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There is strong indication that Terry Francona is no longer the Red Sox manager. Based on what I've been reading, the Red Sox will announce later today that the decision to part ways was mutual. But the fact is, the Red Sox had a 2-year option on his contract and it was really up to them whether he stayed or not.

It is a sad day because of all Francona did in his 8 years in Boston. First and foremost is to bring 2 World Series Championships to the city, something a long time in the making in case you hadn't heard. Additionally, Francona seemed skilled at both running a baseball team both from a tactical standpoint and a babysitting standpiont. Boston ain't an easy place to coach, much like New York, Chicago and Philly, and not any person can take the reigns of a Red Sox team and be successful. The pressure, the omnipresence of the media (TMZ included) makes coaching here difficult and at times probably miserable.

Yet Francona pulled it off. Yes we can all argue with his decision making (like starting Ryan Lavarnway at catcher and batting him 5th on Wednesday), but all in all, he did a very good job and really was quite savvy with the media and insulating his players. He won 744 games in 8 season, posted a .574 winning % and took the Red Sox to the playoffs 5 times.

So off he rides into the arms of the Chicago White Sox and the Red Sox are left looking for a manager.

What is disappointing about Francona's leaving is what is being said about the 2011 Red Sox. Reports that Francona had "lost" the team and that the players behavior lacked professionalism and was petty.

From John Tomase in today's Boston Herald: "From pitchers drinking beer during games on their day off (in the clubhouse) to Francona calling a team meeting after a 14-0 victory to address negativity and a lack of cohesion..."

Tomase quoting Francona: "This team I think became challenging at the end. There were some things I was worried about. We were spending too much energy on things that weren't putting our best foot forward toward winning."

Wow, Francona nevers calls out a player, let alone the whole team. He must really have been at wits end with this group.

Also from Tomase: "According to multiple sources with knowledge of the meeting, Francona was in part annoyed over complaints about the buses to the ballpark and wanted players to focus their energy more positively."

This really makes be dislike the current roster, if these things are true.

The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham outlined some more damning comments from Francona in yesterday's press conference: "There were some things that did concern me. Teams normally, as the season progresses, there's events that make you care about each other and with this club, it didn't always happen as much as I wanted it to. And I was frustrated by that."

Write's Abraham, "An observer of the team from Feb to Sept, the Red Sox were a collection of talented individuals who didn't necessarily seem all that concerned with the guy next to them." Francona detailed that a bit: “Ultimately you don’t need a team that wants to go out to dinner together. But you need a team that wants to protect each other on the field and be fiercely loyal to each other on the field. That‘s what ultimately is really important. I wanted us to handle things on the field a little bit better than we did. At times, we just didn’t get there and it was very difficult.”

Again, from a manager who never called out a player, these words are telling.

It makes me think back to the days of 25 players, 25 cabs back in the 80s. It goes to show how much time is spent on talent evaluation and so little time spent on personalities and leadership, or perhaps gauging just who is a leader. Even the strongest of leaders needs help and if you don't have enough players drinking the coolaid, things run amock. All of this makes me really upset at the Red Sox players as a whole, or at least those who were self-centered and so childish as to criticize their bus arrangements.

This is the first shoe to drop and if/when those who couldn't behave professionally are identified, they will be shipped out. Time for a culture change in the Red Sox clubhouse.

Too bad it means the departure of arguably the most successful Red Sox manager ever.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 01:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

On March 31st, the Yankees took on the Tigers at the Stadium on a cold and wet Opening Day. It was Verlander vs. Sabathia and the Yankees prevailed 6-3.

The Yankees used patience that day against Verlander. He stuck out eight over his six innings of work, but it took him 114 pitches to do it. His only mistake was a pitch that Mark Teixiera deposited into right and he left with the game tied at 3. The Yankees then scored three runs off the Tigers' bullpen, highlighted by Curtis Granderson hitting a homer off of lefty Phil Coke, a sign of things to come.

Detroit is probably the worst first round opponent the Yankees could face. They have Verlander and he is going to pitch Games 1+5 now, but I am sure that would change if Detroit faced elimination in Game 4. Doug Fister, who has a 1.79 ERA since coming to Detroit, gets the ball in Game 2. Max Scherzer 4.43 ERA overall but 3.80 at home goes in Game 3. And for now, Rick Porcello is listed as the Game 4 starter.

