New York Yankees Notes: A Cervelli Interview
by Ed Valentine on May 23, 2010 8:56 AM EDT
in New York Yankees News
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PrintOur man Francisco Cervelli is the subject of Steve Serby's Sunday Q&A this morning. Serby should have solicited our help in finding the appropriately dignified questions to ask Cervelli, but there is some stuff in there that is enjoyable.
Here is Cervelli talking about the fans.
Q: Why are you so popular with Yankees fans?
A: I don't know . . . maybe the energy or something like that (chuckles).
Q: Maybe one reason is when you wear that big helmet, you look like a little kid.
A: (Chuckles) Maybe, maybe. A lot of people have told me, "That's embarrassing." I say, "No, nothing big league is embarrassing. It's not the way you look, it's how you do in the field."
Inability to finish off hitters plagues Hughes | yankees.com
Twenty-one times on Saturday, the Mets extended at-bats with two-strike foul balls. Four times they delivered two-strike hits, and four times they came through with two-out runs against the Yankees' right-hander, enough to hand the Bombers a 5-3 loss at Citi Field.
"I want to be aggressive and throw strikes and not be afraid to miss," Hughes said. "But when I'm consistently missing inside the strike zone, they're going to make you pay. Now and then, it's fine, but to be constantly throwing the ball all over the place is a sign that you're just not that good that day."
My take: Hughes is justifiably proud of his fastball. I would love to see an occasional two-strike curveball or change, though, just to keep hitters honest. At this point I think they know the fastball is coming.
Humbled Teixeira 'can't get worse' | yankees.com
Following an 0-for-4 night with three strikeouts and a walk in Saturday's 5-3 Yankees loss to the Mets, Teixeira has one hit in his past 23 at-bats. His batting average is down to .204, and his on-base percentage stands at .325.
"I feel terrible," Teixeira said. "I can't get any worse right now. I'm going to take a step back and just get back to what I've always done, and that's produce."
My take: Tex needs to start hitting. The Yanks are hurting right now, and they need their big guns to pull them through.
Grand return will spell end of no-Winn situation - NYPOST
Curtis Granderson can't get back soon enough for the Yankees.
The injured center fielder went 0-for-4 yesterday in a rehabilitation start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and the Yankees are hoping he'll be back by Friday.
Because Brett Gardner shifted to center when Granderson went down, left field has been a problem since then, with the Yankees playing Randy Winn there nearly every day.
Last night, the problems cropped again. Winn got the start and went 1-for-2 and made a brutal play in the outfield.
Winn is quickly on his way to becoming one of the fans' least favorite Yankees. In the sixth last night, he badly misplayed a fly ball from Angel Pagan that was scored a double. Pagan ended up scoring an insurance run for the Mets in the inning.
Winn has been exposed as not playing well enough to be an everyday player. Overall, he's batting .213 with almost twice as many strikeouts (15) as RBIs (eight).
My take: I really don't want to bury Winn, who has had a good major-league career. It looks like the guy is done, however. He is useless right-handed, and even as a lefty can't catch up to a good fastball any longer. Have to wonder if he is playing his way off the roster.
Not Worried About Rivera - Bats Blog
Mariano Rivera has given up runs in three straight games, only the sixth time he has done so as a reliever. Therefore some are thinking his aura of invincibility is waning, his career is winding down, his age is catching up, and something must be wrong. Except every year Rivera seems to encounter a rough patch, and every year he rebounds and regains his indomitable form.
My take: Don't bury Mo yet. I still think his consistency is suffering from that two-week layoff, and that he will be fine. The only hit that really bothered me was the double by Ike Davis the other night. That was on a cutter buried in off the inside corner, yet Davis was able to get to it and hit it hard. Rivera threw that at 90 mph. No way Davis hits that if it's the 92-93 mph of a couple seasons ago.
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Granderson
coming back will help the defense, but I don’t see him helping offensively. So when he does come back, I hope the Yanks cut ties with Winn and keep Miranda and Russo on the roster.
Granderson will definitely help the offense
He was in a slump before he got hurt, but he’s a much better hitter than what we have filling his spot right now.
