Game #114 - New York Yankees @ Texas Rangers
New York Yankees at Texas Rangers, Aug 6, 2008 8:05 PM EDT
NEW YORK YANKEES

Johnny Damon, CF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Álex Rodríguez, DH
Jason Giambi, 1B
Xavier Nady, LF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Ivan Rodriguez, C
Wilson Betemit, 3B
TEXAS RANGERS

Ian Kinsler, 2B
Frank Catalanotto, DH
Michael Young, SS
Josh Hamilton, CF
Marlon Byrd, RF
David Murphy, LF
Gerald Laird, C
Chris Davis, 1B
Ramon Vazquez, 3B
PREGAME NOTES:
Yanks have lost 7 of their last 10 after winning 8 straight.
Tommy Hunter has never faced the Yanks or any of their hitters.
Sidney Ponson is a lifetime 8-2, 5.22 ERA, 1.46 WHIP in 18 games (16 starts) against the Rangers.
Rangers' hitters vs. Ponson can be viewed here.
JOBA TO THE DL: By now, most of you already know that Joba Chamberlain is headed to the DL with his ailing shoulder.
Joe Girardi has not divulged any further details on the condition or the results of the MRI he had yesterday so the news cannot be good.
Brian Cashman is flying back to NY from Oklahoma City and is expected to report the extent of Joba's injury.
Personally, I no longer care if the Yanks make the postseason in 2008 or not. The only things I care about is Joba's long term health and this team making the necessary changes to the roster over the offseason to make this team younger and strengthen the starting rotation for 2009.
I'll go into more much detail on the latter in the coming days.
KENNEDY TO START FRIDAY: Ian Kennedy will now pitch Friday against the Angels this weekend and Dan Giese will be pushed back to Saturday. Sounds like a logical move since Kennedy last pitched on Sunday and his turn in the rotation for Scranton would have also fallen on Friday.
MELKY SITS AGAIN: Obviously, it appears Girardi and the Yankee brass is finally getting tired of Melky Cabrera. He's now sitting for the third straight game and has been the subject of many trade rumors the last several weeks - and not in a good way.
ANOTHER JOBA UPDATE:
Here is the latest from Brian Cashman via Pete Abe:
This from Brian Cashman: Chamberlain has what is being described as rotator cuff tendinitis. He will be rested for “about a week” and then start a throwing program after being evaluated again.
He will return to New York.
Just for your own reference: “tendinitis” is a nice way to say he has a little tear in his rotator cuff.
Joe Girardi said before the game he was optimistic Joba would play again this season. But a rotator cuff issue is nothing to mess around with. Don’t expect to see Chamberlain any time soon this season, if at all.
So there you have it.
I wouldn't be shocked if Joba misses the rest of the season because the Yanks are going to be ultra-conservative with his injury. And that's not a bad thing.
We've already seen one shoulder injury get worse this season (Jorge Posada) because he wasn't shut down long enough and rushed his way back into the lineup.
That's not going to happen with Joba. No chance. They will absolutely make sure Joba is 100% healthy before he sets foot on a mound again.
This team would rather miss the postseason than risk the long term health of the jewel of the franchise.
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Why can't we get guys like Karstens?
Retired 23 straight on his way to a 2 hit shutout against AZ today. That follows 6 shoutout innings against the Cubbies. Record for Pittsburgh: 15 scoreless innings. Plus he got 2 hits. Marte’s record: 4 games; 2 games in which he was responsible for the team’s loss. Way to go, Cashman.
I wouldn't make too much of it
Karstens was not in the Yanks’ long term plans. It goes to show you how bad the NL competition is and they probably didn’t have much of a scouting report on him.
Karstens was no jewel in the Yankee farm system. No worries.
Keep in mind that Darrell Rasner is essentially the same pitcher as Karstens and was nearly unhittable for a few starts in May until the league quickly caught up to him.
You may be correct
I expect to see Karstens back in a Yankees uniform in about 8 years, after he’s had a moderately successful career in the NL and is on the decline. They’ll overpay him as a free agent (as they always do) and he’ll win about 3 games for the Yanks before he goes down with an injury.
by cph on Aug 6, 2008 8:15 PM EDT up reply actions
He's going to pitch for Scranton tomorrow
He’ll have a pitch count of roughly 60-70.
