On the Yankees beat

I know its a marathon and not a sprint, but this is getting old fast. Yet again, we need pitching, especially bullpen help. Cashman its time to figure something out, pronto....Oh and Manny needs beaned after watching his homerun.

Hi, My name is Joe Torre, Please Support My Safe at Home® Foundation. It teaches There can be nothing more devastating to a child than abuse and violence at home. Home should be a sanctuary, a safe harbor from any storm. Yet, for many children, home is a place of danger and fear of an abusive adult.

I knows that fear. I lived it as a child. Even in My formative years, I stayed away from home, fearful of his own father, who abused from My mother. I became a father myself, I realized that no child should have to live with that fear.

I don't support Violence, so therefore I don't encouraged my pitchers to Retailate even my players got hit by pitch.

I'm soft and lovable Manager. I love drinking green tea. It' so good, I feel so refresh by drinking it.

the yankees really do suck

Yes, we were swept but prior to the start of the series, there was not much hope for better than 1of 3. Wallace Matthews echoes my thoughts much better than I can write about Dice-K. He's good and has some talent but can be hit. The Red Sox fans know the Yankee lineup can get to him. The yankees put the bats to his pitches. They were all making solid contact except Bobby Abreu. Dice-K. will be hit and often by the better hitting clubs and feast on the weaker ones.

Rick keyes:You may have something their with Phelps and more playing time. He had a solid stroke which Pedroia made a great catch of and saved the game for the Red Sox's. Nieves made good contact but had no luck againxt Dice-K. but he could be replaced by a better hitting backup if Phelps can call a game and throw but did Joe see this. I know Nieves let a pitch between his legs on saturday and allow runners to advance prior to a ground ball being hit by Lugo which might of ended the inning.

The Yankees with all their injuries especially to the starting rotation hung in their against the vaunted top three of the Sox's. We have have lost three battles this weekend by a total of 4 runs but won a mental outlook that when this ship straightens out its injured pitching will make up the ground lost so far and be sitting on top at the end of the season.

I agree Larry. I'm not gong to bother reading the other blogs so this may have been talked about so just consider it my blog.

Friday's game was blown by Torre. I thought he had a terrible, terrible game. Pull Giambi, with 2 outs, while on first base with only a 4 run lead? My first thought, Fenway and 4 runs is NOT enough. Sure would have like Giambi up in the 9th. Especially with that Yankee bench.

Why pull Pettite. Shear panic on Torre's eyes. Torre on Mike and the Mad dog. "The game plan is NOT to use Mo in the 8th inning".

The other games I didn't care about because of who the Yanks were throwing.

Ok, two comments: Abreu had the most awful at bats I've seen in a LONG time(excluding any at bat by Doug M.)

If Posada can PH, he can play. Babying the million dollars babies is annoying.

With that out of my system, time to move on and hope the Yanks get healthier.

larry,

i'm all for looking at the positives even in a lost weekend like this one, and i agree with your assessment regarding out offense's ability to hit their best pitchers.

however, to be fair you need to look at the positive for the sox as well, some are quite worrying. for me it's the fact that they own our bullpen, and not only the usual suspects ramirez and ortiz but 1-8. lowell, varitek, drew, even bloody crisp. they hit rivera, proctor, vizcaino, myers with ease. that's very troubling because while the rookie starters we sent are not a fixture in our lineup - these guys are. the sox also paraded the best closer in baseball, and that's going to be a difference maker unless he become more hittable.

some people on this blog like to look down at the sox and disregard everything they do and how they play, which is arrogant and wrong. that's a very good ball club they've got there.

rick keyes,

just another brick in the wall of low expectations set by clueless joe torre.
a quote after this game: "i'm happy with the way we battled out there".

that's a quote you'd expect to see from the manager of tampa bay or kansas city, not the richest team in baseball. just battling is far from enough, it's actually the foundation on which you build expectations. translated to normal english it means "thank you for not quitting". come on!! it goes without saying that a group of millionairs should at least battle, that's a given. it's an exact replica of many quotes by isiah thomas over the last couple of years. is this our standard now?

I think all Yankees fans need to step away from the ledge for the moment. This is not to take away anything from the Red Sox because they played a great series; but they start Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, and Daisuke Matsuzaka against us. We started Andy Pettitte, Jeff Karstens, and Chase Wright against them. That is the top of their rotation against our second starter and two pitchers who probably won't stick around for the entire year. Keep it in perspective.

I'm not worried about the bullpen at this point either. There is no denying the fact that they pitched poorly; Rivera, Proctor, Vizcaino, and Myers were all terrible out there. Henn once again is proving to be a reliable lefthander and I am hoping he keeps it up for the club. The only thing I am concerned about is how, in 11+ seasons of managing the Yankees, Torre still does not know how to use them effectively. Sometimes a manager needs to bite the bullet with a starter and keep them out there - even if that means they are going to be knocked around for awhile. Meanwhile, Proctor has basically pitched in every game for the team and he'll probably be done by midseason.

The offense played well; not great, but well. One player I am a little bit concerned over is DJ. People will question me by saying "Look at his average." But he is not driving the ball like he did last year. He isn't hitting those doubles in the gap and I can't even remember the last time he came close to hitting a HR. 0 HR's and 3 RBI's for a player almost one month into the season is not good.

Well,

After I have been singing his praises to you folks in here, Dice-K proved no mystery at all for the Yankee lineup. He did make some very good pitches, and some of the Yanks were flailing away, which is what I've seen from so many when he pitches, but...the Yanks were not only hitting good pitches for basehits (which the Yanks are better at than anyone) they were hitting his mistakes. I think you may see a differant Dice-K next weekend. At least, as a Sox fan, I hope so. It is the Sox pitching that will make or break them this year, period.

It was a tough series for the Yanks....they were in every game, and they were classic Sox/Yanks type of barn-burner games. It's also April. Other than the 3 wins...which are hure..a win is a win...the sweep means nothing....it certainly is not as devastating to the Yanks as the sweep in Boston last season was to the Sox.

Right now the Sox enjoy the best winning percentage in MLB, they have allowed the least amount of runs in MLB, their bp has the best era in the AL, and while their starting rotation's era took a huge hit this weekend...it is still tops in the AL.

Reason to be optomistic if you are the Sox fan....but it is April....I've seen this before.

I've also seen the Yanks go on a 10 game tear after being kicked around a bit in Fenway....and there is another series coming up next weekend in the Stadium.

I wouldnt panic Yank fans....that is a great team...when Moose,Wang, Posada and Matsui are back....look out.

The final tally on the weekend looks like this for the Yanks.
Things to worry about:
1. Health
2. Bullpen burnout (a solution to number 1 should fix this).
3. Mo
4. Bench- No Sojo's, Leyritz's on that bench. (this will change in/by July, I'm certain of it).

Things to be encouraged by:
1. Yanks faced Boston's top 3 starters and hit all of them, including Dice-K, the great man of mystery.
2. Starters Wang and Mussina are coming back, this should help the bullpen.
3. Yanks were in every game even though w/ the exception of Friday night had crappy starting pitching. Hopefully Karstens improves.

I hate to take anything positive out of a 3 game sweep but honestly I sort of expected it. I did not even expect games two and three to be close. I believe Torre blew game one, but I also think Mo, with more use, will be Mo again (fingers crossed). At this point I'm not worried about anything except the health of this team and the performance of some bullpen members.

The guy in the office next to me hasn't shut up all morning (he's from Boston). I didn't say a word to him last summer after the five game sweep and he never mentioned it either. If I fire him do you think he has grounds to sue me? I'll fire him based on the fact that he is disrupting the office and being a PITA to everyone here.

If next weekend is like this weekend, then my friends, we have problems.

I'd have to agree there... the Yankee offense is nasty even without 2 of its best hitter, bring back Posada/Matsui [and let Damons back recover...] and look out.

The Pen is still solid despite what anyone thinks here. The problem is Proctor's arm is going to fall off if Torre doesn't chill out. Wright should have been left in for atleast 5 innings. Ok he gave up 4 homers [all solo blasts] However, there was a strong wind out to left, and despite that bizzare event he struck out Pena to end the inning. Give the kid some credit, it took balls to go in there and he definately has long term potential.

As for the rotation, i would like to see Hughes or Clippard sooner rather than later, Karstens after a strong spring is not looking so good. Rasner has pitched a bit better but is still not enough to rest the pen.

If anything this weekend proved that the Sox "untouchable starters" are vulnerable, Dice-K, 7 earned runs over 6+ innings, Beckett and Schilling 5 earned. We are not talking about the true aces people make them out to be. Schilling is still 40 and creaky, Beckett is still... well Beckett, and Dice-K may have lot of pitches, but it doesn't mean much if he can't keep them down. These guys may have gotten off to a good start, but clearly they were pitching over their potential.

