Wow. I thought only the Mets would be crazy enough to offer Posada a four-year deal. But sure enough, Jorge's gonna be here for a while. Hey, all you Yankee fans bragging about your team getting young: how does it feel to know you'll have a 40-year catcher on the payroll in a couple of years?
I know Posada's numbers were excellent this walk year, but come on, they were an aberration. He batted 40 points above his career mark. I don't buy that Tony Pena changed the guy's life. And I don't think the guy's gonna have his best years past age 37.
So let's say they move him to first base. Bad idea. Posada's never had enough power to be a first baseman. Let's say, based on his career numbers, Posada hits .277 with 25 homers (and that was in his prime). Not bad, but a $200 million payroll could do better.
And I don't think they're keeping Posada for his leadership abilities. The guy fought with Tino and didn't speak to him for months, and couldn't get along with David Cone and Randy Johnson. As a clubhouse and on-the-field leader, he's more Paul LoDuca than Jason Varitek.
In any case, expect plenty of double plays in the Bronx over the next four years.
And don't forget: Jorge hit .133 in the ALDS this year. And his lifetime postseason average? .236. Nice going, Cashman!
Showing posts with label Jorge Posada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jorge Posada. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Igawa Stinks Up Joint (What Else Is New?), Junkees Win Anyway 7-6
Wow, hard to believe Igawa's ERA is ONLY 7.14, after giving up 5 earned runs in 5 innings. Wait a minute, I thought he got straightened out in AAA.... Hard to believe it's only 7.14 because that means he gives up 7 earned runs every 9 innings. I don't remember any scoreless innings. Where did those go?
So the Yankees jump out to a 5-2 lead, and of course, Igawa can't hold it. Shemp's homer in the eighth puts them ahead, and Mariano comes in for a SHAKY ninth, allows a run but nails his eleventh save after a pretty questionable strike three call, but the calls have gone both ways this year, so I can't complain too much. Nevertheless, he got a little lucky. If Cuddyer walks you have Morneau up with a couple runners on, and I don't think Mariano holds on. He was far from dominating today, and we haven't seen the dominant Mariano in quite some time. So that's a good sign.
Offensively Old York did well against lousy pitching, getting 13 hits. The only highlight was Ringo's 0-5. Ringo's July average is .176, so we'll keep an eye on that.
So that's it. Otherwise, Detroit won, so Old York gains nothing in the wild card race, and Anaheim comes into town, and they always give the Yankees fits. Should be a fun weekend.
So the Yankees jump out to a 5-2 lead, and of course, Igawa can't hold it. Shemp's homer in the eighth puts them ahead, and Mariano comes in for a SHAKY ninth, allows a run but nails his eleventh save after a pretty questionable strike three call, but the calls have gone both ways this year, so I can't complain too much. Nevertheless, he got a little lucky. If Cuddyer walks you have Morneau up with a couple runners on, and I don't think Mariano holds on. He was far from dominating today, and we haven't seen the dominant Mariano in quite some time. So that's a good sign.
Offensively Old York did well against lousy pitching, getting 13 hits. The only highlight was Ringo's 0-5. Ringo's July average is .176, so we'll keep an eye on that.
So that's it. Otherwise, Detroit won, so Old York gains nothing in the wild card race, and Anaheim comes into town, and they always give the Yankees fits. Should be a fun weekend.
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, June 25, 2007
Ringo's and Nieves's Arms: Killing the Junkees
First let's start off with Nieves: After Sunday's debacle, with the Giants stealing five bases off Old York, Nieves has now allowed 10 SB's while catching 5 runners. That's a 33 percent success rate. Not great, but not horrible.
Now Ringo: It's great that Posada's having a career year at the plate, because behind the plate, he's been absolutely dreadful. So far, opposing base stealers have made it safely 55 times, and have been caught only a baker's dozen. That's 55 for 68. Horrible.
I know, they've played 73 games, so we're taking less than a steal per game. And even if it were a steal a game, how much does that matter?
Well, for one, on some occasions, a well timed steal makes a huge difference. Dave Roberts in the '04 ALCS, for example. So once in a while, a steal will be big. Another thing is that the other teams might catch on and start taking advantage. Old York is lucky that you have teams like the A's and the Blue Jays who don't believe in stealing bases. But teams that do will run all over you.
Another factor is that the pitchers might get paranoid every time there's a guy on first that in a few moments he'll be in scoring position. That could lead to more fat pitches. (I've noticed more pickoff attempts.)
Finally, once teams notice they may start running even if they normally wouldn't.
Of course, the counterargument is something like this: Obviously there are more teams that don't run a whole lot, because there's only an average of one attempt per game. If this were 1985, it would be a problem, but not so much in 2007. As for the paranoia factor, there's no clear evidence that there's anything to it, and even if other teams start running, Ringo will revert back to his old ways of throwing out guys 30 percent of the time, not 19, thus, this is just an abberation.
I guess we ought to hope it continues and that other teams catch on.
(To be fair, as bad as Ringo's been, Boston's Jason Varitek has been even worse. He's thrown out only 3 of 24! But when you lead by 11+ games, it's not that big a deal.)
Now Ringo: It's great that Posada's having a career year at the plate, because behind the plate, he's been absolutely dreadful. So far, opposing base stealers have made it safely 55 times, and have been caught only a baker's dozen. That's 55 for 68. Horrible.
I know, they've played 73 games, so we're taking less than a steal per game. And even if it were a steal a game, how much does that matter?
Well, for one, on some occasions, a well timed steal makes a huge difference. Dave Roberts in the '04 ALCS, for example. So once in a while, a steal will be big. Another thing is that the other teams might catch on and start taking advantage. Old York is lucky that you have teams like the A's and the Blue Jays who don't believe in stealing bases. But teams that do will run all over you.
Another factor is that the pitchers might get paranoid every time there's a guy on first that in a few moments he'll be in scoring position. That could lead to more fat pitches. (I've noticed more pickoff attempts.)
Finally, once teams notice they may start running even if they normally wouldn't.
Of course, the counterargument is something like this: Obviously there are more teams that don't run a whole lot, because there's only an average of one attempt per game. If this were 1985, it would be a problem, but not so much in 2007. As for the paranoia factor, there's no clear evidence that there's anything to it, and even if other teams start running, Ringo will revert back to his old ways of throwing out guys 30 percent of the time, not 19, thus, this is just an abberation.
I guess we ought to hope it continues and that other teams catch on.
(To be fair, as bad as Ringo's been, Boston's Jason Varitek has been even worse. He's thrown out only 3 of 24! But when you lead by 11+ games, it's not that big a deal.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)