "closer" money at Karsay to get him signed. He was pretty good in his first season with New York - but that was it. In retrospect, this deal was a terrible signing by the Yankees. In the end, it was a waste of over $17 million and cost the Yankees a draft pick that could have been someone like Jonathan Lester, Jeremy Reed or Jesse Crain.

Since the Yankees signed Karsay, they've never come within 2 games of winning a World Series - despite making the post-season every year. Could there have been some sort of Karsay Curse in effect here?

Maybe it's broken now that Steve Karsay has retired from baseball?

OK, I'm just kidding with all this - unless the Yankees go on to win 4 of the next 5 World Series starting this year.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 01:21 PM | Comments (0)

Huh?

Sam Donnellon is the Philly News has written the following:

Here they come: Cabrera, Cano, Cairo, Posada, Rivera, and their newest addition, Veras.

The 2006 New York Yankees. Latin chapter.

When people predicted a few years ago that the Yankees were headed south, this was not what they had in mind. They saw an aging ballclub built heavily through free-agent signings and contract-incurring trades, a club that had sacrificed draft choices and young talent for quick fixes too numerous to list.

Amid their insatiable and annual quest for a championship, the Yankees also had not drafted particularly well. Which left owner George Steinbrenner and his high-stakes players with one last resort:

Hit the resorts.

Sign players from such places as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, who were exempt from the free-agent draft.

When I look at the Yankees current 25-man roster, I see 32% of it is players with a Latin-background. Is that more than most teams? I think Donnellon is confusing the Yankees with the Mets.

Hey, not that there's anything wrong with having a mostly Latin team - it's just that I think Donnellon is looking for a story where there isn't one here.

Or, at the least, it's the same story that most teams could tell.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:52 AM | Comments (5)

Numbers: Yanks Need Another SP

Some current 2006 Yankees stats, via the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia:

According to these stats, the Yankees basically have 5 hitters and 5 pitchers that are doing well, so far, this season. (I can't count Myers because of his low IP total). And, for the pitchers, the breakdown is 2 starters and 3 men from the pen.

There's really no question that the Yankees need to improve their starting pitching in order to win it all this year. But, then again, that was the case last year - and the year before that - as well.

Mussina, Wells, Clemens, and Pettitte was the last solid Yankees rotation - back in 2003. New York has never been able to replace Wells, Clemens and Pettitte - as a group.

On the whole, Randy Johnson, Javier Vazquez, Jon Lieber, Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown, Jaret Wright, Aaron Small, and Shawn Chacon have not been the answer.

Chien-Ming Wang has been Wang-der-full. But, he can't fill three slots in a rotation. Hopefully, Randy Johnson, the rest of this season, can match his 2005 production levels. That will help. But, it still leaves the Yankees one pitcher short of having a decent rotation. This is the answer. How about the question?

Is the question "Who?"

Even a guy like David Bush, Doug Davis, Scott Elarton, Tony Armas Jr., Livan Hernandez, Aaron Cook, Chris Young, or Paul Byrd would be a decent addition (at the right price) at this stage.

So, the question is probably "When?"

And, the further answer there is "Soon - before it's too late!"

I'll leave the "How?" up to Brian Cashman. That's why he gets the big bucks.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:24 AM | Comments (3)

June 18, 2006

It Makes Sense

From Yankees.com -

With the Yankees' bullpen in a state of disarray, manager Joe Torre and pitching coach Ron Guidry have decided to rearrange the team's starting rotation.

With an off-day on Thursday, New York will insert Chien-Ming Wang in between Jaret Wright and Shawn Chacon. Wright and Chacon have had trouble getting deep into games in recent weeks, leaving the bullpen overworked on back-to-back days.

Perhaps in the spirit of "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" the Yankees should just go with "Wang and Mussina and a precipitation novena"?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:41 PM | Comments (0)

No Bull

It's June 18th, and the Yankees bullpen is presently manned as follows:

Mariano Rivera
Kyle Farnsworth
Mike Myers
Ron Villone
Scott Proctor
T.J. Beam
Matt Smith
Jose Veras

OK, show of hands, back in March, how many people figured Proctor, Beam, Smith and Veras all to be in the Yankees bullpen at the same time before the end of June?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)

June 18th @ The Nationals

I was spared today. I missed this game. We took the kids to go see the Sussex Skyhawks play at Skylands Park in Augusta (NJ). It was 75 miles (each way) to get there - but, it was worth it.

It's a cozy park, with quiet fans - at least they were today, and the staff is very polite. We had a fun time at the ballpark today - unlike the Yankees.

When the Yankees play the Washington Nationals, they're supposed to win either two or three out of three games. They're not supposed to win one game and then blow the other two for losses.

When we got to the car today, and I heard the score of the Yankees final, and then how it happened, all I could think about was what Joe Torre said after yesterday's game:

[It's] "As bad as you can get..."

Guess what Joe - it just got worse. This is a devastating loss.

The Yankees have now lost 7 of their last 10 games. And, one of those wins was by the score of 1-0. So, we could be looking at 8 of 10 right now. New York is lucky that Boston and/or Toronto has not taken advantage of this slump.

The way the Yankees are playing right now, it seems like this team needs a shot of adrenaline, or something. How that happens, I don't know? In the absence of adrenaline, maybe a slap in the face will do?

It just seems like, if they do nothing, then nothing will happen.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 07:51 PM | Comments (12)

Andy Phillips Burden

I noticed a story in Newsday about Andy Phillips' wife linked over at NoMaas.org today. Here's the meat of it:

Andy Phillips couldn't stop tearing up no matter how hard he tried. His eyes stayed wet throughout a game in April as he questioned his priorities.

Phillips had to be home with his sick wife, he kept thinking.

He had to hold Bethany's hand as she fought cancer.

Phillips has traveled home on every day off since to be with his wife as she deals with the debilitating side effects of chemo, the fourth separate form of treatment she's had and one the doctors explained was the last resort before surgery that would cost Bethany her fertility.

It was an emotional roller coaster, beginning with their first sonogram. After learning of the pregnancy the day after Christmas, Phillips was sitting in a doctor's office the next week.

"When they saw the sonogram, they didn't see the baby," he said. "They saw a snowy picture, a snowy TV screen."

That's when the doctors knew what was wrong. It's called gestational trophoblastic disease, which occurs when a tumor is formed in the uterus. It is typically cured with immediate surgery -- four out of five surgeries are successful, Phillips was told -- but Bethany's surgery did not work. When she went to have her blood checked a week later, her hormone levels still were rising. Something wasn't right.

The next step was shots of methotrexate for four weeks, which led up to spring training.

The good news now is that, according to the story, "she's [now] cancer-free, healthy and still able to have children."

I'm so sorry to hear about anyone going through something like this - and am glad to hear now that everything for the Phillips family is OK.

I'm sharing this story here with a request. It's Father's Day. Take something from what Phillips and his wife have gone through. If you're a dad, go hug the mother of your children and tell her that you love her. And, then go do the same with your kids. Consider it, as Yogi would say, "Thanks for making this day necessary."

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:42 AM | Comments (6)

June 17, 2006

June 17th @ The Nationals

I know that Mo Rivera got the loss in this ugly game, but, if it were up to me, I would give it to Chacon.

Your team just scored 7 runs in one inning, to give you a lead of 9-2, and then you come back in the bottom of the inning and allow the other team to get back into the game (by eventually scoring 4 runs in their frame).

Did you know that, this season, Chacon has only logged more than 6 1/3 IP in a game once? He's just another Yankees starter who is lucky to make it past the 6th inning. How many games this season has the Yankees starting pitcher failed to make it past the 6th inning? Let's check:

Mussina - 6 times
Johnson - 9 times
Wang - 7 times
Wright - 10 times
Chacon - 6 times
Small - 3 times

So, that's 41 times in 66 games where the Yankees starting pitcher failed to log more than 6 IP in his game. That's 62%.

Well, at least it looks like Mattingly has fixed A-Rod, right? You have to try and look for something positive in a terrible loss like today, no?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 06:05 PM | Comments (10)

T.J. Beam

I've heard whispers that the Yankees are going to call up Beam now that The Farns has a bad back. Here's what I know about Beam:

+ He's tall, six-foot-seven, and right-handed.
+ He does not throw very hard - more like 90 MPH than 95 MPH.
+ He's got great control of his pitches.
+ His fastball has some sink to it - and he also throws a slider.

He could be the next Jeff Nelson. Or, he could be the next Colter Bean.

Which way he goes will be up to Joe Torre (first) and Beam himself (second).

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:32 AM | Comments (7)

A-Rod: Donnie Can Fix Me

From the AP:

All was not lost for Alex Rodriguez during his 1-for-5 game with three strikeouts Friday night. He says he and Yankees hitting coach Don Mattingly discovered a mechanical flaw causing Rodriguez's recent slump.

"We figured it out, and I am going to be working with Donnie a little bit. It's a relief to know what it is," the All-Star third baseman said after New York's 7-5 victory at the Washington Nationals.

Rodriguez said the problem was "too technical" to explain, adding: "At least we have our finger on it."

"It's not mental. I was so excited for those two at-bats, probably a little to excited," Rodriguez said, referring to the final two strikeouts. "I really enjoyed the at-bats, just didn't enjoy the results."

"The relief is knowing that there is an issue and we are going to address it, versus just struggling and feeling like you are lost. That is not good," he said.

"When you have a mechanical thing, you have to address it."

So, now, if the slump continues, does that mean that it's Mattingly's fault?

OK, seriously, I would love to know what "mechanical flaw" can cause the greatest player in the game to hit like the second coming of Ross Moschitto. Maybe we could bottle it - and send it to Manny Ramirez with a note that says "Drink me"?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:09 AM | Comments (2)

Johnny Be Good

From Newsday:

[Johnny] Damon, Andy Phillips, Scott Proctor, Ron Villone and pitching coach Ron Guidry visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center to cheer up troops who were wounded overseas. The trip was set up by Damon, whose father, Jimmy, gave 20 years to the Army.

Just another reason why to root for all these guys.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

Perfect Ten

Ken Rosenthal (at FOXSports.com) has made a list of Derek Jeter's top 10 signature moments.

If I was 12-years-old, I would probably print out the list and tack it to my bedroom wall. But, since I'm 43, I'll just link to it in my blog instead.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:51 AM | Comments (1)

June 16, 2006

June 16th @ The Nationals

This was a great game to win because it would have been a painful game to lose. What I hope does not get lost this evening in the win are three items of note (that need to be addressed):

1. While Bernie Williams was the hitting star in this contest, his lack of arm in RF nearly cost the Yankees this game. Nick Johnson, not a speedster of any quality, twice (running the bases) made the point of how Williams throws weakly. Now, in Yankee Stadium, with the very short RF, having Bernie play RF is not that big of an issue. (And, it makes sense to play Melky Cabrera in LF in the Bronx - since it's such a big field and he has the legs and arm to cover it.)

Back in the day, when Babe Ruth played for the Yankees, for most of his time with the team, the Yankees would play Ruth in RF in the Bronx and then play him in LF on the road. Basically, this was done to keep him in the easier field to play. Why can't the Yankees do this now with Bernie Williams? Having Cabrera play RF on the road, where he can prevent runners from going first-to-third and second-to-home, makes more sense (than having Bernie out there).

2. As much as Jaret Wright does his best and guts it out each turn, he's hurting the team by not being able to get through the 6th inning every time. Being a 5-inning pitcher, in the 5th slot of the rotation, is fine if you have four horses in front of you. But, just about everyone on the Yankees staff is a 100-pitch pitcher these days. The Yankees need to get someone in the rotation, to replace Wright, who can give them some innings each time out. He doesn't need to be a star. Even if his ERA is 4.80, he would be worth it - if he can average 6.3 IP per start. At this point, even someone like Doug Davis would be an upgrade on Wright - and welcome.

3. A-Rod. I mean, really, if you saw this in a movie it would be unbelievable. There's no way that someone that good could be this bad. It's the 7th inning, Yanks down by two, with one out and runners on 2nd and 3rd - and he gets caught looking. Then, in the next inning (the 8th) it happens again - game tied, bases loaded, two out and he whiffs.

For the month of June, he's now batting .156 in 45 ABs - with 18 Ks in those 45 ABs. That's 4 Ks for every 10 ABs.

Remember Phil Niekro? Remember his brother, Joe Niekro (also a pitcher)? They both pitched for the Yankees at one point. In his career, Joe Niekro (as a batter) had a lifetime average of .156 and he whiffed 2.5 times for every 10 ABs.

This is how bad A-Rod has been so far this month - he's hitting like Joe Niekro. Over their Yankees career, Enrique Wilson, Omar Moreno, and Alvaro Espinoza hit better (in terms of a success rate) than Alex Rodriguez has batted so far this June.

Yes, it's only been a half-month. But, what if this is still going on (at this terrible rate) when the calendar hits July 1st? If things seem bad now, it's going to be a hundred times worse then. It will be a circus. This is why this situation needs to turnaround - and very soon. But, will it?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:02 PM | Comments (7)

Bad Day Dreams

I was just reading Jayson Stark's potential players to be traded feature when I saw this:

Carl Crawford

The Angels, Tigers, Dodgers, White Sox and Cardinals salivate at the thought of reeling in this guy. And why not? He's 24. He gets better every year. He can play left field or center. And he has a club-friendly contract that could keep him under control through 2010.

.......

An executive of one team says the Devil Rays are more interested in getting three, or even four, players back for Crawford -- two high-ceiling prospects and two young big leaguers. And most, if not all, of that package would need to be pitching. If that's the price, it's a price you rarely see paid in July. If anyone could command it, though, Carl Crawford might be the man.

For a split second, I saw Melky Cabrera, Philip Hughes, J. Brent Cox, and Tyler Clippard being sent to Tampa Bay for Crawford. Talk about a chill down your spine.

That would never happen these days, right?

I think I better go lay down for a few minutes.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 03:59 PM | Comments (4)

Clean-Up Duty Not For A-Rod?

From Bob Klapisch today:

Think A-Rod hits empty home runs? Sure enough, he blasted a 457-foot monster in the seventh inning -- when the Yankees were down by five runs.

Convinced he can't hit when it counts? A-Rod is batting .227 against the Mets and Red Sox this year, is 2-for-16 with runners on base in June, and even worse (1-for-8) with runners in scoring position.

Overall this month, he's batting .200 (6-for-30) with exactly one extra base hit -- the one that went soaring into the clouds in the seventh inning, but counted for nothing when Rodriguez stepped to the plate in his very next at-bat.

Perhaps you're thinking A-Rod no longer deserves to be in the middle of the batting order? Joe Torre may finally agree, hinting A-Rod will be moved to the No. 2 spot when the Yankees mercifully hit the road for a three-game series with the Nationals beginning tonight.

When I first saw this, my reaction was "Hmmm, Ortiz and Manny have never had the need to be moved to second in the line-up to get going....." But, then, I decided to see how A-Rod does batting second (as compared to other line-up slots). I looked at 2004, 2005, and 2006 to date:

The numbers do suggest that A-Rod is at his best when not batting fourth.

Based on this data, it seems (to me) the best way to place A-Rod would be as follows:

1. Damon
2. Cabrera
3. Jeter
4. Giambi
5. A-Rod
6. Posada
7. Cano
8. Phillips
9. Williams

If Torre insists on batting A-Rod second, I would hope that he would go this way:

1. Damon
2. A-Rod
3. Jeter
4. Giambi
5. Posada
6. Cano
7. Phillips
8. Williams
9. Cabrera

This is entirely subjective, but, part of the problem that I have with A-Rod batting second and Jeter batting third is a visual one.

It just seems odd to have mountain-of-a-man Alex Rodriguez being protected in the line-up by skinny-inside-out-swing Derek Jeter.

Then again, in "The Book" by Tom Tango, Mitchel Lichtman, and Andrew Dolphin, there's a study that says your three best hitters should bat somewhere in the #1, #2, and #4 slots. And your 4th and 5th best hitters should bat in the #3 and #5 slots.

Since we know that Damon is going to lead-off and that A-Rod seems to have issues batting fourth, then the stats say that Rodriguez should bat second - and my visual hang-ups be damned.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:30 AM | Comments (7)

Jim Callis Interview

On June 8th, Jim Callis, the executive editor of Baseball America, was interviewed in the Daily News, talking about Yankee prospects. Here's what he said about Melky Cabrera:

On Cabrera: "He's filled in nicely for them, but on a good team he's more of a fourth outfielder. I don't think he's a good center fielder, and I don't think he'll hit with enough power as a corner outfielder. If he's an everyday player for the Yankees in three or four years, I'll be stunned."

When I saw the interview, I shared here that I was going to contact Jim Callis to share a different opinion on Cabrera (mine) - with the hope that maybe it would allow him to consider some things that he may have been over-looking.

Jim not only replied to my note, but, he was also willing to address some other follow up questions that I had on Melky Cabrera and other Yankees outfield prospects. Further, he kindly agreed to allow me to share our exchange here. It went as follows:

WW: You've recently been quoted in the New York Daily News saying that Melky Cabrera is more of a fourth outfielder on a good team. If you had to project his long term worth in terms of a big league player that we "know" now, who would you pick? Stan Javier? Bobby Kielty? Someone else?

Jim Callis: Realize, and I think you do, I'm not saying Melky Cabrera can't play. There are a lot of outfielders starting on teams who would be reserves on good teams. I just see him as a tweener, as a player who doesn't have true corner power and can't play center field on a regular basis.

I see Cabrera, if he plays everyday, as a .280-.290 hitter with maybe 25-30 doubles, 15-20 homers and about 40 or so walks. That makes him, what, a .285/.325/.450 hitter? That makes me think of Juan Encarnacion with a better batting average, though Encarnacion ran better in his prime.

WW: It's interesting, if you look at the Yankees recent outfield "prospects," there's a string of 4th-outfielder (or "tweener") types. Gerald Williams, Ricky Ledee, Juan Rivera, and Marcus Thames come to mind. Is it possible that maybe Cabrera is being subconsciously grouped in with these others? In any event, does not the fact that he (Melky) is playing in the majors, and holding his own, at an age with most players are just in Double-A, mean that he's showing more potential than just a "Juan Encarnacion" type?

Jim Callis: I'm not subconsciously grouping Melky with those guys, and to be honest, most of them projected as regulars coming up through the minors. Age does play a part in evaluating a prospect, so Melky does get some credit for that. But he also has a .709 OPS (through June 14), so he's not close to excelling at the majors at age 21. Would he be up and playing regularly if not for injuries? No, he would not. Can he be better than Juan Encarnacion? Sure, there's plenty of time for him to continue to develop. But based on conversations I've had with scouts and his minor league track record, I don't see it. Cabrera played very well in Triple-A this year . . . but it was just 31 games. That's not enough to change my impression or to make me think the scouts I've talked to have underestimated him. I just don't see him having the home run power to be a formidable player on an outfield corner, and not one who would start for the Yankees for the long term.

WW: It's been interesting for me to watch Melky so far. On one hand, I can see from the data at BIS that his line-drive percentage hints that he's overmatched now, somewhat, at the big league level. But, on the other hand, I've seen him take PAs against pitchers like Curt Schilling, Jonathan Papelbon and Billy Wagner where he was able to control the K-zone to the point where he was able to work a walk in spots where there was no way that any of those pitchers wanted to give him a free pass. It's a fun debate. Could Cabrera at least be a decent placeholder for someone like Jose Tabata, Austin Jackson or Brett Gardner? Of those three, do you think any will be fast-comers?

Jim Callis: Cabrera has shown a lot of promise with his plate discipline in his brief time in the majors so far--it has been better than it was in the minors. And "placeholder" is probably the best way to describe him. Cabrera is the type of guy who can be a short-term regular before becoming a good reserve. I'm not sure he'll hold the job long enough for one of those guys to get there, though. I like Tabata the best of that group, with Jackson close behind. They're all interesting lower-level outfield prospects for the Yankees, but may not make a big league impact before late 2008 at the earliest.

WW: How about some of the outfielders that the Yankees drafted this year? Could Colin Curtis, Seth Fortenberry or Donald Hollingsworth be someone who could make it to the majors in the next couple of years?

Jim Callis: None of those guys project as regulars at this point. Curtis doesn't really have a plus tool and has regressed a little. Fortenberry has some bat speed and foot speed, but swings and misses too much. I really don't know much about Hollingsworth. The Yankees' best bet for an outfield regular out of this draft may be sixth-rounder Mitch Hilligoss, who can really hit but will have to move off of shortstop.

Some Yankees fans may not be happy to hear some of these opinions, but, you have to respect Jim for his willingness to share them. It is very much appreciated here. Callis is a stand-up guy in my book. How many people in his position would be willing to take the time to answer a question and then continue the exchange? I can tell you, from my experience, that the answer is "not many."

I still hope that he's wrong about Melky though. Maybe it's because, after seeing some many guys like Brian Dayett, Vic Mata, Dan Pasqua, Shane Spencer, Joe Lefebvre, Oscar Azocar, and Juan Bernhardt pass though the Yankees outfield (with the label of promise), that I just want one OF-hope (besides Bernie Williams) to stick? Or, maybe it's just because it's fun to say "Melky Cabrera"?

Regardless of the root cause, I will remain a fan of the promise that Melky provides - until I see a reason to move on. And, so far, I have yet to see that reason.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:17 AM | Comments (5)

June 15, 2006

Unit Suspended

From the AP -

Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson was suspended five games by the commissioner's office today for intentionally throwing at Cleveland's Eduardo Perez the night before.

New York manager Joe Torre was suspended for one game. Unless Johnson appeals, both penalties are scheduled to begin Friday night, when the Yankees open an interleague series in Washington.

Also, Johnson and Torre were each fined an undisclosed amount by Bob Watson, vice president of on-field operations for Major League Baseball.