Drew,

This may not be the day for me..a Sox fan to nit-pick but...Dice-K gave up 6 earned in 7+ innings, and he did battle and pitch better in the latter innings. Beckett gave up 4 earned.

I dont recall anyone referring to the Sox starters as "untouchable", but s potential "aces"...and that is not a stretch...Schilling, Beckett and Dice-K would like be the "ace" on other teams.

There is a reason good pitchers struggle against the Yanks...the Yanks have the most terrifying offensive lineup in MLB, maybe of all time..ever!

The tow things that I took from this weekend is this...Sox pitchers are gritty and proved they can pitch good enough in spite of the offensive onslaught a Yankee lineup brings, and, the Yanks are a very very good team who is maligned with injuries right now...look out when that changes.

finally,

It is April.

One fans observation:

From what I saw, Phelps did a decent job as catcher. Why not just release Nieves and have Phelps be the backup catcher/1B. Nieves is a waste of roster space (along with Myers and Farnsworthless).

Phelps could get more playing time by being the backup at two spots. I think with a little work at the position, he could be a good catcher. And, with semi-regular playing time, maybe his bat could get going?

I'm well aware that its april, generally speaking the Yankees seem to have gotten off to slow starts quite frequently Torre's managment of the Pitchers still worries me.

As for the Sox, i wouldn't necessarily call them aces. Schilling is still creaky, he may have pitched well last year, but his age very easily could catch upto him this year. Honestly, I never have [and probably never will] think Beckett is an ace. As i've said before, he has a straight fastball which he has trouble controlling. An ace cannot give up 30-40 homers as Beckett did last year, and barring any sudden improvements won't change. That's also ignoring the fact that he's almost never healthy. He did manage to pitch over 200 innings last year, but thats still an exception in his Career. As for Dice-K i still really like him, but again an "Ace" is a proven leader, a blocker when you lose a few in a row, and one who gives the Pen a break every 5 days. I'll still grade him as having potential.

Eh, its all semantics anyways. Still got oh 147 games to go....we will see what happens, but personally i'd expect of those three guys, 1 with an ERA under 4 [most likely Dice-K], one with an ERA 4-5 range, and one 5+.

Some takeaways:

On the pleasing side:

1. Dice-K good but not the marvel we were led to expect; doesn't dominate, at least not our lineup.

2. Our hitters can hit all three of their best pitchers at a quite respectable rate. When our pitching staff is healthy and complete we should have a good chance every time out with the RS.

3. The Chase Wright experience should calm the noise of voices demanding that young pitchers be jumped rapidly from level to level. It's a desperation move to be avoided when possible.

On the unpleasing side:

1. We have no acceptable substitute to put behind the plate when Jorge gets dinged. He's been exceedingly durable, but I hope someone is scouring scrap heaps and reviewing what is known about contracts elsewhere, in hot pursuit of other options for his days off and the increasing likelihood of injuries.

2. Something is up with DJ. I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago. I share Mike's concerns expressed in his post above (except that he has hit one homer, Mike -- last night). DJ's terrible error rate seems to have calmed down now, but he still looks 'not quite right' to me.

3. The bullpen does not seem to be living up to their early promise. They have been used a lot in the absence of almost the whole starting staff, but are not even a month into the season -- and do the less-used really seem all that much much better off than the more-used?

I think both teams have concerns.

I think someone in the Yankee brass should call Japan to find out how to build arm strength in pitchers.

Yes, Dice-K was hammered a bit the Yanks, but there's a lot off good stuff coming from this guy. I like him. I think Abreu woke up with nightmares last night thinking about what pitches he just stared at for a called strike 3.

Gil L

I didn't see that quote, but that is EXACTLY what I'm talking about! Torre just sleep walks through the games, drinking his tea, and defends his boys no matter what. His bar is set at: We will take the field and compete. I'm sorry, but that is not going to Git-R-Done.

And I loved the Safe at Home JT post from the top of this thread. AR AND Jeter were both drilled in this game and there is NEVER a retaliation pitch with good'ol Joe in charge. And AR's was clearly intentional. The camera's showed the Sox players telling Dice-K to do it just minutes before. It is time a few boys get knocked on there a**es - like Manny for standing there admiring his HR!!!

It is time for some REAL leadership in that dugout!!! Clueless Joe needs to go.