Their bullpen will be the key to the series. They have impressive ERA's, but they walk way too many hitters. Al Alburqueque has blown away hitters (13.9 K's per 9) but also walked the ballpark (6 BB's per 9). Their closer, Jose Valverde has been good, but he walks 4.2. Walks are going to kill Detroit because the Yankees will be happy to take them, they led the AL this year in that category.

And I think that is what proves to be Detroit's undoing. I could see them wining tonight (bold prediction I know) but that bullpen is going to hurt them. I'm taking the Yankees in 4.

I'll be up at the Stadium for tonight's affair and will try and will post about it tomorrow.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:27 AM | Permalink

2 years in a row.

The Red Sox, despite pockets as deep as Wilt Chamberlain (he wore pants with massive pockets, trust me), are again also-rans.

It looked so good, the Red Sox up 3-2, the Rays down 7-0. Well, the Red Sox closer gave up 2 in the 9th and the Rays somehow, stunningly, stormed back to win 8-7. No doubt about it, the better team won. The Red Sox are good, but have turned into a sloppy, overpriced, hack of a team.

There will be significant fallout as a result of this collapse. Job security for Theo Epstein and Terry Francona is an issue. I think Papelbon wrote his ticket out of town (and perhaps his mega payday he has always wanted). Wow, so many issues up in the air. Let's take some time to watch other teams compete in the postseason while we digest this flop.

As a fan, it is so very disappointing to see the team you route for essentially piss away what could have been a rewarding season. I hope ownership takes a good long look and employs their various tools to figure out what went wrong and to never let it happen again.

My quick take is that Theo Epstein hasn't learned the Dan Duquette lesson that "not all baseball players can play in Boston." Evidence of this can be seen with Carl Crawford, John Lackey, JD Drew, Edgar Renteria, Bobby Jenks, Daisuke Mastuzaka. Perhaps not all GM's can play in this town.

More later.

Congratulations to the Rays, they deserved this playoff spot.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I think I just watched about the greatest span of baseball I have ever seen and I am a little bit disappointed that I won't see more tomorrow. From Tampa to Baltimore to Atlanta to Houston, we had an amazing night. I'm not sure you could have scripted it better as a baseball fan.

Now we have the playoffs ahead of us. The Yankees are going to play the Tigers which means Justin Verlander and his incredible stuff in two games of the ALDS. And, Doug Fister has made 10 starts since being traded to Detroit and has a 1.79 ERA in them. Detroit will be a very tough opponent, perhaps a tougher one than what the Yankees may face in the ALCS.

After the game, Joe Girardi announced that Freddy Garcia is going to start Game 3 and AJ Burnett is headed to the bullpen. We know Hughes is already in the pen, so this must mean Bartolo Colon's season is done barring injury. I say that because the only reason to put AJ in the bullpen for the ALDS is if you are considering him for an ALCS start. Otherwise, why waste the roster spot?

Think about it, with Hughes on the roster, you have long relief locked up. Add in guys like Wade and Ayala, who I assume make it, and you should be able to handle almost anything. What situation arises that you need AJ for? (I shudder to think)

I don't get it, but we will delve into all of it later today.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

10:55pm- Here's what we know.

The Rays are gritty, gutty and whatever other overused adjective you want to apply. From 7-0 to 7-6 to the final strike and now a tie game. I imagine Scott Proctor, the Yankees ELEVENTH pitcher of the night will finish things up. Sorry about that Boston.

Red Sox game is scheduled to resume at 11pm with Boston ahead 3-2 in the 7th.

Texas won, so Detroit is coming to New York Friday (gulp) with the Tampa/Boston winner playing Texas.

The Cardinals won so the Braves must win. They are tied in the 12th inning right now.

Looks like Milwaukee will earn the #2 seed in the NL.

If you like baseball, get to a TV or computer, this is amazing!

