Manny made a great point about Guidry a while back, and that is, when you get a guy for PR, it might put a few fannies in the seats, but it's usually a disaster for the team.
Come to think of it, almost all of Old York's PR moves have been horrid.
Johnny Damon: Got him because he was a star for the Red Sox who beat the Junkees with that huge Game 7 home run in the 2004 ALCS. Well, he slugged a robust .396 this year. He's got no arm, and the Junkees would love to dump him for 2008, but is any team dumb enough to pick him up? I think not.
Shemp: Okay, so you get some Japanese gelt, but the guy has not lived up to his reputation as Godzilla (except maybe to Harold Moskowitz, AKA John Sterling), save for 2004 when he smashed 31 homers. Another guy who can't field, creating a logjam at DH with he, Damon, and Giambi.
Miguel Cairo: Ca$hman loves bringing ex-Yankees back, and the fact that he played for the Mets added more to his PR value. Lucky for them Snorre gave him only 107 at bats, so that his .626 OPS didn't totally kill them. But again, he had one good year (2004 - .292 batting average in 122 games), so he's a beloved figure in the Bronx.
Doug Smith (Mientkiewicz): Ex-Met, played for Boston, funny last name - that is awesome PR. Only a September surge saved him from an otherwise abysmal season.
Roger Clemens: No comment necessary.
Well, let this be a lesson for the Junkees. Perhaps when the Mets give Ringo $15 million to hit .250 they'll learn their lesson, too.
Then again, the more PR Ca$hman does, the better it is for me.
Showing posts with label Doug Mientkiewicz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doug Mientkiewicz. Show all posts
Friday, November 02, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
Top Ten Reasons The Yankees Missed the Playoffs in 2007
I know, I know, premature. But it's not looking too good right now, and I guess I should preface the title with "If they miss the playoffs, here's why." But I'm in an optimistic mood right now, so let's go with the flow.
(10) Relying on Pavano: Carl Pavano has had a total of one good year in his career, and that came in 2004 as a member of the Marlins. Since joining the Yankees in '05, he's been perhaps the worst signing for Old York this century. As a Yankee, he's won a grand total of five games. Yet Ca$hman was talking about Pavano coming back and having a big year in '07, probably to get some of the $39 million worth. They could have traded him and gotten a better pitcher but kept Carl, and relied on him to be an ace. Ha. He's on the shelf, and may never throw another pitch as a Yankee.
(9) Dropoffs for Melky and Cano: In 2006, Melky Cabrera batted .280, with a .360 OBP. In 2007, he's hitting .259 with a .320 OBP. In 2006, Robinson Cano batted .342, nearly won the AL batting title, and had an OPS of .890. In 2007, Cano is hitting .265 and has an OPS of .701. Had these guys maintained their '06 form, who knows. But all those extra outs add up.
(8) As Manny wrote a few weeks ago, once you get past the regulars, who do you have? Miguel Cairo, Kevin Thompson, Wil Nieves ... a joke. Granted, in the AL the bench is not as important as in the NL, but you figure that there will be injuries, there will be doubleheaders where you want to rest a regular, and Ca$hman was terrible in not acquiring any bench help. And that's killed them.
(7) Ringo's Arm: The guy can't throw anyone out anymore, it's psyching out the pitchers and giving the opponents a lot of extra bases.
(6) Johnny Damon's Injuries: The guy's been a bust in 2007, mostly because he's been playing injured, and refuses to go on the DL! So he wastes a roster spot, has terrible power for a DH, and is slow in the outfield. Had the guy taken a couple of weeks off in early May, perhaps he'd come back and do better.
(5) Charlie Brown and the Yankee Bullpen: This was finally the year we'd all been waiting for - the year he became just another pitcher. Horrible in April, decent in May, mediocre in June... and the team gave him very few save opportunities, but that's because the rest of the pen couldn't hold leads! Lefties are hitting over .300 against Mike Myers, Vizcaino was a bust, Farnsworthless is just that, and even guys like Brian Bruney are walking a ton of guys. As Manny pointed out, the K/BB ratio for the Yankee pen may be the worst in recent history. Snorre's boyfriend Scott Proctor hasn't gotten the job done, and it'll only get worse in August when their arms fall off.
