Around the Yankee Galaxy: Eiland's back and the Hughes Rules
by Travis G on Jun 30, 2010 3:15 AM EDT
in New York Yankees News
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PrintDave Eiland returned from his month-long leave of absence last night (though that didn't help Phil Hughes), and he said "he thought he knew what was wrong with Burnett and expressed confidence he could rectify it." Well, that's good news, but I doubt it will be easy.
- Is it just a coincidence that Hughes had his worst game of the year after nine days of rest? (Not a rhetorical question. I really want to hear your opinion.)
- Brett Gardner said his thumb felt "a lot better" despite sitting out Tuesday's game -
"It's still a little swollen, a little bit stiff. Hopefully, I can swing a bat tomorrow."
X-rays taken on Monday came back negative, and Gardner spent Tuesday receiving treatment on that wrist. The speedy outfielder was expected to be available as both a pinch-runner and a defensive replacement for the Yankees' series opener with the Mariners, and he's cautiously optimistic about starting on Wednesday.
I already miss the little guy.
- After throwing a complete game against the Yankees, Cliff Lee tried to deflect trade talk -
"Obviously, I do have preferences, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you who I'd like to go to," said Lee, whose contract does not contain a no-trade clause. "I'm not going to consume time talking about it, worrying about it."
My guess is the Mets get him for a package headlined by Jenrry Mejia.
- An entertaining video chat with Mo Rivera and Joe Borowski.
- Week 13 Power Rankings have the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Braves and Padres rounding out the top five.
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Philthy Phil
didn’t have his usual command, and wasn’t throwing first ptich strikes. Let’s not get carried away their “screwing him up too”, it’s absurd, and unneccesary…Eiland said he spotted a couple things watching Burnett’s last couple of starts, time to go to work starting today with his first bullpen session!
His mother has a tattoo that reads, "Son".
He is the life of the party, even when he doesn't attend.
"It doesn't take more than one person, to talk to a woman.
Stay thirsty my friends."
And one more thing...
if GGBG can’t go tonight, let;s give Colin Curtis his first start, the kid has earned it.
His mother has a tattoo that reads, "Son".
He is the life of the party, even when he doesn't attend.
"It doesn't take more than one person, to talk to a woman.
Stay thirsty my friends."
I couldn't agree more
But seriously… we’re probably about to hear a lot of idiots start talking about how the Yankees are screwing up Hughes with these rules. I can faintly here the wagon rolling in the distance!
In Jeter, We trust.
by Chris McKeown on Jun 30, 2010 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions
If he continues to have outings
like last nite, and it was the first after the onset of the “rules”, to what are we to attribute it? Just another coincidence? The “rules” are stupid. Period. You limit pitches, not innings/starts.
what'd you say after he had a similarly bad outing against Houston?
why can’t a guy have a bad start? Why does it always have to be bad…I’m sure the “it ruined Joba” bullshit will surface too…when the exact same people are probably the ones that say Joba and Hughes are not the same, that’s why Hughes is a better starts.
How come someone like AJ Burnett would be helped if he’s skipped, but Hughes has a bad start and it absolutely must be that?
Hughes hasn’t been as great lately in any of his past 4 starts. If anything, a skipped start should’ve helped him.
KEEP LEE!!!
by FreeBradshaw on Jun 30, 2010 11:09 AM EDT up reply actions
His schedule should have not been altered. Like everyone, he had a routine. He had scheduled throwing days, bullpen sessions, days he started. Now he has to adjust in the middle of the season. Some were saying his arm was “too live”, so obviously he ain’t hurtin’. I’m just sayin’ by taking him out of his routine he could get out of whack, per se, and possibly be affected by all the “rules”. So instead of getting many more quality starts out of him by limiting pitches instead of starts/innings we may now get a less effective Phil.
once again
this ain’t Joba. And its one start, and he was struggling a bit before this anyway.
KEEP LEE!!!
by FreeBradshaw on Jun 30, 2010 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions
Phil Hughes has probably thrown close to 10,000 pitches in his life. You know the saying “it’s like riding a bike”…well that certainly applies here. Talk about a pitcher’s heart, guts, or composure all you want, but on some level, pitching is simply a repetitive physical exercise, something that becomes more and more second-nature as you do it more often.
If he is so finnicky, tempermental, and rail that any deviation from his “routine” completely throws him off and renders him ineffective as pitcher, he doesn’t belong in the major leagues.
Hogwash
So a hitter that sits out a few games in the middle of a 20 game hitting streak should be able to step right in and resume his hot streak immediately?
different.
Hitters hit every day. Pitchers pitch every 5 days.
Hughes threw plenty of side sessions (maybe that was the problem). If the extra rest was truly a problem, he’d be overthrowing cuz he had too much strength. He clearly was not throwing as hard as he was before that and left some pitches out over the plate that the M’s hit
You act like Hughes was on a “hot streak” when the reality is his past outings this month weren’t exactly up to his his ones before.
I know its absolute heresy to give credit to another team that faces the Yankees, especially a team that’s not contending like they are….but that’s another thing. The M’s deserve credit for getting bat to ball. They really weren’t hitting the snot out of Hughes either. They hit his mistakes.
