Pineda was dominant today and is probably done after 5IP. I hope he finishes the yr off right and enters 2015 healthy. He's a beast
Pineda was dominant today and is probably done after 5IP. I hope he finishes the yr off right and enters 2015 healthy. He's a beast
Hal sucks
Shawn Kelley blows goats
Hal sucks
Chris Capuano has been solid for us. Ellsbury has been on fire. 14HR, 37 SB. Not bad
Montero is done with Seattle for the season, possibly tenure. Yankees former top hitting prospect has been a colossal bust. He has done absolutely nothing to get himself in position to help the Mariners this season for their playoff quest. The guy is an ass from the reports I'm reading.
I remember Jacko talking about him a couple of years ago. Now the guy may be on his way out of baseball.Originally Posted by Station 13
It just goes to show you that there are no sure bets when it comes to highly rated prospects. Anything can happen. Trout is a rare exception.
Montero's raw hitting skill is still impressive. You just can't predict how a kids mental makeup will change as they age . He was considered lazy but direct able in NY. Since going to Seattle, he's become an egomaniac who has gained 50-70 pounds based on reports. Raw skills don't make you a big leaguer anymore. Hard work, study, and maturity take that raw skill and turn you into a player. We definitely won that trade
Good post.
The guy is a major dope to squander such God given ability.
The Yankees have a good young pitcher. Seattle has a likely bust.
This is one of the issues with throwing millions at 16 yr olds. The drive in some is destroyed.
We are seeing more and more of these articles recently. The end is rarely pretty
Girardi must reduce Jeter’s role to give Yankees best chance
By Joel Sherman
You feel compelled to begin with the proviso because there are a sect of fans who treat a criticism of Derek Jeter’s 2014 results as an attack on the man or his career.
So, let’s get it out of the way: Jeter is among the greatest players ever, on the short list of best shortstops in history, a special ambassador for the sport, a shining light in Yankees history.
But if you don’t think he is hurting the Yankees on both sides of the ball in 2014, then you are participating in the baseball version of the emperor wearing no clothes.
He should have stopped batting second in the Yankees order months ago. He should be replaced defensively late in close games because the Yankees have not one, but two far superior fielding options. He should DH rarely, if ever. Quite frankly, there should be many days he does not play at all.
This is no joy to write. The better story had Jeter – like Mariano Rivera – going out near top form, lashing singles to right, same as ever. But after being central to so much success for so long, Jeter is not helping this playoff run.
Actually, let’s put the blame where it belongs. The person who could have done something to minimize the impact of Jeter’s subpar results is Joe Girardi.
In mid-April, the Yankees manager played the tough guy by saying he was not putting on a farewell tour with Jeter in explaining why Jeter was not playing one day. But, as it turns out, of course, this is exactly what Girardi is doing.
The guy who managed Jeter’s pal, Jorge Posada, out from behind the plate and to the bottom of the lineup and, ultimately, to irregular play has not had the stomach to do the same with Jeter. As you see with how I led this piece – with the proviso – it is certainly tough to take on the Jeter cult, those who feel that historic greatness means Jeter has emeritus status, never to be dropped in the order or removed for better options.
This is his last year – don’t embarrass him.
But this is not a punishment, an attempt at humiliation. Jeter has defined himself by winning, and he just hasn’t helped the Yankees win in 2014. If the worry was that dropping Jeter in the lineup or not playing him would undermine the clubhouse, then Jeter’s bona fides as a captain should be questioned – he, after all, should not be the captain in good times for him, but in all times, which means backing the manager if the manager plays him in a different fashion.
Consider that the combination of tepid offense and troubling defense got Brian Roberts released. Jeter, though, keeps getting penciled in as the regular No. 2 hitter and shortstop. If his last name were not Jeter, he would not have those distinctions and – with the Yankees’ otherwise demanding standards – he might even have been released.
Instead, Girardi has played along by saying, for example, that no one in the Yankees order has hit much this year. But even among jockeys there are the tallest and shortest, and Jeter has been arguably the smallest Yankees hitter in a year in which they have collectively come up tiny.
His .261 average is devoid of much impact. He has 18 extra-base hits. That is tied with Stephen Drew, among others, for 253rd in the majors. But Jeter has come to the plate 539 times and Drew 225. So while Drew is hitting just .167, I am not sure he is a worse option that Jeter – at least the potential to hit for impact is greater.
And the fact Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner, the two Yankees who have risen above the muck and produced at a high level this year, are not hitting 1-2 is a blight on the concept of the sport as a meritocracy. Again, are the Yankees trying to win or put on a farewell tour?
Ellsbury has performed better recently hitting leadoff than third, but even if you wanted to keep him third (assuming he is healthy enough to play), what would be the case for batting Jeter behind Gardner and in front of Ellsbury rather than batting Martin Prado second?
Girardi’s lone concession has been to use Jeter as the DH more regularly. But with rosters expanding so the Yankees can bring up a third catcher as late-inning protection, wouldn’t they be better off with Francisco Cervelli and Brian McCann flip-flopping between catching and DHing? Instead, the Yankees continue to DH the player who had, by far, the AL’s worst OPS in August at .487 (minimum 100 plate appearances).
And when Jeter does play, he should not be spared when better options arise during the game.
For example, even when he was a great hitter, Jeter could not produce against Casey Janssen. Yet, with the tying run on third and two outs Sunday, Girardi let Jeter (1-for-17 at that point against Janssen) bat against the Toronto closer. Yes, McCann was hitless in five at-bats against Janssen, but he had a far better chance in that situation to drive in the run. Girardi stuck with Jeter, who lined softly to second.
Also, why have a state-of-the-art defender such as Brendan Ryan on the roster if you are not going to use him to his strength, especially when it lines up with a Jeter weakness? No doubt Ryan and Drew are far better defensive options to protect a close lead late in games.
Once more, if the last name were not Jeter, then Ryan would defend late in game at short.
But the last name is Jeter and for five months – despite his strong words to the contrary – Girardi has favored a farewell tour to giving his team the best chance to win. Will this continue in September as well?
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
Let them come. This Yankee team has ZERO chance of winning a title. I don't want them to shoot the sherbet and get spanked in a wild card game. This is Jeter's swan song, there is NO chance he is sitting.
Hal sucks
Looks like I have company in writing off the season even though I wrote it off a helluva lot sooner than you did and with my team which happens not to be yours. I just wonder what kind of new spending spree your club is going to undertake this off season. Since it won't end with a Red Sox title maybe they will be a little more circumspect but there will still be a lot of spending. I only pray that Henry decides to open his wallet smartly this fall and winter instead of paying through the nose for player who hasn't played in almost two seasons.
Well, I am unsure of our direction. I think it hinges on proven players performing up to career norms. I wonder if Prado moves to 3B, Arod to DH, Beltran to RF, and if Refsnyder can win the job in ST, take over 2B long term. I honestly don't think we're doing a whole lot of offensive upgrading without a major trade occurring, aside from SS. And I am not sure of which overpaid guy would be dealt away.
I think one area we will spend is in the rotation. The current guys under contract for next yr are Tanaka, Pineda, Phelps, Greene, Sabathia, and Nova. We know Nova will likely miss the first half of the season. We don't know if Tanaka will pitch at all next yr, based on if he gets TJS. Phelps is also coming back from a recurring elbow injury, and if his rehab stalls, he might end up with surgery too. Of the 6 guys under contract, 4 are currently injured without guarantee they will suit up at all in 2015. Pineda is an injury risk as well, although he is currently healthy. The only guy on the list above who isn't an injury risk is in the midst of his rookie season in Greene. I don't feel very comfortable with him leading the rotation, although I am perfectly fine with him being in it for 2015 as I think he is pretty good (aside from last night that is). There is a good chance we see at least 2 rotational acquisitions, with one being big ticket (Lester, Scherzer, etc).
Hal sucks
Now we can focus on 2014 being the end of the era. The end of the core four. The end of Derek Jeter and his incredible run of success as the leader of the Yankees. I have said it many times this year, but we're cooked, done, finished. No matter how hard Detroit or Seattle try to give it back to us, we don't deserve it. It's over. 99% of the way, I am upset at how it's gone. In a small way, I am a little glad it came to this. Here's why. Jeter is the last remnant of the reason as to why we won it all 5 times since 96. We augmented brilliant development and drafting with solid trades and free agent acquisitions. We have had one championship yr pioneered by FA acquisitions (09). The rest were filled with home grown players and dotted with veterans who we either got the last bit of performance we could get out of them (Brosius comes to mind) or whom we got on the cheap. Once we started chasing the Giambi's and the ARod's and the Teixeira's, it was the beginning of the end. It is time to re-focus and draft wisely, scout the shit out of the third world islands and make smart signings rather than just using the wallet to club the competition.
Instead of signing the next hot ticket, we should focus on keeping players who have proven worthy in the uniform. Letting a home grown future HOFer in Robby go was a mistake. For all the nostalgia, we let Robby go and replaced him with duds. The entire premise was we'd replace his production by spreading the wealth on offense. Well, we spread the shit instead. Robby got an insane contract, no doubt. $240 mil is far more than what he is worth. But if we saved the money or spent it wisely, I'd understand. Instead, we spent $85 mil on McCann, $155 mil on Ellsbury and $45 mil on Beltran. Right now, $140 mil of that looks wasted. If you consider that money sunk cost, Robby seems like a bargain at $100 mil. I know he didn't hustle or didn't listen all the time, but fuck it, the guy is amazing and will be in the HOF, probably wearing a Mariners hat. Sad.
Hal sucks
Well said Jacko by a fan who is totally devoted to his beloved Yankees. Well, let me put some new colors in your paint box. Do you feel like hitting something? Do you feel like smashing some furniture, curse until your lungs explode, want to take a bat to the skull of that fucking owner of my team and send a boot up the rectum of that shithead manager of ours and his equally incompetent partner who passes for our GM? Do you? If not then you have no idea how angry and disappointing a fan can really be because I'm describing me right now.
That's the funny thing. I'm not angry. I'm a little sad but otherwise apathetic. This team almost has no soul. They've been boring to watch all yr, aside from when Pineda and Tanaka pitched
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