Yankees 7, Angels 4: Melky is the man!

by Ed Valentine on Apr 30, 2009 10:17 PM EDT in News Comment 27 comments

New York Yankees' A.J. Burnett delivers against the Los Angeles Angels in the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 30, 2009, at Yankee Stadium.

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A third straight victory, and a third straight crisply-played game for the Yankees Thursday night in a 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

A few quick impressions.

Two great examples during the game of why Bobby Abreu is no longer a Yankee. First, Nick Swisher hurtled himself into the right-field wall trying to catch a foul ball -- something Abreu never would have done. Second, the Yankees' game-winning rally started because Abreu failed to make a play on a ball hit by Robinson Cano, allowing the Yankees to start their rally.
I don't know how long he can keep it up, but until he cools off Melky Cabrera has to play center field every day (and I doubted I would say that this year). Two hits last night, including the game-winner and the Melk-man is batting .327.
I am loving Ramiro Pena, and wondering why it took so long for Joe Girardi to let this kid play. Two hits, including a rally-capping 8th inning double for his first two big-league RBI. Pena has also been flashing a quality glove. This guy has to stay on the roster once Alex Rodriguez returns.
It was nice to see Girardi give the ball to Phil Coke in a pressure spot. I hope we see more of that.

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Melk

Could Melky have finally tapped into his potential after the battle with Gardner?

by mysportsrumors on Apr 30, 2009 10:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s quite possible that being pushed — hard — is what Melky needs. For most of the past two years it was a given for Melky that no matter what he would play. I thought that, last year especially, he just didn’t bring the effort every day. Of course it is a long year and he had a great April last season, too. We just have to see how it plays out.

by Ed Valentine on May 1, 2009 7:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i agree

i am loving pena right now—great glove plus anything he does offensively is a bonus. however, i do believe they should send him down after a-rod is back to get him regular at bats. while we don’t know what will become of him in the future, riding the pine will only hurt his development. sure berroa sucks but how often would we really need a utility infielder? god forbid someone goes down for an extended period of time, pena can be called back up.

by tombradylikesdudes on Apr 30, 2009 10:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Pena

I agree with that. Hopefully his bat will develop if he plays every day, which he won’t get with ARod back.

by potroast on May 1, 2009 7:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mo

Is he hurting right now? Did anyone catch that grimace Mo made after the last out?

by Shock2580 on Apr 30, 2009 11:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

swisher is kicking ass! we gotta vote this guy into the all star game!

by blindmole on Apr 30, 2009 11:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not to say an injury is a good thing

but Pena is quite an upgrade from Ransom, if he stays anywhere near this productive.

Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti. "I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."

card carrying Bochy Hatter

by natteringnabob on May 1, 2009 1:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i loved it when abreu made those two brutal plays too.....

wish i had some right fields seats just so i could chirp him all game long. no heart and no hustle, big deal if he steals a few bases and grabbed 100 rbis while ny, alot of guys could have done that in front of arod…..

by NF_nyy on May 1, 2009 1:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

name one

by tombradylikesdudes on May 1, 2009 6:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

On the contrary...

Besides his fear of the wall, he did a pretty good job as a Yankee. He always busted it down to first, so I don’t know where your opinion of him comes from.

I was at the stadium last night and the right field bleacher creatures gave him his own personal chant in the bottom of the first inning. He acknowledged.

by bronxbound on May 1, 2009 6:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

melky

melky has 2 more hits (16) than tex (14) in 21 less at-bats

by goyanks69 on May 1, 2009 1:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hot Melky

Perhaps he has now turned a corner with his past winter ball experience and Girardi lighting a fire under his butt by picking Gardner over him.

by BigSlim on May 1, 2009 3:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Melky

Now we should know for certain why we weren’t able to pry Santana from the Twins. Melky was the most coveted piece of that trade. It was either give him up, or we (the Twins) are sending Johan to the Mets.

by bronxbound on May 1, 2009 6:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Let's not go crazy

over Melky. Remember, last year he started fast and had a horrible year. I am really glad he is hitting well right now, and he does seem more patient and disciplined. But, we will see. My bet is that CF goes back-and-forth all season. Gardner will also have his hot stretches.

by Ed Valentine on May 1, 2009 7:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dude

Does Melky owe you money? You have always been ragging on him. Can’t you just enjoy the kid doing well? IF and when he cools down you can get all excited.

by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on May 1, 2009 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am

enjoying Melky’s run. I’m just saying let’s not get overly excited. I hope he continues to hit this way. Oh, and if he wants to send some ca$h my way I’ll take it.

by Ed Valentine on May 1, 2009 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope Melky succeeds

even though it means listening to John Sterling bellowing “The Melk-man delivers!!!” after each homer.

Does he stay up nights thinking these things up?

by django48 on May 1, 2009 9:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I am afraid he does

How bad is Swishers “Jolly old St. Nick.” I hate him almost as badly as “his Yankees companero” Susan. John, She’s a companerA, allegedly.

If I's known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself. Casey

by Cbeck3 on May 1, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

John Sterling

Is terrible.

“Mark sends a TEX message to right field!”
“Texiera hits the Mark!”

Please stop.

The A bomb was bad enough.

by HappyLuckyGoldenDragonNumber1! on May 1, 2009 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

we should start a poll

for the worst Sterling nicknames

by holycowboy on May 1, 2009 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wrong

we should not give him any attention except to let the people he works for know he stinks and needs to go.

If I's known I was going to live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself. Casey

by Cbeck3 on May 1, 2009 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Used to be

they had the same announcers for TV and radio. I’d much rather listen to anyone else – Kay, Singleton, Cone, Flaherty, O’Neill, Leiter, anyone.

by django48 on May 1, 2009 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

KAY IS HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!

Those few games without him were like a breath of fresh air. Flaherty, Leiter, and O’Neil have no personality. The only one who I enjoy listening to is Cone. Singleton has a great voice but he’s been shaky early this season. Scooter I miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Ozone on May 1, 2009 7:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sterling

I laugh when he makes his home run calls but its because its just so over the top and ridiculous. What makes him horrendous is his play by play is abysmal. People are depending on his every word to tell them what’s happening and far too often he screws it up royally. A favorite of mine was last season, I cant recall the players involved but he started his “it is high it is far…” bs, really emphatically, then ….pause……and “Oh! Im wrong!” in such a self loathing tone that my friends and I laughed and laughed. We were hanging out bbq’ing and such so I went inside to see the actual ball hit on tv to see how close it was. It was caught before the warning track, can of corn style. Listen to Sterling 3 innings and he’s guaranteed to absolutely butcher a call, causing the listener to have an emotional reaction they later regret almost as much as tuning in to him in the first place.

by Ozone on May 1, 2009 7:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This was a great game ..

I was there, and it was a great baseball game

by I Bleed Pinstripes on May 1, 2009 1:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Tex's struggles

Obviously Texeiera has yet to hit a groove here in New York, but he’s not going outside the strike zone to swing at pitches he can’t hit well and he’s leading the team in walks. His OBP is above average. Obviously I’m looking on the bright side of what so far has been a disappointing start, but he will get much better. The fact that he’s taking his walks is not a small thing. Once A-Rod gets back they won’t be able to pitch around him, and mark my words, when he gets hot we’re gonna love him even more than we could ever love A-Rod, and the reason is because he hits with RISP.

by chambliss76 on May 1, 2009 3:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs