Odds and ends from Tampa
Here are some odds and ends from Tampa:
*The Yankees had a 30-minute meeting with Kei Igawa after workouts today, just to make sure they are on the same page. It was designed to be a positive thing, in hopes they can salvage the contract.
*Joba Chamberlain, still technically a rookie, has zero rookie reticence. He will talk smack to any teammate, from Alex Rodriguez to Jorge Posada. Yesterday, he took on Mike Mussina. He challenged Mussina in video games, then ping pong, each of which Mussina said he
doesn't play. As Mussina walked out of the clubhouse, Chamberlain said something with no response from Mussina, then called out: "The hearing's the first thing to go when you get old, right?" Mussina popped back around the corner to say: "I hear everything you say. I hear everything you think."
*One other Mussina notable: he asked the clubhouse managers to move Phil Hughes down near him, so he can help give advice to both him and Kennedy. The move was made overnight.
*Joe Girardi's wife and three kids are in town for the long weekend. He played on the field with them after workouts yesterday and today. On the dry-erase board in his office were greetings in red, surrounded by hearts: "I love you, Dad!", "Dad's the best," and signed, "Mom, Sissy, Dante, Lena."
*Girardi is very confident that Kyle Farnsworth can be a key contributor.
*Andy Pettitte is still expected in camp Monday.
*Jorge Posada said that if it were up to him, he would never even consider moving Joba Chamberlain from the bullpen.
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Comments (12)
Halliburton = contract = Iraq disaster
Igawa = contract = look up "can't be salvaged" in Webster's Dictionary.
Igawa = 50 million plus for 1 win and three okay outings
Meanwhile ...
Ted Lilly = 15 wins, playoffs, not missing a start, pitching hopeless team to the playoffs. Minus one beat up manager with a black eye.
Did Cashman conduct this meeting with Igawa? ROTFL, LMFAO.
The guy who gave us Irabu, Pavano and Igawa instead of Schilling, Mice K and Okijima conducted this meeting?
How can "Salvage the contract" be written with a straight face?
I won't even touch confident + Farns + Key contributor.
Or is it "Kei contributor?"
Cashman sitting in a locker between Warren Buffet and Bill Gates ='s Hughes, Kennedy and Joba lockering in between Igawa and Pavano.
I am wondering, why can't we have AJ Burnett or Beckett or Mice K or Oki?
Why must Cashman always go for the subprime guys?
Is it bad luck?
Is Theo that much smarter? I mean he's only like 12 years old.
Read this great article on MLB 25 and under team. Would make for a gross team! ha Cano is penciled in as the starting 2B.
http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/02/16/dream-teams-baseballs-top-youngsters/
I think Mike Mussina will make a good pitching coach when he is finished. I don't know what his post baseball plans are but I can see him either working w/ college kids or as a coach in MLB.
Igawa is a waste of body heat. Farnsworth is a waste of roster space. Pavano is a cancer to have in camp. After that, I'm ready to roll!
Jim A:
I think the same thing about Mussina. I also see Jorge as the guy who eventually replaces Girardi as manager.
River Ave Blues has an excellent piece this morning concerning Brian Cashman's take on their bloated payroll.
http://riveraveblues.com/
Cashman basically says the same thing I've been saying for a long time - the Yanks do not have an unlimited budget and it's time to put a cap on spending:
“We are high,” Yankees GM Brain Cashman said in an interview with ESPN 1050 New York’s Andrew Marchand. “If I could get our payroll lower [I would]. It is not going to happen — not this year. But we have, at the end of the year, a lot of numbers coming off. The combination of building our farm system and getting our salary lines back to where they probably need to be. That’s a process, too, and that takes some time. I’m not particularly proud that we have the highest payroll in the game.
“I just don’t think you are going to get the type of bang for your buck at the type of dollars that you are paying.”
Ed,
Jorge would make a very interesting manager. He's intense and emotional and I think he might challenge Bobby Cox's ejection record if he were to become the manager.
Posada is also said to be confrontational in the clubhouse, with players who he feels are not playing the game the right way.
Controntation is one technique a manager can use, but it is generally more useful with players who lack motivation than with those who are highly motivated but may still have some other performance problem.
Most of the players who lack motivation have been weeded out before making it to the top 25 guys on an elite team.
At that level there are not that many who need to be managed 'a gritos y sombrerazos' (by yelling at them and whacking them with your sombrero -- or, as the case may be, with your baseball cap).
I guess they could give him a tryout -- sic him on Pavano.
Pavano needs a visit from Furio nomsayin.
God I miss the Sopranos.
Michael,
Me too! Let's get together and try to find that Russian guy in the woods. I'll bring the beer, you bring the binoculars. Who knows, maybe we can find Paulie's Caddy too.
I love this Odds and ends stuff. I could read this all day.
Please keep this coming Kat.
PS --- Posada shouldn't comment on anything. A few years ago, the Yankees sent Posada to get his eyes checked because he was missing the pitches being thrown. There's a reason why Girardi is a coach in MLB and Posada will disappear when he's done.