And BL and I are chatting away in the comments, feel free to join.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)

I am curious to see exactly "What Will Joe Do" tonight. Barring the return of Brian Gordon from Japan, we know that none of the eight pitchers who made a start for the Yankees this year will make one tonight. We also know that apart from Logan, Ayala and Hughes, the regular bullpen guys are not going to pitch. My guess is we see Betances make his first big league start. He would be on a strict pitch count, but he is probably the only guy down in the bullpen who you could expect to get you to the 4th or 5th inning right now.

I also want to see what Girardi does with the lineup. I imagine we will see the regular lineup tonight, but at some point those guys are going to be sent to the bench. When that happens probably has something to do with the score of the game, but I wouldn't expect to see any of the regulars in the later innings. So, we may start out with a lineup that looks like this:

Jeter
Granderson
Teixeira
A-Rod
Cano
Swisher
Montero
Jones
Martin

And end with one that looks like this

Nunez
Golson
Posada
Chavez
Pena
Dickerson
Montero
Jones
Romine

So, if you are a Red Sox fan, you better hope the Yankees score early and often because the Yankee closer tonight is probably Luis Ayala and the lineup isn't going to look very good in the late innings.

It's going to make for a weird night of baseball, here are a few things I will be watching for league-wide in no particular order.

Will the Cardinals have to make another huge comeback against Houston? Lost in the stories of the Braves collapse is how bad the lowly Astros have made St. Louis look this week. Houston may have lost 105 games this year, but they are making the Cardinals work. Monday they jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then won in extras. Last night they had a 5-0 lead and lost it. Either way, kudos to the Astros.

On the flip side, do the Braves have anything left? They are at home, playing a Phillies team that has nothing on the line and not getting the job done. Last night they got demolished. If they fall behind again tonight, it could get ugly.

Will the Red Sox really trade for Bruce Chen? I don't ever recall a trade made for a player who could only start one game and that game isn't even a certainty.
Can the Tigers win and the Rangers lose? That's what the Yankees need to have happen tonight to avoid Detroit in the first round. But, it is probably worth noting that the two best teams in the AL since September 1st are Detroit and Texas. Pick your poison.

The MLB.TV app let's you watch four games at once. I will be taking full advantage of that tonight.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

There seems to be some hand-wringing over the way Joe Girardi managed last night's game. The thinking is that the Yankees could have knocked the Red Sox out of the playoffs with a win last night and therefore, Girardi should have gone to some of his better players in key spots. For example, pinch hitting for Romine or not using Scott Proctor. My question is, what happens if Girardi uses A-Rod as a pinch hitter last night and he hurts himself? The answer is that everyone would be killing him.

The fact is, the Yankees have only one thing to play for right now and that is having a healthy roster when the playoffs start Friday. Barring a miracle, the AL Wild Card is going to come out of the AL East which means the Yankees won't even face the winner unless they advance to the second round of the playoffs. That means it is simply not worth worrying about at this point. They have wrapped up the AL East and homefield in the ALCS (if they make it) now it is time to focus on health.

So, I would fully expect Girardi to dial it way back for the regular lineup. Tonight's lineup is a combo of regulars and bench players and I would expect Girardi to make it all bench players by the end of the game. I would expect someone like Brackman to start the game Wednesday and I wouldn't expect to see any of the key bullpen guys more than once this series.

Some will argue that it is unfair to the game for Girardi to play less than his best at this point. I would argue the opposite. The Yankees have earned the chance to throttle back before the playoffs. They earned it by being the best team in the AL over 159 games. What happens in the wild card is up to Tampa and Boston, it's time for the Yankees to focus on Friday.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

The Red Sox terrible play in September reminds many, me included, of the 2000 Yankees. The Yanks went 13-18 in Sept/Oct and actually went 3-15 in their last 18 games. Their lead shrunk to 2.5 games, but they got into the playoffs. Oh yeah, they went on to win the World Series. This fact has been a hot topic around here the past few days.

I'm not suggesting the Red Sox will follow that blueprint, but for Red Sox fans, it's all we have left as we witness one of the worst stretch runs in history.

The Red Sox are 5-16 in September and are losing to good teams and bad teams, they are equal opportunity losers in September. The pitching staff has posted a 5.98 ERA with enough blame for both starters and relievers.

The wheels aren't coming off, they came off a while ago.

Fortunately, the Yankees just swept the Tampa Rays allowing the Red Sox to continue to play poorly, but the Red Sox need to now focus on playing badly so the Anaheim Angels can take the Wild Card spot. Come on Red Sox, an epic collapse like this requires that not only your opponents win, but that you lose! It's a tango baby.

Every member of the baseball side of things in the Red Sox organization can shoulder some responsibility, I cannot put a finger on just why this is happening or how to stop it. Injuries are an easy scapegoat, but no team is healthy this time of year and blowing leads and pitching poorly for such an extended period of time isn't just a function of injuries.

The greatest worry I have is that this team hasn't a pulse. I'm not sure of the exact stat, but the Red Sox are 2-58 (ballpark estimate based on what I've heard of late) when bdhind from the 7th inning on. Granted most teams are going to lose when behind from the 7th on, but only 2 come from behind wins? Wow.

I can only hope the Red Sox get into the playoffs ass-backward. And once there, start playing baseball again. Things that go down, must go back up, right?

Off to NYC with my family on Saturday to spend time with Peter and his family.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

That was a Hollywood ending the Yankees gave us tonight. First, Robertson comes in and escapes another huge jam. Then, Posada comes off the bench and gets the clinching hit. That was awesome.

The Yankees need three more wins or losses by Texas and Detroit to clinch the best record in the AL. I don't think we will see a regular lineup for a few days and Boston can probably look forward to a chance against some of the "B team" this weekend. The pressure is off and now it is time to get ready for September 30th.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:15 PM | Permalink

That quote came from Derek Jeter when he was interviewed after the game this afternoon. The win assures the Yankees of a playoff spot, but not the division crown. Gotta say, I loved hearing that.

The Yankees really have two magic numbers now. They have a magic number of 2 to clinch the division and a magic number of 4 to clinch the best record in the AL. If they win tonight and Boston loses, they wrap up the AL East. In fact, they are now in a position where Boston will have to sweep them this weekend to keep them from winning the AL East.

We probably won't know who the Yankees play in the first round until the season is almost over. Texas and Detroit are tied and the Yankees will play the one with the worse record, unless Anaheim sneaks into the wild card ahead of Boston and Tampa. The conventional thinking is to avoid Detroit and Verlander who would be very tough in the five game series, but Texas presents plenty of problems as well. The Yankees can't worry about that, they should just go out and clinch the division and best record in the AL.

They will need to do some pitcher shuffling. CC starts tonight, which means he would take the ball again on Monday. But, the ALDS starts next Friday and he obviously is not going to make the Game 1 start on short rest. So, I imagine the Yankees will have him make and abbreviated start Sunday against Boston. Nova would be scheduled to go Sunday and could be moved to Monday, either way he is in line to start Game 2. Colon starts tomorrow and would be in line for Game 3. The big question is Hughes. He was sent to the doctor today, that may make Freddy Garcia the Game 4 starter by default. (Yup, not including a certain other pitcher in this discussion.)

The other questions that will be answered over the next week are the health of Cervelli and the back of the playoff bullpen. If Cervelli can't go, it seems like the Yankees will carry Romine as the backup catcher. I think that is a dumb decision. You don't use a backup catcher in the playoffs unless there is an emergency and Posada or Montero could step in if that were the case. As for the bullpen, we know Rivera, Robertson, Soriano, Logan, Ayala and Wade are probably in. I would assume the Yankees will cut down to 11 pitchers which means the last spot is probably a long guy or another lefty. Valdes looked good today Noesi didn't. Advantage additional lefty.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 06:45 PM | Permalink

As we all expected, AJ Burnett blew up on the mound yesterday. Staked to a 5-0 lead, he gave up a run in the 4th and then escaped a bases loaded jam. In the 5th he gave up a single, home run and a double before being lifted from the game. He pitched four-plus innings allowing nine hits, 1 walk and striking out 8. You can't fault Girardi for lifting him, but here are two AJ quotes from after the game.

“Joe does what he can to get this team a win, and we won. Heaven forbid I give up a couple hits. But you do whatever you can to get your team a ‘W,’ I guess.”

"I didn’t get through the fifth because I wasn’t allowed to get through the fifth. So it wasn’t that I couldn’t get through the fifth.”