Wow. And that's for missing the guy. I wonder how many games Ozzie Guillen is going to get?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 05:19 PM | Comments (6)

June 15th vs. The Indians

I'm going to try some live-blogging on this one today. Stay tuned for updates.

Update 1:14 pm ET: Just an in-game note - Alex Rodriguez, SLG% at Yankee Stadium to date: .295 vs. RHP and .806 vs. LHP. The Tribe has a LHP starting. Good.

Update 1:33 pm ET: That was quick. BTBTB doubles by the Indians' 6-7-8 hitters. Tribe has a 2-run lead and needs 24 outs to win.

Update 2:00 pm ET: Bernie left stranded on 2nd after a one-out double. Oh, well, at least they won't be no-hit today.

Update 2:15 pm ET: Bottom of the order strikes again for Cleveland. Tribe has a 3-run lead and needs 18 outs to win.

Update 2:19 pm ET: Stupid day game! I really wanted to see Melky's first HR live in real time. Damn.

Update 2:45 pm ET: It's now a 4-inning game - with the Yankees down by two. The next two innings could be key.

Update 3:01 pm ET: Once again, the bottom of the order kills Mussina in this game. It's the same three guys as the 2nd inning and now New York trails 6-1.

Update 3:28 pm ET: A-Rod homers, solo, when the Yankees are down 6-1 in the 7th. Talk about a straight-line.

Update 3:33 pm ET: I guess Bernie missed the memo where I said he was going to be a dud this season. His HR now makes it a 3-run game.

Update 3:51 pm ET: Bubba in for Damon?

Update 3:55 pm ET: Bases, pardon the pun, juiced for Giambi. Sweet. Com'on Jason!

Update 3:58 pm ET: FC is better than a DP! OK, now it's 6-4 Tribe, two on, and A-Rod up. Any predictions?

Update 4:01 pm ET: Alex whiffs. Boooooooooooo!

Update 4:16 pm ET:
Memo to Torre: Only let Small pitch when the game is out of hand. It's now a three-run hole again.

Update 4:34 pm ET: OK, now, for the Yankees, four runs are needed (to tie) and there's one inning to get it done. What are the odds?

Update 5:14 pm ET: It's too bad that the Yankees 4-5-6 hitters today could not keep up with the Indians 6-7-8 hitters. For the record, last night, I wrote:

In any event, Mussina needs to pitch well for the Yankees to win, on Thursday, in my opinion. I just have a feeling that the Yankees are only going to score something like four runs tomorrow. Just a hunch.

And, what happened? The Yankees only scored four runs today, Mussina was bad, and the Yankees lost. That was some hunch.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 01:09 PM | Comments (12)

The Mets

As of this morning, the New York Mets are in first place - with a lead of 8 1/2 games. Seeing this, I briefly wondered: What if the Mets make it to the World Series this year - and the Yankees do as well - and then the Mets win in all? How much will that hurt?

To be honest, it would suck - speaking as a Yankees fan. But, would it hurt more than the 2004 ALCS? More than Game 7 of the 2001 World Series? Somehow, I lived to tell after those - so, I would imagine that I could survive losing the World Series to the Mets as well (over time).

Looking at things deeper, while the Mets have bought themselves a winning team, I'm not overly impressed with their current position in the standings.

Look at the rest of the teams in their division. Washington and Florida are very bad teams. And, the Phillies and Braves are pretenders rather than contenders this season. Given the fact that the Mets get to play these four teams 76 times during the year, their team should win 90 games this season - just by showing up for the games.

Right now, the Mets have 98 games left to their season. And, the current combined winning percentage of the teams they get to play in those games is .480. To be candid, if the Mets win less than 95 games this season then they have under-performed given the state of who they get to play and how often.

There's little question now that the Mets will win the N.L. East this season - all things considered. But, that does not mean they're now the 1976 Cincinnati Reds either.

So, I should only probably worry about the Mets when they actually make it to the World Series. Until then, it's probably best - as a Yankees fan - to filter out the Mets-noise around town these days.

The Mets are just a very good team in an extremely weak division of a league with several poor teams. Think "2002 Minnesota Twins." That's what I'm going to do from now on when someone wants to tell me how great the Mets are, etc.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:45 AM | Comments (2)

June 14, 2006

June 14th vs. The Indians

At the close of business today, the Yankees magic number is now 99. But, who's counting?

I've been Unit-Teased a few times now this season. So, I'll take tonight as a win and will hold, still, on the "Randy's Back" parade. Still, it was good to see him be pissy on the mound and be able to back it up.

As far as Posada's reaction to his HBP, I can live with that as well - even though the guys in the YES booth said that he over-reacted. To me, when Jason Johnson turned his back to Jorge, that was a mistake. It was a body-language-diss that only made things worse.

I have a bad feeling about Cliff Lee tomorrow. After six bad starts, he's been pretty good in his last two. But, he's a lefty too - so, maybe tomorrow will be a big day for A-Rod? In any event, Mussina needs to pitch well for the Yankees to win, on Thursday, in my opinion. I just have a feeling that the Yankees are only going to score something like four runs tomorrow. Just a hunch.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:51 PM | Comments (9)

To Boo Taboo

A-Rod: To boo or not to boo? That seems to the question in Yankeeland these days. So, I thought it was time to weigh in with an opinion.

First off, I believe there are two camps of A-Rod boo-ers at the moment.

In the first camp are those who were always looking for a reason to boo him all along - and Alex's recent (and terrible) slump is just a great opportunity for them to let loose on him.

Why do they hate him? It could be the insane money he makes? It could be the bad remarks that he made about Derek Jeter (to Esquire Magazine) in 2001? It could be because his middle name is Emmanuel and they once had a bad experience watching one of those "Emanuel" movies?

Are these valid reasons to dislike someone? Nope. But, since when does someone need a valid reason to have disdain for someone else? People have been doing that as long as there have been people.

In the second camp there are those who see something specific to this season. They're most likely to have never booed A-Rod in the past. In fact, they probably championed him during his Yankees MVP season. But, there are things happening this year that they see which are upsetting enough to make them want to boo.

They see the guy who is now bolting from the Yankees Clubhouse as soon as the game is over. They see a guy who used to have red-light fever when the going was good - but who now seems unwilling to answer the nasty questions. They see a player with good overall stats - but with terrible stats under the overall numbers when it comes to hitting in the clutch or delivering in front of the home fans. They see a player who has butchered more plays in the field (this year) in less than three months than he did in entire past seasons.

Basically, they see someone who is under-performing in key moments. And, they want him to know what they feel - that, despite what appears on the surface, all is not right.

Otherwise, in their minds, the player will probably continue to work under the mindset of "As long as my overall numbers are good, that's all that matters."

Yes, in case you haven't caught on, I'm in the second camp.

To be honest, I have yet to physically boo A-Rod. But, I have booed him in my heart (lately).

In my mind, playing well for the New York Yankees is not about your overall stat line. It's about coming through when the fans expect you to come through. Actually, the best way to describe what I mean to convey here goes back to the way that I watched games as a kid.

When I was a youngster, whenever my favorite Yankee could come to the plate in a big spot, my heart would race. There were times where it felt like it (my heart) was about to jump out of my chest (because it was beating so hard and fast). Why? Because I wanted that player to come through. He was my guy. And, when the player would come through in that spot, the discharge of accumulated tension was, well, you probably get the point.

This is what it's all about with A-Rod this season. He needs to start "coming through" in spots where the fans expect him to come through. They want to see him get big hits at home. They want to see him get big hits against tough pitchers. They want to see him get big hits that bring the Yankees back into games where they trail by just a few runs.

They want to release that aforementioned tension. And, if they can't do it in celebration, it's going to come out in the form of a boo.

Now, if someone does boo A-Rod, does that make them not a "true fan" (quotes added for sarcasm) of the Yankees? The answer here is "yes" - if you like to wear Yankees Blinders. However, the answer is no - if you believe that fans of a team have a right to display their feelings (good and bad) regarding their team's results or the performance of a player on that team.

OK, suppose this was not A-Rod in 2006. Let's say it was Kenny Rogers in 1997. If a Yankees fan booed Rogers in 1997, would they not be a true Yankees fan? OK, Rogers did not win an MVP in 1996. So, maybe that's not the same thing.

How about using Danny Tartabull? From 1992 through 1994, he was a very "productive" batter for the Yankees - according to the stats. He had a good on-base average and a fairly high slugging percentage - much like Alex Rodriguez in past seasons. But, in 1995, Tartabull was terrible for the Yankees at the plate. If a Yankees fan, in 1995, booed Tartabull when he was slumping, would they (the fan) not be a "true fan"?

How is the current A-Rod situation any different? You have an All-Star player, who has done well for the Yankees, albeit briefly, in the past who is slumping terribly at the present moment. Is it only OK to boo if his name is Danny Tartabull and not OK to boo if his name is Alex Rodriguez? Is that fair?

Also, Mickey Mantle was booed by Yankees fans - until Roger Maris came along. And, Reggie Jackson was booed by some Yankees fans - until Dave Winfield came along. And, I seem to recall Jason Giambi getting booed - until A-Rod came along. Were those who booed Mantle, Reggie and Giambi not true Yankees fans?

OK, that's everything that I have on this topic at the moment. It is sad that this is the biggest issue in Yankeeland today - when the team is in first place with 100 games to go. But, then again, maybe that's why the fans boo Alex - for bringing cause for this whole debate at what should be a happy time?

That's almost too chicken-and-the-egg, right? They boo because he made some others boo him? Whoa, I'm getting dizzy even thinking about it.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 03:57 PM | Comments (2)

Meanwhile, In Minnesota........

From the Boston Globe:

Kevin Millar, who was in the Twin Cities with Baltimore over the weekend, left a gift for Francona in the visiting manager's office. The gift: a bag of dog poop. ``It said, `Here's to Francona,' " the skipper recounted. ``I opened it, reached in, I didn't realize what it was. I just called him back and said, `Any chance you had of ever coming back here just went right down the toilet with that bag.' " .

The Yankees are soon to visit ol' friends Alfonso Soriano, Tom Gordon, and Joe Girardi. Think anyone has a bag of poop waiting for Torre?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 03:37 PM | Comments (3)

Who Is The Yankees MVP So Far?

One of the stats that they track at The Hardball Times is Win Shares Percent. Here's the data for the Yankees (through last week):

Looking at this list made me wonder - who has been the Yankees "MVP" so far this season? Is it Giambi? Mussina? Posada? Jeter?

Well, Mussina has only impacted 14 games. So, I'll stick with the hitters. And, I'll toss out Giambi because of his weak month of May.

If you use Win Probability results, the answer now is Derek Jeter over Jorge Posada.

But, I'm still torn between the two - Jeter and Posada. And, Posada is playing with a torn hamstring tendon. That adds some drama.