As a fan it’s much more palatable to see younger guys like Russo and Miranda get a shot than to watch old retreads like Randy Winn, but Winn isn’t going to get released yet. The Yankees liked him enough to sign him (not sure why), so I doubt they’d give up on him after less than 2 months in favor of 2 guys who have options. Miranda will probably stay up and platoon at DH with Thames. Winn will be on the roster and won’t play much. Russo will get sent down. His best shot to stay on the team would be over Ramiro Pena, but Russo hasn’t played much shortstop.
by Let's Talk About Tex Baby on May 23, 2010 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions
Offensively
Granderson > Winn/Thames
"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
That
would appear to be a definite possibility. And I would not mind it at all. And you can’t tell me Granderson isn’t better offensively than Winn, so, yes, he will help the offense.
by Ed Valentine on May 23, 2010 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions
What's up with Tex
Keep Tex at #3… he is due for a hot streak and when he is hot he hits everything… I wish he was more consistent
Keep Winn & Miranda send Russo down. Pena is our infield sub. Winn is the best backup OF when Granderson gets back. Miranda as DH against righties until or if Johnson ever gets back.
When we get back to full strength(June???) we will make a move… buying time until Granderson gets back.
by YANKEES FOREVER on May 23, 2010 11:30 AM EDT reply actions
Keep Winn, send Russo down? Why?
Do you even watch the games? Winn looked like David Murphy in the field last night, which kills the whole " He was only on the team as a defensive replacement" argument. I would rather see a pitcher coming to the plate than Winn at this point, Russo has been a bit of a spark and should remain.
Russo
Let’s see more ABs from the kid before we say keep him/don’t keep him. Can’t rush to anoint the guy. But, you can’t be impressed with Winn at all.
by Ed Valentine on May 23, 2010 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm with you on Hughes, Ed
It seemed like for the entirety of last nights game I was yelling “throw a friggin curve!”
And in the Cora at bat he just kept throwing him the same up and in fastball over and over and over. Eventually he’s gunna figure it out and put a good swing on it.
I'm Lord Duggan and I approve this message.
Is Hughes or Cervelli
calling the pitches? Or is Girardi? I didn’t really notice if Hughes was shaking off Cervelli a lot.
I'm pretty sure it's not Girardi
and Hughes was shaking him off some, but not all the time (if I remember correctly), so I think it falls on both Hughes and Cervelli to be a little more creative.
I'm Lord Duggan and I approve this message.
by Lord Duggan on May 23, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Watch Hughes
He shook off Cervelli quite a bit last night. He’s proud of the fastball, but he has to use that great curveball as a put-away pitch sometimes.
by Ed Valentine on May 23, 2010 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions
I am
pretty sure the signs come fron Tony Pena, so whoever is on the mound is shaking
off the catcher via the bench coach, so at that point it’s up to the catcher to put down another sign. Regarding Mo the other night, looked like he was hitting 92 versus Bay?
Sometimes, you have to go away from your strength (Mets announcers were saying Davis loves the ball down & in)….That’s when he can use his backdoor cutter, but right now he doesn’t have pinpoint command to do that on the outside corner, needs more work.
Stay thirsty my friends.
by Great Gatsby on May 23, 2010 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions
MO looks like he's going all cutter doesn't he?
I dunno if I’ve seen one of those power sinkers in a while, or at least when he’s been going """bad"" these past few outings.
The cutter is still the cutter. But I know that’s what ‘revitalized’ MO a bit by the 2nd half last season, he started using that sinker.
Just keep winning
by FreeBradshaw on May 23, 2010 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions
The
two seamer he uses more on RH hitters, because they cheat away to try to get the barrel on the cutter, in his case not a true sinker, more side movement.
Stay thirsty my friends.
by Great Gatsby on May 23, 2010 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions
I've seen the two-seamer a few times this season
I don’t think I’ve seen it quite as often as last season. It strikes me that it’s the left-handed batters who are hurting him more than the righties, though, these last few games.
Usqueadbaugham! Anam muck an dhoul ! Did ye drink me doornail?
I doubt
that the signs are coming from the bench. I don’t see that at all.
by Ed Valentine on May 23, 2010 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Mariano did this last year...
and while this past I guess week and a half haven’t been his best…well, MO didn’t give up a run before that didn’t he? And he did the same stuff last year against the Red Sox and Rays didn’t he? His velocity is actually up this year, so its probably just a matter of time before MO is MO.
MO needs to get consistent work. How’s about he gets the opp. to pitch tonight?
