A break here, a call there...

by Travis G on Aug 6, 2008 1:58 AM EDT Comment 19 comments

... and tonight's game has a different result. In the 2nd, Richie Sexson hit a liner with a runner on second - only it was right at Travis Metcalf who turned it into a double play. Sexson then missed a homerun in the 7th by about two feet. Derek Jeter hit a sharp liner with the bases loaded - only it was right at Ian Kinsler. David Robertson looked like he'd struck out Murphy in the 7th; instead he fell behind 3-1 before allowing a single, to which Brian Bruney followed up with a walk and a double. Arod looked like he was safe in the 9th; he was called out and the game was over.

Texas' 1-4 hitters went 1-17. You have to win games when you (essentially) shut out the opponent's top four hitters. The underlying problem though was the eight walks.

Let's just put this one behind us because it will only hurt to dwell on it.

- Who knew you could sue a team for the behavior of its fans? If I thought it was possible, I'd have sued the Red Sox years ago for a fracas I had there.

- Ian Kennedy is scheduled to start Saturday in Anaheim.

- Freddy Garcia could be in the starting pitcher mix. We have Carl Pavano, Eric Milton and Victor Zambrano in the organization, why not another rehab case? Garcia's not that old either (33), and had a fine season the last time he was healthy (2006).

- Big nights for a couple prospects:

Dellin Betances had one of his best starts of the year: 6.2 ip, 6 h, 1 r, 1 bb, 7 k. He's really been in a groove lately, allowing just five runs in his last four starts (24.1 ip), with six walks against 23 strikeouts.

Mark Melancon dominated in his third Triple-A outing: 2 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 bb, 3 k.

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Circle the Wagons

In no particular order.

Let’s win tonight’s game 9-7 and never see Ponson again. Mr. Hughes can’t get here fast enough.

Never in a million years would I ever think I’d say this, but the bullpen misses Farnsworth and needs another good arm. Get Melancon up here and get rid of Rasner. Or hang on to Rasner another week and get rid of one of their useless bench players.

Let’s sacrifice some defense and put Damon in CF and Nady in LF. Melky and Christian are painful to watch. If the Yanks have the lead late, they can get creative – maybe slide Damon to left and Nady to 1B – he can’t be worse than Giambi there can he?

Let’s ask Bud Selig to extend the season by a month, at which time the Yanks could have Wang, Joba, Hughes, Moose and Pettitte in the rotation, and maybe a realtively healthy Matsui. Hideki took some swings yesterday according to Pete Abe. That dude knows how to knock in runs when people are on base, unlike the guys playing these days.

"Well, that kind of puts a damper on even a Yankees win."
-- Phil Rizzuto after hearing about the Pope's death

by matthaggs on Aug 6, 2008 9:49 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Time to set sail on Melky ...

He had several opportunities to come through last night—even getting the PH nod over Pudge and he failed. He’s a good defender who doesn’t file quality at-bats. Melky is as big a reason as any as to why we are losing.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Aug 6, 2008 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

the bases loaded AB

was a moment where he could’ve turned his season around. instead he popped out. Bring up Ajax! (only kidding… kind of)

by Travis G on Aug 6, 2008 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why not?

It might be the kick in the ass that Melky needs.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Aug 6, 2008 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Highly doubtful they would promote Jackson

I don’t expect to see him until this time next year.

by anaconda on Aug 6, 2008 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hughes

will probably get at least one more start in Scranton after tomorrow night. he’s only supposed to go 65-70 pitches. that means 80-85 the next time, then 95-100. the earliest i expect to see him is Aug 17 vs. KC. assuming he’s pitching well and Ponson isn’t, that’s probably when he’ll get the call. otherwise, he’ll likely re-debut against baltimore or boston, two great offensive teams, which isn’t the best way to break him in. but with some creative usage, they could wait until the toronto series at month’s end. to sum up, i’d say Aug 17 or Aug 29-31.
Melancon still has 2 tests to pass: they want to bring him into a mid-inning jam, then they want to do that on consecutive days. assuming he passes, we’ll probably see him by the end of the month.
i definitely agree regarding moving one of Damon/Nady into CF. they’ve both played there before, and the offense would more than make up for the loss in D. Nady (and damon to a lesser extent) has also played some 1b.

by Travis G on Aug 6, 2008 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Can't I just get over the $&@!& Santana deal?

Well, no. Cuz the rationale for turning it down was Minny wanted Hughes AND Melky. As if that was too steep a price.

Wouldn’t a do-over be great?

Your rebuttal, Conda?

I always feel pressure. What I don't have is fear. -- El Duque

by LateInningRelief on Aug 6, 2008 9:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

No....

Never cared about Melky. I didn’t want to move Hughes or Wang.

Again, the deal was never about 2008. It was about 2009 and beyond.

by anaconda on Aug 6, 2008 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wang was never an option,

but Hughes? Reminds me of the scene in the Untouchables when the accountant gets iced in the elevator, with ‘touchable’ written in his own blood.