I'm thinking that the Yankees MVP, so far this season, just might be Jorge Posada. I never saw this coming. Nonetheless, I am happy that it's happening.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:07 AM | Comments (7)

June 13, 2006

June 13th vs. The Indians

To borrow from Peggy Lee:

Why this feeling? Why this glow?
Why the thrill when you say Hello?
It's a strange and tender magic you do
Mister Wang-der-full, that's you.

.....

Oh there's much more I could say
But the words keep slipping away
And I'm left with one point of view
Mister Wang-der-full, that's you

In his last five Yankee Stadium starts, Chien-Ming Wang has now thrown 37.2 IP and has an ERA of 1.69 in those innings. The Wanger likes home cooking.

Now, on the other end of the world, let's review A-Rod's game this evening.

First time up, runners on 1st and 2nd with one out - and Alex whiffs.
Second time up, runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs - and Alex pops-out to left.
Third time up, with no one on and two outs - Alex then K's-looking.
Last time up, leading off the 8th - Alex whiffs again.

A-Rod is now batting .138 in his last 8 games. At a time where the team needs him the most, he's gone into a shell. (The Yankees have gone 3-5 in those 8 games - and two of the three wins were scores of 1-0 and 2-1.)

Nonetheless, the Yankees are in fine position in the standings with 100 games to go. But, the big question still is: Who will carry them over the next 100 games?

To borrow from Bonnie Tyler:

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night
he's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
and gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light
He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Larger than life

Where's Mitch Miller when you need him?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:26 PM | Comments (16)

Jose Contreras

Move over Jay Buhner and Willie McGee.

Contreras and cash to the Chicago White Sox for Esteban Loaiza.

Man, at the time, it seemed like addition by subtraction, didn't it?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:39 AM | Comments (13)

June 12, 2006

The Wind Beneath LuGo's Wings

From Phil Mushnick -

FRIDAY on SNY, as the D-Backs' Luis Gonzalez batted, Howie Rose noted that Gonzalez was nearing 160 consecutive at-bats without homering. Then, in a flat, non-judgmental tone, Rose added that Gonzalez, who has five home runs this season, in 2001, hit 57. Oh. Rose might have noted plenty more. He might have noted that Gonzalez averaged 12 home runs his first seven years in the majors.
Then, suddenly, that number doubled.

Then it tripled. And then he hit 57. And this year, he has only five. Rose said nothing more, but what happened? Did Gonzalez decide to cut back on his HRs, go more for doubles and singles, this season? Did he lose interest in hitting HRs, even though he often bats third in the lineup? And this year, Gonzalez, who once wore a batting helmet so big that he looked like a character from "The Flintstones" - he looked like The Great Gazoo - now looks to be wearing a smaller helmet.

I have to wonder - would a "weaker" Gonzalez had been able to lift that pitch from Rivera over Jeter's head in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series?

It's probably just me - I still sorta-swear that something was fishy in 2003 too.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:42 AM | Comments (13)

Oh, Man, That's Not Right!

From yankees.com, Alex Rodriguez' stats this season, against RHP:

Yes, that's right, er, correct. Against right-handed pitchers, at Yankee Stadium, A-Rod has a slugging percentage of .309.

Three-oh-nine.

A slugging percentage.

Really.

Yeah, a slugging percentage just a tick over three hundred.

Small sample size? Maybe. But, in any event, those are 81 absolutely punchless Yankee Stadium At Bats for A-Rod so far this year.

Two doubles and one homerun. That's all Rodriguez has provided against RHP at Yankee Stadium this year, so far, in terms of extra base hits - and it's now June 12th.

Wow.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 12:04 AM | Comments (5)

June 11, 2006

June 11th vs. The A's

No hit.
No pitch.
No field.
No win.

It's pretty basic stuff.

No hit: The Yankees team had 5 hits on the day - three by Robbie Cano.
No pitch: Chacon could not get past the 6th inning.
No field: Posada's passed ball in the 4th, A-Rod's error in the 6th, and Proctor's failure to get the ball out of his glove in the 6th.

Here's the rub for me on this game - and even the 4-game losing streak.

The Yankees pitching is what it is. Outside of the Randy Johnson tank job, there's no valid reason to expect to see better efforts from the likes of Wright, Wang and Chacon. They're all capable at times - but, none of them are going to turn into Cy Young Award winners this season because they each have their particular limitations.

And, the Yankees' fielding is what it is. Besides, when you pitch and hit well, you can survive an occasional error here and there.

But, the Yankees hitting. Here, we have something.

Yes, Sheffield and Matsui are out. And, Bernie Williams is old. And, Jeter only has one able thumb and Damon has a broken foot. Still, there's a bunch of other guys on this team.

Now, to expect Cabrera, Cairo, and Phillips to carry the load is unfair - and probably insane. This leaves A-Rod, Posada, Cano, and Giambi.

Posada and Cano have been doing just fine. Which brings us to Giambi and Alex Rodriguez.

Since June 6th, Giambi is 2 for 14 and A-Rod is 3 for 18. And, the Yankees are 1-4 since June 6th. Granted, they both came down with stomach disorders around three days before June 6th, and, that would be the excuse that many would point towards here.

OK, I'll give them the buddy-pass here too. But, as of the Yankees next game, it will be a week since they recovered from the bug. There can be no excuse beyond that point.

But, wait, Giambi now sore left-hand as a result of the HBP yesterday. So, he does now have an excuse, I suppose.

This just leaves A-Rod. He needs to start hitting. The Yankees team needs him to start hitting. This is true now - more so than ever - given the current status of the Yankees team. Eleven days ago, I wrote:

This is the time where the Big Units, Giambis, A-Rods, and the like need to come through for the Yankees. This is why they were brought to New York. It will be interesting to see who rises to this occasion.

For those scoring at home, it's still a big goose egg for "the like" in this opportunity. But, there's still lots of baseball coming up for this to change. I hope we see something happen soon.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 04:57 PM | Comments (9)

June 10, 2006

June 10th vs. The A's

This is the first time that the Yankees have lost three games in a row (this year) since the first week of the season (when they lost 4 in a row from April 4th through April 8th).

If they lose on June 11th, with the off-day that follows on Monday, when the Yankees play their next game, on June 13th, it will be one full week since they last won a game.

I want to say that it's a pretty big spot (tomorrow) for Shawn Chacón - because of all the aforementioned bad-streaking. But, in reality, it's not just about starting pitching tomorrow.

Chacón can do a good job - just as Mussina did in the game today - and still lose if the Yankees don't swing the bats or make the plays in the field.

In their last 27 innings played, New York batters have whiffed 22 times and only had 19 hits. In the field, in those same 27 innings, the Yankees have made 3 errors - which should have been four - and also had one passed ball.

These last three games, including this one, have been a team effort for the Yankees - in terms of who's helped ensure the losses. It's been pitching one night, lack of hitting in another, and today it was the defense.

OK, that's the hat-trick. Congrats. How about a win now?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:47 PM | Comments (1)

June 09, 2006

June 9th vs. The A's

Watching this game, well, if it was a movie, it would have been called Deconstructing Randy.

Flash, Kay and Murcer in the YES booth were having a great go at it - discussing what's wrong with Randy Johnson. (By the way, I think John Flaherty is a rising star in the booth, if you ask me. I really enjoyed listening to him this evening.)

And, then, the rain came. With the rain-delay, along came a Yankeeography episode filler - the Catfish Hunter story. As I was sitting through that, and factoring in how terrible Johnson was this evening, it dawned on me: The Yankees do not have that "Games 1, 4 & 7" pitcher on their staff right now (like Hunter was for the A's).

Really, it's not Johnson, Wang, or Chacon - they're too inconsistent. Jaret Wright? Com'on now. That leaves Mussina.

Now, I do agree that Mussina has been great so far this year. And, he was great in Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS and Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. But, he was toast in Game 5 of the 2005 ALDS. And, he was knocked out of Game 3 of the 2002 ALDS as well. So, in the past, he's been a mixed bag in the big game. Plus, he's a 100-pitch pitcher. He's not going to be the guy to throw 120 pitches and then come back on three days rest in the time of need. And, that's what you want from your "ace" in the big series.

I still think the Yankees are going to have a great season and win close to 99 games this year. But, seeing Randy Johnson tonight, I now have to question their chances in the post-season against a team with a legit-ace who is going to make 3 starts in a series.

Randy Johnson was supposed to be that guy to match up against their best in the post-season. Right now, the Big Unit couldn't even match up against Dave LaPoint. (And, this is considering the fact that LaPoint is almost 48-years-old now.)

Aw, what the hey? At least Johnson gives the guys in the booth something to talk about during the game, right?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:57 PM | Comments (12)

Da Ortiz Code?

Has anyone else noticed that, in his last 7 games against the Yankees, David Ortiz has posted the following batting average/on-base average/slugging percentage split:

.167/.219/.300

And, in those 7 games, Big Papi has been the Big Whiff in 10 of this 30 At Bats.

That's not really clutch, is it?

I know it's a small sample size, but, it does offer some hope that the Yankees have figured out a way to, finally, pitch this guy.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 12:34 PM | Comments (7)

Leyritz Confession

From Newsday:

In his April 19 interview with federal officials, Jason Grimsley reportedly said, "Everybody had greenies. That's like aspirin."

Count Jim Leyritz, Yankees fan favorite, as one of "everybody."

In an interview yesterday morning with radio shock jocks Opie and Anthony, Leyritz confessed to taking "greenies," or amphetamines.

"I can remember my first amphetamine," Leyritz said on the "Opie and Anthony Show," which airs on 92.3 FREE FM as well as XM Satellite Radio. "I was out all night drinking with Andy Hawkins and some of the guys on the team. I was a young player.

"I came in. I was hung over, sleeping by my locker. And all of a sudden, [Don] Mattingly came to me and said, 'Hey, you're in the lineup.' And I went, 'What?' He goes, 'Yeah, I just hurt my back.'

"Now I'm walking around, I'm going, 'I don't know how I'm going to do this. There's no way that I can go play this game today.' I ran into my teammate who I knew had some of the 'little helpers,' as they called them.

"He said, 'Take one of these. It should help. It'll take the edge off.'

"So sure enough, I took one. He goes, 'OK, you can take two, but no more than two.' So I popped one more, and I went out and went 3-for-4 with two homers."

Maybe Jimbo was the "J-man" (that I referred to yesterday)?

I'm not shocked by the Leyritz confession. I believe, if you told him that he could get a base-hit if he washed his face before the game with his first urine of the day, he would do it. He always seemed like the type of player who was looking for an edge and willing to do it.

There are a lot of players like that.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:38 AM | Comments (8)

June 08, 2006

I Really Need To Start Playing Lotto

On February 26, 2006, I wrote:

Just reading about Gary Sheffield's back flare-up today, I began to wonder - What if something terrible happens to the Yankees this spring, and, either Matsui or Sheffield gets knocked out for most of the season?

And, now, on June 8, 2006, we hear this news:

With Hideki Matsui out until September with a fractured wrist, the Yankees were hopeful that therapy would be enough to get Gary Sheffield and his ailing wrist back on the field before too long.