He’s probably a couple of weeks away.
At least it took 3 pitches for Jeter to strike out
Way to get that pitch count up!
by cph on Aug 6, 2008 8:15 PM EDT up reply actions
If they sign Sabathia....
it will probably be: Sabathia, Pettitte, Wang, Joba, and Hughes.
On paper, that’s as good as any rotation in the AL.
Here's a thought....
I hope Karstens pitches well the rest of the season.
That could inadvertently drive up the value of other Yankee farmhands in the system for trade bait during the offseason.
Anaconda
What do you think let Abreu walk at the end of the season?
I would definitely let Abreu walk
Giambi too.
If they do sign Sabathia – certainly not a given since he has to want to sign with them – they could use some of the young arms on the farm to package for a bat or two.
They need to get younger. They need to replace Abreu and Giambi this season. And they will need to replace Matsui and Damon after next season.
Anaconda
I was talking about the current Yankee season with a friend of mine here at work. He really feels the Red Sox are good at letting ballplayer’s walk example Johnny Damon? What do you think about their method of letting guys walk?
It's a good move
Even more so now that the game has really changed the last couple of years.
I’m a big believer that the banishment of greenies has really had an adverse effect on older players. 35 yr old players are clearly showing their age now and may not have showed it a few years ago.
So we let Giambi & Abreu walk
Lets go after Texiera at first & do we resign Nady to replace Abreu? Do you think Austin Jackson and Brett Gardner will be ready by next year for the MLB? How far off is Jesus Montero from being MLB ready?
Sign Abreu
Or tell me who’s better that we can get.
I’m less sure of Giambi, but I think I’d sign him if he’ll sign short. I think he wantsto be a Yank.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)
I think Cashman has already put that into motion
by trading for Nady. He’s probably going to be the right-fielder next season.
Abreu is going to want a multi-year deal and he can get it somewhere else.
ok Who
Plays left
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)
and you stay with Melky?
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)
Hell no....
I wanted Melky traded at the end of 2006. I wanted them to sell high on him two years ago.
Ok here is humble opinion
Nady & Matsui RF Platoon
Damon LF
Melky & Gardner CF Platoon maybe
Texira 1B
Cano 2B
Jeter SS
Arod 3B
Posada & Pudge C Platoon whoever isnt catching have them DH
no way
first of all pudge is not going to be back.
Matsui will be mostly DH with a little left field
CF will be interesting I doubt they go get a big name b/c A-Jax is coming up in a year or two
I am not sure about 1b depends on Posada’s health
I like Nady as RF (he is not a Platoon player)
C is the most interesting position becaue of Posada’s health but Molina is still signed as a backup.
I see the new rotation for next year the most exciting position for us. The potential for a CC, Wang, Andy, Joba, Franchise is huge. Keep IPK as a number 6 in case of injury. Thats a great rotation. With the pick up of maybe one good bullpen guy we would have a money team.
( by the way did anyone put money on Andy and Moose being our healthy starting pitchers?)
Cano is a Pimp
by yankeechaser on Aug 6, 2008 11:34 PM EDT up reply actions
here we go
another day, another beating for our starter
by long time listener on Aug 6, 2008 8:33 PM EDT reply actions
Don't be hard on Ponson
He lasted a whole inning.
by cph on Aug 6, 2008 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Well
I guess I don’t have to worry about Joba’s innings cap.
Think there’s any chance they turn Joba back into a bullpen guy because they don’t feel his shoulder has 200 innings per season in it? A la Papelbon? I know that Pap Smear wasn’t the starting pitcher prospect that Joba is, but desperation and concern for his shoulder is what led them to move him to the pen and keep him there isn’t it?
"Well, that kind of puts a damper on even a Yankees win."
-- Phil Rizzuto after hearing about the Pope's death
I know
that he is more valuable as a starter, I get it.
But he’s more valuable in the bullpen throwing two pitches and 80 innings a season than he is on the 60 day DL with a broken shoulder.
We’re not anywhere near this point right now, but I think there’s at least a chance they could get there.
"Well, that kind of puts a damper on even a Yankees win."