Jim A.

Good post - I'm not going to worry about Mo though, just a blip on the radar screen I think.

I'm honestly more worried about Proctor than I am about Mo. He threw so many innings last year I worry that maybe he's just suffering as a result this year.

On the plus side, Yankees did rack up 5 or more runs against Boston's top three - so that's a positive.

My take on Dice-K was that he is effectively wild, which would get most players to chase, but against the Yankees they will make him throw strikes more often than not - I'll be interested to see how they adjust to each other for his next start.

Rick,

I agree with your observation on Phelps - I think Torre might use him a little more back there - though Nieves was scalding the ball last night, he just hit into some bad luck a couple of times. From what I recall, the reason Phelps was moved out from behind the plate was that due to his height he was a little awkward trying to pop up and throw guys out.

We'll see what develops.

Joe Torre is a Fag. He teaches his players how to be gay.. He doesn't protect his own players, Everytime Yankees got hit by Redsox, He does nothing. I'm sick of it.. Redsox Coaches and Players Knew that Joe doesn't support violence because of It's that Home and Safe Foundation.

GREAT point by Mike Francessa just now:

They were talking about how ESPN showed the conversation between Tavarez and Dice-K where Tavarez was telling him to bust A-Rod in to make him uncomfortable. Why do no Yankees bust the Sox guys in? EVER?

Again I question Torre's use of the pitching staff - Andy is cruising along and he yanks him on Friday. Proctor is so overworked coming off a season in which he is overworked.

Francessa with another point "I don't want to knock the guy who they threw last night, but he's not major league ready, he can't be ready after 2 starts above A ball. To take a line from Parcells, 'Take the Huggies off' it's time to stop babying Hughes - you can't throw a kid like they threw last night against Boston, it's not fair to him or the team, Hughes is the phenom, it's time. And someone needs to tell Joe to give Proctor a week off, he's thrown in 12 of 17 games this season."

Well here we go again, Pitching failures again and again, Losing games in the late innings because the Bull Pen can't hold a lead. When is Torre going to start holding the Pen accountable for their poor performance ? Watching the player interviews and reading their quotes, it seems like nobody is getting excited about this alarming trend. Sweet Lou would be anything but..

Gil L: I look at the Red Sox's 25 man roster and their stronger than last year but canbe had. CF & 2b not very strong offensively but adequate def. They will have injuries. Paplbon is tough but could be over worked by years end. I'm still confident that the forty man roster the yankees have is consistently the best in the AL. We have a bunch of injuries at this time .

Tony T. I agree Joe's moves on Friday annoyed mewith the pitching. he yanks pitchers wat too soon. Henn will have no arm left by June. Out starters should be given more rope to get us through the 6th inning. We do have the best hitting lineup in baseball. So, why not let them throw some more innings. History is repeating itself on the negative side but the positives will surface , also.

Chip

Because Torre is a Pansy Ass!!!! It is waaaay past time for Big Papi and the boys to get a few pitches lodged in there ears!!!! I can't stand to even watch this team anymore with JT in charge. We need some leadership!

Your not suggesting that Dice-k hit Arod or Jeter intentionally are you?

Yes, Are you dumb? Did you see Tavarez tallking to Dice-K before the game about Pitching Arod and bust him inside.

Time to give Cashman a contrct extension for this quality organization he has constructed. Aging lame players, newly hired trainers that are accustomed to girls in skimpy outfits doing dance routines, no bench depth, no bull pen, no minor league help. But at least the ticket prices are up!

The only early season problem that has me legitimately worried is the way Torre is using the pen.

Scott Proctor's arm is going to fall off, this guy is going to be destroyed this year like Tanyon Sturtze last year.

Joe has zero faith in Farnsworth which means the Yankees are basically back to having 11 men in the pen

Vizciano and Proctor and Henn have pitched in more than 2/3 of the games thus far.

It's legitimately upsetting to think that Joe is going to ruin two young guys who could be cornerstones of the Yankee pen for years (Henn and Proctor) which touches on something I said earlier, with Joe in his last year, will he risk the long term future of the team?

And I'm coming around on Hughes - I think it is time to see what the kid can do. If Pavano is going to be a long term thing; then you call up Hughes - I know the excuse is that he's not on the 40 man roster and putting him on would mean someone has to be dropped, well so be it. It is time.

