Topic: Yankees Baseball

Kemp wants his pitchers to retaliate on the Phils by going inside maybe up and in     . . . . . . . .    Mission Impossible these are not just the Dodgers    . . . .    These are the Torre’s Dodgers in HD.  No former Torre’s pitcher has done that other than PROCTOR and he almost got in trouble with Torre, no wonder he’s not on the active roster. Torre will never have his pitchers’ backs in those situations it goes against his suave persona that he has so painstakingly cultivated.  So guys you’d better get your armor to protect your elbows and arms because Torre doesn’t play the game that way   . . . .    you’re on your own kid.

I bet Mattingly won’t take credit for these two games hitting disaster it goes against his nature. He won’t be able to snipe at the Yanks either   . . . .  At least not for a couple of games.

FIRST YOU CRY.

And then some    . . . . . . . . . .    seeing GarciaParra flailing at those three consecutive offerings by Lidge (3 straight sliders away) with the game on the line made me sick to my stomach because it reminded me of what we have in-house     . . . . . . .   who else? A-rod in the clutch of course and Cano.

Hey the baseball season is not over yet so A-rod is fair game  . . . . .   at those prices  . . . .  You better believe it.

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS?

Maybe not.

Maddon knew Matzusaka was going to be wild and will load the bases (a few times) and yet he couldn’t counter those offerings (the ones that got him out of those jams).

Now you have Beckett on your sights a man WHO’S NOT EMOTIONALLY UP TO PAR (just go over his last few weeks both during the regular season and the series against the Angels and you’ll know what I mean).

Francona is just out coaching you.

Maybe Maddon is not a man who was born to thrive during the Off (championship) season.

Look who’s throwing the rest of the Yankees coaches under the bus: “I think everybody has to take some kind of accountability for what happened," Kevin Long said. "I certainly do."

YOU GOT SOME BALLS MAN.

You were extended last season because of the job you supposedly did with the team in 2007 which was grossly exaggerated. A-rod had a very good year like he always does on odd years and when the media asked you and Mattingly at the end of the regular season why the team was so disciplined at the plate providing those great offensive results (during the regular season that is) You and Mattingly both confessed (which was a fact) that it had nothing to do with any of you two because you didn’t preached the disciplined approach at the plate but mechanics and other stuff. The truth is the players on their own, with the exception of Giambi, followed each other’s example and became a great thing to watch (during the regular season that is).

Fast-forward to 2008 and player after player (i.e. Christian, Gardner and others claimed they were told by their coaches not to waste their time at the plate being disciplined because if they did the opposing pitcher will have an easy time sticking them with two automatic strikes against them). It just so happened that these players were thriving in triple A getting on base consistently by being disciplined at the plate and running the bases smartly   . . . . .   that was a far cry from what they did at the Majors level and a source of embarrassment for Cashman when their counterparts at Foston: Lowrie, Pedroia, Youk, Ellsbury and others were excelling.  I’ve been saying for months that this guy Kevin Long should honor his last name and be GONE  . . . . . .  He’s putrid, he’s just a bs artist and CASHMAN buys into his crap and so does Girardi but then what else is new? I had my doubts especially when Girardi and A-rod and Cashman swear by the guy but what do you expect?

What have these guys done for us this season? This guy is as good a hitting coach as A-rod hits in the clutch and Girardi manages his team and Cashman manages the entire roster and future “so called” stars if you know what I mean.

According to Kevin Long coaches should be held accountable for what happened    . . . . . . .   what happened was that the rotation failed, the pen became a well oiled machine when it mattered until Cashman killed it but the offense WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND so in your own words YOU SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR IT.  Right?

So how come that’s not taking place  . . . . . . .     you and Cashman are getting away with murder.  Any pictures you have in your possession you might care to share?

I think it will be a disgrace if this guy returns in 2009 especially when he admits coaches should be held accountable for their actions. Can any fan or a tabloid sportswriter tell me what in the world has this guy done for the Yankees hitting?  Cano? Give me a break with less talent Pedroia is all over the charts in every offensive category and his young fellow hitters too and Pedroia is fully focused ALL THE TIME and he shows he wants to contribute to his team success SO BADLY and it's all genuine and what do we get from Cano? Lack of everything, everything seems to go over his head and you don’t hear the Sux showering Magadan with praise.

That’s the difference between the Sux and our Yankee organization: they know their stuff when we don’t even begin to have a clue.

