On the Yankees beat

His bat will not make up for mental and physical miscues at first base. We made it this far without him offensively. I miss Melky in Left field defensively. I would keep GS as a DH or pinch hitter. Our pitchers will give us consistent performance but will not deal with defensive lapses. If we can win without his bat than no need for his glove.

Correct Larry.

Don't let him anywhere near first base.

Of course, you know Torre will play nevertheless.

Oops. Insert the word "him" between "play" and "nevertheless" above.

uhh, even David Ortiz can play a passable first base when needed. I think Gary Sheffield can handle it...he's done fine so far. It's Gary Sheffield, are you really going to bench him?

I would be OK with it if he regained his offensive form, but to this point he hasn't.

I rather start phillips at first, keep giambi as the DH keep matsui at left field and replace him later on with Melky for defense reasons and keep sheff at the bench and pitch hit him for phillips. Scott does have a point if oritz can do it maybe sheff can.

Sheffield is not going to produce Home runs like Ortiz. I would take Ortiz over Sheffield at first base. We can win the whole match this year unless we screw up. The Yankees outscored the Pittsburg Pirates in 1960 but lost the WS. We have seen the replay many times over. We do not need his bat at this time. He is a liability with his defense and offense will be spotty at best. If, you polled the pitchers someone who can field grounders and throws plus make throws would be their choice. We have only spoken about the physical side of playing first. I don't believe GS has a clue to the mental side. GS will say anthing to start at first base (selfserving). Why the desperation for him to be in the lineup.

either detroit or minny would try to bunt on sheff whenever possible. in any sacrifice situation, if you make sheff handle the ball, something bad could happen.

of course, we could say the same thing about giambi.

i have no idea what to do but this entire defense makes me hold my breath. who do you really trust, outside of posada?

Why do you think he takes Andy Phillips on the roster over Wilson? The plan will be to take Sheff at frst give him 2, maybe 3 at bats and then plop him down for a speedy pinch-runner and Phillips will go innings 7-8-9.

Andy is dead on. Torre wants Sheffield's bat (and intimidating presence) in the line-up.
He'll bring Phillips in for Sheff and Melky in for Matsui and Bernie will be the primary pinch-hitter.

Melky will replace Matsui in any tight game. With a larger lead he will go to center in the lates. Dont be suprised to see him and Andy finish them all in the line-up. Just think what a contribution Pavano could have made if her weren't a total DB in August. With Randy down he could have completed a four man playoff rotation and made himself a hero in NY for years. Next time take a cab Carl. As far as Sheffield and bunts, the only time anyone would try that trick is against the lefty big man and his back, otherwise Moose, Chin and Jaret coupled with Jorge would field their positions as always. Think about this with two outs and runner on second in a one run game do you want Melky, Andy, Giambi or Sheff walking to the plate? Phillips will come in when "Enter Sandman" plays on the PA. Sheff singles, run scores, Cairo pinch runs or Phillips, Sheff sits, THEEEEEEEEE Yankees win!

Let go Yankees!

Well, I see the all about me egomaniac is running his mouth again. He says the Yankees owe him something (a new three year contract) for his "unselfish" move to 1B.

Maybe he owes them since he got paid $13 million to vacation all year? Personally, I wish they would release him right now and get rid of the CANCER.

Why don't we give the 1B mitt to Bernie and sign him to a new contract for 2007? He deserves it and has earned it!

Sheffield will end up costing us more in a key situation than any offense he might add. Pitching and defense are what win in October. Torre knows this, but will still cowtow down and play the head case anyway.

By the way Joe, just how did the TEAM do this year without Mr. Sheffield???

This is what Sheff said today about playing first base:

"Coming back, you want to be a part of this. I want to win a ring on the field, not sitting down," Sheffield said.

I wish fans would consider the context in which an athlete answers questions from the media. If a sports writer asks Sheff will be come back to the Yankees and play first base, and Sheff tells the truth about how he feels he should be rewarded for switching positions, then he seems selfish in print ... especially because the question that prompted this remark is left out of the story.

most sports writers fail to include the context in which they asked a question because they don't have the space to include it. the athlete ends up being portrayed poorly when all he's trying to do is give an honest answer.