Its just entirely too easy to blame the rest. Maybe that had a tiny bit to do with it. But if it did, Hughes..like kuri said, probably shouldn’t be in the big leagues if he can’t deal with that.
We’ll see how he “rebounds” his next start, cuz small sample post skip start also applies here.
KEEP LEE!!!
by FreeBradshaw on Jun 30, 2010 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions
That's a bit of an oversimplification
Playing baseball well is about a lot of things, like focus and concentration. One of the things we tend to overlook, though, is muscle memory.
Throwing a pitch is a reptitive exercise. The fact that Phil Hughes is on a major league roster is a testament to his ability to repeat that exercise over and over again. I’m not going to say he can do it without thinking, but when you’ve done something that often, it does become second nature.
Let’s say you go on vacation and don’t drive a car for 10 days. Do you regress into a bad driver simply because you haven’t done it in a few days?
I’m not a big believer in hot streaks. As a baseball player, you focus, concentrate, and use your muscles as best as you can each time out. It doesn’t always mean the results will be there.
I think another point in this same vein, is that each pitch is very very similar.
Hughes four-seam fastball delivery is going to be almost identical (or should be) every time. His curveball and cutter should also come out of the same window, just have a different grip on the ball. Each pitch should be delivered with the same mechanics, and same appearance, and as you rightly say, it’s something he’s done 10,000 times before.
Hitting a baseball, on the other hand, means that you have to cover the entirety of the plate. Your swing will be similar, but your opposite field swing will not be the same as your pull swing, your “slap” swing, or your up the middle swing. So, although hitters have a ton of practice and muscle memory with hitting, they’re doing something slightly different and dynamic every time.
And finally, the pitcher knows what’s coming, when the batter does not. The batter has to react to what the pitcher is doing, whereas the pitcher can control his own game. So, if Hughes is feeling over rested or not comfortable with a certain pitch, he has the ability to adjust.
This, plus the velocity, movement, and mechanics that I observed point to me as if he wasn’t “over rested,” but I don’t think it’s something that should be done more than is necessary. I’d almost rather they just shut him down for 3-4 weeks than start cherry picking starts to skip.
Possible caption idea...
“AJ.. look at me.. LOOK AT ME… don’t make me take off my belt in front of all these people…” -Eiland
In Jeter, We trust.
Pinstripe Alley, combining the best of sport psychology and child abuse since 2005.
"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
I thought that was the slogan of the Cubs.
Lord knows how much mental abuse they’ve put on their fans.
Did you know Joe Morgan thinks Cano will win a batting title one day?
Cliff Lee thought
With all these Hughes rules, why not trade for Cliff Lee if the price is right. Also, the Yanks might get involved if there is a risk he will be traded to a team that could pay for an extension. In the second half use Hughes as a swing starter to limit his innings and/or use him in the pen late in the year heading into October. Just a thought. I still think they need a solid DH type power bat.
by upstateNYYFan1984 on Jun 30, 2010 9:07 AM EDT reply actions
Nobody understands
Here is some simple math
Lee = Top Pitcher
Top Pitcher = Mid Level Prospect + Montero
Therefore, Lee = Mid Level Prospect + Montero
The key word here is “Montero”. How about, for once, the Yankees KEEP the big prospect they have instead of offering up to trade him away for a guy they DON’T NEED?
Bottom line is, they don’t need Lee. They have a solid 5 without him. Why trade for him? Sign him to replace Vasquez in the offseason. But not now. They’re fine now, without him.
I guess we'll see soon
whether Eiland can fix Burnett. I want them to skip him, but they’ve made their choice. I hope he goes out and fixes himself and gets back on track for a strong second half run. With this race as close as it is, there is as much a chance the Yankees make first place as there is they will be out of the playoffs. They need their top starters to step it up, and I’m afraid A.J. falls into that category.
PS. If Girardi doesn’t pick Nick Swisher for the All-Star team, he deserves a slap in the face. The guy has earned it. At this point, these are the Yankees that should be on the team.
Andy/Hughes (not both, just one)
Rivera
Jeter
Cano
A-Rod
Swisher
So that adds up to 6 Yankees. The Red Sox had six Red Sox in 2008 (at Yankee Stadium behind Terry Francona), and in 2009 (not behind Francona). Thats a good number of Yankees I think.
I would
say Hughes & Andy, sorry don’t think A-Rod will make it, most likely Beltre.
His mother has a tattoo that reads, "Son".
Sharks have a week dedicated to HIM.
"It doesn't take more than one person, to talk to a woman.
Stay thirsty my friends."
by Great Gatsby on Jun 30, 2010 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions
the production numbers are similar for the two of them
Beltre has a LOT higher average- right now I would agree with you. But remember there is 2 weeks before the break and A-Rod has been on a tear. If his production over the last week continues until the break I think he will earn it over Beltre.
Just curious
Have any of you actually played baseball? What I mean by that is playing seriously for something and not just playing in the park or whatever.
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