Theo has a few specialists in talent research and evaluation including some using the latest tools and computing programs that when properly applied are able to help you ascertain the true value of a prospect or players that are underappreciated by their own teams or under the radar so to speak; they know when to really go after a position player or a pitcher and get him or when to jack up the price of a player they are not really interested in and who ends up playing for the Yankees; they also know when to let a player go (it’s just business): Pedro, Clemens, Dixon, Millard, Damon, Myers, Mueller, Bradford,  Ramirez, Renteria, Lowe, etc. To that end they have more than 2 guys at least, including Bill James and some whiz kids that complement James’ work.

What do we have? A bunch of yes men who know crap about evaluating talent and the only reason Cashman is staying with this incapu Kevin Long is because the guy is under contract. When are we going to learn something from better run organizations? Remember Renteria, Manny and others?  They were gone because they had to and damn those millions in salary but we have to keep Long because he’s signed for another year or so.

I think Cashman has lost the parameters of what the media calls the Cashman vision. The lines between the trees and forest are getting blurred by the minute with no solution in sight. You’re turning the most storied baseball franchise into a small market team and you’re getting away with it. To keep Long in order to save some bucks after all the money you have thrown away?  Man   . . . . . .   You’re really insane.

But Kevin Long stays on to help Cano? What makes you think we fans still care about Cano? He forgot about us he might as well be on the next trip to Milwaukee, Seattle, San Diego, Denver or Pittsburgh (he and his hitting guru) for all we care. We are stuck with that $28 million white elephant in the roster we don’t have to stomach Cano anymore.

We need Kevin Long? The Yankees can't afford a better hitting coach?

I’m going to puke.

"These guys are winners," Julio Lugo said referring to the new young Sux members Lowrie, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, etc. "To keep up, you'd better be ready to produce."

Meantime the Yankees via their manager  do just the opposite encouraging complacency big stars at every position middle age at that and coming up with all sorts of excuses for their shortcomings and you still wonder why the Sux are going to more playoffs games lately?

But not everything is dandy in Sux land it seems   . . . .   while Youk was criticizing the Rays for the dancers near the dugout as “not being processional enough”     . . . . . . .     the image of him and Lowell making fun of Coco Crisp batting stance in the ALDS series against the Angels at Fenway while Coco Crisp was battling the Angels pitcher came to mind    . . . . .   complete to the last detail (Coco Crisp rhythmically flickering the fingers of his top left hand like a serpent does its tongue). Youk probably thought that mocking a fellow player not named Ortiz or Papelbon in HIGH DEFINITION on national TV is very professional especially a player like Coco Crisp who leaves his soul on the field every game.

You never thought you were going to get caught right Youk? Not even the smallest details escape those lenses man.  Now try to spin that. It seems you could be garbage at times.

Welcome to Mannywood!

The Phils got Manny upset with those in your ear offerings and now there’ll be HELL to pay.

Time for the rest of the team to get on board against Blanton (another pitcher Manny owns) with the Dodgers still playing at home exquisitely SURROUNDED  by  MannyMania.

Next game is the true test for the Maddon Rays, they prove they can beat Lester and they might be home free without any doubts about what they can do against a team like Foston regardless of where you’re playing them. Playing at Fenway gives them the added incentive of trying to quiet that boisterously loud crowd.

One thing about Foston is they never give up. Are the Rays at least as hungry as the Sux are?  Then it’s time to walk the walk.

But it won’t happen when their hitters go down NOT SWINGING AT CLOSE PITCHES  CALLED THIRD STRIKES.  If you’re going to leave your fate in the hands of the home plate umpire? You’re nuts!

I saw the possibilities but the most important ingredient in any game’s outcome (from the victors’ perspective that is) is execution and I wasn’t so sure the Rays might be able to execute because winning this game against a fine young stud like Lester at Fenway would be earth shattering but they got it right: Upton, Longoria and their posse chasing after the Sux did okay.

How do you top that? By simply following Maddon’s rule on playing games: “You treat every game with the upmost respect.”

Amen to that.

Word of caution: do not underestimate Wakefield or the young Sux for that matter and things will be copacetic. You guys might be for real   . . . . . . . .  But as some wise players before you have been saying after a victory such as this: “you have won nothing yet”    . . . . .    “you need to stay focused and hungry.”

CALIFORNIA DREAMING.

No, too early for that.

I was ready to go through the Dodgers-Phillies game but then I read about what Rob Reiner said about the game and what we’ll call “Torre being Torre” and it is all there. Torre taking out Lowe FORWHATEVERREASON so early in the game when you’re up, a gamer like Lowe   . . . . .   sacrilege  . . . .  The rest of the bullpen mishaps were nothing but a consequence of that bonehead move.