I don't know...Sheffield gets a bad rap in many ways, but he's the one responsible for it. He's a sour dour man. That said, as a Yankees fan, there is no way his bat stays on the bench. The rest of this stuff is idle chat to me. Cabrera was a nice story and did exactly what we asked him to do. He filled in for Matsui. Filled in. That is all. I love that he's young, enthusiastic, hustles, can play LF very well, makes Robinson Cano happy, and came through our farm system, but we have to go with our best. The likelihood of Matsui misplaying a ball or two in LF is far outweighed by making certain Giambi, Matsui, and Sheffield are one third of what could be the best lineup in the history of the game. It was never Melky's job at any time; it was Matsui's. He's just keeping it warm for him. Bash Torre all you want, but he's doing exactly what I would do if I were in charge. Sheffield's bat over Melky's glove; it's the only serious choice. I'm way more concerned about who we send out to the hill than this non story. Sheffield is arrogant, self serving, pompous, and may not be the best team player, but one thing the man can do is hit. I also wish that everybody wouldn't forget that the man played with one arm for nearly a full season a couple years back and was robbed of the MVP award at the buzzer by a couple of Vladimir Guerrero homers in the finals weeks as that season. He carried the Yankees when most players (hello Manny) would have hit the DL and collected their millions. Sheffield is many things, but he's also a gamer. Whether that is at the expense of the team as a whole or whether he does it for personal reasons only is another matter. No way he sits on the bench. We sent Giambi out there last year. How can the gifted Sheffield be any worse? He came up as a SS for crying out loud. I have no reservations whatsoever about him playing 1B. In fact, if the alternative is him playing RF for Boston next year I'm for picking up his option too. We are clearly in the market for a 1B and his bat fits that bill as well. I would have taken Guiel over Phillps myself, but Phillips is being rewarded for being a company man. Craig Wilson can't even make contact half the time. He played his way off the roster with ease. As for the above discussion though all three (Giambi, Matsui, and Sheffield) have to play no matter what. End of story. God I hope that epidural was effective...

"The likelihood of Matsui misplaying a ball or two in LF is far outweighed by making certain Giambi, Matsui, and Sheffield are one third of what could be the best lineup in the history of the game." - John

Hey John, the Yankees have been down this road before.

Results:
2004 - LOSE to the Red Sox
2005 - LOSE to the Angels

Remember?

Here are my thoughts.

Sheffield / Matsui - You can have one of them on the field but not both.

If you do, you would be sacrificing too much defense.

We've got plenty of slow-footed sluggers in the line-up.

What we really need is someone who can get on base and put pressure on the pitcher and catcher.

Plus, it's not like Cabrera can't hit homeruns.

So how exactly is Matsui so much better him, that we should just accept inferior fielding and slow base-running?

Depending on the pitcher, you can play each of them alternately.

For example, if Wang pitches, then you can play Matsui since he'll likely see very little activity out in left, and of course you would play Phillips at first.

If Mussina pitches, you can play Sheffield at first but then Cabrera would play instead of Matsui.

Whenever one does not play, he can DH.

This is no time to pay respect to veterans.

Out of the past 5 years, this is the best chance for us to get that ring.

Joe, don't blow it.

Giambi - don't DH him. Keep on the bench, to pinch hit.

Johnson - I wouldn't start him.

Farnsworth - don't let him in any close games.

Phillips - people, this guy can hit. It's hard to hit well when you don't get any at-bats.

If the Yankees can just let him play for an entire season, I can swear to you that they'll get rewarded with a great season from him.

When did Matsui get a rep for mis-playing balls in the outfield? He is a solid left fielder with less of an arm than Melky. There isn't any fielding drop-off there! Sheff at first is less of a liability than GMAN at first, thats a given, yet starting Andy Phillips or Giambi over Gary Sheffield who is rested and healthy, or Melky Cabrera over Matsui in left? That is some scared thinking. Put the line-up out there the way it should be. If we lose shame on the players for getting too tight, otherwise it should be a blowout.

Cabrera gets to more balls than Matsui.

That extra few feet means difference a bases clearing double and fly out to end the inning.

Everyone here sounds so confident here.

I have no problem with that.

I, myself are more level-headed and believe nothing is ever certain.

Two months ago, everyone and their uncle would have never guess the Tigers (with the runaway lead they had) would end up wildcards.

