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| Jorge Posada's strike out from last night looked a bit outside (BrooksBaseball) |
- The Yankees rotation concerns are really nothing new. Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues wrote a whole post about it, but I've been saying it for weeks: the 2010 team looks a lot like 2009. This statement was true for both 2009 and 2010: A.J. Burnett went 0-4 in August with an ugly ERA and questions were raised about his ability to pitch in October. Well last night we saw Good A.J., also known as the guy who won every Game 2 for the Yankees last year. So the Yankees will have to hope for a Good A.J. the rest of the way, a healthy Andy Pettitte, and someone else (Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes, or Javier Vazquez) step up and contribute. This is not to say that the rotation shouldn't be a concern for the Yankees, but just that the Yankees had the same issues and much less depth last year and they figure out how to bring home a World Series. Moshe Mandel at TYU takes an early gander at the postseason rotation. I think a lot of that will be in flux as September performances take shape. Brien @ IIATMS takes stock of the rotation.
- Robinson Cano: MVP? We'll have to look at this a bit more, but I wanted to throw it out there. Josh Hamilton is kicking Cano's ass in WAR on FanGraphs, but leads all AL hitters in WAR in Baseball-Reference. As ESPN Stats and Info blog wrote yesterday, Cano's best time of year is just starting so te best may be yet to come (though it's hard to imagine him being better than his ridiculous April). YES' Jack Curry writes that Cano is showing the maturity and talent of an MVP. Detroit has fallen off so Miguel Cabrera will be hard-pressed to win (unless he miraculously takes the AL Triple Crown) and Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford will probably split votes for their teams. The Yankees' other two of NoMass' Three Amigos (Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher) don't figure to take away too many votes from Cano. I think it comes down to Hamilton and Cano and Cano's position may make it a close race.
- What will be the price tag on Derek Jeter? This topic was debated a bit on Twitter yesterday, but it's a good one. With Jeter hitting free agency after this season and facing his worst season as a Major Leaguer at age 36, questions about the length and size of a contract are reasonable. Unfortunately, this is not Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui, free agents who you can just let walk if they don't fit the financial or baseball plans. This is the captain of the Yankees. With that in mind, Ben Lindbergh at Baseball Prospectus talks about the contract status and Brien @ IIATMS asks how much is too much for Jeter? Mike at Yankeeist just says that Jeter shouldn't be leading off anymore. I think Jeter's next contract will come somewhere in between 3 years, $55 million and 5 years, $110 million, but of course that is just wide-range speculation and a topic better left for the off-season.
- Hot, hot, Jorge. I put up the PitchFX view of where that 5th pitch was to Jorge Posada last night that got him thrown out of the game and you can understand why he was upset. That being said, it was not a smart ejection for Jorge. The Yankees had an extra catcher in Chad Moeller but they would have been better off had Jorge said that he wanted that same pitch as well and walked back to the dugout. They won in the end, but can you imagine if that game went extras and the Yankees had to bat Moeller in a big spot because Jorge got too angry? Eek. The key for the Yankees offense in October may be the ability of Jorge Posada to stay in the lineup. This type of behavior doesn't really help. This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes talks about Jorge Posada's case for the Hall of Fame. The New York Post talks about the Posada's upcoming book, a memoir of the Posadas and their son's disease.
- The Yankees have improved the farm. It was great to see this picture from The Times-Tribune of the Yankees' Triple-A team celebrating a division championship behind yet another big game from Jesus Montero. Maybe the Yankees should be thankful they didn't trade him for Cliff Lee this season. Stephani Bee of Pinstriped Bible lists the Yankees' top 10 prospects and you can see there is some depth to this team and some good guys waiting on the horizon. Even Lance Berkman is making people smile according to Mike Ashmore's Thunder Thoughts. Good news all around there.
And now for poll results in out most-voted poll ever:
Which 1995-2010 Yankees Pitcher Would You Start in Game 7?
CC Sabathia | 13 (23%) |
Andy Pettitte | 15 (27%) |
El Duque | 9 (16%) |
David Cone | 6 (10%) |
Roger Clemens | 10 (18%) |
Mike Mussina | 2 (3%) |
David Wells | 0 (0%) |
Jimmy Key | 0 (0%) |
Votes so far: 55
Poll closed
Poll closed
Posts
It recently occurred to me that I don't particularly like Jorge Posada. Allow me to explain. A father will always love his sons, no matter what. It's unconditional. He will love them by virtue of having fathered them, whether or not they are nice people. But he won't necessarily *like* them.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I feel about Jorge. I love him just like I love the rest of the Core Four Yankees. But whereas I like Mariano Rivera, I just don't like Jorge.
Now, that doesn't mean I think he's a lousy player. He has always been a strong hitter, and it's downright impressive how productive his bat remains at age 39. It's just that I think he's something of a bitch.
He whines, he complains, he always seems to have an attitude. He's stubborn and probably isn't very coachable. More than a few pitchers have gone public with their difficulty pitching to Posada. He has a temper and isn't afraid to show it -- just like he did last night when he got ejected late in the game, which could've cost the Yankees dearly.
So do I love Jorge? Sure, he's a true blue Yankee with 5 rings, so yes I love the guy and I appreciate all the good he does for the franchise. But I don't really like him as a person, and if I were a fan of any other team, frankly I would probably hate him.
NOTE: this is only commentary about Jorge the Catcher. As a person, he is wonderful. The work he has done on behalf of his son and all other children affected by craniosynostosis is fantastic. Bravo on that, Jorge, you get a gold star for being a great guy off the field.
I can somewhat agree with you there, Jay. Jorge is one of the worst baserunners I've ever seen and is just not a "smart" baseball player...but he is a possible Hall of Famer. Even in a down year, he just hit his 17th HR and is one of the best hitting catchers in the history of the game. Even with Jesus Montero killing the minors and other great catching prospects in the system, I think the time we'll appreciate Jorge the most is when he's gone. But he is quite whiny.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. His offensive numbers put him in the HOF conversation, for sure, but he's not even close defensively and on the basepaths. So I concur that we do and will continue to appreciate Jorge's bat. But on a personality level, I just don't like him as a player. The guy is just a whiny bitch.
ReplyDeleteAt least he's a good dad :-)