And as Mike and the Mad Dog have said this morning, the Red Sox ALWAYS hit the Yankees - it is time for the Yankees to take back the inside corner - that's why you don't see four home runs in a row that often, after the second one the pitcher would hit the next guy...not on Torre's team though.

If Phelps can play backup catcher let him get that other offensive slug out

Nope....I aint dumb...not even close.

I want Ortiz to get hit in the face. I want Blood, He's lying in floor.

Classy

Observer,

No, I don't think he hit them intentionally, I think he tried to pitch inside but doesn't have inside command - if it were Tavarez on the mound, then yes it would have been intentional, but the point is, intentional or not, Boston pitchers have been drilling Yankee hitters for years. Not too long ago Pedro put Soriano and Jeter in the hospital on the first two pitches of a game - and the Yankees never do anything about it. Papi and Manny own the Yankees and they are never buzzed let alone hit.

Rick,

Torre is not being fired, but I do believe this is his last season as manager - I would like to see the replacement to be a manager with an edge, an old school type like Frank Robinson.

Do you think Redsox players are Classy by throwing to Yankees battters? I don't think so.. Even their Redsox Fans lack class. throwing pizza to each other.

With Swindal gone, Torres days are numbered.

Jb,

Didn't Roger the headhunter wear pinstripes at one time

The last thing I'd want to do is intertionally hit either Jeter or Arod and put them on base...but they both DO lean out over the plate...lunge over it consistantly...it is critical to pitch them inside. I agree it was a question of command..no way it was intentional.

The starters will NEVER learn that they must go 7 innings when the bar is set where it is now. People and players learn to rise to the level that is expected of them. When the expectations are set so LOW, that is exactly what you will get.

Torre reminds me of one of these idiot parents that thinks all of the kids in the league should get a trophy just for participating. And just for good measure, let's stop keeping score too. We don't want to do any damage to the kids self esteem...

WAKE UP PEOPLE, this guy is a limp JOKE as a ML manager.

BOSS, I am ready for the call! Billy Martin LIVES (and this one doesn't drink...well only to celebrate after the championship!!!)

Yankee fans all thought it was rediculous when he was accused for beaning Piazza and throwing a splintered bat at him. No way would he ever do that on purpose. He though the bat was the ball and Piazza was the first baseman.

Besides...Youks got hit by a pitch (Pettite)...so it isnt all that one sided

I do want to be clear about one thing - I'm not calling for Hughes because I think Wright is a bad player, I just don't think he's ML ready yet. It isn't his fault, I don't think it is fair to expect him to be ML ready after two double A starts.

I think the best way to proceed (on the assumption that Pavano is out for a while) is this:

Rotation
Wang
Andy
Moose
Igawa
Hughes

Pen
Karstens
Proctor
Farnsworth
Rivera
Myers
Henn
Vizciano

I think at this point it is a matter of when, not if, Farnsworth will be traded - which may or may not be a mistake because I also believe that Proctor will go on the DL for a very long time very soon and that would make Bruney and Vizciano and Henn the bridge to Rivera.

How many times Redsox Players Hits Yankees Players? Can you please tell me ?

Pedro - Hit Jeter and Soriano

Timlin - Hit Jeter in the Head

Arod - Hit by Bronson "CrazyBoy" Arroyo

The ESPN guys made a nice point, that DiceK just doesn't know how to throw inside b/c they don't do that so much in Japan. They cited a story about young Pedro beaning everybody and Felipe Alou said the same thing about him. With all that said, the Yanks definitely need to pitch Papi and Manny inside a bit to keep them honest.

and don't tell me about Jeter and Arod leaning b/c everybody does that nowadays b/c so many pitchers are afraid to come inside

Ortiz and Manny do gedt pitched inside to some degree...but neither of them crowd the plate as much as Jeter or Arod.

Arod never did crowd the plate as much..but he was being thrown outside so much and it was so effective that he made that adjustment...now pitchers are trying to establish the inside against him as their adjustment. Which, btw, was also pontificated on by the ESPN crew.

Casual

We definitely disagree here. The Sox pitchers have been drilling Yankees for years. And they do it because it works and they know that Torre will not retaliate. That is why Manny and Papi own the Yankees. They have NO fear of being hit or even buzzed inside. I believe that YOU wouldn't hit our players deliberately, but unfortunately, YOU are not the one pitching for your team. It is time Papi and Manny get one in the head!

have to say I agree with Rick on this one

Pete,
I'm not trying to be argumentative....but just watch them when they are in the box....they do crowd the plate more than others.

Trade Farnsworth? Who would want him. This is another of the Cashman gems. Paid the big money when no other team was interested. If they do trade him it will be to pay his salary and free the roster spot but thats the same as releasing him. Your right though, he is awful.

Pete

Hows my ECN coming????

Well,

Next weekend we may see the Yanks pitching "inside" a bit more eh?

And if Papi doesn't "lean in", then why does he have that "mattress" wrapped on his elbow???

Overall I think what is bothering me more than anything else is that this series reminded me a lot of the ALDS where Joe looked completely over matched.

Even in the championship seasons, Torre was not a great in game manager - his skill was always massaging the egos of his superstars and getting them to buy into the system. The in game stuff was something he leaned on Zimmer for - and if you look back, you can see how he has been out-managed in key spots since Zim left. I think part of the problem is that he does not trust his coaches so he doesn't use them - he doesn't trust the guys who haven't won for him in the past - so he doesn't give new guys the chance to win for him in the present.

The three moves that really got to me - aside from the overuse of Proctor are this:

1. Pulling Andy early on Friday when he is cruising along and the pen is on fumes

2. Not sacrificing Coltor Bean on Saturday, demoting him for another reliever Sunday.

3. Pinch running for Giambi Friday and then not pinch hitting for Thompson with Phelps and leaving Phelps (the best hitter on the bench) in the on deck circle when Thompson makes the final out of the game.

Again, I'm giving Proctor a pass for the home run to Lowell - the guy is exhausted

And Andy has pitched in relief twice in April.

Casual,
I wish they would but unfortunately I doubt it.

What's an ECN?

Chip, I was asking the same thing when Thompson came up and looked awful

Why does it seem that Scott Proctor is always in the middle of another Yanks's meltdown?

Concerning Saturday's debacle, wasn't Myers hired to get out Ortiz? Ortiz has owned this matchup. They should think of releasing him and bringing in someone else.

The Yanks are at it again, bad pitching and an inordinate number of men left on base. This is what makes rooting for the Yanks so frustrating. They have the ability to win the majority of the games that they lose. Although I have been wrong for the last 3 years, it would not surprise me if they do not make the playoffs.

too nice a day to sit in front of this damnned computer all day....and here in Maine..you got take advantage of weather like this when you get it....forecast is for cold and wet weather later this week. Have a good day folks.

Observer,

Ortiz is not just leaning in, he's hanging over the plate. He's wearing armor on his elbow BECAUSE he leans in. I'm not talking about hitting them, I don't advocate beaning guys for the heck of it, but as Gibson used to say, pitching inside is an art form, you need to give hitters something else to think about other than how far they want to hit the ball, you need to make them move their feet, especially two guys who OWN the Yankees like Ortiz and Manny do.

BTW, if Proctor is brought into the game tonight, I'm going to fly to Tampa and take Kim Jones's microphone to ask Torre why he is intent on killing this guy.

Displaced New Yorker

The Yankees have played 17 games, Scott Proctor has pitched in 13 of them - like I said, he gets a pass on the bomb to Lowell - he's just gassed.

I honestly would consider putting him and Vizciano on the 15 day DL just to give them a break, before they actually NEED to go on the DL

I haven't read all of the comments here so my thoughts or comment might have been mentioned already but I need to vent. I'm surrounded by freaking sox fans and I heard a wise crack and I hadn't even had my coffe yet. I'm not even that type of trash talking fan but I hear it every chance they get.

I thought we had Frinday in the bag then here comes Torre after a walk and a single to Yank Andy. WHY?!! Then he calls on Vizcaino there? What the hell! If your mind is made up on taking Andy out cause he reached 100 pictches why not go to Bruny or Birtton in that spot and save Proctor for the 8th and Mo for the 9th. Obviously Farnsworth is having isuse controlling his fastball in the early going. What a disappointment he is.

Instead of using the other young flame throwers he has, he's burning out Proctor. This was the perfect time to see if these guys can come through in that kind of situation. Mo hadn't pitched in 5 days and you bring him in to get 5 outs, what's that.

OK, rant over.

Chip, I agree that JT was a better manager when he had the bench coach of his choice (Zim) at his side. Steinbrenner hounded Zimmer off the staff with petty harassment like taking away his parking place and telling YES not to speak to him or show him on camera. GS's tactics had their usual 'success' -- he got what he wanted in the short term, to the long term detriment of the team. Torre picked Zim. I wonder who picked Mattingly?