That won't be the case.

Sheffield will undergo surgery to repair the torn ligament and dislocating tendon in his left wrist on Tuesday, and the outfielder isn't expected to return to the Yankees until September.

Funny, as much as a major injury to one of these players was a concern for me in Spring Training, right now, I'm not sweating it.

In his last 30 games, or so, Bernie Williams has not been a total bust. And, Melky Cabrera has done a very nice job in LF (filling in for Matsui). At ths moment, these two are not the worst Band-Aid option ever.

To be honest, if you told me now that both Matsui and Sheffield would be out for the rest of the year - without question - I'd probably say "OK, well, at least now, the Yankees know that they shouldn't count on them and it's up to the rest of the team to pick-up the slack."

Really, without these two, the Yankees still have six (at one time) All-Stars in their line-up. It's not like this means that they won't score runs this season.

If the Yankees don't win this year, the loss of Matsui and Sheffield will not be the cause - and should not be seen as an excuse.

So, what about my concern three-and-a-half months ago? Call it a Chicken Little moment. Hey, even bloggers are rusty in Spring Training.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:53 PM | Comments (1)

June 8th vs. The Red Sox

First off, you can't win every game. Secondly, even if you win almost all your games, you're not going to win almost every time against the Boston Red Sox. So, I can sort of file this game in the "It's bound to happen sometime" drawer.

That all said, there are two things that I would have liked to seen happen differently in this game.

In the top of the 6th, Alex Rodriguez has to make that play on the ball hit by Alex Gonzalez. A superstar third baseman has to make that play. And, at first, it was ruled an error. (Why they later changed it to a hit, well, I can only wonder.) If A-Rod makes that play for the out, then it's a 3-3 game heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Sure, the non-play only made the score 4-3 (in favor of the Sox). But, if Alex Rodriguez makes that play, and gets the double play, then Crisp and Loretta will lead off in the 7th inning - instead of Ortiz and Ramirez. And, if that happens, it changes the whole complexion of that inning (where Boston then scored five runs and iced the game).

Also, in that Boston 7th inning, with runners on 1st and 2nd, with one out, and the Sox up by one, I would have brought in Mike Myers to face Varitek. It makes more sense to have Varitek bat right-handed and against a pitcher that is not going to supply a lot of power. Let him try and power the ball out to Death Valley on his own merit.

If Varitek doesn't homer in the 7th, then it's still a close ballgame and then we never see Scott Erickson pitch.

But, this is all hindsight - so, what can you do?

At least Melky worked Papelbon for a walk in the 9th. That's another brand name pitcher this year where he's worked the guy for a walk. He also did it to Curt Schilling the last time in New York - and he did it to Billy Wagner in Shea this year. This kid knows the strike zone.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:28 PM | Comments (10)

"A" Is For Apple, "J" Is For...........

I've seen some rumors around the 'net that one of the players named in the Jason Grimsley documents has a first name that starts with the letter "J." (Some say that one of the names was not completely blacked-out and you can see that first name starts with a "J.")

So, who are the Yankees that played with Grimsley with a first name that starts with "J"? Here's the list:

Jeff Nelson
Jim Abbott
Jim Leyritz
Joe Girardi
Jorge Posada
Jose Canseco
Jose Vizcaino

Of course, there are some non-Yankees that Grimsley played with that could be this person too - like Jeromy Burnitz, Jermaine Dye, Jim Edmonds, Jim Thome, John Kruk, Jose Mesa and Julian Tavarez.

Posada has been very vocal about the Grimsley situation. Man, it would be a kick in the pants if he was named in this thing.

If I had to bet now, I would say it's Canseco, Burnitz, Edmonds, Thome or Mesa. I would not be shocked if one of them had their name come up in this thing.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 04:44 PM | Comments (3)

Backstop Brains

Ever notice how many former Yankees players are now coaches at the big league level? Here's a list, by my eye-balls:

D-Backs: Bob Melvin & Mike Aldrete
Braves: Bobby Cox
Orioles: Rick Dempsey
White Sox: Tim Raines & Don Cooper
Reds: Jerry Narron, Chris Chambliss, & Bucky Dent
Indians: Joel Skinner
Rockies: Dave Collins, Mike Gallego, & Jamie Quirk
Tigers: Don Salught
Marlins: Joe Girardi & Bobby Meacham
Astros: Jose Cruz. Sr.
Dodgers: Mariano Duncan
Brewers: Bill Castro, Dale Sveum, & Butch Wynegar
Mets: Willie Randolph & Sandy Alomar Sr.
A's: Bob Geren
Pirates: Jeff Manto
Giants: Dave Righetti & Joe Lefebvre
Mariners: Ron Hassey
Devil-Rays: Bobby Ramos
Blue Jays: Brad Arnsberg
Nationals: John Wetteland

Notice that 11 of these guys were catchers. Makes sense - catchers know the game and the Yankees had 36 different men catch a game for them between 1981 and 2005.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 12:39 PM | Comments (4)

Defending Melky

Jim Callis, the executive editor of Baseball America, was just interviewed in the Daily News, talking about Yankee prospects. Here's what he said about Melky Cabrera:

On Cabrera: "He's filled in nicely for them, but on a good team he's more of a fourth outfielder. I don't think he's a good center fielder, and I don't think he'll hit with enough power as a corner outfielder. If he's an everyday player for the Yankees in three or four years, I'll be stunned."

This is in-line with what Johns Sickels said 5 months ago - that Cabrera isn't "going to amount to much."

Now, I would agree that Cabrera is not a center fielder. But, defensively, as a corner outfielder, well, in the last few weeks, he's shown us that he'll be just fine (if not great) there. Good range and a strong arm serve him well on the corners.

As far as Melky's projected power, I think people need to look at his minor league stats. Yes, coming into this season, he projects to be the type of player who would be lucky to hit more than 15 homers in a full season in the majors. But, you have to remember, he was not yet 21-years-old when he posted those numbers prior to this year.

More recently, I like to look at his numbers at Columbus, in a regular-sized Triple-A park, this season, prior to being called up to the Yankees this season. In 122 At Bats, Melky had 6 doubles, 2 triples, and 4 homeruns. If you take that rate and apply it to a full season, it says Cabrera would have over 50 extra-base hits. That's not exactly "4th outfielder" material.

Further, take a look at Paul O'Neill's career. Most seasons, he barely hit 20 homeruns. In fact, in 7 of his 14 full seasons, O'Neill did not hit 20 homers. And, this was in the era of the Long Ball! Last time I checked, O'Neill played on some "good teams" and was not a 4th outfielder for them.

I have to revert to something that I wrote yesterday:

You know, superstars post the sexy numbers - but, play-makers win games. Melky Cabrera is a play-maker. I'm so glad that he's on this team. So many play-makers from the recent ring-run are gone. And, it's good to see more come along.

I'm going to contact Jim Callis today to share this opinion - with the hope that maybe it allows him to consider some things that he may have been over-looking. Wish me luck.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:32 AM | Comments (10)

Listening In & Checking Things Out

Benjamin Kabak has recently interviewed Peter Abraham. Two cool dudes discuss blogging and the Yankees. What's not to like?

I've also read that Alex Belth will be at Coliseum Books this Saturday to talk about his book.

I have some pretty big plans for Saturday - we have 33 people coming over for my daughter's birthday party - otherwise I would be there to see Alex & Company. That sounds like it will be a lot of fun. It's worth stopping by - if you can.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)

June 07, 2006

Jason Grimsley News Impact On Yankees

Have you heard the latest news on Jason Grimsley? If not, where have you been lately?

I was just reading the search warrant on this case - and it said that he started "using" in 2000. He was with the Yankees at that time. I also found this section of the document interesting:

Hmmm. Everyone knows that one of Jason Grimsley's closest friends in baseball is Chuck Knoblauch.

I wonder what other Yankees-names will fall out of this situation? Glenallen Hill? Jose Canseco? They were with the 2000 Yankees and largely muscled. Shane Spencer? It would not shock me.

Just imagine the news if Grimsley fingered someone like Roger Clemens - also on the 2000 Yankees. As much as that would be big news - it would not shock me either.

The documents also said that he mentioned a player who had a doctor in Colorado who would supply greenies. Could that have been Joe Girardi? Now, that would shock me.

I have a feeling that we're going to be hearing more on all this very soon.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 04:52 PM | Comments (16)

Mark Melancon

From the Arizona Republic -

Arizona relief pitcher Mark Melancon became a draft-day risk because he missed the last seven weeks of the season with an elbow injury.

The closer who at one time was regarded as a potential first-rounder slipped to the ninth round on Tuesday before the New York Yankees took him with the 284th pick. Melancon said he'll use the slight as motivation.

....

Donald said the Yankees got a steal, if they can sign Melancon. "Once he gets healthy, he's going to prove he should have been taken earlier," Donald said.

Melancon said he will sign with the Yankees if they offer appropriate compensation, but otherwise will consider returning for his senior season.

I watched too much TV as a kid. When I first saw this guy's name, right away, I thought of the Melakon character from Star Trek.

Then, I imagined someone yelling at me, saying: "This isn't Star Trek!" (like in the movie, The Cable Guy).

Anywho, Mark Melancon could be a sleeper pick - depending on that strained ligament in his elbow. I like this selection.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:49 AM | Comments (2)

Meet The Mets

Some more on Melky, Milledge, and (!) Me (?) from Mike's Mets Blog this past Monday:

In his first few days in the major leagues, Milledge has certainly become a lightening rod for controversy. It seems as if everyone is willing to weigh in with an opinion on this kid, whether they really have a clue about him or not. Case in point, take this comment by a pious, self-righteous Yankee blogger, who quoted extensively from Mike McGann's unflattering portrait of Milledge:

While some might say that it's wrong to point at something bad to make something else look good, I still have to say this: What a pleasure it is to watch young Melky Cabrera go about his business while he's succeeding at the Major League level.

The Mets can have Milledge. I'd rather have Melky without question.

I've always said the Yankees are all about character over talent: Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens ... the list goes on and on. Don't worry, Steve, you can rest assured that the Mets will not trade Milledge for the great Melky Cabrera, so you can enjoy having his fourth outfielder skills in the Bronx for the foreseeable future. Anyhow, reading this guy's pathetic desire to latch onto something negative about the Mets' big prospect shines a light on how silly this whole thing is. Maybe we all should stop pretending that we know something about Milledge, whether we hope to see him fall on his face like our buddy Steve, or succeed like most of us Mets fans.

What is it that Jeter always says about being booed on the road?

It's just like being cheered at home. Cool.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:36 AM | Comments (7)

June 6th vs. The Red Sox

Not a bad little game to attend - not at all.

I got to the Stadium around 5:45 pm-ish. Hey, it's Sox-Yanks - you know it's going to be crowded. That's one thing I don't get - actually, I mean I'm surprised that more don't get it. You have to allow time to get to these games. Sitting in the Stadium, early in the game (during the 1st and 2nd innings), and seeing so many empty seats, it's sad.

