Comments on: Tiger Balm

By: Simone

Simone — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 21:45:06 +0000

25. Actually, Epstein is the luckiest GM at the moment. Contreras chose the Yankees over the Red Sox. The D'Backs stupidly traded Schilling to him for a bag of balls. The A-Rod trade fell through. If that isn't luck, nothing is. Of course, the luckiest thing of all for Theo is that George Steinbrenner isn't the owner of the Red Sox.

By: seamus

seamus — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 20:13:02 +0000

24. ok, I am going to disagree with singledd but only sort of. I think that Theo is more efficient as a GM and does a better job of tabbing talent at better prices. However, it doesn't necessarily follow that you are putting the best team on the field. Would I rather pay $15 million or $5 million for a player of the same quality? As a GM, give me the $5 mil guy. But as a manager, so long as the money doesn't affect the other signings, does it actually matter?

Which isn't to say that Cashman is doing a good job of deciding who to drop that big money on. Obviously he screwed up with Wright and Brown. I'm just pointing out that the GM's perspective is different than the manager's perspective. A GM can broker all of the best deals but never win it all. Theo did which is why he deserves some credit, but it doesn't always follow.

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 20:05:40 +0000

23. I got all giddy when I saw Phillips come out to warm-up with the other positions players before the game. My dad asked me who he was. I told him to just wait and watch. After his first hit my dad just nodded and said "I see what you mean."

By: rbj

rbj — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 20:01:54 +0000

22. Murphy, I'd laugh at that but given recent moves by the Yankees it doesn't sound so outlandish.
Ah well, with six inches of snow outside I didn't feel guilty spending the day watching a good game.

By: singledd

singledd — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 19:54:06 +0000

21. One of the problems is that the Yanks always feel they can clean up the Spring errors mid-season by buying an expensive contract year playing some team needs to dump. As more teams are more competative, and the Yanks have little to trade, this strategy will not work as well as the past (which wasn't that well, save Dave Justice).

Lets see.... How about Bean, Phillips, Wang and Cano + 10 mil for a close relative of Sosa or Griffey (or Clemens if Houston is out of it). I think the Yankees are doomed.... this year or next.... because our upper brass STINKS while Theo continues to make smart, good bang-for-the-Buck moves.

Doomed I tell ya..........

By: murphy

murphy — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 19:10:50 +0000

20. sorry, rbj, but i heard a rumor that the yankees are trading philips and colter bean for rick rhoden and an equipment manager to be named later.

By: rbj

rbj — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 17:32:56 +0000

19. Let's hope the Yankees don't trade Philips for a broken down starter.

By: markp

markp — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 17:22:28 +0000

18. Before the game, Torre was talking about Tino (paraphrased a bit) "we didn't sign him to play every day. He's only supposed to be playing 3-4 times a week. He'll get today and tomorrow off and Tuesday...oh wait, a lefty's going Tuesday so he'll have until Wednesday..."
That sounds like a platoon to me, and that was before the big day he had at the plate. I guess sometimes dreams really do come true.
While we're making wishes, there's this 2b in Columbus...

By: seamus

seamus — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:51:07 +0000

17. Phillips just made a statement. Looks like a new era at 1b for the Yankees. I know that one game doesn't mean jack but Phillips isn't just a one game wonder.

By: JeremyM

JeremyM — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:18:46 +0000

16. No, you're not the only one. I wonder if RJ will finish, or maybe Bean will make his debut to mop up? Then Cliff will really have something to say.

By: murphy

murphy — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:16:58 +0000

15. (re: phillips homer) yeah. if i know cliff, he just climbed out of his seat in the right field bleachers and walked across the field and into the yankee dugout to give torre a big fat "'told ya so!". btw, THIS is the RJ we paid for.

By: Dave D

Dave D — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:14:42 +0000

14. Holy crap, Phillips HR. Am I the only one that can’t wait to read what Cliff is going to write up after the game? I’m looking forward to seeing the scorecard

By: redshift

redshift — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:13:33 +0000

13. Three run homer by Phillips! Not bad. Looks like Tino might be getting some more rest in the near future.

By: seamus

seamus — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 14:49:47 +0000

12. RJ looks solid. Should have a no hitter through 3. Bernie's old legs hurt him.

Odd as it may sound I actually appreciated Womack getting thrown out. I guess it shows how little faith I have in this team hitting with two outs that I'd rather have Bernie lead off with noone on. I need to get over that because we'll ultimately get it going.

By: seamus

seamus — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 14:45:53 +0000

11. go Phillips! RBI Double!

By: Dan M

Dan M — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 14:45:09 +0000

10. There you go seamus and Cliff. RBI double.

For years I used to absolve Cashman and blame everything on "Tampa people," but I'm starting to rethink that. Why would Cashman stay unless he wielded a certain amount of power? He could get another job, with less headaches. It's easy to blame the Tampa people, but he has to have enough power and sense to walk away from the Wright deal after he failed a physical.

Nice four-spot there. Thanks for running us out of it, Tony.

By: Dave D

Dave D — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 14:43:57 +0000

9. O'Neill hit the nail on the head with Phillips, younger guys get excited for this, it's something that can be contagious. So what does Andy do in his first AB? A drive to the gap, a two bagger! Nice.

By: seamus

seamus — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 14:00:12 +0000

8. ok, let us hope that Andy Phillips fulfills his expectations right off the bat. He is starting today! Great news and a great chance to see what he can do.

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 12:12:10 +0000

7. I think the Wright signing came directly from Tampa. This spring, Cashman admitted that not picking up Lieber's option was a mistake. From what I heard, the Yankee Brass was intent of getting younger, hard throwers, as opposed to a guy like Lieber.

I may be the jinxman, but screw that, if Johnson can't come out today and mow em down, and the Yankees get mastered by Pedro Astacio, then I just don't know what. Then they really do stink right now. Forget hexes, I've got confo in this team to go out there and kick some ass and stop the bleeding.

By: Nick from Washington Heights

Nick from Washington Heights — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 12:06:00 +0000

6. "I fear Astacio because over the last 9 years the Yankees have shown a frustrating weakness to mediocre pitchers that they haven't seen before. Friday night was another example of this. Matt B and I have been puzzled by this for years, and I'm beginning to wonder if the advance scouting is to blame."

This seems true based on my experience watching the Yanks, but I wonder if stats back this claim up. Over the last 9 years, the Yanks have been arguably the best offensive team in baseball. Are they scoring all their runs against pitchers they're familiar with? Are they worse than other teams who face new pitchers? Anyone with a calculator and time have the answer?

question: Who was responsible for the Wright signing? Was this awful contract the work of "Tampa people?" or is Cashman to blame?