June 9, 2005
Signs of Life?
The Yankees' dismal road trip had only its second highlight Wednesday, a 12-3 win at Milwaukee. Alex Rodriguez hit two home runs, including the 400th of his careeer, and his team's sputtering offense finally woke up. For all their troubles, the Yankees were only behind Boston by three games heading into Wednesday's games, and that was after losing nine of ten. Gothamist has been impressed by the Orioles, but it'll be tougher for them to be in first place in August than in early June. In other words, the Yankees could be a lot worse off in the AL East.
Gothamist is also pleased with Joe Torre's recent moves, including his fiery argument with first-base umpire Larry Vanover that triggered an ejection. The Yankee skipper has caught some flak from owner George Steinbrenner, but Torre can't control Randy Johnson and his twelve home runs allowed. What he can control is where he places the American League's best hitter. Alex Rodriguez has no business hitting fifth. Wednesday's line-up, which had Bernie Williams, Gary Sheffield and Rodriguez hitting 2-3-4, was a marked improvement over those that included Tony Womack in the two hole. Womack and his .295 on base percentage have no value in left field. He should be nothing more than a pinch-runner. Womack returns to St. Louis on Friday, when the Yankees start a three-game series against the defending National League champions.
Photo by Morry Gash (AP) via Yahoo
|
The Yankees suck. They win a game and a party beaks out at Gothamist. Just shows how pathetic they are. Pay-Rod continues to show how well he can play when there is absolutely no pressure. Way to go cooler!
i still can't believe that torre got himself tossed. not that i follow the yankees, but i can't remember if i've ever seen that.
boba, its one thing to hate the Yankees, you have every right to. But at least be intelligent about it. Your comment is completely worthless. You are doubtless a Red Sox fan, and despite your team having won its first championship in 86 years, you are still bitter and angry. Whats the point? Grow up a little and get a life.
While I won't deny that A-Rod's performance really helped my fantasy team this week, I find it hard to really look at this game as a real turning point/sign of life-type situation.
The problem is not their bats, at least when the bats are awake - they have quality at virtually every spot in the lineup when they're batting as they can, meaning there are no "easy outs" - it's still the pitching.
Mussina did pitch well given the circumstances against fresh-faced Capuano (not a guy with extensive MLB experience or a good guy against the righties), but 4 ER in 6 IP won't get the win every time. Out of the 6 Brewers hits last night, 4 were for extra bases, meaning that when they did see the ball, they were killing it.
I just can't wait for my Cubs to come to town next weekend - anyone have spare tickets??? hahaha
(note: in saying that, I've probably doomed my Cubbies to a series sweep or something, but let's hope not)
I disagree about the pitching. Overall the pitching has been decent. Not great, I'm not claiming that. But good enough to win. I fault the lack of timely hitting, especially in the clutch (i.e. RISP with 2 out). I have many misgivings about last night as well, because it was another home run orgy. Two hits stand out in my mind: Tino's double, and Alex's basehit with the bases loaded. This team will continue to struggle if it can't win games with walks and singles. Being able to string together at bats that produce runs is key in pressuring the opponets pitching staff, which the Yankees havent been doing lately. All their struggles can be boiled down to a psychological block of some kind. They are an incredibly sensitive bunch for all their experince and talent. If they can shake this loose, relax, focus and HAVE FUN, this team could be and should be unstoppable. I just dont see that really jelling this year. They will make a good run, but will fall short. *sigh*
I'm a Cardinals fan, and you are right about Womack. (It actually took me several tries to convince my dad that the Yankees had Womack in the outfield. He thought I was joking.) La Russa, who is known for moving his players out of position, put Marlon Anderson in the outfield last year but never Womack. Of course he used to have Womack lead off, and that wasn't the greatest idea either.
Why is it that the Yankees wanted Womack instead of a journeyman outfielder? (Honestly, I don't remember now.)
Interesting that St. Louis and the Yankees are in almost the exact opposite positions, standings wise, they were in when they played two summers ago.
Hey wls, heres what happened. They signed Womack over Cairo because Womack is a faster runner and had roughly the same offensive numbers, and is a slightly better fielder. So from that standpoint he was supposed to be an upgrade.
The Yankees went into the season thinking Bernie Williams had enough fuel in the tank to be productive for at least one more year. His arm has always been a liability, but this year, he got old real fast. Not being able to even hit the relay man on a throw from shalllow center, combined with poor plate production, got him benched. They werent planning on using Womack in left. His speed is what made that possible, and also the fact that Matsui played center his whole career in Japan. So far it's worked (Womack is a pretty good left fielder) but definitely isnt the optimal solution.
The real problem was George Steinbrenner, again. He wanted Randy Johnson so bad he totally blew off Carlos Beltran who really wanted to be a Yankee, to the point where he offered to take a lower salary than the Mets were offering. Add to that Joe Torre's almost insane level of loyalty to his players. Bernie has spent his entire career as a Yankee and won four titles for Joe. I'm sure he didnt endore signing Beltran out of loyalty to Bernie.
Thats why the Yankees now find themselves in this awkward position. If I was running the show, we would have kept Cairo as a backup, started Cano, signed Beltran, kept Lieber, brought up Wang and told Wright and Johnson we werent interested. Just chalk this up to another one of King George's poor unilateral decisions and infatuation with big name players (along with Giambi, the re-signing of Wells, the questionable trade of Soriano for Rodriguez, and Sheffield instead of Guerrero...)
If I were George, I would've kept Nick "Lumberjack" Johnson. I liked Lilly and Halsey too. Is it just me, or does it seem like the guys that were brought up in the Yankee minor league system have a much easier time adjusting to playing in NY than a lot of the free agents they're always bringing in.
You're absolutely right about Nick Johnson. They sent him (and some prospects?) to Montreal for Javier Vasquez. At the time it seemed like a decent trade since they lost Pettitte, but then Vasquez forgot how to pitch after the All Star break, and totally bombed during the playoffs... How nice would it be to have him back now? I also agree about Ted Lilly. Brad Halsey will probably end up being a good pitcher too, traded away for a couple years of Randy Johnson. So short sighted. So frustrating.