On the Yankees beat

The regulars have been inconspicuously absent today...I spent the live gameday blog with some new friends, but it was a good time all the while.

SO I WILL CALL IT NOW ...

CHIP WAS RIGHT Signing posada to that contract was retarded, yes i would have offered him a deal but now it appears he have broken down. hopefully he comes back. Do we recall Chad??

and Also I will ADMIT it Melky is on fire!!!

Barbecue crow is nasty

From Chad Jennings:
As for Chad Moeller's situation, I believe this is the way it works: He has 72 hours to clear waivers, but if he clears, the 10-day rule still applies. He's been sent down, so the Yankees have to wait 10 days to call him up. They can't claim they're calling him up because of an injury -- thus negating the 10 days -- because Stewart went up for the injury. If Moeller goes up, he'll be taking the place of perfectly healthy Stewart.

this hurts the kids I don't know if anyone noticed but what was the teams SP numbers like since Posada been in there steady. I know the Staters number was well with a lead waht like 10-0 but to ME it seemed like they have been pitching better with posada there more consistant?

Do you have any info on the the Jeff Clement to the Yankees rumor?

Bomber,

Your overreactions amaze me sometimes. Signing Posada to a multi-year deal was a no-brainer for this team.

People could argue whether adding the fourth year was a wise move, but his current injury has no relevance given that it's the first year of his contract.

Who would you have suggested they sign instead?

As far as the Yanks were concerned, they had no choice but to re-sign Posada. There was nobody on the market who could hold his jock and there are no kids in the organization who are even close to being major league ready.

It sucks to lose Posada for any extended period of time, but to say in hindsight that they shouldn't have signed him altogether is absurd.

Good catchers are the most coveted position and demanding players in MLB. It's not even close. Posada has been one of the best for the last decade and is an irreplaceable figure in so many ways.

The Yankees are obviously going to loss Poasada for some unknown length of time. Its just a bad break for Poasada and the team. The only issue that I saw with the contract was the fourth year because of his age at the end. The money is not relevant. Hopefully, its a strain that needs 15 days to cure but its probably the dreaded 60 day deal.

As far as Melky and Wang and all the detractors who constantly down played their skills. It might be early but this is the fruit of patience with players. Melky can hit 20 homers and play a decent OF and until we can play a bonafide CF then we stick with Melky and support him. Wang has never be given the respect as a number 1 pitcher. We have no aces on this staff. The cry from some bloggers. I'll take 3 number 2's,one 4 and 5. We'll have no issues especially a number 2 who has 38 wins in 2 years and 5 wins in 1/6 of the season.

If we exhibit some patience with Hughes and Kennedy in the rotation than maybe we'lll have the 3 number 2's. And a quality FA signing at the end of this year. Wang, C.C, Hughes, Pettite and Kennedy sounds great to me. Assuming Pettite's remarks about pitching another year were serious.

Pat - or anyone - Where did that Jeff Clement rumor start? He looks like an impressive prospect. Google him..

Jeff Clement rumor: I checked out google and he sounds like a nice player but he wouldn't come cheap. It depends on Posada's injury exam and the plan to rehab or surgery if necessary.

Larry M.

The difference in Wang so far this season is his ability to throw a good slider.He never had a real feel for that pitch until now and relied more on his power sinker.Now we're seeing more strikeouts and flyball outs.

Wow....The Bruney and Posada injury news is painful! Posada is probably the most important player on the team and it hurts to see him go down.
So, if his shoulder is bad enough that he cannot throw, but will get him through the season hitting wise, do you keep a roster spot for him or do you tell him to go ahead and have the surgery? I hate to see him go under the knife and then a week later Giambi gets hurt and Jorge could fill the DH spot.

I went to the Yanks-Indians game on Saturday with our own Rick Keyes as me and my wife and son met with Rick and his family for the second consecutive year and we had a great time (with the exception of the Yankees not cooperating with a win).
A lot of you get on Rick and argue back and forth with him but I can assure you Rick is a great guy in person and he had a trick up his sleeve for us when we got to his house. He mentioned he had a surprise for me that would happen before we headed to Cleveland for the game so we all piled in the car and headed for Canton where Rick's surprise ended up being a visit to "Munson's Home Plate Sports Pub", an establishment that opened last year and is owned and operated by the late, great Thurman Munson's son Mike and his wife Michelle. Rick arranged to have the pub opened an hour earlier than usual so that our large party could have lunch there before we set out for Cleveland and one of the best surprises was that Rick asked Mike Munson to come in early (he normally comes in later in the afternoon so he can close the pub at 2:30 AM) and he showed up! Now, anyone who has been part of this blog for a while knows that Thurman Munson is my favorite Yankee of all time and meeting his son was a thrill for me. Mike is a very nice guy and chatted about his dad, his minor league experience, the old Yankees teams and the current one with us for over an hour. He enjoyed hearing the story of how I got his dad's autograph when I was a kid and Rick and I liked hearing that a lot of the old Yankees still stay in touch with him and his family like Willie Randolph, who visits once a year and Lou Piniella, Graig Nettles and of course Bobby Murcer who all stay in touch on a regular basis.
Mike looks just like his dad so it was pretty amazing to see him and Thurman would be proud of what a nice guy he turned out to be.

Rick and his family were awesome and we were sad to leave but we look forward to meeting again next year.

THANKS RICK!!!!

I'll post pictures of the trip over the next few days.

Wang came to the Yankees with a good slider but they told him to give it up, believing it caused the shoulder injury that had him out. Now he's using it again and it's still good. The broadcasters yesterday were speculating that since he is older, stronger and in better condition the team is now willing to take the risk.

My speculation, in addition, is that they've had time to realize that he'll never be as effective without it. As Michael PTRS is always reminding us, most pitchers are limited if they don't have three good pitches.

Diane

I didn't know the Yanks told Wang to abandon the slider yrs ago.He was throwing it last season but didn't have as much success w/ it. So far this season his strikeout totals are up about 2+ per 9 innings

Viper stop over reading hahaha and read my comment again

"SO I WILL CALL IT NOW ...

CHIP WAS RIGHT Signing posada to that contract was retarded, yes i would have offered him a deal but now it appears he have broken down. hopefully he comes back. Do we recall Chad??

and Also I will ADMIT it Melky is on fire!!!

Barbecue crow is nasty"

An deal would have been made as I reported just not the deal he got due to this reason he is an aging catcher. If he had bolted then you could have signes a defense loaded catcher for cheap. you have to think ahead teams like the rays etc is young and fast add that with a young staff.

Now on the flip side Mo signing seems to be worth it as of now. plus I must say that the Youth was pitching better when posada was in consecutive games

As for my overreactions that is your opinion but the end of the day we are both fans and I can do as I want there is no fan better than the other we share the same rooting intrests haha peace friend

ruse,

Perhaps the desperation of the pitching situation last year is what convinced them to let him start working it back into his repertory of pitches. Whatever the reason, it's obviously back up to par and a great asset this year. Now we just hope that either it wasn't really the cause of his past shoulder problems, or that at his present age and condition he can withstand the strain. He should be pretty much at his physical prime now in comparison with the youngster he was when the problem occurred.

I seriously doubt that Clement to NY rumour has any legs to it.Seattle is going to trade one of the games best catching prospects to NY? Never happen.

Jim A.

1. Great story about Rick Keyes and the Munson family.

2. At this point Posada should be the DH whether or not Giambi is hurt.

One knock on Molina is that Posada calls a much better game. If Posada DH's why not have him call the pitches from the bench?

How long can this go on with Cano? Would a trip to Tampa or SWB do him any good? He seems to have given up.

The point is Posada wants to be evaluated and if surgery and/or rest is necessary then they would go from there.Having Posada DHing just prolongs the problem and creates a log jam at DH.
If anyone calls pitches it would be Girardi.If you check the splits Molina has caught Wang twice and opponents are hitting something like.113 .I'm not sure how the rest of the staff does w/ Molina behind the plate.

Early last season when Cano was struggling pitchers were pounding him inside so he couldn't extend his hands.Cano eventually made adjustments and went on to have a great yr.
This season pitchers are not giving him anything over the plate hoping he'll chase and he has taken the bait big time.They're preying on his impatience.Hopefully he'll adjust.

Cano doesn't really seem to learn anything about plate discipline from year to year. Each season he has to have the notion that he can hit anything that is thrown up there slowly beat out of him once again. Anybody remember how long it generally takes?

sometimes small talk to a pitcher during a game helps.

In wangs case he does not understand english so of course a third party has to work with this. I seriously doubt Girardi is calling the pitches with Posada behind the plate.

Molina is a good catcher but probally had a different handle with the kids who basically dealt with Jorge in ST

Jon K,

What makes you think that Posada calls a better game? Historically the pitchers have often opted to have a different catcher when they pitch because the concensus was they did not like the way Posada called the game. That along with defense was considered one of Molina's strengths.

Jon K - perhaps you could join us next year? How far are you from Cleveland? Or, any of the rest of our blog buddies are welcome too. If anyone is interested, just let me know and we'll see about getting some extra tickets for next year. Jim and I would both love to meet some of you in person. We talk about it all the time.

We have a GREAT time every time Jim A and his family come up!!! The only drawback is that the time flies by way too quickly.
Jim A, Karen, and Michael are awesome people! And I thank this blog for giving me such great new friends. With all the haggling back and forth on this blog, I think everyone would agree that Jim A is the one guy that we ALL like, And, there is a reason for that! Thanks for making that drive again this year Jim. Your visit is always one of my highlights each year.

On a side note, Jim's son Michael is going to be playing for the Yankees some day. I just hope I live long enough to see it. This kid is 7 years old and plays better than most high school players!!! He throws harder than I can and hits the target with precision. He can run backwards and make Willie May's catches look routine when alot of 7 year olds can't catch pop ups right to them. And, he chomps on the bit to play baseball 24/7. This kid is amazing to see. It's obvious he gets his genetics from mom! hahaha ;-)

If Posada's injury is a tear than I wonder how wise it would be to have him continue as DH unless the tear can endure hitting and Posada will not catch for the entire season with surgery after the season. There will be a heck of alot of DH's hanging around.

Larry,

The problem with a tear or similar type injury is that waiting till the end of the season means it usually can't be corrected surgically. Once the muscle tissue heals and scars then it might not be feasible to repair it surgically. It may be a now or never thing. If its just where he can do PT and strenghtening then he absolutely can be used as a hitter after he rebuilds some strength.

I live in Connecticut. I was fascinated by the pictures of Cleveland being shown during the games this weekend - the last time I visited - in the 1970's - it was, in my opinion, the worst city in the country.

It seemed to me, and at least some commentators, that pitchers were not happy with Molina's pitch selection - and there were a lot of cross-ups as well.

Jon K,

That may be as was staetd that he hasn't had the time with the pitchers that Posada had. It should get better as the season progresses. Also don't listen to those commentators too much. They get paid to talk......not to think.

I saw the name Jeff Clement on the blog earlier - I don't see that as a real possibility. He is Seattle's top prospect and likely will be their DH sooner rather than later (mostly because he's not a good defensive catcher)

Some more likely options are: Mike DiFilice (Tampa) or Josh Paul (Houston) both of whom have out clauses in their contracts if a team offers them a major league deal. Elizardo Alfonso of the Giants could be gotten, Doug Mirabelli, Adam Melhuse, Humberto Quintero are all free agents. And of course - Mike Piazza is sitting out there.

Piazza may stink behind the plate (actually there is no may about it) but he can still hit and the Yankees could use Molina as a defensive replacement

So now I hear that we can add Statutory to the growing list of Roger Clemens' vices. Think Houston will reconsider that personal services contract?

She haved her legs for that?

Nudge -

Yeah, turns out some baseball players are scumbags. But hey, you never know. The Mets employ Strawberry to talk to minor leaguers about how to comport themselves - one of the ironies of the game I guess.

I got to meet Strawberry yesterday (Tino too) and he really is a nice guy. They both are.

Chip,

I guess thats like hiring the hacker to help your computer network security....or something. It is quite an irony!

The Yanks should trade for Miguel Olivo on the Royals. Hes their backup catcher to Buck.

Hes been hitting the ball well this year and we could possibly get him for pretty cheap. He will also be a free agent after this year.

It would at least add some more depth at catcher for us in case Posada goes down for the season.

Tino mentioned that he'll be around for the USF/St Johns series in a couple of weeks, so I checked the dates and it's next weekend, May 9, 10, and 11 in Queens. Tickets are general admission and if you buy them online with processing fees they cost ~$7.50 per ticket.

Nudge,

Maybe Wade Boggs can talk to children about the virtues of monogomy.

Chip,

Yeah and Bonds about being nice to people and David Wells about living a healthy lifestyle and...well enough of that.

Chip,

Yeah and Bonds about being nice to people and David Wells about living a healthy lifestyle and...well enough of that.

What incentive do the Royals have to trade their backup catcher? Do they have someone in the pipeline to replace him or do they then have to find a backup catcher themselves? Do you know the answers Mc? It would be helpful.

Chip

Promise me you will not list Piazza as a potential backup anymore .He hasn't caught in a couple of yrs is 39 yrs old and btw who said he can still hit?

Nudge,

It is more like hiring a retired computer nerd who used to do a lot of coke, to come help with your computer network security.

Will Nieves are old pal and consummate backup catcher is currently hitting .348 8-23 w/ 1hr 4rbi.

Hughes -

Their incentive to trade their backup catcher would be to acquire a couple mid level prospects from us.

Give them a couple guys that have no chance of making an impact because of players like Arod or Cano.

To name a few......
Kevin Russo (2B) Playing really well in AA right now
Marcos Vechionacci (3B) Also playing well in AA
Ramiro Pena (SS) In AA, mid-level prospect
Nick Green (2B) in AAA

Maybe throw a few mid level pitching prospects to get him as well.

McCarthy

I don't want to steal HYD considerable thunder but the Royals have nothing to gain by trading Olivo for those minor leaguers.

Wang does speak and understand English. He has a marked accent and proceeds slowly, but does not usually need or use a translator.

Stathead response for Cano

• Something's got to give – hitters (individual numbers can and will vary, but the league average for BABIP is around .300, and for contact% is around 80 percent):

Robinson Cano (.154 AVG, .170 BABIP, 89.6% contact),

Robby has a higher contact rate than league average but is WAY below a normal BABIP @ .177. Those balls in play will soon find holes, once that happens his confidence will go up and you will see him drive more balls.

I know its ugly now, but last April he walked 6 times and struck out 17 times. This April he's walked 7 times and struck out 12 times. 4 of those BB this year came in the last 6 games. He's only struck out 4 times in the last 14 games so he's making contact, even though most of the time its a weak grounder.

So he's walking more and striking out less than last April, a couple seeing eyed singles will get him on track. Im going out on a limb here and you guys can all hold me to it, Cano will bat 300 in May...THERE I SAID IT!!!

GO CANO!!!!

ruse

How do you know what the Royals need/want? Are you their GM? Every team is looking to improve their minor league system to give them more chances of developing talent from within.

So thanks for your comment but you really have no basis to say what the Royals are looking to improve in their system. Giving up a backup catcher to enhance some pitching/position player needs is not a bad deal for the Royals.

If the Yanks lose Posada they very well may need to stock up on some catchers in case of Molina/Moeller/Stewart don't play well enough or also get injured.

McCarthy

Just look at the Royals current Roster will tell you what their needs might be.
They have a great young 3B in Gordon.They're grooming Callaspo to take over at 2B when Grud-nek is done.
What would they want with a couple of iffy minor leaguers none of which are ranked that high in MILB.
What makes you think KC will part company w/ OLivo anyway?
What do you base that on?
Just because you think the Yanks should have him?
Olivo is a mediocre defensive catcher .16 passballs and 12 errors in 2007.Terrible lifetime fielding PCT.Yanks have Stewart for the time being who isn't great defensively but will be adequate enough for the time being.

I'm not playing GM just trying to be realistic.Thanks

ruse

You clearly don't see the big picture. Most "prospects" don't pan out. Thats why you stock pile your minor league system with the best possible players you can in hopes that a few of them turn into something special. The Royals actually have a plethora of catchers in their system, a bunch of which who have been playing pretty well in AAA, AA.

So the Royals are "grooming" Callaspo, so they stop acquiring 2nd base talent? Ya right.

Your telling me the Royals aren't interested in any of our 3B, SS, 2B, SP in our system?

Your telling me the Yankees wouldn't consider trading a little of this talent in an effort to increase some catching support which we very well may desperately need if Posada goes down for long term?

And by the way....how do you know Stewart is going to be good at all at the major leagues? So if Posada goes down, Moeller gets picked up, Stewart sucks......

We are left with Molina and we are in trouble.

It's awesome your just trying to shoot down a possible option for insurance at catcher.

What do you suggest they do if the worst happens?

I guarantee your stabs around in the dark will not procure a mediocre defensive catcher in the name of Olivo.

The Yanks will determine what their needs are once they find out how long Posada is out.

Stewart is only a stopgap.Any intelligent GM isn't going to give up talent for a journeyman catcher.The Yanks got Molina for Kennard a career minor leaguer.
Everyone is drooling over Moeller because he hit a little while w/ NY although in fact he's a career .225 hitter and only adequate defensively.