If CC Sabathia made these quotes, it would be a minor problem (and completely out of character I should add) the fact that a pitcher with a 5.28 ERA made them should show the Yankees everything they need to know about AJ. Jon Heyman tweeted yesterday "If the yankees don't know by now that burnett should NOT get a postseason start, I can't help them" and he is absolutely right. This guy can't be trusted with the ball in a big spot. His quotes show that he is beyond salvation. Assuming the Yankees have clinched a playoff spot by this weekend, give him the ball against the Red Sox and make that his final Yankee start. If not, give the ball to Betances or someone else. This offseason, send AJ away to the NL by paying most of his contract. As AJ said, "you do whatever you can to get your team a 'W'" and that means getting rid of AJ.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Mariano Rivera can now lay claim statistically to a title he earned many years ago, the greatest closer of all time. He has saved games for sixteen seasons, fifteen as the officially closer and he has appeared in 31 playoff series. His plaque in Cooperstown is just a formality at this point.

Two things struck me as he set the record today. The first was when his teammates forced him to go back to the mound to receive the applause of the crowd. You could tell that Rivera just wanted to get inside and out of the spotlight. For a guy who is so comfortable when the pressure is on, it was a remarkable display of discomfort and a reminder of what a humble guy Rivera truly is.

The second thing was his interview with Kim Jones. Despite her best efforts, he wouldn't say that he thinks he is the greatest closer and he even said he doesn't consider himself to be. Well Mariano, you are, even if you won't say it.

Congrats Mariano, here's to many, many more saves.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 04:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

MLB announced a preliminary schedule for the 2012 season today. The thing that caught my eye for the Yankees is the fact that they will play the Red Sox 15 times over the final three months of the season.

They travel to Boston on April 20th for three games, but do not see them again until July 6th when they return to Boston. Boston comes to New York July 27th and August 17th for three games each. The Yankees then make their final trip to Boston September 11th-13th and close out the season at home against the Red Sox October 1st-3rd. This could be really fun.

Back to our scheduled programming, the 2011 season and it is amazing to think that two weeks from tonight the regular season ends. The Yankees still have some pretty big questions to decide.

Let's start with the biggest one, the rotation in the playoffs after Sabathia. Much is being made of AJ Burnett's adjustment with his hands last night. I suppose we should start by complimenting him on actually making an adjustment during the game, but I can't get too excited, even though the numbers and results looked great. For one, Seattle is a horrible offensive club. Second, this is AJ we are talking about. I need to see this repeated about 10 more times before I even begin to believe it.

At this point, I think you have to believe that starters 2-4 are Colon, Garcia and Nova in some order. Unless AJ miraculously keeps up his performance from the later innings last night and Garcia continues to falter, that's it. We have 15 games left for these plans to solidify.

The next question is the makeup of the playoff bullpen. We can assume Mo, Robertson, Soriano, Wade, Ayala and Logan are in. I would also assume that the Yankees won't take more than 11 guys in the pen so the last spot comes down to one of the two starters left out of the rotation and a wild card like Laffey. I would bet on AJ or Hughes being the final piece, but nothing is set in stone.

Finally, what will the bench look like? This is a real wild card because we don't know the status of Francisco Cervelli. We can assume that Chavez, Jones and Nunez will be on the bench. Assuming all the regular position players are healthy and the Yankees take 14 hitters, that leaves three spots on the bench. One has to go to the backup catcher and that is where it gets messy. If Cervelli isn't able to play, I doubt the Yankees feel comfortable with Posada or Montero backing up Martin. So, that means Austin Romine makes the team. The Yankees could still take Posada and Montero of course, but would they really do that when someone like Golson or Dickerson makes more sense? Plenty of things will be decided in the next two weeks.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It took forever, but Tim Wakefield finally got his 200th career win.

While it was a tough balancing act the past few weeks as Wake wasn't pitching well and the Red Sox really needed wins, Tuesday night proved the perfect elixir as Wakefield won (as did the Red Sox of course) and the Rays lost giving Red Sox fans a double reason to cheer.

Wakefield's arrival in Boston was an after thought. He'd excelled with Pittsburh in 1992, but couldn't find the same magic a year later. Pittsburgh shelved him in AAA in 1994 where he was, well, not good. Given his release, Boston signed him and he went 16-8 in 1995 with the big league club.

