Let's play two today! Here's the lineup for Game 1!
Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Robinson Cano 2B
Travis Hafner DH
Brennan Boesch RF
Chris Nelson 3B
Corban Joseph 1B
Chris Stewart C
Alberto Gonzalez SS
David Phelps RHP
Notes:
-- Joe Girardi made it clear that Robinson Cano would only play the first game of the doubleheader, Vernon Wells would play the second game of the double header and most likely Austin Romine would catch the second game.
-- If the Yankees need to make a roster move in between the doubleheader, Brett Marshall is waiting around in Cleveland.
As much as I like Andy I think the Yanks will be lucky to have him last the whole season injury free. My biggest hope is that he is healthy in Oct. The good performances of Phelps, Nuno, and Warren lately have given me some confidence in the young pitchers. As Casey Stengel said, you can never have enough pitching. If I had my choice right now of having Andy come back next year or Kuroda, my heart would take Andy and my head would take Kuroda.
ReplyDeletedoug...
ReplyDeleteGood pick, nice to see a Yankee fan using their head and not their heart. :)
Andy is always welcome back in my book but Kuroda is without a doubt the team's most consistent starter over the last 2 yrs. He's been much more durable also while Andy is prone to lower body injuries at this stage of his career.
ReplyDeleteOne guy I wish would play another couple of years is Mariano.....the man is just unbelievable. He's definitely lost velocity but the Cutter still moves and his command is better than ever. He is a true surgeon on the mound nipping the corners of both sides of the plate. Amazing, we have witnessed pure greatness in his career since 96.
fishjam,
ReplyDeleteI agree on both counts, with a small caveat! Andy has had an amazing career with the Yankees, and deserves any and all thanks from the fans and the Management! But, as with Mo...their day in the SUN has come and gone.
Almost all Mo's pitches are on the money, in fact everything looks the same except for velocity, right?
Not so much, he is having consistency problems! His cutter for one, is not the same every pitch. I think (I know) he understands what his pitches are doing. Having been there and done that, I also see the problem.
fishjam, if you haven't seen it, as I have...keep your eyes open. I'm sure you saw the same as I, if there has been a better closer or more classy guy...I ain't never seen him atall!
Oldyank....Mo doesn't have the movement on the Cutter he did in his prime but it is still plenty effective, especially when he commands it as he does. He broke 3 bats last night in 1 inning so he's definitely still giving hitters problems. His uncanny ability to nip both corners and to run his fastball in either direction makes it almost impossible for a hitter to get the barrel on the ball. As a former pitcher his simplistic approach with just 1 speed is a joy to watch. And his ability to nip the corners and make hitters look helpless is amazing.
ReplyDeleteMost of the times, hitters cheat a bit to one side of the plate...either looking middle-in or middle-away......if you do that with Mo you are done. And although he basically has 1 pitch, a FB, he throws several variations and can spot it anywhere so he gives the hitter a lot to think about. with basically 4 pitches.
Against RH hitters:
1 - He has the Cutter on the low-outside corner
2 - throws the cutter starting inside and up and it breaks over the inside part of the plate
3 - he runs the 2-seamer in on their hands
4 - he goes up the ladder with his cutter or 4-seamer around the letters or higher
Against LH hitters:
1 - Fires the Cutter in on their hands so all they can do is pull it fould or hit it off the handle
2 - When they move a step off the plate to cheat for the inside Cutter, he runs the 2-seamer low and away running away from the hitter
3 - Or when they are looking in, he throws the back-door Cutter starting off the outside part of the plate and breaking over the outside corner
4- And he goes up the ladder vs LH hitters also with Cutter or 4-seamer above the hands
fishjam...
ReplyDeleteDid I say something against Mo or his ability, that is wrong?
You of all, on this site, should understand what I was saying!
Everything you have pointed out above is true, no doubt about it! The difference now is, he has less room for error and the hitters have been hitting his pitches at a higher rate than ever before.