-- Phil Rizzuto after hearing about the Pope's death
I'm not sure about that
A relatively minor shoulder injury probably isn’t going to raise a red flag that Joba can’t be a starter.
I'm not sure
that relatively minor and shoulder injury go together in the same sentence.
My fingers are crossed though.
"Well, that kind of puts a damper on even a Yankees win."
-- Phil Rizzuto after hearing about the Pope's death
Anaconda said in the game thread that
tendonitis is a small tear. That’s not true, unless he was being sarcastic because of the yankees tendency to under report injuries. All tendonitis really is is an inflamed tendon making it uncomfortable to glide like it normally does. I’ve had tendonitis in my shoulders pretty badly before (they were so inflamed that it started pinching a nerve in my shoulder and I lost feeling in my fingers) that went right away with rest.
Of course if its a misdiagnosis or underreported like it was with Posada then its very serious.
Crowds are won and lost and won again, but our hearts beat for the diehards.
by Edwantsacracker on Aug 6, 2008 9:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I didn't mean anything by it
if they were PeteAbe’s words then it definitely was sarcasm because he hates when the yankees don’t tell him exactly what is wrong with their players.
Crowds are won and lost and won again, but our hearts beat for the diehards.
by Edwantsacracker on Aug 6, 2008 9:34 PM EDT up reply actions
The only thing that scares me about this injury
is that Pete is right that the Yanks always tend to downplay injuries. It seems like they are never upfront about that stuff.
Posada supposedly had tendinitis and Wang’s injury wasn’t viewed as anything too serious until they acknowledged something completely different a few days later.
Not to start a political rant, but the Yanks are often like the US government. Can’t get a straight answer out of them no matter what you do.
BTW...
Cano had another mental error on that line drive.
Instead of immediately flipping the ball to Jeter and getting the force out – he decided to argue with the ump and it cost them an out.
I probably wouldn’t shop Cano – but I’d most definitely take the “untouchable” label off him. If other GMs want him, I’d certainly listen to offers.
Anaconda we should have sold Cano when he was hitting the hell out of the ball in July
You know the old saying sell high
Cano
fell down in the opposite direction of second base after he caught the ball. Once he got up and got the ball to Jeter the runner (unless it was Molina) probably would have been safe at first.
Plus, arguing the way he did might have had some effect on them reversing the call, which, for a minute anyway, prevented a run from scoring.
"Well, that kind of puts a damper on even a Yankees win."
-- Phil Rizzuto after hearing about the Pope's death
collision at home plate
Both guys were down when they went to commercial. Got the 3rd out, though.
by long time listener on Aug 6, 2008 8:46 PM EDT up reply actions
he's one the bench now
looks a little shaken up, but both guys are on their feet.
by long time listener on Aug 6, 2008 8:47 PM EDT up reply actions
scratch that
Pudge is out of the game. Opening Day 2009, please come soon.
by long time listener on Aug 6, 2008 8:50 PM EDT up reply actions
So how much longer can Jeter hold onto his position at short?
by Pride O' Ireland on Aug 6, 2008 8:53 PM EDT reply actions
Gonzelez was expendable
There’s a kid by the name of Ramiro Pena playing in Trenton right now who is essentially a younger Alberto Gonzalez.
Pretty much the same kind of player – great glove and range but not much of a hitter.
Pena played in the Futures Game a few weeks ago with Jesus Montero – probably the top hitter on the Yankee farm.
Alberto Gonzalez
He’s a nice glove but his bat keeps him from being an everyday prospect.
by Pride O' Ireland on Aug 6, 2008 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Nice inning
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)
hey a clutch hit!
I thought baseball outlawed them this year
by long time listener on Aug 6, 2008 8:57 PM EDT reply actions
wouldn't have been a hit if the manager played the infield back, would've gotten a run home but still
eh, a hit's a hit
He hit the ball pretty hard last night with the bases loaded and it was just an out. It all evens out in the end.
by long time listener on Aug 6, 2008 9:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Clutch my ass.
That’s an out if Ron Washington doesn’t bring the infield in
by Pride O' Ireland on Aug 6, 2008 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions
RBI either way
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)
But he's got a great average...