I know everybody’s tired of hearing me on this stupid topic. But it was a stupid move by Cashman. Period. Sorry, but Hughes could be great, but could also prove out to be injury-prone, a head case, whatever. The one thing about unproven pitchers is that they are unproven. Santana for Melky + Hughes + AAA stud is a no-brainer, imo. Was then, is now. Cashman has been digging himself out of a hole ever since.

I always feel pressure. What I don't have is fear. -- El Duque

by LateInningRelief on Aug 7, 2008 5:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re:

Yes, Wang was an option. To get Santana – the Yanks had to give up either Hughes or Wang in the deal. That’s absolutely true. Cashman said it himself in an interview with M&MD back in March.

Nonetheless, I didn’t want to give up Hughes and other minor leaguers. Couldn’t care less about Melky. I’d rather see them sign Sabathia this season without having to give up anyone.

Besides, Santana’s velocity is a few ticks down than it was just a year ago. He hasn’t regained that velocity at all this season and it’s just his first season of his contract.

Santana is in decline. His best years are behind him. And I’d rather see him decline even further playing for the Mets than for the Yankees.

We didn’t agree on this issue then and we don’t now. We didn’t agree on the Joba issue either, so it’s not the first time we’ve strongly disagreed about a specific issue.

Call me strange, but I think missing the postseason this year would be a good thing for this team. The Yanks haven’t had a chance to take a step back and breathe the last several years and make some of the necessary changes because the fans wouldn’t let them.

And I think their biggest problem is that they were forced to patch holes with spackle and Bondo rather than tear down an entire wall and replace it. I really think that’s what this team needs and they will be better for it next season.

But I’ve been a big picture guy for awhile now so you may not see it the same way I do.

by anaconda on Aug 7, 2008 7:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You were right about Joba

I’ll give you that. Santana, in my view, has another 5-7 good years in him. I’d be surprised if Sabathia has half that in him unless he sheds about 40 pounds.

I always feel pressure. What I don't have is fear. -- El Duque

by LateInningRelief on Aug 7, 2008 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

since 2005/04

santana has declined. his FB velocity has consistently gone down. his LD rate has consistently gone up. his WHIP has gone up. while his walk rate has gone up and his K rate down.

that said, i think anyone would’ve done Kennedy and Melky for Santana. but i wanted to hold onto Hughes, Wang and Joba.

by Travis G on Aug 7, 2008 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Santana is over-rated

If Jeff “Freakin” Karstens can come within an out of pitching a perfect game with the god-awful Pirates, how weak is the National League. Johan Santana thrived in the AL, and should be something like 19-2 right now with a 1.32 era, and 200 k’s.

But he’s not. He’s a middling pitcher who is scuffling along.

Despite Melky sucking this season, I’m glad we didn’t give him or anyone else up for him. Santana is definately trending downward.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Aug 7, 2008 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

But...

Hughes has thus far spent good portions of the last two seasons on the DL. Jaret Wright anyone?

I always feel pressure. What I don't have is fear. -- El Duque

by LateInningRelief on Aug 7, 2008 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Josh Beckett landed on the DL 8 times with the Marlins

And he’s turned out okay.

Not saying Hughes is going to be Beckett – but he can overcome these freak injuries and have a fine career. He is only 22 yrs old.

by anaconda on Aug 7, 2008 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Check that....

Make that 9 times with the Marlins.

by anaconda on Aug 7, 2008 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good Lordy,

are you serious? For every Beckett, there are 3 Wrights. The only things that are certain in life are death, taxes and injury-bedeviled careers for young pitchers.

You are an idealist, and that is why I keep coming back here. I hope Hughes rebounds. But I would have, without a second thought, traded him and Melky for a proven workhorse. All this talk about Santana being on the downward spiral is a bit of dung. I would take a proven sub – 3.0 ERA that projects for 5 more years than the promise of another ace. Look at where the trinity is today: DL, AAA and an emergency starter to replace the other guy on the DL.

I always feel pressure. What I don't have is fear. -- El Duque

by LateInningRelief on Aug 7, 2008 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

you answered your own question

which part is dung? those stats i gave above aren’t lies. i didn’t take them out of thin air. he is declining. as Santana declines, Hughes will improve. i strongly believe that Hughes will be at least as good as Santana within a few years. and cheaply paid. god willing, he and Joba will stay healthy – imagine when they’re both in their prime at the same time.

anyway, Sabathia is even more of a workhorse, and we can acquire him without giving up any players this offseason. as Cash Money says, ‘Why pay twice for the same thing?’

have patience. a lot of great pitchers, (including Santana) sucked early in their careers.

by Travis G on Aug 8, 2008 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Your stats aren't lies

They are just misleading. You say that Santana’s stats have fallen since his career year in 2004, when he had as dominant a year as anybody has, past or present. Eesh. Yeah, the guy’s been on the decline ever since. Guess that’s what happens when you peak too early. Even winning the Cy Young again in 2006 rings a bit hollow. For crying out loud, the guy is 29.

Sabathia is 300 pounds. Sorry, but I give that guy two more good years. He makes Boomer look like a conditioning guru.

I always feel pressure. What I don't have is fear. -- El Duque

by LateInningRelief on Aug 8, 2008 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs