Here's my full story on tonight's game, a 7-0 loss to the Royals. Because of time constraints, no quotes made papers. But you can read them here, on the blog.
By KAT O’BRIEN
Kat.OBrien@Newsday.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Thursday night went down as one big disappointment for Yankees fans.
Their team couldn’t stretch the winning streak to seven games, falling to the Royals 7-0 at Kauffman Stadium.
They didn’t get to watch Alex Rodriguez hit career home run No. 500. He went 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
And they didn’t see much improvement from Kei Igawa, who may have been making his final major league start this season. Igawa (2-3, 6.79 ERA) gave up five earned runs on seven hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings.
“I just hung the ball a lot,” Igawa said through an interpreter.
As the Yankees failed to hit for the first time in a long time, their winning streak went by the wayside. They had scored seven-plus runs in six consecutive games. It was the Royals that scored seven last night, though, with five against Igawa and two against left-handed reliever Sean Henn.
“You get spoiled,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “We had a couple of opportunities. We just couldn’t get a hit when we needed to. You know that’s going to happen from time to time. Tonight was that night.”
The Yankees fell 7 ½ games behind the Red Sox in the American League East. They remained 4 ½ games back in the wild card chase.
Yankees first base coach Tony Pena’s son, Tony Pena Jr., was one of the prime offensive standouts for the Royals. Before the series began, Pena said he hoped his son played well but that the Royals lost every game. Last night, Pena Jr. was a key to the Royals winning.
Pena Jr. reached base on all four plate appearances. He hit an RBI triple, an RBI double, got to first on a strikeout/wild pitch and took his first walk since May 5th (a span of 244 plate appearances).
“That was fun to see him play,” Pena said. “He played well defensively and offensively. I was very impressed with the way he went out there.”
Perhaps the two best young Royals’ position players, center fielder David DeJesus and rookie first baseman Alex Gordon, also played pivotal roles in the win. DeJesus reached base three times and knocked in two runs. Gordon had three hits – a double, a triple and a home run – and scored three times.
With top prospect Phil Hughes ready to return to the major leagues anytime, Igawa failed to make a strong case for why he should remain in the rotation. Igawa’s 6.79 ERA is the highest of any active American League starter who has made at least 10 starts this season. Hughes may make one more rehab start at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but it is unlikely Igawa will start his next time through the rotation. Due to an off day Monday, the Yankees can skip that pitcher next time.
Torre said immediately after the game that they would not skip the fifth starter. He then pulled back on that statement, and said they didn’t have to make a decision yet.
“Even though I think he improved, it’s all about command,” Torre said. “He left some off-speed pitches up. That’s a bad zone.”
The Royals seized control of the game in the second inning. They scored four runs on four extra-base hits and a walk that inning. Igawa gave up a pair of doubles and a pair of triples in the inning.
Bruney replaced Igawa with two outs in the sixth inning, but not before Igawa allowed another run to score on a Pena RBI double.
Henn gave up two more runs in two innings. He allowed an RBI double to Billy Butler in the seventh. He gave up a leadoff homer to Gordon in the eighth.
Had the Yankees’ offense been in the high gear it had been for the past week, the Yankees might have eked out a win anyway. But the Yankees failed to score even one run against Royals starter Jorge De La Rosa (8-10, 5.35 ERA). De La Rosa pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up six hits and two walks.
The Yankees left multiple runners in scoring position three times. They stranded runners on second and third base in the first inning after Melky Cabrera led off the game with a double. They left runners on second and third again in the fourth. And they left the bases loaded in the fifth inning.
“We’ve played well, but they beat us today,” shortstop Derek Jeter said.
Rodriguez, who hit career homer No. 499 on Wednesday night, disappointed the fans in the crowd of 37,036 who had their cameras flashing on each at-bat. He did not come close to a home run.
Rodriguez, who said he was not focused on hitting a homer, said the number of flashes surprised him on his first at-bat: “I’ve never seen more flashes on an at-bat of mine.”
The only Yankees with multiple hits were Cabrera and catcher Jose Molina, who each had two.
Comments (163)
Ok, can someone explain to me why Igawa is still pitching when we have at least 5 guys in the minors who can pitch better or just as well (That is not saying much). At least let the Minor Leaguers pitch so they can get some Major League experience. Is Japan baseball that bad that this guy was one of the top pitchers or was it just really bad scouting? Please send him back.
HOMEGROWN YANKEES
I gotta say, this is pretty amazing watching all of these homegrown Yankees contributing to this recent streak (Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, Mariano Rivera, Sean Henn, Shelley Duncan, Andy Phillips, Robinson Cano, and Melky Cabrera). With the imminent return of Phil Hughes and Jeff Karstens, the possible August-September contributions of Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy and Brett Gardner, and the future studs like Jose Tabata, Austin Jackson, Chris Garcia, Jairo Heredia, Dellin Betances, J. Brent Cox, Humberto Sanchez, Alan Horne, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero and Zach McAllister, this team is primed for dominance for the next 15 years!
The Red Sox only have Youkilis, Papelbon, Gabbard, Lester, Delcarmen and Pedroia in terms of homegrown players on their major league roster.
No more garbage about the Yanks buying players!!!!
What is the difference between being drafted of signing with a club as a free agent? Oh, My bad, as you call it "being brought?" Whether they are drafted or brought, they still have to groom themselves through the minor league system! Also, any team could have signed Cano, Wang, and Melky for that matter. We just had better talent scouts who did their homework on the aforementioned players. Dam what a shame, because Bernie, and Marino should not count according to you, because the yankees brought the...lol..
Many of our players came from our minor league system....these players were trained and developed through our A, AA, AAA minor league teams and not traded from other majors league teams. Many have accused the Yankees of having an entire team composed of hired guns....five of our everyday players are "home grown"
They are home-grown because they were groomed in the minor league system. But that doesn't take away from the fact that they were bought. There are many cases where young players from other countries are signed, and teams are competing to sign them in a similar fashion as free agency.
I agree. And let's never ever buy another pitcher from japan!
I think, with the exception of a few player (Ichiro, Matsui, Dice-K) that Japan baseball is pretty much the Minor Leagues over here. That is why so many career minor leaguers go over there and succeed.
Sayonra!!!!!!!!! Can we sell him back to his Japanese team?
Hopefully, we have endured our last Igawa start for this year at least. I was not impressed with video from youtube prior to his signing. Honestly, I can see why they signed him. His stuff is fine but his inability to throw to location is paramount. He has no idea where its going. Molina would setup the target for a specific location and he have to reach across his body to catch the ball. This happened often. His best pitch is a changeup and its up in the zone.
10 starts and on the major league level with maybe two quality starts means adios from the parent club in any language. Lets bring up our young guys. Give them valuable experience in the pennant race. They will fair no worse than the characters presently pitching in the pen and as 5th starter.
Hopefully with the addition of Phillip Hughes when he returns we will never see Igawa again. I don't even want to see him in the bullpen for long relief!
I heard a comment last night that Igawa leads all Yankee pitchers in getting ahead in the count 0-2 -- but he has trouble putting the batters away after that point. Maybe we should try using him out of the bullpen for two strikes and that's it, in a role similar to Mike Myers.
Now hold on for a minute. I agree with you that the Yankees farm system is taking shape; over the last three years, they have amassed a nice collection of young pitchers. However, they are not all going to make it big. As of right now, the two people to look closely at are Hughes and Chamberlain. They appear to be legitimate power pitchers who may be able to contribute this year and '08. The next tier below them is Kennedy, who seems to fit more in the middle of the rotation than the top.
Past that, most of the other players are wild cards. Am I happy that Marquez, Smith, Betances, Clippard, and Wright are pitching well in the minors? Of course I am. But we'll be lucky if one or two of them become real contributors to the team. And our list of position prospects is not very good at all; scouts have claimed Gardner to be little more than a 4th or 5th outfielder in the show. Tabata has had a down year based on the lack of power numbers. Jackson has been hot of late, but lets see how he finishes the season down in Tampa. Duncan is a non-factor, as he has not done anything against AAA-ball pitching. And Montero is 17 and struggling against GCL pitchers. He's not on the fast track.
The best thing the team can do is continue to develop young players. Bring the best ones to the Yankees and trade the second tier ones for necessary parts. That's how you build a team; a mix-and-match of young players and veterans.
I am not as worried about getting minor league position players to succeed as I am about getting pitching.
It is obviously nice when we bring up a Jeter or a Cano but it is much easier to go out and buy position players than stud pitching.
The fact the Yankees have a plethora of high end pitching talent is very exciting. Even if only one or two of them becomes a major contributer in the future.
Canseco and Arod
Canseco was just on WEEI (Boston) and he stated that his new book is going to have some information regarding Arod and steroids. He didn’t elaborate on what type of information and whether or not it was definitely steroids, but he kind of left it open so he can sell some books.
He also went on to almost condone steroid use in NFL and other sports, claiming the he could understand why it is used in football because it’s a sport which has a lot to do with body mass. So not only is he a rat, but a hypocrite. Get ready for another media fiasco with Arod. Although at this point, I would question his motives on a second book.
ARod gets on fire this year and Canseco has to shoot his mouth off again. If he knew Alex had juiced why didn't he come forth with that earlier in his first piece of junk book. He's just trying to sell his junk. Canseco's a waste of human life.Arod doesn't even belong in the same sentence with Steroids. my goodness!! this guy is unreal!!
If Jeter or A-rod were ever to havea taken any performance enhancing drugs they would be outed by now because so many people either hate them or are jealous of them for reasons I won't waste my time on because most everybody knows those reasons, lol.
I'm listening to the interview right now. He's ripping Schilling for his recent opinions at the moment. I'll let you know what he says about Arod.
The headline is "WEEI Audio: Canseco Rips Schill, A-Rod and Promises
http://media.weei.podzinger.com/archive/TheBigShow/2007-07-26_Jose_Canseco.mp3
His Next Book, 'Vindicated,' Will Be a Blockbuster"
I just finished listening to Weei Interview with Canseco ripping Arod
Here's some of his cuts at Alex:
"He's not the clean-cut guy everyone thinks he is."
"He's not truthful"
"I've lost all respect for Alex Rodriguez"
When asked if he knows whether or not Arod took steroids, his reply was "You'll have to wait for the book to come out."
He said he held back quite a bit of information on players in his first book and his next book will be better than the first.
He definitely implied that Alex is a juicer.
He trashed A-Rod in his first book, but he never implied he took steroids.Canseco's was saying is that he never made any claims about A-Rod in his first book. Called him a phony, but that was it.
So why now? If he knew something he would have said it already.
Canseco's also says" I've got other stuff on Alex Rodriguez that is going to be coming out". "He's not who he seems to be". 10x more information on his new book. He said that he used to work out with Arod. They ask him point blank has Alex taken steroids?, and he says that they will have to wait and see.
Canseco made an attack on his character. He was like, Arod is not who he claims to be and all of this nonsense. Conseco is not going to spill because he wants to sell. A-rod is so popular right now that his name alone would get people to buy it.
Arod lose weight during the offseason not gain weight. Canseco's is an idiot and Arod hater. Alex are the cleanest players out there
That is ridiculous. If one of the biggest players in the sport took steroids then Canseco would have put it in his first book. He is just using A-Rods name to try to sell this new book. I bet when the book comes out that you will find out that all he has to say about A-Rod is that he is really not a nice guy and all that BS. He is just jealous like all the rest!
Well the party's over. Boston takes 3 out of 4 from a tough Indian team and now it's off to beat up the bad teams: Tampa, Bal'more, Seattle (2-8, last 10, 7 game losing streak) and a failing Angel team (hey how about a HR?). Then it's Bal'more and Tampa again, LA at home (took them 3 games to zero last time at home) and finally Chicago (3 out of 4 last time). By the time we see you at the end of August after your 7 with Detroit, we should be about 90-45 and about 15 games up on y'all!
hey it was fun while it lasted....didn't it?
Iactually was in agreement wit hJoe leaving this man in the game. why waste your pen. This guy plain sucks , I'm sorry chip but give me Meche or Lilly anyday over this fool , he simply cannot pitch, and with Molina and Guidry telling his ass to throw LOW his dumb ass just shakes his head, Maybe matsui should get in his soul. then to see his dumb ass workout in 90 degree weather is stupid
Are you out there yet, John G????
hey RS,
You was a Choir Boy when we was on our streak and listen here buddy, you was up by 14 1/2 games now down to 7 1/2 and better yet THANK you for beating clev sdo we can still be 4 1/2 out of the WC.
YOU BEEN PIMPED!!!!
Chowder Boy
go wash manny;s draws
RS Bat Boy,
You are pretty high on your team right now huh? Let's discuss your team again. I won't even mention Drew, Is Big Poopy ever going to hit 40 HR's again? What's going to happen when Lugo and Crisp start playing like they normally do again? Willy Mo Who? Pedroia the punk! I could go on but you get my point. Any team at anytime can have issues which will prevent them from winning. Let's just wait till the end of the season and see who is still standing. All I can say is that you better hope that the Yanks don't get in the playoffs because this is the year that they make it back to the WS. Nomar rules!
lets see arod was a rookie in 95, and lived in the Seattle area all season , did some cali hanging ,
Was extremly tight With Jeter they hung out alot and was in communication until 01 which at that point CONSECO was done.
and ALex was probally told to stay away from due to his of f the field conduct
BB,
Canseco is throwing A-Rods name out there to sell books. I am sure there is nothing to it. In all reality Canseco could say anybody took steroids which would ruin that players credibility whether it was true or not. It really sucks!
BB,
Yesterday you said that you have to work on the field. Are you part of the Yankee Stadium gorunds crew?
It's so discouraging when I see Igawa's name penciled in as the starting pitcher, you gotta figure you have no better than a 25% chance to win. You aren't going to win them all, I just hate going into a fifth of our games knowing a win is nearly impossible.
Chip, when is your boy going to start earning his cash?
Is it any surprise this "secret" information is coming out of Boston right smack before A-Rod hits his 500th milestone home run? How much is Con-seco getting paid for this interview, I wonder?
Hmmm. Never though about that. Interesting.
Mike -
Nope , I am part of the engineering team Building the new Stadium and surrounding area's I'll sum it up with that.
I do know somebody with the Grounds crew though. Little short black dude , looks like tony womack we share the same barber. Haven;t seen him in awhile though. Not sure if he did the YMCA dance
Cool. Sounds like fun. So do you think the great Lucy is on to something? The timing is pretty strange.
Yep ,
He is boston talking Mess?
Strange, but honestly the only window he ahs with Alex is in Texas and I even think by the time ALex was in Texas , COnseco;s may ahve worn out his welcome unless he did behind the scenes workouts in Tex, Do I think conseco affected Juan Gonzalez ?? yes .
To accuse Arod in his years before Texas is Accusing Jeter as well as they was extremly close. And I seriously doubt Arod dealt with Jose in his Texas years.
It's all about selling books! That is all he cares about. He is a black eye to the sport and disliked by all the players.
Can't Arod sue for defamation of character or something?
Actually I don't see your point, Mike.
Is your taunt that Drew sucks? Everyone knows that.
Is your taunt that Papi isn't going to hit as many homers? Probably won't.
Yet the team is MUCH better than the '05 and '06 teams with Papi homering left and right.
It's called a balanced team. Remember those? You guys used to have them in 96, and 99-00. You had only one 30 home run guy in all 4 of those years, yet managed to win.
Your taunts of Lugo and Crisp are odd. They had lousy first halves and are now playing back to their normal level (remember Crisp was playing with injuries last year) so I am not really predicting a huge collapse from them.
Taunting us about Willy Mo is like us taunting the Yankees about Kevin Thompson (although Willy Mo DID homer last night.)
Fact of the matter is the Yankees played great this past week. They played .750 ball and averaged 11 runs in each of their 6 wins.
And how did they do in the standings this past week?
They DROPPED 1/2 a game.
If you can't pick up ground while playing .750 against AAA teams, how are you going to gain ground when you have to play actual major leaguers?
If you guys make the playoffs, do you really think you'd get past the Tigers, Angels or Indians in the first round?
I mean honestly... gun to your head, truth syrum (sp?) in your veins...
But maybe this week you could gain ground on the Sox. Maybe you need to play a little better than .750
I don't buy A-Rod using roids as he looks the same now as he did in his Seattle days.
I believe about 80% of what Canseco says. And it is odd that everywhere he goes, home run totals go up.
If A-Rod was really a juicer, he would have been in Juiced.
But I never 100% discount everything Canseco says because... well... he's kind of been proven right.
http://sullybaseball.blogspot.com/2007/05/considering-cansecos-source.html
Mike asks why Igawa is here when we have better guys in the Minor Leagues ...
Answers
... Globalization
... Yankee Brand in Asia
... Contract
... Cashman eating crow
... No Australians needed
New York is a global, Third World-colonized city. Let's call it "Cosmopolitan" for now. The Yankees need players from all over the world to take part in social engineering, globalization and culture re-shaping. Many teams have an agenda: Cards, Astros, Mets and others ...
So that's why Igawa is here.
Sully,
This is the year that if the Yanks make the playoff they go all the way. I feel it. I have not felt it in years but I feel it now. This team has something going on right now and it will carry them to the Promised Land. It is a feeling but sometimes feelings pay off.
By the way I really don't car about arguing who is a better, but that guy really pissed me off. All I care about know is who is still left in the end. We can sit and debate forever but it won't change anything that happens on the field. It is really aggravating coming on this blog and getting all the Red Sux lovers downplaying and demeaning what the Yanks have done. All I want to do is talk to other Yankee fans about what is happening and be excited. All the talk in the world will not change what happens on the field!
Sully,
I will never be able to watch Lord of the Rings without thinking of you, your wife, Liv and Viggo.
(Overshare!!!!) Ha, ha!
Bronx Bomber,
I know you were angry but you should NEVER give out your location over the internet. People are crazy!
I know you are a tough guy, but I like you and want you to be safe always!
As for Igawa,
To the pen. He has potential but we've seen enough!
As for A Rod with steroids, maybe ... I know he was condescending in his interview re: Duncan's heroic HR's and fist pumping ... you can tell alot from a person's voice inflections, tone, eyelids, eye movements, body language if you have studied neuro linguistic program techniques and related fields. It was on Yahoo Sports! and I didn't like how it came across. Any of you can look it up if you wish ... Would he cheat? You run with a whore to a strip club and leave your wife and baby at home behind ... well ... enough said.
In the end, we are not our mistakes. But birds of a feather flock together. (Ask Michael Vick.)
Agreed Mike.
Then let's see what happens on the field. That's always the best way to settle the argument!
LET'S PLAY BALL!
how come no one is talking about how awful a trade to give up proctor for ty wiggington is. Conventional wisdom says you always take pitcher over hitter and proctor has a lot of quality. I'm inclinded to think that he is going through a rough patch. He and Farnsworth are totally different animals. I really hope we don't make this deal.
Just ditch farns.
how come no one is talking about how awful a trade to give up proctor for ty wiggington is. Conventional wisdom says you always take pitcher over hitter and proctor has a lot of quality. I'm inclinded to think that he is going through a rough patch. He and Farnsworth are totally different animals. I really hope we don't make this deal.
Just ditch farns.
how come no one is talking about how awful a trade to give up proctor for ty wiggington is. Conventional wisdom says you always take pitcher over hitter and proctor has a lot of quality. I'm inclinded to think that he is going through a rough patch. He and Farnsworth are totally different animals. I really hope we don't make this deal.
Just ditch farns.
The rational way to resolve the countless baseball players who have used seriods to inflate individual statistics is to create a special wing @ the baseball Hall of Fame called " The Influence of Science on the game of baseball 1990 to ??? ". All of the known users will be listed in the wing along w/ their stats ; those that juiced up w/ the best results will be recognized in a special Hall w/ plaques. If someone is included in the Science wing and claims he should not be there would be a hearing w/ the understanding that the ballplayer would have to disclose to the HOF his medical records and related data.. The Baseball Players Assn should have no jurisdiction over the matter since I don't believe the HOF is covered by the labor agreement. The end result hopefully would be that baseball statistics of non-users would not tainted by those in the Science wing
Sully,
You got it. What time do you want me there? LOL
Igawa Sepuki Bonzai, I agree with your first point about NYC. I recognize satire when i read it. The business relationships that the Yankees have agreed to have hurt this team. First they agree to have a fitness organization whose only experience in the field was at a country club run their fitness programs. Then they hire one of their head trainers for the New York Yankees. Nice move Randy Levine. Then to trump that they have an business agreement with the Red Chinese? Are you kidding me? They want a foothold in that area. But at what price? Does that mean that the Red Chinese ballplayers will get a fast track to the majors? I can see that happening. Look at Igawa and how he's still around. It will make Cashmen look worse, if they had to release him after all the money they invested in Igawa. So we are stuck with bad players and injuries that should never of occured if they had a real fitness program directors.
I understand all the political aspects of why Igawa is still playing but what does this say about the quality of Japanese baseball?
I don't know Mike.
OUR Japanese pitchers are doing just fine.
What does it say about the Yankee scouting system?
For mental midgets or anyone else thought i was using a parallel of Igawa vs. The Red Chinese ballplayers was mistaken. I know they are different entities. One being a free-agent from Japan and the other part of a business dynamic.
A lotta people ripping Igawa a new "A-Hole", but the guy is just not a major league pitcher. That's not his fault. This was Cashman's "call", and he threw away roughly $50 million dollars, which is of no consequence to any of us. We scored 0 runs last night, which means Igawa could have pitched a "gem" and we would have still lost. Anymore, I don't even need to hear the score. Just tell me how the 3 hole hitter did, and I'll know if the Yanks won or lost. We are missing a "golden opportunity" if Cashman doesn't get TEX, and plug him into that 3 hole. Cashman throws away $50 million bucks on a player who had never played MLB, yet "supposedly" refuses to part with a minor league "maybe", for a proven All Star. Inconsistent, unbelievable, and unforgivable. The Yankee championship aspirations, and Cashman's job, are teetering on getting TEX.
Roy, i forgot Does Tex pitch?
Tex is going to Atlanta
They have players the Rangers actually want
Sounds like rather than Tex, Ty Wiggington will be coming to the Yankees for Scott Proctor - I'm OK with that deal on numerous levels - not the least of which is that Wiggington gives the team some serious versatility.
Hey Phil-
What was the score last night, and how did the 3 hole hitter do? Just curious.
Roy,
How was the Yankee scoring up until last night? They aren't going to win every game - last night they got shut down, it happens - they also had Andy Phillips batting in the 6 spot, how often do you reckon that will happen?
Sully,
Yankees have players Texas wants, they just aren't going to include them in any trades.
Sully,
I mentioned earlier that there were a few players that have come out of Japan (Ichiro, Matsui, Dice-K)that have succeeded, but there have been many more failures from Japan then there have been successes. Put it into perspective, Igawa was the strikeout leader of his league for three years in a row. Must be some quality hitters over there huh? I agree it was poor scouting but it also points out how poor the play over there is.
CHIP-
I like Wigginton, but I don't see him getting major playing time with the "conga line"\DH situation the Yanks currently have. That being the case, their is no way the Yanks should give up a "set up" man, for a very part time player. Plus, we already have Cairo.
Roy,
The three hole hitter has been hitting over .310 the last month of the season with 25 RBI whereas Tex is batting about 20 points lower while only driving in 8 runs.
If the Yankees trade for Wiggington he is going to be the team's everyday 1st baseman more likely than not.
He's vastly better offensively than Cairo and the Yankees want to move either Farnsworth or Proctor (or both) because they are tired of those guys walking hitters (and I'm tired of watching them do it) and I think they also believe Proctor is deteriorating just as Tanyon Sturtze did.
The team will look to use either Ramirez, Britton, or Chamberlain in the pen.
CHIP-
The Yanks were "shut down" by what? An Igawa clone, that's what. Granted, Posada and Damon were off, but against a pitcher like that, our AAA team would "clean up".
as annoyed as people get at Cashman keep in mind how much worse it could be - Jim Bowden of the Nats just gave Ronnie Belliard and Dimitri Young 2 year deals.
Roy,
They didn't lose because they don't have Mark Teixeira - they lost because the other team hit well, and the Yankees didn't hit with runners in scoring position - it happens to every team. Making a knee jerk reaction trade to every loss is best saved for fantasy sports, not the real ones.
Bosstrots,
I just got in. What's up?
Just a bad game last night. It happens. Who pitched last night for KC, Sandy Koufax?
At least to this group, he WAS Sandy Koufax.
Sully,
Or should I say, Spartagus?
Didn't the Romans catch up to him?
Thank you Lord!
Finally a person who recognizes the social engineering, Tower of Babel and re-culturalization of the USA and the Western World at large -- via sports, education, mass media, so called "diversity" and mulitculturalization (as the USSR aborted itself they used the same terms up till the collapse.) Western Civilization is now dying as we speak.
Igawa can do okay in the pen.
But again, why not scout the College World Series? Sign the Reggie Willets types and Eric Byrnes. Oklahoma, UCLA.
Instead they are addicted to the Caribbean and Asia.
That's their agenda ... so be it. We have many good people from those areas. Mo, Jorge ... but Asia is lacking with Igawa and Irabu ... And doing business with the animals in Beijing should make any REAL YANKEE FAN outraged. It's E V I L! (Laogai, forced sterilization, female infanticide, human slavery, Tianeman Square, LORAL, nuclear war threats over Taiwan, Jin Class nuclear sub, taking over Panama Canal, Wen Ho Lee, food poisoning, smuggling AK's to California street gangs, on and on ad nauseum.) Don't tell me it's "not about baseball." When the Yankees opened up shop they opened up the door to this kind of criticism. Actually they've done us a favor. We can more openly talk about it.
And why give up on Australia? I think maybe cause they are white players? I hate to think that was the case. Yet clearly someone should be asking why? Baseball is VERY popular in Australia. Why aren't players being signed anymore?
CHIP-
Come on now. You know TEX has been on the DL. To compare his stats over the last month when he has played roughly 10 days is a "sham". Your better than that.
Roy -
I was comparing based over the same number of games played - sorry I did not make that more clear.
Look at the bright side:
Molina got 2 hits! That's two more than Nieves would have gotten.
We won the series 3-1 so in the last 5 4-game series that we've played, we went 3-1 in all of them.
I'll be happy if we can do the same thing this weekend in Baltimore.
That's what we can hope for: to continue to win series'
Roy
I'm with you on getting Tex, and I NAILED the Igawa/Lilly choice over the winter! Cashman is clueless on what/when/why to getting the right players and comes up BIG when it comes to WASTING money.
The offense tends to slumber when Igawa is on the mound because they come into the game totally DEMORALIZED. They know that no matter what they do that night, that Igawa will still give up more runs! This guy is NOT MLB material and is KILLING the moral of this team right when we start to get it going. Get him off this team NOW!!!!
And, giving up Proctor for Wigginton is STUPID which is exactly why I fear it will happen. Where is Wigginton going to play on this team????? He's going to replace Cairo sitting there on the bench. And, we're supposed to give up PITCHING for that, a bench player??? I thought PITCHING was what wins and what we need? Makes NO sense at all, which is why Cashman will probably do it!!!
The problem is that other than Latin and Asian countries, the quality of baseball is very poor. Of course it is always possible to find a diamond in the rough but they are few and far in between. Eventually we will have players from all over the world in the Major Leagues and then we will have a true World Series.
RICK-
Agree with all you said. Chip believes Wigginton will be the new 1B, but you and I know Phillips has been playing extremely well, and is Joe's "faired haired boy" anyway. No place for Wigginton to play. Defies logic.
Thank You Phil, Mike
Email me and I will give you some info on things I think you would like to read and view. There are some of us out here that are VERY MUCH up to date on what's going on with the elite's globalization plot!
Rick
I have good news and bad news for you.
The bad news is that like Roy, if you are counting on Tex in pinstripes you will be disappointed.
The good news is that last night was probably Igawa's last start for the season with Hughes coming back.
No, I'm still not with you on him being a better choice than Lilly, but yes I'm with you that he shouldn't be pitching for the Yankees this year.
Wiggington will play 1st base - maybe DH or 2b against a tough lefty. He's a superior hitter to Cairo and, much as I like him, I think if we looked at him objectively we would see that Scott Proctor right now is a lower paid version of Kyle Farnsworth.
John G,
You mentioned in a previous post (different section) you are either from or living in Brooklyn. I was born there but now live in Virginia Beach. Anyway, as you enjoyed the Brooklyn Dodgers on HBO, I'm sure you enjoyed the other great productions that have been mentioned here recently. I don't know if you have enough time to read books, but there is an absolutely fantastic semi autobiographical novel about growing up in Brooklyn, when a neighborhood was actually that, and you knew your neighbors, and baseball was a game, etc. It's called "I Still Love Joni James (subtitled a Boy Grows in Brooklyn)...and although it is not strictly a baseball book, baseball is really the underlying theme as this kid, Jackie, grows up in Brooklyn Dodger land in the 40s, during WWII. It is absolutely a masterpiece, and I think anyone on this blog who is into the history of the game and of our country would find it one of the best reads ever. I believe someone mentioned Nudge was from Lindenhurst - the author taught at lindenhurst High School for 38 years, and was the Chairman of the History Depertment. But he grew up in East NY and went to Brooklyn Tech. In fact, him and Koufax (Lafayette High) were picked top two pitchers in NY State in 51 or '52 - and there is a story in the book where the author, a lefty who pitched for the Brooklyn Javelins in the sandlot league, started and won an all star game against Koufax, with 9 Ks in 3 innings!
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know because it really is a fabulous book and is certainly a must read for anyone from Brooklyn - in fact, anyone who enjoys baseball and a great historical fiction novel really should read it.
CHIP-
Your comparing Wigginton to Cairo, when you should be comparing Wigginton to Phillips. Are you saying the Yanks just "cut" Cairo, or send "Joe's Boy" Phillips back to AAA? Talk about "knee jerk". Your now in "scramble mode" just like Cashman.
Nice. I will have to check that out.
Thanks Bosstrots.
I'm going to get the book.
I usually pick up a book while we're watching TV at night. I have a ton of baseball books, Civil War books and train books. I keep getting them for presents from the Fam.
My son just gave me a book for Father's Day on great pitchers of the game.
Thanks for thinking of me.