I hate to say this about a veteran like A-Rod, but he’d probably be hitting (a) more clutch and (b) for an even better average if he just worked on his eye. It’s always the same: take strike one, swing or foul at strike two (usually out of the zone), then either ground out or strikeout. We’ve been saying this about the Yankees in general, but wouldn’t it benefit A-Rod to swing at some of those first-pitch strikes?
I hate swinging at first pitch strike, although Abreu’s numbers aren’t as great I think he has a much better approach…RBIs…
But Abreu actually battles back when behind in the count.
Haven’t seen much of that from A-Rod. Abreu works the count full—a lot. A-Rod usually puts the ball in play when he’s at 1-2 or further behind.
Yeah, but he's the Yanks' baby
for the next 10 years. He will retire a Yankee and wear the interlocking NY to the Hall of Fame.
Watch A-Rod next season
For whatever reason, he’s had his MVP seasons in odd years 2003, 2005, and 2007.
Probably just a coincidence, but all I can say is that I hope he hits the first dinger on Opening Day next season. I’d hate to see an opponent get that first one in the new yard.
If Francona wasn't willing to pull Jeter from the 2-hole during the ASG...
no Yankee manager would do it, unless Jeter started hitting below the Mendoza Line. Too much history.
By the way...
I’m in Japan right now and have been keeping an eye on Japanese baseball. Completely different world.
What do you know about Yu Darvish?
Not that I want the Yanks to bid on him. Just curious if there’s anything to the hype.
Everybody in Japan knows about him...
although it seems like for some there’s a little racial bias, what with him being half-Iranian. Anyway, I spoke to a high school coach here and he says that, from what he’s seen, Darvish has better stuff than Dice-K (or, as some in Red Sox Nation have recently taken to calling him, “Dice-BB”).
I’d actually like to see him in pinstripes, but maybe we could get somebody else to have him for a couple of years first, so that we don’t have to go through that ridiculous bidding war.
He may or may not be on the auction block this offseason
but he’ll command a $100M+ commitment if he does. I think the Yanks will be a little gunshy for a few years with Japanese pitchers.
Japanese hitters have had pretty good success in the majors, but only a couple Japanese pitchers have come over and succeeded for more than a season or two.
Dice-K has been good for his two seasons, but we’ll have to see how he pans out. The only other Japanese pitcher who I can remember having good success for more than a season or two is Nomo.
I’m sure the Yanks ill go hard after Sabathia and hopes he signs with them. If so, the Yankee rotation should be in good shape for the next few years as long as they don’t get riddled with injuries like this season.
Regardless of this at-bat...
doesn’t it seem like Molina’s swinging the bat a lot better now that he’s sharing time with another good catcher?
I sure hope some of that Nady magic carries over into next season
He’s clearly not the .330, 20 HR player that he’s been this season because his numbers are far better than any other season.
But he is a solid player and a grinder and I’d rather see him out in RF than Bobby Abreu.
For the rest of this year
this should be the outfield alignment as often as possible.
Whatever they lose defensively going from Melky to Damon, they gain a little back because Nady is a better leftfielder than Damon is.
They played Bernie out there for a few years, and his arm was just about as bad as Damon’s.
I don’t think Johnny has a full season of CF in him anymore, but he can play there for two months.
"Well, that kind of puts a damper on even a Yankees win."
-- Phil Rizzuto after hearing about the Pope's death
Abreu
What’s the contract situation with Abreu? The club has an option on him for next year, right?
by Pride O' Ireland on Aug 6, 2008 10:11 PM EDT reply actions
Agreed
I thought if he had an option I wouldn’t mind having him for one more year but I wouldn’t sign him to a multi-year deal.
by Pride O' Ireland on Aug 6, 2008 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Why is Rick Sutcliff thinking Joba's going back to being an 8th inning guy this season and next season
big idiot imo
Next Season's Rotation
Pitchers-
Sabthia
Wang
Joba
Phil
Petite
Lineup for next year how does this look fella's?
Nady & Matsui RF Platoon
Damon LF
Melky & Gardner CF Platoon maybe
Texira 1B
Cano 2B
Jeter SS
Arod 3B
Posada & Pudge C Platoon whoever isnt catching have them DH
Ponson is growing on me
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)

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