As for Hughes, I think its about time he shows that changeup. I agree also that he could unleash that curve a bit more too. He’s been almost a 2 pitch guy with just the fast and cutter.
Just keep winning
No worries about Mo
It’s not just last year. Every season he gets roughed up a few times, all close to each other. I agree it would be good to get him consistent work.
You’re absolutely right about Hughes being a two-pitch pitcher. Hopefully, he’s been holding those other pitches back because he hasn’t needed them and not because he’s not confident with them.
Usqueadbaugham! Anam muck an dhoul ! Did ye drink me doornail?
Cervelli on Alex
He’s even got Alex figured out…“‘cause he’s worried about everything, and he tries to win all the time.” He’s refreshingly honest.
His full answer on what Alex is like:
I think he’s the smart player (I’ve) ever seen in my life . . . (he’s) got information about everything. He (says), “When I was your age, I had 100 questions every day for Stan Javier, for Jay Buhner, Ken Griffey, Edgar Martinez . . . 100 questions. It’s the only way you can learn.” And (I’ve) got 100 questions for him every day too. If you see, in the dugout, I spend more time with him than anybody, ‘cause he’s worried about everything, and he tries to win all the time.
I wish we could continue to just show up and play for no reason. No umpires, no scorers. Just show up and have fun.
-- Alex Rodriguez
people always wanna rip A-Rod
but stuff like that just lets you know he’s a very good teammate
Just keep winning
by FreeBradshaw on May 23, 2010 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah but todays "media" wants stories that will sell magazines and give them hits on their websites
They will never report anything good, just sensationalist propaganda bullshit
This is why we blog here
We know the real deal.
I wish we could continue to just show up and play for no reason. No umpires, no scorers. Just show up and have fun.
-- Alex Rodriguez
+100000000000000000
I wish we could continue to just show up and play for no reason. No umpires, no scorers. Just show up and have fun.
-- Alex Rodriguez
The +100000000000000000 was for Free's comment
And ya’ know what? I feel like I’m always defending Al too. Cervelli’s comment will be my standard answer now.
I wish we could continue to just show up and play for no reason. No umpires, no scorers. Just show up and have fun.
-- Alex Rodriguez
They might really be this god damn good....
"You know as painful as it is I've had to let a few people go over the years. ..Yogi Berra, Lou Piniella, Bucky Dent, Billy Martin, Dallas Green, Billy Martin, Stump Merrill, Billy Martin, Bob Lemon, Billy Martin".
by ReprezentinNJerz on May 23, 2010 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Trust Me They Are
And the scary thing is half the team hasnt even been hitting. Upton, Bartlett, Zobrist,Pena, and Burrell have all been not hitting. The pitching is maybe pitching a bit over what they should be but not much. And now with Blaylock replacing Burrell they gotten even better. Astros just tied it up!!
I can't understand why the entire baseball establishment
has missed the fact that Burrell is a bum….
"You know as painful as it is I've had to let a few people go over the years. ..Yogi Berra, Lou Piniella, Bucky Dent, Billy Martin, Dallas Green, Billy Martin, Stump Merrill, Billy Martin, Bob Lemon, Billy Martin".
by ReprezentinNJerz on May 23, 2010 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions
They have now...you dont see "Pat The Bat" getting another job, do you?
Damn them Rays took the lead again
I'm sure someone will give him a chance....
I am just amazed that his myth has gone on for so long. All allusions of Burrell as a “great” player seem to come from his 2002 Philly season.
"You know as painful as it is I've had to let a few people go over the years. ..Yogi Berra, Lou Piniella, Bucky Dent, Billy Martin, Dallas Green, Billy Martin, Stump Merrill, Billy Martin, Bob Lemon, Billy Martin".
by ReprezentinNJerz on May 23, 2010 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions
He wasnt a bad player in Philly
Isnt he only 32 or 33? Thats really not old for a ball player, guess he’s an old 32 or 33. If you cant thrive in Tampa where there is no pressure like in a big market, you are most likely done.
wow the day thier pitching utter sucks...their offense score 10
complete opposite of every yankees game recently
Yes, up to this point of the season
they are looking like the Yankees of years past; Damn good. I still believe their pitching will falter as the season drags on…let’s hope so anyway!
i'm sure the pitching will fall..they are outpreforming their true levels
seriosuly idon’t see howthey are so good looking at the numbers…and i can;t them maintaing it
Shields and Garza are decent pitchers who are reaching their prime
Price was a very highly touted prospect, so he is no surprise. Davis also is a highly ranked spect who is maturing quicker than expected and Niemann who was drafted pretty high came into his own last year with double digit wins. And if an injury occurs or someone struggles they have Hellickson in the wings. Also as I watch the game today, they have a setup man, Benoit, who is on fire.