Life has a way humbling you.

Yes, the Yankees are a better team with Phillips at first and Sheffield DH-ing.

Just remember that it is I that TOLD YOU SO, if we do exit the playoffs (hope I'm wrong).

I agree with Andy about Matsui's game. He's not bad in LF; steady is the word. I have always been a proponent of Andy Phillips, but he strikes out too much and Aaron Guiel, a LH Hitter, is a better hitter than the rusty Phillips right now. But Phillips, at best, is a defensive replacement. Getting him or Melky into the lineup is just not a priority. As for Eric's points above about our last two playoff losses we only lost to Boston because we didn't have Jason Giambi in the lineup. We still would have won if John Olerud hadn't gotten hurt as well. Tony Clark, a great defensive 1B, was flat useless and chances are, under playoff pressure, so would Phillips as he has zero experience there. We couldn't score in that series and Tommy Gordon was gassed. Now we have the artilery to what Boston did that year, which was to outslug every bad pitching performance. You won't see Bubba Crosby or Miguel Cairo in these lineups. The Angels seem to have our number, but if Randy Johnson had pitched well in his start we'd have won that series too. That was the biggest disappointment right there with A-Rod kicking around easy ground balls and hitting into clutch double plays. Giambi did butcher plays in the field as well, but he's among the worst in the business with his glove. His bat, and ability to wear out the pitcher by taking pitches, is a must in the starting lineup. If he's hurt that's one thing, but getting Melky into the lineup at his expense is crazy. He too has no playoff experience. Besides, the irony of leaving Giambi on the bench is that the only player he'd pinch hit for is Cabrera. I'd rather he gets his reps than have to come off the bench cold when we need him the most. Those other three at bats could be huge. I fully understand the concept of putting the best defensive club on the field, but this Yankee lineup is fearsome and these guys are paid way too much to have them sitting in the playoffs. If Giambi is hurt that is one thing, but otherwise he's more than earned his DH role. I'm a big fan of Melky, believe me, but Joe is absolutely doing the right thing here. Sheffield has an infielder's pedigree and if Giambi can play 1B certainly Sheffield can. If Santana was pitching I would see that advantages of playing the switch hitting Cabrera because our run output would be much lower, but since the Tigers are completely worn out our best defense is a good offense. This is the matchup we want without question. The Twins have a number one starter, play air tight defense, execute the little things like moving runners, and are red hot. We have a much better chance of beating them in a seven game series than in a five right now. I expect them to survive the A's. As for our series I take nothing for granted. I have a lot of respect for what Detroit has accomplished this year. On paper though, we have to win this series, but if we don't it won't be because we didn't play Melky Cabrera. It will because we didn't have enough pitching. Clamoring to have Cabrera out in LF presumes our pitchers are going to give up an ordinate amount of near hits that Melky could potentially prevent. Particularly against the Tigers, I'll stand by what I said earlier about the likelihood of Matsui misplaying balls in LF being outweighed by our monster bats. These three bats are proven 100 RBI guys and some of the best hitters of our time. Now, because Abreu is in the picture, and somebody has to play 1B one them is a lesser option than Melky Cabrera? I don't think so. This is clearly not our best defensive lineup, I admit that up front, but I think it's a chance well worth taking against an unproven staff. Let's take this one game at a time though. I certainly don't have all the answers or I'd be a wealthy man. However I did put $20 on the Yankees to win it all in Las Vegas last April. I did the same thing in 2001 and couldn't believe it when Soriano homered off Schilling. I never would have cashed the thing; it was probably worth $40, but it would have been a tremendous frameable keepsake for fun. Go Yankees!

John, save the "what if's."

Everybody's got them.

What if Tampa Bay had better pitchers, boy, that team can win the division.

The fact of the matter, is that the Yankees since their last world championship in 2000, have tried to win with a loaded line-up and that has NOT worked.

We have seen that sort of baseball will not win in the postseason.

You need good, clutch hitting, great pitching and good defense.

If you have all of these, you will win. You will beat teams with a stacked lineup like the Yankees. Period. No if's, and's or but's and certainly no "what if's."

And just let me add one more thing to what said above.

