Comments on: Don’t Mess With Tex

By: weeping for brunnhilde

weeping for brunnhilde — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:23:23 +0000

Consistency in performance just means a relative absence of peaks and valleys. In hitting, it means Cano shouldn’t be hitting .380 one minute and .300 the next, but rather get a hit or two each day rather than two or three hits for a couple of weeks followed up by lots of oh-fors.

Same with pitching and with winning. Steady rather than erratic performance.

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:36:31 +0000

[13]‘s writer is getting dangerously close to the monthly sarcasm limit, and there’s still two weeks to go! I think that post alone may have used up half of his allotment.

By: cult of basebaal

cult of basebaal — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:13:22 +0000

I think the team is still getting to a point of confidence with Alex being able to play long stretches at 3rd without having to DH.

Anytime he’s DHing, Berroa’s the only other option on the roster if one of the infielders gets hurt.

Me, I’d risk losing the DH spot for part of a game rather than carry the Berroa deadweight, but I understand ‘why’ he’s here, at least for a while.

By: Just Fair

Just Fair — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:33:59 +0000

Maybe after Coke’s next save he can holler, “Awesome. Totally Awesome.” Or perhaps run in from the bullpen to “All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’m fine.” Ha.

By: RagingTartabull

RagingTartabull — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:26:53 +0000

non-game question: Has anyone here used Will-Call at the new stadium? I’m going to the game tonight and have to drop off my friend’s ticket, is it a pain?

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:19:36 +0000

[35] I think it speaks to Coke and to the situation – first time, Yankee Stadium, and most of all – replacing Mariano Rivera.

By: Raf

Raf — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:02:58 +0000

that ruled. it was like a post-game interview with Spicoli!!!

Nuke LaLoosh was the first person to come to my mind.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:59:25 +0000

[34] I wouldn’t either…but Coke’s reaction was so over the top that it is eye opening. There are plenty of other examples to speak to the specialness of closing, but I thought Coke’s interview was the perfect illustration.

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:41:45 +0000

I’m not one who thinks being a closer isn’t a special skill, but I wouldn’t hold up one guy’s experience in verrrry particular circumstances as dispelling that notion.

By: Horace Clarke Era

Horace Clarke Era — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:39:19 +0000

[31] Raging Tart, that’s no Bull. And it is also not unconnected that Tex got hot around when Alex came back. Even with Rodiguez still really in spring training, no pitcher wants to be the one who watches him bust out. When Alex gets it properly together in a week or two, we’ll have our own version of Manny/Papi at their best, or Minny’s M&M right now. Girardi’s job will then be figuring out a combo of Posada/Matsui/Cano to follow. Actually, if Melky keeps hitting, he can be higher than 8th or 9th, too. I am ‘off’ Swisher at the moment, though he’ll have his hot streaks again. When the Gardner’s healthy again (Mauer tagged him AND hurt him, now that’s a play!) Swish and he get cycled through, resting Damon and Matsui. Pena lets Alex DH once a week, which will be a good thing, too.

By: Bama Yankee

Bama Yankee — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:34:46 +0000

Good game last night, it was nice to see a “walk on” win after all those “walk off” wins over the last few days… Although, I think someone should tell Phil Coke that John Wetteland called…he wants his “heart-wrenching-pitching-performance-but-still-get-the-save” act back…

By: RagingTartabull

RagingTartabull — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:32:32 +0000

I think we’ll have a better read on the “consistency” of this team around June 15th, coming off 9 games against the Rays, Sox, and Mets. Until that point I’d be perfectly content beating up on the Orioles and Rangers (is anyone here seriously scared of Texas??)

And also, it is not a coincidence that this team is 8-2 since A-Rod’s return. Lengthening the lineup like that will make any team appear more “consistent”

By: Horace Clarke Era

Horace Clarke Era — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:18:31 +0000

Cult of Baseball nailed me (with a sense of humour) in the game thread:

[464] don’t think that you can just show up at the end of games and act like the voice of reason. you have to spend time in the asylum to have the right to talk sense around here!
=)

I did laugh. But I figure it is a miserable job, but SOMEONE has to do it, right, Cult? If I show up earlier and try to sedate and calm william and others, it just … won’t work! Someone’ll get hurt! Probably me! But at the end of a close win, I can walk in with an open bottle of Macallan and pass it around …

But I can try for voice of reason in the morning too! I think ‘constency’ is going to be hard in the AL East. Yes, you can only play the schedule you have, Dimelo, but WE have to factor that. Jays have had an amazingly easy sched so far, so has Texas. Schedules will even out in the AL east, but NOT elsewhere. Dodgers will have it easy, the Central and West in the AL will be WAY easier than the East … that means more games when your bullpen gets tired, more tough losses, even more blowouts.