Why would young pitching falter?
I think they have built a powerhouse, but I think we can beat them if we are at full strength.
well thier FIP is way higher than their era
meaning despite putting up good numbers batter are making good contact with them but is saved by defense. at some point ppla re going to hit it where it can’t be caught and the numbers will rise. like how good as hughes is he numbers are bound to rise
With the defense they have, I doubt this is going to change much
I know it sucks to hear, but the Rays are really that good. They can beat you in so many ways, pitching, hitting, speed, defense. They arent going to keep up this pace but they are going to make the playoffs and are going to be very dangerous.
iunno they are good..but looking at the lineup half the team isn;t hitting
they are getting just what thye need to squeeze by…in games. i mean i want to say they are that good, but the numbers don’t show it (besides the win loss). it’s really hard to say…they are banking on alot of their player ti have the best years of thier careers and so far it has happened. But it’s still early tbh.
That tells you how good they are
Half of the lineup hasn’t done anything yet, and they are still playing .700 ball, sure the pitching will come back to earth, but then as evidenced by today, the hitting will catch up. And unlike 08, they have plenty of depth. Aybar is a bench player, he would be starting for most teams, Blalock is a potential 25 HR guy, they also have a great young catcher in Jaso, who came out of nowhere.
i'm not denying they are good now
but it’s really luck that certain days ur pitching is bad but ur offense is good or ur ptiching gets u just enough to win and w/e said combo. and so far they seem VERY lucky. Like that 1-0 win over grienke, just enough to win. at some point they will have games where they get avg pitching and the bats don’t show up..like yanks for the past few games. i see them being good, but right now i feel like they are out playing their true levels by ALOT.
I dont agree
Going into the season every expert had the Rays either making the playoffs or just missing. Are they going to play .700 ball the rest of the way? No(I sure hope not) but if the Yanks are going to win the east, they will be battling the Rays till the end for it. The pitching will come back to earth but the hitting will start hitting. Good teams win those 1-0 games, they are good.
well personally i think winning 1-0 is more luck that skills
it just means both pitching was good, but ur offense was just lucky enough to get one hit to score than the other team. the othe team can be ripping liners bjut rite at ppl but ur team hits blooper to score a run, thats basically luck. i agree with you they are good, i’m just saying i’m having a hard time being convinced of how truly great they are.
The Rays have largely avoided putting their middle relief
into games because they’ve gotten such extreme length from their starters. As noted above, their FIP indicates that some of their starters are getting some fortuitous bounces. When that normalizes, their middle relief is going to be relied upon, and hopefully, they lose some games, and we’re within striking distance.
I'm Lord Duggan and I approve this message.
Other than Choate ...
their middle relief isnt bad either. Sonnanstine isnt bad for a longman, Wheeler is okay, and if Benoit is as good as he looked today, I dont see much weakness in the pen. Sorry, living in Tampa I know alot about this team and their bandwagon fans. Hey at least it aint the Sox.
All relief pitchers look better
when they aren’t being overused because the starters go 7 innings just about every game.
Like every other team in baseball, when the Rays have to log more innings in the pen, they’re going to get less effective.
I'm Lord Duggan and I approve this message.
Of course but ..
The Rays also dont have the problems the Yanks and Sox have with older starting pitching. Their pitchers are more likely to go 7 innings, on a side note, watching Tigers game, Damon just made a great play in CF!! I cant make this stuff up,lol
I know a lot of guys on here
don’t miss him, but I do. To me, he is THE “Perfect” number 2 hitter, especially for the Yankees.
I dont agree
Damon came off one of his best seasons, made a key play to help win the WS and he is suppose to take a gigantic pay cut? Guess NJ was money well spent instead of bringing back a guy that helped win a WS and is still playing while NJ got hurt as a DH.