The thing with the Yankees this year is that they can go from the "stacked lineup" sort of team to the type team that is can best win in, just by playing Phillips at first base and Cabrera in left. DH-ing either Sheffield or Matsui.

Trust me, the offense isn't going to get any less potent with them.

In fact, I would even dare to say that the offense would be better than having Matsui and Sheff in there.

That is because the offense is no longer one-dimensional. Cabrera adds speed and Phillips will get his base hits, including homeruns that you shallow fans seem to be so enamored with.

I'll voice my opinion on last time on this topic and you can say whatever you like after that because we can't even agree to disagree amicably apparently. First, the way you are arguing your points leave no room for another school of thought which is offensive, but nothing you have said has changed my mind one iota. Your definition of "what ifs" is my way of saying that even with a lesser lineup and a better defensive team, as we had in 2004 with John Olerud or Tony Clark at 1B, it was our lack of offense and run down pitching staff that cost us, not so much the defense. In 2005 we tried to play Bubba Crosby instead of Williams and that cost us too. Yes it forced Giambi into playing the field, but ultimately NY scored 4, 3, 7, 3, and 3 runs in that five game series loss to the Angels. We couldn't score enough runs to outshine our mediocre staff even though Wang, Chacon, Mussina, and almost everybody but Johnson had a respectable series. Plug in Damon and Abreu in place of Crosby and Williams and now this lineup flows like never before. If we had premiere pitching, tremendous defense, and even more team speed I wouldn't have this opinion, but since we don't we have to accent what we do best and that is to score runs. We don't have the staff to shut these teams down. These are not going to be one defensive play games. You'll see a lot of these 8-4 games if we have our way. So far so good and that's a good thing. I have followed Andy Phillips' career with great interest and finally have come to realize that the Yankees are right about him. He is a very good Triple A player to the tune of 25 plus homers and nearly 100 RBI. But in the big leagues he's a role player at best. He'll be 30 years old in April. He's as good as he's going to get. He's got 294 big league at bats and he's hit .228 with an OBP of .266. He's also whiffed 70 times in that limited action. He had a nice run earlier this season and that is why he is being rewarded by making the roster over Aaron Guiel. He's not somebody to worry about. I never understood it before, but I understand it now. Maybe he could be a late blooming Brian Daubach playing on somebody else's club with 300 or 400 at bats in a semi platoon role for a middling club, but not on the Yankees. That is his ceiling. People a lot smarter than you or I have already made that decision. It's over. He hit .240 this year. He's not going to get extended bats in the playoffs unless we suffer an injury. No use hammering the point or even mentioning his name again. I'm still a big fan of Andy Phillips, but not enough to force him into this lineup. As for Melky I love everything he brings, but for now the Yankees say he sits and I agree with them 100% win or lose. You obviously don't. You may be right in the end, who the hell knows, but I don't have a problem with that so you shouldn't have a problem with the way I, or more importantly the Yankees, feel either. The entire Yankee organization knows the risks they take by playing these guys in these roles. Nobody has forgotten what Melky brings to the table. Not one single person who matters. We all love the guy, but not at the expense of Matsui, Giambi, or Sheffield's bats. I'm sorry that you take issue with me for disagreeing with you. It's certainly not personal on my end and I would hope that it's not personal on yours either. Enjoy the game tonight.

Hey John, I never took anything personal. In fact, I've already forgotten about this topic until now when I decided to look back in here again.

This is nothing to get worked up about. We all share our opinions on here and sometimes we make replies to each other.

Nothing to take it that serious. Relax.

I disagree you with Andy Phillips. He had 200 or so at bats. Taken at face value, that is not even that many to make a judgement about someone.

Now, consider that a good portion of those 200+ at bats came in spotty starts and late-inning replacement and you've got a better picture of why the numbers he put up wasn't as impressive.

I would like to see Alex Rodriguez or any other great hitter do well with those type of at bats.

This is the major leagues. Facing ML pitching, you need more playing time to get into the groove. This is something the Yankees have never given him.

You are wrong about the Yankees making an assessment on someone and that is good as gold.

Look how many mistakes the supposedly "professionals" made with regards to players.

With Phillips and with any other young players, the Yankees never show confidence in them until they are forced to due to injury. Cabrera is a fine example.

Would we ever have known how he could play if it weren't for Matsui breaking his wrist?