On the Yankees beat

Michael, I'm re-posting my answer to you, since it's been an hour and half or so since you asked and the blog has moved three threads along since then:

Playing catchup is where I am -- busy morning, just when suddenly there are posts to read on this blog!

Barry,

You're right, people carp at the stoics for being 'asleep', and carp at the animated for being 'bush'. People who are looking for something to carp at, I mean.

HYD/Old Ranger,

Watching the game I saw the same thing Old Ranger did, that there was not a real shake-off in the bunch. They seemed to be on the same page the whole inning. A couple reporters said Girardi mentioned he 'had a little talk' with Joba about shaking off the catcher. So again I say 'hopefully' (guess you missed that word in my original post on this) he's learned. Even if public humiliation didn't work (and Joba seems to care a lot about the public's response to him), Girardi's 'little talk' will probably do the trick.

Jim A.,

As always we are of one mind on this particular topic -- THROW MONEY AT THEM, NOT YEARS! Sorry to shout, but it never seems to get through. And for some reason there are still fans who think NYY must economize, a non-issue for the Empire.

Phucker,

You're right about Nick Johnson. Nice guy, though...

HYD again,

See above. Nice-guy-ness doesn't cut it for me. When evaluating pitchers, I will not care a fig for whether Chase Wright catted you up while Steven White only gave you an autograph.

The above was posted by me, not anon, and if you read it you saw I STILL can't type:

CHATTED you up, not catted... ;-)

Reposting my answer on Igawa - no he will never be any good at the major league level - he is what he is:

Igawa's numbers are good at SWB: 1.13 WHIP, 40 K's to 12 BB's, but they are almost exactly the same as last year - and we know how that ended up - he is a very good, AAAA, pitcher - which is probably what the Japanese leagues translate to.

(his numbers in Japan were very close to SWB numbers)

Everyone ready to get Iggy with it tonight?

So Neil Best is not the first but he is the latest to whine about the way Joe Girardi handles the media. Could it be that the press was a little spoiled by the grandfatherly way that Joe Torre would talk to them.

Girardi isn't going to be the soft touch Torre was, doesn't mean he can't handle the press.

Mike and Mad Dog, Mike and Mike this morning, Warner Wolfe, Bob Raismman on Daily News Live everyone is talking about Joba fist pumping. This tells me two things - 1. There is really nothing going on in sports. 2. I watch/listen to far too much sports.

Joba's being treated like he does this everyday - he has done it exactly twice this season, opening day and his first appearance after everyone had asked with baited breath "oh my god, Joba gave up runs, how will he recover."

Torre honed his skills with the press over a long career as a manager. Girardi is still a newbie. He'll develop. Give him time. He can't learn everything at once. I already see signs of improvement as far as his press dealings.

Diane, I think the difference is that where Torre would endulge the dumber questions that he gets asked Girardi just wants the press to actually think before they speak - and they're resentful of that.

Chip, I didn't see that -- the sharper the question the sourer the response in his first month, as far as I could tell -- but I do think he's beginning to realize that just like they can't dictate how he manages, he can't dictate how they report on how he manages. That's a welcome step in the direction of reality.

Frankly I'm not a big fan of the fist pump as I think you just set people up to make you want to fail, probably some of your teammates may wish for it secretly. Everyone likes to see a big mouth get his comeuppance once in a while. This might be a generational thing though and it doesn't offend me too much, it just makes me appreciate the guys who did their job and walked off the field.
Last night my 7 year old son came in to pitch for his team after two pitchers had walked in 6 runs to make a 8-0 lead disappear and he promptly struck out the side on 9 pitches (all swing and misses right over the plate). What did he do after the game ending strike? He walked off the field and got in line to shake hands with the other team. That's the way I like it.

Someone on the last thread was challenging Joba to come up to Boston and try that fist pumping stuff. I find that really funny because the person is either blind or has never actually watched a Red Sox game that Papelbon pitched in.

Jim,

My thing is if it takes the opposing pitcher pumping his fist to make you want to get a hit off him then you need your head examined. It's like people making a big deal out of "bulletin board material." I mean do you think that players really need stuff like that to get motivated? I certainly hope not.

Bottom line is I tend to agree with Gammons on it. Gammons this morning said that if he thought it was contrived he would have a problem with it - something like pulling out a sharpie like TO for example - but this is just a show of emotion. Different players are going to express their emotions differently. Melky and Cano do their dance in the clubhouse, Joba pumps his fist...so be it. He isn't the first player, won't be the last.

And I don't want to hear anything about it not being "the Yankee way" Babe Ruth ran around the bases tipping his cap to the fans, Rickey Henderson was one of the biggest hot dogs around with his homerun trots, we've had numerous guys who have stared at home runs or showed emotion on the mound....

Chip,

Did you check your email?

Youngsters (unless they have a Dad like Jim A.) often think it's cool to boast and gloat, grownups usually don't. Joba is still a youngster. The day will come when he will not feel that getting out the likes of David Delucci calls for a full 360, two fist pumps and a scream. He'll act like he's been there before, because he will have been there before. And we'll have fun remembering when he was a rookie.

Chip,
Flipping what you said a bit here: Does Joba need to do a jumping 360 with two fist pumps to fire him up enough to get David Delucci out? We'd all like to think that at the MLB level, guys would be self motivated enough to just do the job.
I want people to have fun and it looks like Joba is having fun so I'm actually okay with it if he does things in the right context. I just don't think striking out David Delucci in a game to avoid a sweep was "pump worthy". The Yankees have always been accused of being too "corporate" and they don't look like they are having fun but to me their is a limit. Would we want the Yanks all shaving their heads or not bathing or shaving for half the season like some teams have done? Nope, not me.

I think every player needs to "earn" the right to style. This kid hasn't proven a thing yet and he already wants to make the game about him instead of the team. Be successful for 6-8 years....then you can have your own style. Till then show respect to your seniors and keep you childish attitude to yourself.

Nudge,
Well said!

Funny...just like in any walk of life...think at work of the young up and coming employee....all talk and emotional...wants to save the company....he just wants to do right...but obviously needs ome polish...
Let the kid learn on his own....obviously we have many opinions from so called experts who know nothing of this boy's life....just your normal rumor starting gossipers....just like at work....these are the true trouble makers....

so again it's ok for PAPs or three quarters of Hispanic players jumping around after a K ? come on man this is Bull sh*t and I will call you out Nudge I gurantee you there is someone jumping around on your squad. Like Chip said there was many complaints about yankee being stiff and being push overs etc. You know what was exciting ? yesturday I watched a replay of the 77 WS clincher and hearing Bill White walk around asking key questions to the team. the energy the vibe EXCELLENT