(4) Outfield defense: In a word, pathetic. Shemp, Damon, and Abreu have terrible arms, and smart teams have been taking advantage of that all season long. Cabrera has a decent arm, but he misplays so many balls that he's worthless as well. Matsui is good at getting a read on fly balls and tracking them down, but he's still lost a step or two from his first couple of years here. Extra hits and extra bases taken lead to extra runs and extra losses. It's that simple.
(3) Moose: Re-signing Mike Mussina was a disaster. Every once in a while he pitches a brilliant game, so Old York figures that as long as they can straighten him out, he'll be a Cy Young winner. In 2007, however, his brilliant games have been few and far between. Nearly halfway through the season, he's got a grand total of 4 wins and an ERA of 4.63. And get this - he's on pace to strike out about 90 batters. Ca$hman, I know the market for starting pitching was thin, but what the hell were you thinking?
(2) First base mess: Relying on Doug Mienkiewicz was silly, considering the guy hasn't hit a lick in years, but at least he was great defensively. After Doug came Josh Phelps, Andy Phillips, and Miguel Cairo. Nada. Junkee first basemen rank 10th in the AL in OPS, and in the bottom half of just about every category. Had they gotten someone decent, we might not be dreaming of a Yankee-free October.
(1) Abreu over Sheffield: We've gone through this many times, but to me, this is the move that killed them more than anything else. Other than A-Schmuck, they don't have a legit home run hitter. A-Rod's hit 28 home runs. The next best is Ringo at 9. Abreu is at 4. Sheffield, meanwhile, over in Detroit has hit 18 dingers, and has an OPS of .931. Abreu's OPS? Only 200+ points lower at .689. Ca$hman may have had enough of Sheff's antics and thus let him go, but Abreu was yet another bust, and this was the bust that broke the camel's back. So bye bye Yankees.
- Feel free to add your own in the comments section.
(10) Relying on Pavano: Carl Pavano has had a total of one good year in his career, and that came in 2004 as a member of the Marlins. Since joining the Yankees in '05, he's been perhaps the worst signing for Old York this century. As a Yankee, he's won a grand total of five games. Yet Ca$hman was talking about Pavano coming back and having a big year in '07, probably to get some of the $39 million worth. They could have traded him and gotten a better pitcher but kept Carl, and relied on him to be an ace. Ha. He's on the shelf, and may never throw another pitch as a Yankee.
(9) Dropoffs for Melky and Cano: In 2006, Melky Cabrera batted .280, with a .360 OBP. In 2007, he's hitting .259 with a .320 OBP. In 2006, Robinson Cano batted .342, nearly won the AL batting title, and had an OPS of .890. In 2007, Cano is hitting .265 and has an OPS of .701. Had these guys maintained their '06 form, who knows. But all those extra outs add up.
(8) As Manny wrote a few weeks ago, once you get past the regulars, who do you have? Miguel Cairo, Kevin Thompson, Wil Nieves ... a joke. Granted, in the AL the bench is not as important as in the NL, but you figure that there will be injuries, there will be doubleheaders where you want to rest a regular, and Ca$hman was terrible in not acquiring any bench help. And that's killed them.
(7) Ringo's Arm: The guy can't throw anyone out anymore, it's psyching out the pitchers and giving the opponents a lot of extra bases.
(6) Johnny Damon's Injuries: The guy's been a bust in 2007, mostly because he's been playing injured, and refuses to go on the DL! So he wastes a roster spot, has terrible power for a DH, and is slow in the outfield. Had the guy taken a couple of weeks off in early May, perhaps he'd come back and do better.
(5) Charlie Brown and the Yankee Bullpen: This was finally the year we'd all been waiting for - the year he became just another pitcher. Horrible in April, decent in May, mediocre in June... and the team gave him very few save opportunities, but that's because the rest of the pen couldn't hold leads! Lefties are hitting over .300 against Mike Myers, Vizcaino was a bust, Farnsworthless is just that, and even guys like Brian Bruney are walking a ton of guys. As Manny pointed out, the K/BB ratio for the Yankee pen may be the worst in recent history. Snorre's boyfriend Scott Proctor hasn't gotten the job done, and it'll only get worse in August when their arms fall off.