The Yankees draw 40,000 on a bad night. If it's a big game, like the Red Sox, you know there's going to be a ton of traffic, etc. So, get there early. Those of us there on time will appreciate not having you walking in during the beginning of the game - and causing us to have to crane our necks to see pitches while we're already in our seats.

Speaking of seats, mine are in Section 15 of the Loge - right in front of one of those private suites. Guess who was at the game tonight? Darryl Strawberry stuck his head out of the window to wave to the fans. Funny, I thought he was now a Mets minor league instructor.

I have to give Wang credit tonight. Early on, he threw so many pitches in the 1st and 2nd innings, I thought "He'll be lucky to go five today." And, yet, he was able to get seven innings done in this contest. And, he came in high and tight once to Manny - which the crowd loved.

The crowd tonight had some good reactions to specific items in the game: Phillips' great play in the 3rd, Posada's double in the 4th (which looked like it might go out), Bernie's homer in the 5th, Phillips making another play in the 7th, Giambi's walk in the 7th, and A-Rod's whiff in the 7th.

But, the biggest reaction had to be on the play that Melky Cabrera made on Manny Ramirez in the 8th.

You know, superstars post the sexy numbers - but, play-makers win games. Melky Cabrera is a play-maker. I'm so glad that he's on this team. So many play-makers from the recent ring-run are gone. And, it's good to see more come along.

I also enjoyed the hit that the NYC cop put on the jerk in the yellow shirt who ran on to the field in the 6th inning. That was an "LT"-like sack. He dropped that guy like a bad habit.

By the way, if you saw a guy at the game tonight in the stands going through garbage looking for plastic red caps to Coke bottles, that was my friend Jeff. He was thrilled that he was able to get 22 of them for some contest that he's doing on-line. I rode him pretty good about being silly on this - especially since he's 48-years-old. Now, the joke will be on me if he wins something from this thing.

But, it won't beat the joke that we saw leaving the Stadium.

We were stuck on the ramps in the Stadium, and they're just crawling, because they're packed. But, it's cool - because everyone's chanting "Let's-Go Yan-kees" and "Bos-ton Sucks" and stuff like that.

And, just then, a girl in front of me grabs another girl that she's with and kisses her on the mouth - and she's holding the other girl's head so that she can't break the kiss. I say to Jeff "Dude, did you just see that?" and he says "No, I was reaching for that empty Coke bottle on the floor." And, then, the guy next to me says "No problem. I took a picture on my cell phone" and he shows us the picture.

Turns out that the two girls, the guy with the cell phone, and another guy (there) all work together. And, they wanted to set up the one girl (the kiss-ee) who probably had a few beers at the game.

The girl who got kissed ended up talking with Jeff for a while - since the crowd was moving so slow. It was a pretty funny conversation.

And, just for good measure, later on, the "other" girl grabbed her friend again and locked lips with her - as the cell phone guy snapped another picture.

Can you just imagine how much fun these four are going to have at work tomorrow?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 12:17 AM | Comments (14)

June 06, 2006

Colin Curtis

Colin Curtis was the Yankees 4th-overall pick in the draft today.

Curtis was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1999 and treated for it. Here's a scouting report that was once posted about him at BaseballAmerica.com:

Scouts root for Curtis, who survived a 1999 bout with testicular cancer to become an impact high school football player. He was an instant starter on the baseball team at Arizona State as a freshman and played an important role in the Sun Devils' 2005 College World Series team, going 8-for-11 in Omaha. Yet Curtis' tools have either leveled off or gone backward as his body has grown. Once considered a fast-twitch athlete, he now elicits comments such as "stiff" and "slow" from scouts and Pac-10 coaches. A smart, aggressive baserunner and efficient basestealer, he's now an average runner rather than plus. His bat also has slowed down, so his larger size hasn't resulted in more power. He hasn't driven the ball consistently, and overall his modest juinor year (.332) has reminded scouts of the draft-itis that hampered former teammate Jeff Larish. Like Larish, he was making a late charge with his performance and is a Scott Boras client, both making it tough to tell where he'll be drafted. Curtis hit .323 in the Cape Cod League last summer, and a team that saw him good last summer could still pop him in the first five rounds.

Not exactly a glowing report.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 04:01 PM | Comments (6)

Zach McAllister

McAllister was the Yankees 3rd overall pick in the draft today. More on him:

The accolades keep getting bigger for Illinois Valley Central senior Zach McAllister.

In March, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound center on the basketball team was named honorable mention all-state by The Associated Press and third-team all-state by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.

Then, before the baseball season began, Lousiville Slugger and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper selected the University of Nebraska recruit a second-team all-American pitcher.

But now, McAllister has moved to the head of the line.

On Tuesday, Gatorade and Scholastic Coach and Athletic Director magazine named the right-hander Illinois Player of the Year.

His dad is a scout with the Diamondbacks, so, it's going to cost the Yankees to sign him. This could be a very good pick.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)

A.L. Player Of The Month For May

Let's be fair and check the "May" numbers:

As much as it hurts this Yankees fan to ask the question, why did they choose A-Rod over Manny?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 03:03 PM | Comments (4)

Joba Chamberlain

The Yankees 2nd pick in the 2006 first-year player draft was Joba Chamberlain. MLB.com just had a feature on him last month. Here are the highlights:

For Joba Chamberlain, there aren't enough hours in the day to savor life's experiences.

At 20, he recently felt the unbridled joy of becoming a father. He's a star pitcher for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, his hometown team, and focused on helping the Huskers get back to the College World Series.

After graduating from Lincoln Northeast High School, Chamberlain was battling a weight problem and not ready for college baseball. He took a job with the city maintenance department, cleaning restrooms and grooming fields for others to play on. All the while, Chamberlain was changing his body with workouts and a better nutritional routine.

"He was heavy and out of shape," Nebraska coach Mike Anderson said. "He lost almost 50 pounds."

After working through the fall semester two years ago, Chamberlain enrolled at Division II Nebraska-Kearney. He went just 3-6 with a 5.23 earned run average as a freshman, but the big thing was that he was playing the game he loved again. Although the record and ERA weren't special, Nebraska began to gradually get interested in the potential as Chamberlain topped 90 miles per hour on the radar gun with a body that was gaining core strength.

Chamberlain went 10-2 with a 2.74 ERA last year, earning All-Big 12 and third-team All-America honors. He struck out 13 in eight innings against Miami in the Super Regional and went seven innings against Arizona State for Nebraska's first College World Series victory.

MLB.com currently has the kid listed at six-two, two-thirty. When someone six-two says they're two-thirty, they're probably closer to two-fifty.

Why draft a 22-year-old with a weight problem with the 41st-overall pick? Granted, there are reports that Joba's poise and competitive nature are off the charts.

I would probably like this pick if it was a 3rd-rounder. But, when you're talking "Top 50" in the draft, you try and get something with less risks. The weight thing is a red flag to me. Sure, some people can beat that. But, that's the exception rather than the rule.

Time will tell.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 02:13 PM | Comments (13)

Ian Kennedy

The Yankees took Ian Kennedy in the first round of the draft today.

He's a small-ish RHP - bit of a bulldog. MLB.com says he's lost a tad off his fastball this past season. Here's more on the kid from the L.A. Times -

Ian Kennedy, USC, right-handed pitcher, junior: Once expected to be a shoo-in for the first round, Kennedy's stock took a hit during a season in which his velocity was erratic and his performance (5-7, 3.90 ERA) failed to meet expectations. One scout said the 6-1, 195-pounder may have put too much pressure on himself to excel, especially as the losses mounted during a disappointing season for the Trojans. Nonetheless, Kennedy's past accomplishments and potential still could prompt a team to take him as high as late in the first round.

Considering that the Yankees have most of their position players locked up for a few years, it probably makes sense going for a pitcher - especially since this draft has very few position prospects.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 01:21 PM | Comments (5)

Cash Is One Cool Cucumber

From a Mike Lupica piece this morning:

Cashman was in Tampa because of baseball's draft. He is involved big with the draft because he is the most powerful guy in the organization now after George Steinbrenner. When Cashman picked up the phone last night, the first thing he asked for was the score. He was told that it was 8-2, Yankees, that Cabrera had scored all the way from first on a wild pitch in the first inning and then Andy Phillips, another guy ready when his name got called, had hit a three-run homer off Josh Beckett in the second as the Yankees were scoring seven runs and having their biggest inning against the Red Sox since September of 2001.

The Red Sox are in Yankee Stadium. The teams are a half-game apart. It's Beckett-Mussina. You're the G.M. of the Yankees - and you're not listening to the game (or have it on the T.V. in the background)?

Wow.

OK, sure, yeah, I understand the draft is tomorrow. But, it's around 8 pm now, and the draft is something like 16 hours away. If you're not ready for the draft at this point, you're never going to be ready.

Why not watch the game? What if something happened there that requires some action on your part? Just imagine if something happened, and Stein saw it - and then called you. What are you going to say - "I didn't see it. I was talking to someone here about our pick in the 29th round tomorrow"?

Cashman has nerves of steel, I must say.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:01 AM | Comments (1)

Riding The Melky-Go-Round

Memo to the YES Network: When work begins on the Melky Cabrera Yankeeography, which I imagine will happen around the year 2020, please be sure include the footage from that mad dash around the bases during last night's game.

That play set the tone for the game last night, to me. I think it really got the Yankees rolling. It certainly broke any tension that might have been in the Yankees dugout. And, the fact that it came via some embarrassing moments for Jason Varitek, well, so much the better.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:18 AM | Comments (12)

June 05, 2006

June 5th vs. The Red Sox

Oh, what fun it was this evening to see the Yankees tar and feather Josh Beckett.

I saw after the game that the Yankees and Red Sox are now 42-42 against each other during the last five regular seasons. Tomorrow's game should be interesting. I just have to keep reminding myself: There's no truth to the "I hate it when they score a ton because that means they're going to hardly score at all tomorrow" thing.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:06 PM | Comments (10)

Feeding Off The Green Monster

Yankees vs. Red Sox, since Opening Day 2003, up until tonight's game, not including the post-season, via Baseball Musings' Day By Day Database:

When you look at the numbers for the Red Sox, you want to say, at first, "Wow, Fenway Park really helps the Boston hitters!" But, then, when you look at the Yankees' batters in Boston, you see that Fenway does not help them (as compared to hitting in the Bronx).

Actually, if you look at the Park Factors for Fenway Park, since 2003, they say that Boston is a hitter's park - but, it's not a huge advantage for the hitters. (At the least, it's nothing like you see in Texas, Colorado, or Philadelphia.)

Well, back in 2003, there were complaints that the Red Sox were stealing signs at Fenway Park.

Could that be the reason for the 110-point difference in OPS (for the Sox batters in this study)? Nah, it's just that Boston hitters really know how to use the Green Monster to their advantage, right?

Personally, I think the Yankees should test out this theory next time they're in Fenway. They should really work hard at coming up with a system of pitch signals that can't be easily stolen. And, they should work up a way to conceal pitching-target location until the last minute possible.

