The Yanks beat-up the Rangers last night to the tune of 9-2. Godzilla Matsui hit two home runs–and took what seemed like an eternity to round the bases; he looked like a tired farm animal who’d been pullling the plow for too many years–Derek Jeter added three hits, and Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano also homered. AJ Burnett pitched okay and clearly got plenty of help from his hitters. He threw close to 120 pitches in six innings, didn’t allow a run and gave up just three hits but also walked four. He also finished the game with seven strike outs.
“There were no mistakes,” Burnett told the New York Times. “Everything was where I wanted it to go, for the most part. Fewer walks and you can go deeper in the game, but you’ve got to start somewhere.”
Perhaps the best news of the night was watching Chien-Ming Wang look sharp in two innings of relief. If he can return to his former self, then, man that gives the Yanks some decent pitching…Muh-hu-ha-ha.
The win, combined with a Boston loss, pulls the Yanks into a tie with the Sox for first place.
When Damon hit the wall, I was thinking that Matsui could serve as an emergency left fielder. Then I saw him run the bases. Good God. No wonder Pena was taking balls out there.
Shelly Duncan hit his 16th homerun yesterday (in 36 games). Why is Angel Fucking Berroa still on this team?
I was a little caught off guard watching Matsui run as well.
I know we were leading by 8 runs, but the presence of Veras in any situation scares me. Do they really have confidence in him?
That said, Robertson intrigues me. Nice sequence of pitches, well located.
[2] Spot on about Robertson and Veras. Both Veras and Berroa need to excised from the roster.
The obvious move is to DFA Berroa when Posada comes back, keep three catchers around for a couple of days to make sure Posada is fully back. Then you send down Cash (I think you play Cervelli) and call up Duncan. The previous DFA of Berroa frees up the 40 man spot for Shelly.
[3] Agreed.
I've been baffled by their handling of injuries and roster moves. Two utility infielders, one geriatric.
With Cabrera out for a week or more and Nady coming back as another DH, wouldn't it make sense to bring up a 4th outfielder? Duncan, Jackson....somebody.
Remove Berroa, Veras and any of the other BP for that matter- Tomko?
I have to admit, Cash going to the mound for rosin and having no words at all with Burnett, is yet another example of "I have never seen that before!" The expression on A.J.'s face was priceless, and truly a "WTF?" look if I ever saw one!
It just goes to show, "Some things are better left unsaid!" "Silence is golden!" "The sounds of silence!" "Quiet on the set!" and other similar quotes apply...
Hilarious!
And best of all, that's almost as funny as the fact that the particular "mound visit" in question actually worked!
Too bad "Miked Up Moron" can't do three hours on that later today! He can't keep the shit stirred behind that "fun" story now, can he?
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[4] I don't think Cash can be sent down, can he? Too many years of service. He'd have to pass waivers. Of course, he'd probably pass waivers. But you never know -- a cheap BUC who isn't embarrassingly bad might be pretty attractive.
Alex, Cliff, Diane, everyone: can we have some analysis of the alternatives for how the Yankees should be handling the Six Starters situation? I've had the benefit of a nice diversity of intelligent opinion from the commenters here, but I'm still torn. I need someone to solidify my opinion.
[7] Exactly what value is Kevin Cash? He's our fourth string catcher and he's hitting .231/.250/.308 . You have Posada coming back, Molina rehabbing and Cervelli. If he doesn't pass through waivers do you really think we can't pick up another player of a similar caliber via the waiver wire or just signing a minor league FA? I just don't understand why you'd send down a promising young player in Cervelli because you're worried about Cash's waiver prospects.
[8] No, the main reason to send Cervelli down is so that he can get playing time. He's a fairly promising player; I'd like to see him replace Molina, and maybe some day be the starter -- that's unlikely, but if he comes close he could be an excellent BUC or else a valuable trading chip.
My only point about waivers, really, was that you can't just "send him down". I do think (a) Cervelli is a lot more valuable, and (b) as you say, Cash is pretty replaceable.
[7] I wouldn't get too far ahead of myself on the six starters issue just yet. Two three up and three down innings from Wang during "garbage time" is nowhere close to pitching a quality start facing a lineup two or three full times through. In fact it's only 33% of a quality start and should be viewed as such. I'm just happy that he's finally moving in the right direction after seven and a half months since being cleared to throw off a mound following his foot injury! Additionally, while I am very pleased that the Yankees are in a tie for first place after such a shit storm first 25% of the season, beating the Rangers two out of three in Arlington eerily reminds me of taking two out of three in Toronto after losing the first one to Halladay. In other words, I'm not very impressed when they do what they are supposed to do against a bunch of "Meh." Let's see them win a series against Philly, or Boston, or the Mets in a convincing fashion you know, over one or more of the better teams in baseball instead of the pretenders in Toronto and Texas on the road before we start making confetti for their parade down the Canyon of Heroes.
I'm just sayin'...
If Posada was upset about his playing time at the beginning of the season coming off of his rehabbing ST and shoulder surgery, which he clearly was, he's going to be a complete ass DH'ing for about a week, which is all I'd let him do once he returns, whether he liked it or not! The catcher position from day to day should be the least of Po's concerns right now in my opinion, but you know it won't be. The Yankees have exhibited nothing more than bringing back players too soon all season long. They really need to cut that crap out, especially now that they're in first place after not having the luxury of being at full strength yet. Now more than ever, they can afford to err on the side of caution, and I would take advantage of that while it seems the rest of the division is reeling somewhat. Also keep in mind they are merely 3-3 since winning nine straight.
I would drop Berroa for Posada. That's the only move I see them making in the near future, since they are apparently not putting Melky on the DL.
Just some more "brain droppings" is all...
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