Diane,

Cashman picked Donnie. He wanted him to gain experience in that role so that he could take over as manager some day.

I haven't read all of the comments here so my thoughts or comment might have been mentioned already but I need to vent. I'm surrounded by freaking sox fans and I heard a wise crack and I hadn't even had my coffe yet. I'm not even that type of trash talking fan but I hear it every chance they get.

I thought we had Frinday in the bag then here comes Torre after a walk and a single to Yank Andy. WHY?!! Then he calls on Vizcaino there? What the hell! If your mind is made up on taking Andy out cause he reached 100 pictches why not go to Bruny or Birtton in that spot and save Proctor for the 8th and Mo for the 9th. Obviously Farnsworth is having isuse controlling his fastball in the early going. What a disappointment he is.

Instead of using the other young flame throwers he has, he's burning out Proctor. This was the perfect time to see if these guys can come through in that kind of situation. Mo hadn't pitched in 5 days and you bring him in to get 5 outs, what's that.

I was glad to see that most of the line-up was able to hit matzusaka. Yesterday was a wild game, the bullpen just couldn't hold it down. They've been misused and over used. Once our starters are back Torre should re-think his use of the bull pen or maybe Donnie should speak up and say no Joe, let's keep him in. We're going to need to stretch the starters out a little here and there. Andy should have finished the 7th.

OK, rant over.

buzzing the inside corner

regarding this discussion, i'm very old school. i find it annoying that yankees players are chatting with sox players, before the game (jeter & ramirez...) and during the game on the bases. yes i know, it's a different era and with free agency you're here today and gone to the opposition tomorrow so there isn't any real bad blood between teams, but - i think that this friendly atmosphere is detrimental only to the yankees, who seem to remain chummy once the game begins, whereas the sox have pitchers who couldn't care less and would drill their own mother if she were leaning over the plate (schilling, tavarez, timlin and i guess dice-k as well).
the yankees' pitchers seem to be too polite or "professional" and lack this ruthlessness, or maybe it comes from the bench.

anyway, in my book, friday's game should start with plucking ortiz hard and high in the first inning, before any warnings can be issued, thus setting the tone for the series. because he is wearing the hand gear you must aim higher. i want him flat on his back.

Mattingly seems like a nice, hardworking guy, and of course he was a Yankee hero as a player. Is there any other reason to think he might be capable of managing the Yankees? Wouldn't it be nice if he went out like Willie and Joe G. and got some (successful) experience first? Is he the hardnosed, demanding whipcracker that so many here want to see in charge?

Probably there's something I'm not seeing.

the pitching coach and the bench coach and the mgr is clueless. need to hire giradi as bench coach or something. I know Pena is thinking to himself this dude is an idiot but I'm keeping my mouth shut becasue he is Joe torre.

Larry Bowa is saying "listen I just wave my arms to run " if they want me... open the purse up"

Don Mattingly - has a dial tone in his head now as bench coach.

yOu right andy plucked and that is why only 2 runs were scored off him . it's called EXPERIENCE

Time For a Rant:

This will mark my first full blown rant of the 2007 baseball season, so please indulge me -

I have been a firm and steadfast supporter of Brian Cashman and his decision to leave Phil Hughes in the minors, but only to the extent that I did not want to see him riding the Scranton shuttle to make spot starts, for that job you use a nothing prospect like Karstens or Rasner. But since their is no time table for Pavano to return (shocking I know) Hughes should be on the next flight to Tampa to join the team. If Chase Wright is ready to start against the Indians and Red Sox after two starts at Double A then Hughes should be ready to go after three starts at Triple A. I realize he is more important than just one season, and could be the future of the organization, well you know what, Cashman a couple of years ago made a great move by waking up the team and infusing the young blood of Wang into the rotation and I think another infusion could be called for. Take the pampers off the kid and lets see what he's got.