Look at it this way, it couldn't hurt, right?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 02:55 PM | Comments (6)

Schill Hearts Torre

From the Boston Herald -

Curt Schilling stopped to watch ESPN before yesterday’s game against the Tigers. A graphic happened to include the Yankees.

“That’s your manager of the year right there,” Schilling said. “Joe Torre has done an unbelievable job. Their disabled list probably has a higher payroll than a lot of teams.”

Regardless, the Sox, and Schilling in particular, can’t help but admire how Torre has dealt with adversity.

“I’m stunned,” Schilling said. “Joe’s done a phenomenal job. It’s not a knock on their talent, but you’d expect a team with that many catastrophic injuries to struggle. And they’ve done the exact opposite. They came in here and took 3-of-4 from a team that’s as good as any in the American League, short of the White Sox. I’m surprised, but I’m not. If you look at his resume, it speaks for itself.”

“Joe will never take credit for it. He’ll say the players have to execute,” Schilling said. “But part of it is a manager putting the players in a position to succeed.”

Those players are often rookies.

“Everybody talks about the Yankees not having any prospects, but guys keep coming up and they keep producing,” Schilling said. “Melky Cabrera can play. Anybody outside the Yankees organization that told you a year ago that Robinson Cano was a stud prospect was full of (expletive). Last year they were all banging on the guy like, ‘This is their best prospect?’ Now they talk about him like he’s the next Rod Carew.”

Schilling also noted the difficulty of debuting in New York.

“The guys they’re bringing up, that’s not a small stage they’re stepping onto,” he said. “That has a lot to do with the way Joe interacts with those guys. Anything to temper the adrenaline that goes on when you play in that environment as a young player is huge.”

Love is in the air
Everywhere I look around
Love is in the air
Every sight and every sound

OK, just one question - if Torre is the reason the Yankees do well, then whose fault is it when they don't do well? Curt, any thoughts on that?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 10:45 AM | Comments (9)

Number One Mistakes

Kevin Goldstein, formerly of BA and now with BP, has a feature in the NY Sun today, on recent Yankees Number One Picks:

1997: Tyrell Godwin, outfielder. Godwin didn't sign, choosing instead to go to college. He was a career minor leaguer until he got into three games with the Nationals last year.

1998: Andy Brown,outfielder.18-year-old, 6-foot-7-inch man-child from Indiana had power, but couldn't hit. Struck out 182 times in 2000 and was released in 2004 with a career average of .228.

1999: David Walling, RHP. Polished college pitcher dominated at lower levels, but had ERA above five after A-ball. Released in 2002.

2000: David Parrish, catcher. Son of eight-time all-star backstop Lance, the kid didn't have dad's power, hitting 24 home runs in 489 minor league games before the Yanks gave up on him.

2001: John-Ford Griffin, outfielder. Griffin hit .450 in his final year at Florida State, but was never able to duplicate that as a pro, and he spent barely a year in the system before moving to Oakland as part of the complicated Jeff Weaver deal in 2002. Now in Triple-A with the Blue Jays and going nowhere fast.

Clueless picks, indeed.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:52 AM | Comments (8)

June 04, 2006

June 4th @ The Orioles

I decided to do some power-washing this morning. And, as usual, once I started, I ended up doing it for longer than I expected.

Power-washing is always too tempting. The plan might be to do just one thing - like today, when it was the north side of the house - and then you decide that you want to do more while you're at it (and you have everything out and hooked up). So, after doing the house siding, the garage door, two cars, and my entire driveway blacktop, it was just about game time for the Yankees and O's.

But, I had to run some errands first with the family. And, once those were done it was then around 3:30 pm (ET). Further, we were in need of a little snack by then - and decided to stop at the local Ralph's Italian Ices. (I grew up less than 500 feet from the original Ralph's - and after eating there everyday in the summer for about a decade as a small kid I've become addicted to their orange ice.)

When we got to Ralph's, there were two (I want to say eighteen year-old) boys in line behind us. I'm going to call them Vanilla Ice Jr. and Marshall Mathers II since that's what they looked and sounded like - no kidding.

To be candid, up until this point, I sort of forgot about the Yankees game. I was tired. We had stopped at several stores. The kids wanted a snack. The orange ice was calling to me. There were too many other things on my mind.

But, then, one of the tweeners behind me asked the other tweener "Are the Yankees playing today?" And, just then, I thought "Shoot, the game, I never checked for a score." Just as suddenly, Mathers II said to Vanilla Jr. "Man, da Orioles are killin' 'em, it's like ten-nuthin' in da 6th inning."

I refused to believe it. My logic: "If this kid is stupid enough to walk around dressed like that and acting like that, then maybe he screwed up the score." But, I knew that I would have to check the game the minute that I got into the house.

When we got home, I had my answer.

I know that the Yankees don't have many options these days, but, it's time to return Aaron Small to Columbus. He's now allowed nine homers in 22.3 innings this season. He's not fooling anyone - and it's not like he has this wonderful and robust resume to fall back on. It's over for him. Last year was great - but that was last year. It was a fluke. We get it now.

Still, in all, considering all the injuries of late, the fact that the Yankees have won five of their last seven is cool.

Bring on the Red Sox.

But, before then, can someone help an old-timer out with a "Are we going to hell in a handbasket" question (related to my tweener-sighting today)?

What's with the kids/hoods today with wearing New Era caps and leaving the gold round label on the bill of the cap as they wear it around town? I see it all the time now. Is it a hip-hop thing or just a badge-type thing to signify to the rest of the world that you're an idiot?

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 07:18 PM | Comments (9)

Rick Down On Melky Cabrera

Joel Sherman, today, is picking up on my thoughts from yesterday. Here's a snip from Sherman's column:

Yet here they are, just 21, with Norfolk, Columbus and Triple-A in the rearview mirror. Both are starting for New York teams and maybe starting something else: A long-running debate. Lastings vs. Melky, Melky vs. Lastings.

"It's hard to say who is better," said Mets hitting coach Rick Down. "They are both tremendous. Melky has the better arm, Lastings runs faster. But you start adding it up and what you have are two good players who can be mainstays in this city for years and New York fans can argue about who is better forever."

"I love Melky," Down said. "I'd take Melky in a heartbeat. Melky can play."

It is an instinct he had about Cabrera from 2004. That is why, he says, he is not surprised Cabrera is seizing opportunity. Down ticks off attributes. Switch-hitter. Good from both sides. Superb hitting eye. Excellent arm. Good speed. Good kid.

The more that I think of Melky, the more that I want to say he's reminding me of a shorter, faster, version of Ken Singleton.

Maybe I should say a "Bernie Williams who can really throw"?

And, if that's how he turns out, that will do just fine.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:16 AM | Comments (11)

Ken Griffey Jr.

From Jon Heyman's column today:

Bobby Abreu and Pat Burrell are available, Alfonso Soriano can be had and Reggie Sanders probably can be, too. But the Yankees also have their eye on Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, should either become available.

Gary Sheffield's potentially season-ending wrist injury sent general manager Brian Cashman to the phones looking for a corner outfielder late this past week. Big names will be tossed around, but with the Yankees' prospect stash limited, the best option could actually become Griffey.

Griffey's whopping salary ($37 million through 2009) means the Yankees wouldn't have to give up anything of note to get him. The Reds' previous ownership rejected the Yankees' bid for Griffey last year, but the Reds have a new owner, Bob Castellini, and a new GM, Wayne Krivsky, who isn't afraid to deal if they fall out of the race.

Where do I start?

Griffey is 36-years-old. In the last six years, he's qualified for the batting title just twice. Just recently, he's moaned about the media coverage in a small market like Cincy:

"Sometimes you have bad days. You have bad days, I have bad days and you just don't want to talk," he said.

"What you guys say and write doesn't just stay in this clubhouse. I have to live it, I have to go places, normal places like the grocery store and hear it (repeated). I can't do anything but hold my head up high and keep moving. You don't have to have your kids listen to other kids repeat it."

So, in summary, we have a brittle, aging, former (and spoiled) star who does not like negative media coverage.

Oh, yeah, that's just what the Yankees need.

Pass.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:51 AM | Comments (7)

June 03, 2006

June 3rd @ The Orioles

It's now official. Chien-Ming Wang is the all-time Yankees leader for most career saves by a pitcher born in Taiwan. Way to go Mr. Wang-der-full!

Speaking of other lands, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Miggy Tejada......what is it about these guys from the Dominican Republic that makes it impossible for the Yankees to ever get them out?

OK, yeah, the Yankees left a ton of runners on base today. And, Scott Proctor blew the win for Randy Johnson. But, just as sunlight is the best disinfectant, winning is the best deodorant. No one in the Yankees clubhouse right now cares that much about all those LOBs and the fat pitches allowed by Proctor in the 8th inning. Sure, maybe Randy Johnson cares - but, he's only one guy.

Staying on the Big Unit, this is now two starts in a row where he's looking good. And, as crazy as this might sound - considering how terrible he was in May - Johnson is still on pace for a 20-win season. Imagine that.

I feel bad for Darrell Rasner. Then again, this is The Season of The Injury for the Yankees. So, why should he be spared? Related, with both A-Rod and Giambi having now missed games this series with stomach disorders, maybe it's time for the YES Network to expand their pre-game coverage? In addition "Yankees B.P. Today," maybe they should start a segment called "Yankees T.P. Report" to provide updates listing who on the team is popping a gastric zit on that given day?

Man, joking aside, someone should start a list of all the reasons why Yankees have missed games this year. From Rivera's shoe-tying to Pavano's butt bumping to A-Rod's ralphing, it's been some interesting season so far.

And, if (as I type this) the Tigers can hang on to a 3-1 lead (in the 6th) and beat the Red Sox today, the Yankees will be in first place at the end of the day.

I'm telling you - John Cameron Swayze would love this Yankees team.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:35 PM | Comments (8)

Using Many Good Players

My earlier study of "How many times each season, over the past decade, did the Yankees have a batter on their roster get at least 100 At Bats?" left me thinking.

Sure, it seems that every season the Yankees get around 14 players at least 100 ABs. But, that talks in terms of quantity. What about quality? So, I went back to the stats to see how many times each year the Yankees had someone get at least 100 ABs with at least 0 RCAA. Here's the results:

This tells us a lot more. In the late 1990's, the Yankees did a much better job at making sure that the players who got 100+ ABs were at least average hitters. And, from 2002-2005, it was just about 50-50 that the person getting at least 100 ABs was a below average batter - sans 2004 where the levels were closer to what we see in the late 1990's. (Boy, if that 2004 Yankees team only had some pitching!)

Now, outside of 1996, 2000, and 2001, the Yankees have always had a great hitting starting team. So, on the whole, the above chart tells us that, basically, the Yankees bench-batters were better from 1996-1999, and, around 2001 (through 2005) the Bombers' bench has gone south.

It's probably safe to say that, during 1996 through 1999, the Yankees had more quality contributors (starters and bench players combined) than they've had in recent seasons.