If you told Cashman at the beginning of the offseason
he could get Johnny Damon for 1 year/ 7-8 MM, I’m sure he makes the deal. But I highly doubt that if Scott Boras can rightfully say “the Yankees are in on the bidding” the price stays that low.
And I appreciate his help in winning the World Series, but you can’t give $13MM a season to an old player who can’t play defense, so yes, he has to take a pay cut.
Also, we had Granderson and Swisher locking in two of the outfield positions, and will more than likely planned to sign an outfielder (Werth, Crawford, etc) this offseason, as well as emerging talent in GGBG with bench players in Thames and Winn. Throw in NJ and that’s a lot of bodies in the outfield/DH spot to hold down the fort, and it doesn’t restrict us in the coming season when there are better free agent hitters and pitchers.
Cashman didn’t want to be tied down to an aging player with a multiyear deal when there may not have been a spot for him on the roster. Given the recent rash of injuries, we could certainly use him, but Cashman isn’t psychic. The problem we have are the injuries to Posada, Swisher, and Granderson, not the fact that we didn’t resign Damon.
This nostalgia basedlonging for Damon just baffles me. If I had to choose between him and Matsui, I would have kept Matsui, but I have no problem with letting them both go seeing the amount of money we already have pinned into aging players.
I'm Lord Duggan and I approve this message.
It's water under the bridge
but I’d have kept Damon specifically to be the primary DH batting in the 2 hole. I think this, being perfect for the 2 hole, and his speed gives him the nod over Matsui.
The only way Damon is useful to the team
is a 1 year deal. He ended up getting that from the Tigers, but I doubt if the Yankees are involved the price stays that low.
Damon is a good number 2 hitter, no point denying it, but the Yankees are an aging team, and are going to need a DH rotation to give guys like Posada, A-Rod, Jeter, Swisher some days off / injury recovery time.
Add the fact that we’re probably going to sign an outfielder this offseason, and Johnny Damon probably becomes a very overpaid bench player in the second year of his hypothetical 2 year deal with us.
I don’t mind losing his bat this year (especially with the Plan B that Cash put together, most of whom are hurt, but that’s not really his fault) given the increased roster flexibility we now have going forward.
I'm Lord Duggan and I approve this message.
Its not nostalgia
Damon is better than the NJ/Thames/Winn disaster that replaced him. I wouldve kept Damon over Matsui, Matsui has bad knees, cant play the field, and doesnt bring the speed element that Damon brings. I never said he shouldnt take a pay cut, but not from 13mil to 5 mil, that is a joke for a guy coming off a season like that. I think it couldve got done. NEWSFLASH, Cashman isnt always right.
I'm not saying Cashman is always right
I remember Pavano, Brown, Giambi, etc.
I’m saying the goal isn’t always to win right now regardless of the albatross contracts that you have to sign.
Cash gave us a very competitive team without loading up on old overpaid players, handcuffing us for seasons to come. If Granderson, Swisher, Posada, and NJ stay healthy (meaning Thames and Winn see a small amount of time) there is very little clamoring for Damon
I'm Lord Duggan and I approve this message.
As the innings pile up I just think they’ll falter a bit. They’re that young. In future seasons tho, as they get adjusted to pitching lots of innings, they may be a powerhouse for many years.
The beautiful thing about it, is the Yanks and Rays are built for success for years to come
while the Sox have a bunch of old overpaid players. It will be a while till the Sox make the playoffs again. Those Lackey/DiceK/Beckett signings will be their undoing.
Man, I hope we win tonight
Or at least play well enough to win. It’s one thing to lose, but the way we’ve been losing/playing lately is depressing.
Ike Davis pitch
That pitch to Ike Davis just didn’t have enough movement. Watching it over again, it was inside, but not that far inside (maybe Rivera wanted a called strike on that). That’s okay, but from what I saw, it didn’t look like there was not that much movement as usual on it – and once again, maybe it’s because Mo wanted the call strike. Plus, it was the first pitch and Ike I think just wanted to lay good wood on it – he does like that ball low and inside. If Mo knew that he would have put more movement to the inside or once again, he prob just didn’t think he’ll swing at first pitch. All I can say is that he threw one bad pitch and Ike was swinging at the first pitch if he liked it. And he got it. He’s a nice looking young player for the Mets. Mo will bounce back with regular work. First loss of the season and just his first runs allowed in the last few games.
Opus smart , lascivio magis , intereo gauisus...
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