Joe Torre either needs to trust his coaches or his players, right now he trusts a hand full of the the players and none of his coaches and that is not going to work. He's standing out there like Captain Bligh from Mutiny on the Bounty where he's working guys to death and making moves that don't make sense to anyone other than Torre himself. I don't need to understand what he's doing, I'm not a baseball expert, but the problem is that not even the experts can figure out what he is doing - Andy Pettitte pitches twice out of the pen in April? Killing relievers by using them every single game? Mariano in the 8th, in April? His bench moves, his pen moves, his pitch calls - none of it makes sense. Torre used to say that being manager of this team all he had to do was fill out the lineup card and let the players play. Sorry Joe, once in a while you have to do more - you have to listen to your coaches when they tell you guys are burnt out - you have to look at Scott Proctor and Luis Vizciano and see that these guys need a couple of days off, regardless of what the situation is - because that is the situation you have gotten yourself into, a situation where here we are in April and you need to start picking and choosing spots for some relievers. Where you need to tell a starter, "look, I need you to give me 7 innings - whatever happens."

Tonight if the game is one sided and Joe lifts Igawa in the 6th and brings in Proctor or Vizciano or Henn I am going to flip out - the only relievers who should be available tonight are Myers, Bruney, Farnsworth and Rivera - the others need the day off - I would honestly send Bean down to call up another fresh arm, just to ensure that I don't have to use Proctor or Viz.

Alright, that concludes my first rant of the 2007 season. Except to say that tonight the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are throwing Casey Fossum - a soft tossing lefty who for no good reason at all seems to be a pain in the neck to the Yankees.

And did I need Jon Miller talking Japanese last night?

Phelps could give the Yanks a little more flexibility in the late innings if he can catch ala Johnny Blanchard...The Yanks offense has put the league pitchers on alert.When you lose 3 games 7-6,7-5,7-6 with only 1 "quality" start on friday by Pettitte against 1 of the better teams in the league ,throwing a double AA pitcher into the fire at Fenway on Sunday and a rusty Karstens on Saturday you would have to think it can only get better.
1) We will probably see either 1 of these 3 pitchers by mid-May depending on who's pitching well Hughes ,Ohlendorf,Clippard.
2)Is it true Nieves hasn't a base hit in the bigs since 2002?
3)Melky Cabrera will probably spend a little time at Scranton before 2 long.
4)If the Yanks can't kick it into gear come June 1st ,Tony Pena will be named manager.
5)The season is a long way from being over.

I don't even need Jon Miller speaking English, as in that cringe-making intro to the game last night.

Plus, like many other fixed two-man commentator teams, he and Morgan have long ago said everything they have to say to each other, said it repeatedly, said it until even they are obviously bored.

Ruse, It is true, Nieves has not had a ML hit since '02. In all fairness, though, until this year, he's never had more than 6 ABs since then either. Not defending him, though...

I disagree with calling up Hughes right now for the sole reason that he will be tired out come August. The kid has not thrown enough inning to give the Yankees anything in October, when he's really needed. The worst thing would be to bring him up now, watch him succeed and then have to sit through September and October w/ a tired or worse yet, sore shoulder.

I'm not panicking yet. I want to stick with the plan on Hughes. Wright was brought up because he was a one or two start guy and that was it, they want to bring up Hughes one time and one time only and I agree with that approach.

I don't know how many people were calling Torre stupid when the team was winning. I think he did get greedy on Friday as what he is mostly guilty of. I think he felt like a lot of us did and figured if the Yanks took one of 3 over the weekend, with all the injuries they could call it a success. He got greedy by managing the game on Friday as if it were October, but I just don't think he expected to win that game so he got a little crazy.

It's always easy to manage the game when you've seen the box score.

Healthy starters= a rested bullpen. Karstens can take Pavano's spot and fill it just fine (or Rasner), it's cool guys and gals, just chill for a bit longer.

You will see a different tone from me if next weekend yields the same results as this weekend. I won't change my mind on Hughes though. I keep thinking: Prior, Wood, etc.

Ruse,

It is true that Nieves has not had a hit since 2002 but then again he hasn't played in the majors since 2002 either (with the exception of a couple of late innings when the rosters expanded in September)

I'm ready for Hughes - next time Karstens's spot comes up it should go to Hughes.

Season is a long way from being over.

Another thing I didn't need, the ESPN cameras zooming in on Papelbon every time he does his look down, snap his head up and stare in - that's just irritating.

Jim A: Hernandez, Liriano, to name a few more. I totally agree about Hughes. There are plenty of temporary solutions.

5 things that have made me cringe this season:
1)Farnsworth giving it up in Minnesota
2)Rivera'implosion in Oakland
3)Rivera' Friday nite disaster
4)Proctor serving it up last night
5)Doug Mancanthitz.

all the rest I'm OK w/ for the time being.