It will be interesting to see if they can reverse that trend this season.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 03:01 PM | Comments (5)

Using Many Players

I was just curious as to how many times each season, over the past decade, did the Yankees have a batter on their roster get at least 100 At Bats (ABs)? So, I looked. Here are the results:

Season - Number of Players on Team With at least 100 ABs (that year)

1996 - 14
1997 - 16
1998 - 13
1999 - 13
2000 - 15
2001 - 10
2002 - 13
2003 - 17
2004 - 14
2005 - 12

Interesting, in 2001, it was all about Derek Jeter, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams, Alfonso Soriano, Chuck Knoblauch, Paul O'Neill, Jorge Posada, Scott Brosius, David Justice and Shane Spencer for the Yankees. Those ten guys did most of the batting for the team.

In 2003, the Yankees ran a lot of players to the dish. Here's the gang with at least 100 ABs that season: Alfonso Soriano, Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Nick Johnson, Raul Mondesi, Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile, Aaron Boone
Ruben Sierra, Juan Rivera, Karim Garcia, Enrique Wilson, John Flaherty, and Erick Almonte.

For the record, the Yankees reached the World Series in both these seasons and lost each time.

On the whole, over the last 10 years, on average, the Yankees have had 13.7 batters each season get at least 100 ABs during the year.

This does make sense - figure 8 position players, a DH, and a back-up catcher, outfielder, and middle infielder (which totals 12) and allow for one more player to be traded or injured in a season. It's easy to see how a team can reach 13 players with at least 100 ABs in a year.

How about 2006? The Yankees have 9 players this season already reach 100 ABs. And, there are four more players that should reach it soon. That would make 13. So, it looks like this years team is right about on pace with recent Yankees teams - in terms of the number of players used on a semi-regular basis.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 12:41 PM | Comments (2)

Happy With Our Guy

Warning - there's a small fan-boy rant in this entry. Sorry, I just can't help myself at the moment.

Via BaseballThinkFactory.org this morning, I noticed that NY Baseball Central has a good summary on the present war between the Mets and Bob Raissman regarding the press coverage of Lastings Milledge’s past. From that feature, here's a summary of some of the baggage that comes with the Mets "great" prospect:

Look, the kid clearly has some thug tendencies — he drives his Hummer like a banshee (nearly running me over last spring training) and walks around like he’s a 10-time All-Star — but the irony here is that the team brass is showing itself to be a much bigger punk than Milledge ever could be with this sort of behavior.

More on Milledge from the Raissman piece in question:

So, there was hardly a word or whisper about how Milledge, during spring training, often had his watch set on "Pedro time," taking the star trip and arriving at the ballpark late. What about those legal issues Milledge encountered when he was drafted by the Mets in 2003? They were a figment of some reporter's imagination, right?

Mets ownership would also rather have everyone ignore that bench-clearing tango inspired by Milledge after he slid, spikes-high, into Richmond Braves third baseman Jonathan Schuerholz. The suits were not happy about the Daily News noting how Milledge's "flamboyance" has made him a very unpopular guy among his International League peers.

While some might say that it's wrong to point at something bad to make something else look good, I still have to say this: What a pleasure it is to watch young Melky Cabrera go about his business while he's succeeding at the Major League level.

The Mets can have Milledge. I'd rather have Melky without question.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:43 AM | Comments (4)

June 02, 2006

June 2nd @ The Orioles

No Matsui.
No Sheffield.
No Rivera.
No A-Rod.

No problem!

All you need is a dash of Jaret Wright, a sprinkle of Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi, a pinch of Andy Phillips, a slice of Melky Cabrera, and a bowl-full of Derek Jeter, and......BAM! A Yankees win.

Hey, not even Posada was needed this evening.

Sure, it did look dicey at times during the game. But, in the end, it's all about the final score, no?

With all the YES coverage of Cal Ripken sitting in the stands tonight, something occurred to me. As Ripken is getting older, is he starting to look a little like Steve Wilkos? You tell me:

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 11:14 PM | Comments (7)

Do Not Go Into The Light

From The New York Observer Real Estate:

The borough that swallowed its major league pride when the Dodgers left 50 years ago will have to do so again: several tons of dirt from the excavation of the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx will be carted (or shipped, perhaps) down to the Brooklyn Bridge Park as soon as this summer.

Wendy Leventer, the president of the Brooklyn Bridge Development Corporation, said the imported dirt would cut millions of dollars off of construction costs but that her agency had not expected it to come as quickly as it will--though she says she is not certain exactly when that is. The dirt will go on the upland portion of the park to create a berm to deaden the sound of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

I wonder if the Yankees will take some of the dirt from the "old" field and move it over to the new, pardon the pun, digs - in order to throw a gag on those who lament about the loss of the Yanks' "Hallowed Ground"?

Then again, if Big Stein has seen "Poltergeist," maybe he won't mess with moving the dirt?

Better to let the spirits of Tucker Ashford, Brandon Knight, Juan Bernhardt, Kevin Mmahat, Dennis Sherrill, Mike Jerzembeck and Erick Almonte to rest in peace, undisturbed.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 02:08 PM | Comments (4)

June 1st @ The Tigers

The minute that Farnsworth walked Thames with one out in the bottom of the 9th, and the Yanks up by just one, I thought to myself "They just lost this game."

Yes, I know that, on May 28th, I wrote:

And, now, the Tigers. Yes, they're playing .700 ball so far this season. But, they've beat up on the Royals and Twins to get that record. (If I counted right, the Tigers are 15-2 against K.C. and Minny so far this year.) The Yankees better take three of four in this next series.

And, the Yankees took three of four from the Tigers. So, I should be happy, right?

Sorry. There's just too many bad things from this game to be happy.

Yanks had a runner on 2nd in the 2nd with one out and could not score him. Yanks had runners on 1st and 2nd in the 5th with no outs and could not score a run. Yanks had the bases loaded in the 7th with one out and could not score. And, in the 9th, the Yankees had runners on 1st and 2nd - albeit with 2 outs - and did not score.

In all of these situations - 2nd inning, 5th inning, 7th inning and 9th inning, Terrence Long was at the plate with a chance to do something and made outs.

If Long had come through in one of those spots, then maybe the lack of Rivera and the stupid pitching of Farnsworth is a non-issue?

Torre has to stop playing Long now - with Thompson now on the roster. There's no excuse for running this out-maker to the plate anymore.

Wang was terrible in this game. And, the Yankees still had a chance to win it. And, the difference between winning and losing this one could have been as simple as deciding who to play in RF.

Yeah, Farnsworth gets the "L" for this one - but Torre gets an assist too.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:30 AM | Comments (15)

Making Comments

I love it when WasWatching readers make comments to entries here. It tells me that something I wrote made someone think of something that they wanted to share. That's awesome feedback. So, thanks to all of you who have made comments in the past.

That said, I wanted to post this note to share one thing that I do feel bad about.

If anyone has ever posted a comment and was expecting me to respond to it, and I did not, I'm sorry for any bad feelings that may have resulted from my lack of acknowledgment.

If I had the time, I would respond to every comment. But, if I did that, it would take several hours per day - and that's just not possible.

I do try and read every comment made here - and, believe me, I'm smiling as I read them - because I do appreciate them.......each and every one.

I just wanted to make sure that those making the comments knew that as well.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 08:05 AM | Comments (7)

The Meaning Of Melky

In an attempt to answer yesterday's burning question, I asked for some help. I reached out to Peter Abraham and he was very kind to follow up on it. Here's what he got from Melky:

"Lots of Dominicans have that name. It's not short for anything and it doesn't mean anything. It's just my name."

Peter did add that Melky was smiling when he offered the answer.

(Thanks for checking this out Peter!)

Back in the day, Charlie Finley gave Jim Hunter the nickname Catfish - making up a story around Hunter's childhood to justify the name. Maybe someone in the Yankees front office missed the boat here with Melky?

Some tall tale about his mother riding a cow to the hospital on the day he was born would have made a nice legend starter.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 07:37 AM | Comments (2)

June 01, 2006

Kevin Thompson To Be Called Up

From On The Yankees Beat -

Kevin Thompson is on his way to Detroit to be activated for tonight's game, and surely Yankee fans everywhere are rejoicing. While no one would trade Sheffield for Thompson, Yankee fans have been calling for Thompson's callup from Triple-A Columbus for ages, and they are frustrated each time he's passed over.

The Star Ledger also has this story.

I bet that Thompson plays CF, Melky goes to RF, Damon will DH (with Giambi playing 1B), and then LF will belong to Bernie/Long.

Andy Phillips gets the playing-time screws with this move.

I doubt they're calling up Thompson to have him sit on the bench.

In a way, all this makes sense, since Damon and Sheffield need the rest. As per BP's UTK:

Gary Sheffield has left the team to see another doctor about the continued problems with his wrist. The injection Sheffield took--not cortisone, but another anti-infammatory, probably depo-medrol--has already worn off. The problem looks, symptomatically, to be more of a chronic than traumatic problem despite having a singular event--the collision--to blame. There’s no real fix for the problem aside from rest, something the Yankees can ill afford to let Sheffield do. Johnny Damon answered questions about his foot, re-explaining the problem after some erroneous comments he made recently. Damon has a small stress reaction in his sesamoid bone, another injury that is treated with rest. Damon also complains that the pain has spread from the initial area, suggesting that the problem isn’t responding to conservative treatment. Again, rest is the best medicine for the injury, but time is not on the Yankees' side.

And, if K-Thom flops, then Bubba Crosby will take his place/role when he comes back. (Until Damon is sound enough to go back to CF.)

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 02:07 PM | Comments (6)

Mick's Great-Nephew

From the AP -

A great-nephew of Oklahoma native Mickey Mantle takes the first step in his professional baseball career.

Blake King, a right-handed pitcher who led all junior college pitchers in strikeouts as a freshman, signed a minor-league contract with Saint Louis Cardinals in front of about 40 family members and friends yesterday.

The 19-year-old says he plans to work on locating pitches and developing a change-up after the Cardinals assign him to their rookie ball affiliate in either State College, Pennsylvania, or Johnson City, Tennessee.

King's grandfather, Roy Mantle, was a brother of New York Yankees star Mickey Mantle, who grew up in Commerce.

King was drafted by the Cards in the 44th round of the 2005 draft last June. So, he's a draft and follow signing - like the Yankees once did with Andy Pettitte.

"Blake King" just sounds like a ballplayer, no? Sorta like "Mickey Mantle." I wish the kid all the best. It would be a nice story to see him pitch, and do well, in the majors someday. (Just as long as it's not against the Yankees.)

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:54 AM | Comments (0)

What's In A Name?

Isn't it about time for a mention (somewhere) about the story behind Melky Cabrera's first name?

I cannot find anything out there on it. Is "Melky" short for something? Was he named after something or someone?

Is there another person on the earth with the first name "Melky"?

There's a story here - I just wish someone would tell it.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at 09:22 AM | Comments (14)