(4) Outfield defense: In a word, pathetic. Shemp, Damon, and Abreu have terrible arms, and smart teams have been taking advantage of that all season long. Cabrera has a decent arm, but he misplays so many balls that he's worthless as well. Matsui is good at getting a read on fly balls and tracking them down, but he's still lost a step or two from his first couple of years here. Extra hits and extra bases taken lead to extra runs and extra losses. It's that simple.
(3) Moose: Re-signing Mike Mussina was a disaster. Every once in a while he pitches a brilliant game, so Old York figures that as long as they can straighten him out, he'll be a Cy Young winner. In 2007, however, his brilliant games have been few and far between. Nearly halfway through the season, he's got a grand total of 4 wins and an ERA of 4.63. And get this - he's on pace to strike out about 90 batters. Ca$hman, I know the market for starting pitching was thin, but what the hell were you thinking?
(2) First base mess: Relying on Doug Mienkiewicz was silly, considering the guy hasn't hit a lick in years, but at least he was great defensively. After Doug came Josh Phelps, Andy Phillips, and Miguel Cairo. Nada. Junkee first basemen rank 10th in the AL in OPS, and in the bottom half of just about every category. Had they gotten someone decent, we might not be dreaming of a Yankee-free October.
(1) Abreu over Sheffield: We've gone through this many times, but to me, this is the move that killed them more than anything else. Other than A-Schmuck, they don't have a legit home run hitter. A-Rod's hit 28 home runs. The next best is Ringo at 9. Abreu is at 4. Sheffield, meanwhile, over in Detroit has hit 18 dingers, and has an OPS of .931. Abreu's OPS? Only 200+ points lower at .689. Ca$hman may have had enough of Sheff's antics and thus let him go, but Abreu was yet another bust, and this was the bust that broke the camel's back. So bye bye Yankees.
- Feel free to add your own in the comments section.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Junkees Batter Wakefield, Cut Lead to 9.5
When Wakefield pitches, it's all or nothing. Either he's fabulous, or he gets tatooed. He's been that way throughout his career, and Monday night was no exception. The Junkees took advantage, stealing some bases, and Boston had no chance.
While watching the game, Wang looked impressive, but looking at the stats, he wasn't exactly Cy Young. He gave up 7 hits and walked 3 in 6.1 innings, and was lucky to get out of some jams. Still, he deserves credit for the end result.
The Junkee offense did just enough to get by. Nice to see Mientkiewicz (0 for 4, .212 batting average) continue to stink up the joint. Wow, picking him up was the ultimate PR move. Ex-Met, guy who caught the last out of the '04 Series for the BoSox, and a character. And that last name ... you think he'd be a Yankee if his name were Doug Smith?
Anyway, the way I see this series is this - the worst that can happen is that the Junkees sweep, in which case they'd be 7.5 games out. But even if Boston takes the next two, that would increase the lead to 11.5. And I would still be uncomfortable. I've learned to never count out the Junkees. Until I see them mathematically eliminated, I'll continue to be paranoid.
Looking ahead, you have Julian Tavarez, another guy with whom you don't know what you'll get, taking on Mike Mussina, for which -- if you think about it -- the same can be said. So expect a high scoring contest on Tuesday.
While watching the game, Wang looked impressive, but looking at the stats, he wasn't exactly Cy Young. He gave up 7 hits and walked 3 in 6.1 innings, and was lucky to get out of some jams. Still, he deserves credit for the end result.
The Junkee offense did just enough to get by. Nice to see Mientkiewicz (0 for 4, .212 batting average) continue to stink up the joint. Wow, picking him up was the ultimate PR move. Ex-Met, guy who caught the last out of the '04 Series for the BoSox, and a character. And that last name ... you think he'd be a Yankee if his name were Doug Smith?
Anyway, the way I see this series is this - the worst that can happen is that the Junkees sweep, in which case they'd be 7.5 games out. But even if Boston takes the next two, that would increase the lead to 11.5. And I would still be uncomfortable. I've learned to never count out the Junkees. Until I see them mathematically eliminated, I'll continue to be paranoid.
Looking ahead, you have Julian Tavarez, another guy with whom you don't know what you'll get, taking on Mike Mussina, for which -- if you think about it -- the same can be said. So expect a high scoring contest on Tuesday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)