My goodness, the guy is 40 years old, he is doing fine, as expected but, he is not the Mo of a few years ago. As of now, Mo is still the "King of the Hill"...and I am glad to see him walk out on his terms!
oldyank.....nope, you didn't say anything wrong and I agree 100%. Mo def doesn't have the stuff he used to at all and he'll get hit if he leaves the ball over the plate. I was just adding to what you said and pointing out the reason he's still effective with decreased velo and movement .....his near-perfect command and his ability to move in and out, up and down and run his FB in both directions.
ReplyDeleteThat is how a 43 yr old pitcher who barely hits 90 anymore can still close games with relative ease. His perfect mechanics allow him to hit his spots in all quadrants of the strike zone. Ken, don't you wish we could do that? We'd both still be getting outs today! :-)
fishjam....
ReplyDeleteSorry about that, If I had tried to write what you did, the readers would be going....whaaaaaaat? I guess I was showing my envy...just a little bit!
You done, done good...again!
Heck, if I could have thrown 90 at any time; "I coulda been champ! :)
fishjam and old yankee, the old saying, if I only knew then what I know now applies here, except Mo knows now and he knew then what it takes to get hitters out. That's why he is an immortal!
ReplyDeleteDoug...that old adage applies perfectly to pitching. that's why so often you see guys with big power arms who can't find success in the majors until they are around 30 yrs old. the key is figuring out how to pitch while you still have the stuff to be successful.
ReplyDeleteCould I have said it much better, heck yes...or not!
ReplyDeletefishjam more than likely, had a fast ball in the 90s...I am still wondering what it feels like to throw 80+!
Yup, somewhere around 30 pitchers come into their own, of course there are those few...very few, that own the league at 25 +/-.
To be honest, if I had a choice; Starter or Closer, I would still take Closer. I love the pressure of the situation
OldYank....I loved to close also.....all the pressure with every pitch and every batter being important. Definitely gets the adrenaline flowing. Starting on the other hand is more like a marathon. It's fun because you can throw all of your pitches and it's more of a mind game against the hitters because you have to face them 3 or 4 times each.
ReplyDeletefishjam...I would have been a disaster waiting to happen as a starter. With my FB...which it has been said, I once pitched (in warm-up) and played catcher at the same time...I would throw the ball and run up to catch it...now that is a FB.
ReplyDeleteI have started many times, when I was younger (25-40), I just got tiered of the hitters yelling at me to pitch the ball and My Grand-mother throws harder than that...you know, all the nice things!
I found I could play 2nd base and still close, so I done did dat! :)
Ken, did anyone ever say...."I've seen better arms on a snake!"
ReplyDeletefishjam...
ReplyDeleteThat was the kindest thing ever said about my left arm. It's a funny thing, my mom made me throw and hit from both sides, she said I should use only my right arm because it had much better speed and I could play the infield. In high school I always played around throwing left-handed.
One day the coach asked me to pitch to our catcher, I did and he said: try a fast ball, I said that was my FB he said no, that was a change-up...I said I can't throw a straight FB! That is the truth, give or take a little lie here and there!
I joke about my fast-ball a lot because it was slow...maybe 75-80+/--. The best time of a game was when I came in to close after those guys had been seeing REAL fast balls, my junk would have them all discombobulated! Now, that dar is a big word, I wish I knew what I said! :)
Oh, by the way, back in the '50s, 5' 9" was avg, hight...damn it! :(
Ken....your Mom sounds like one helluva lady! How did she know to teach you to throw and hit both ways? Sounds like you would have been a great boxer....did you ever try that?
ReplyDeletefishjam...
ReplyDeleteThe word in the "Kitchen" was she had played women's baseball back in the day...true or not, I don't know! She did know a lot about baseball and use to say, "One way out of here is there, on that diamond"! Little did she know it would be football that got my sisters and I out of our lovely home.
As for Boxing...you have to be kidding, I hate violence!