Look, we all KNEW (didn’t we?) that the east had 3 really strong teams. Now a fourth is playing exceptionally well, and history suggests at the 1/4 mark the leader tends to win the division! I don’t think the Jays will, but they aren’t going to just vanish, and two of their studs (Wells, Rios) have yet to get going. They have 3 pitchers coming back in next little while. Means Gaston will have decisions to make, but those are good decisions to have.

So my point is that we are in for a LONG, tough season in this division, and there WILL be losing streaks ahead. My optimism, if I have any (and I expect to be competitive all year, with no bets as to winning) is our starting pitching, which tends to help avoid major losing streaks.

And I am NOT going to post twice in two days on behalf of Jose Veras. Once is more than enough! I’ll just note how quiet the anti-Teixeira guys here have suddenly become. Patience is a virtue. (And that can apply in a manager to vets as well as kids!)

WHY is Berroa on the team? I’ll join that chorus too. I don’t think it matters a whole lot, a 25th player seldom does more than cheer, but he seems only ‘insurance’ against two injuries in a single game. Cash goes (catcher Cash, not GM Cash) when either Po or Molina lumber back … no one has asked who stays as backup when they both return. Cervelli sure looks like he deserves a shot, but is he better still hitting every day in AAA or catching twice a week up here? He’ll never pinch hit, except to bunt.

By: Shaun P.

Shaun P. — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:14:43 +0000

[26] Do we know for sure that long winning/losing streaks, or having lots of blowout wins/losses in a season, is any kind of statistically significant predictor of a team’s final record, or that it correlates with winning in any way? I want to say that Rob Neyer looked at this a few years ago at ESPN.com, but I can’t remember, and I’m not sure how to find his pre-blog columns.

In any case, it sounds like a topic someone would have done a study on. Anyone have “Baseball Between the Numbers” handy?

By: RIYank

RIYank — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:09:08 +0000

I’m with Chris: there aren’t any consistent teams. The Jays lost three out of four to the Royals, including a 7-1 loss and an 11-2 loss. In that series they won a game 8-1. That’s the very antithesis of consistency.

It doesn’t inspire great confidence that the Yankees are winning the close games and have lost blow-outs. That’s not a good sign (though it is a good thing to win close games, it’s not a good sign). But I’m reasonably optimistic because there are lots of reasons to think that some key players will be much more productive in the summer months, and because we’re just about even with the Rays and Red Sox despite the April struggles. (Think about what a dismal position the Sox would be in if they’d lost the close games to the Yankees that they in fact won.)

Looking forward to seeing Brian Bruney.

By: RIYank

RIYank — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:58:47 +0000

[25] I could stand that.
Cervelli, Romiro Pena, Brett Gardner, Phil Coke — all those guys are just enough better than we had any right to expect, and all have such a pleasant attitude, that I’m looking forward to having them around. It also makes me want to have Melancen, Aceves, Miranda all come to the Bronx and sit in the bullpen or on the bench, as the case may be.

Cody Ransom. Jose Veras. Kyle Farnsworth. Miguel Cairo. Ugh.

By: Dimelo

Dimelo — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:57:14 +0000

[23] I agree, close losses in conjunction with 3+ game winning streaks does mean the team is playing more consistently. When you see quite a few of 10+ runs allowed and losses, then that doesn’t make you feel good about this being a consistent team. Let’s see how this all plays out from here to the end of May, their schedule in June is not that easy.

BTW, a team can only play the schedule that was given to them. I don’t look at that as any sort of indictment.

By: PJ

PJ — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:51:33 +0000

[24] Sure thing friend!

I would get used to Phil being around, if I were all of Yankees Universe!

: )

By: RIYank

RIYank — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:45:05 +0000

Oh, thanks, PJ! I’m glad I watched that.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:43:54 +0000

[21] That’s not what I was trying to say…actually, quite the opposite. My point was the close losses were just that…losses. By the same token, these close wins against Minnesota shouldn’t be discounted.

Of course, close losses do mean your not giving up 10+ runs, which is always nice.