I remember his first 3 months with the club were otherworldly, how did he do it? He dominated and basically put the Red Sox on his back, he pitched so well and so deep into games. He scuffled a bit in his last 2 months, but still posted a 2.95 ERA on the season.

The Red Sox made the playoffs for the first time in 5 years and to me, it was a new era in Red Sox baseball. For all the crap Dan Duquette gets around here, and some of it deservedly so (he isn't Mr. Personality after all), he brought a "process" to the baseball side of things. No more dart throwing. He introduced, heaven forbid, some study and reason behind his decisions.

While tonight is a great night, I'm not going to get carried away. Wakefield is no HOF player, but he has been both a dependable, durable pitcher and great for the Red Sox community having been nominated 8 times for MLB's Roberto Clemente Award, winning it in 2010.

Here's to you Timmy.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:42 PM | Permalink

It's really hard in the 21st Century to find anything else that baseball can screw up. The Bud Selig era has been mess that included a strike, massive steroid use and most importantly, fan interests being sacrificed for TV dollars.

So, I wasn't surprised when MLB decided to move the Mets Cubs game scheduled for 1pm on September 11th to 8pm. ESPN and MLB could wrap themselves in the flag and claim they were honoring the victims of 9/11 by showing the pregame ceremonies, etc.. The only problem is, they screwed it up by preventing the Mets from wearing the first responder caps of the FDNY, NYPD and PAPD like they had in 2001. (And I can't believe it was Joe Torre that made this decision.)

Now keep in mind, the NFL, let players and coaches wear the cap. I saw Tom Coughlin seething on the sidelines in one many a time during the Giants game Sunday. Novak Djokovic, a tennis player from Serbia, wore a FDNY cap before and after his US Open match last night. But baseball, the sport that forces teams to wear awful looking hats on Memorial Day and the 4th of July, wouldn't let the Mets wear them.

Bud Selig is reportedly angry that the Mets made this public. What about the fans who bought tickets to a 1pm game to see it rescheduled to 8pm shouldn't they be angry? What a joke.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 01:35 PM | Permalink

It's not often that I go out of my way to console Red Sox fans. (Ok, this may be the first time) But, I think everyone jumping off the bandwagon should take a look at the schedule. First off, Boston plays a lot of games against Baltimore. Baltimore is really bad, chances are they should win a few of those.

More importantly, Red Sox fans might notice that the Yankees and Rays play each other seven times over the remaining 2-1/2 weeks. Since this isn't hockey, only one of those teams can improve their playoff chances in each of those games. Boston will have seven chances over those games to either gain ground on the Yankees or widen their lead over Tampa. Since they only need to finish ahead of one of those two teams, the schedule is Boston's friend. (I could also point out that the Rays' odds of making the playoffs stand at 2.7%, but I am growing ill from writing about Boston and will turn my attention back to a more pleasant topic)

I think Yankees' fans exhaled a bit when Mariano locked that game down last night. The timing of their four-game losing streak was good since Boston matched it, but it was a losing streak nonetheless. Part of the blame for it can probably be placed on a brutal stretch of games. Since the start of the month, the Yankees have played 11 games, 9 of those have been decided by one or two runs. I suggested the other night that the Yankees "took a knee" and I really believe that. Joe Girardi doesn't want to burn out his relievers heading into the playoffs, so he let a game get out of hand in exchange for the chance to rest his bullpen. I can't argue with that.

What I found fascinating in yesterday's game was Girardi's decision to put Romine behind the plate in place of Montero. Consider that Joe Girardi had said for the past 11 days that it would be unfair to put Montero behind the plate because he didn't know the pitchers. Yet another rookie, Austin Romine, left his house at 4:30am to fly to Anaheim, arrived at the stadium in the middle of the game and was inserted into the lineup to catch those same unfamiliar pitchers. As they say, actions speak louder than words and the Yankees clearly do not think a lot of Montero's catching abilities, no matter what they say. (And guess who is starting at catcher tonight with Martin and Cervelli shelved? Hint, it's not Montero.)

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The Yankees will probably go into the offseason insisting Montero is a catcher, but I hope that is simply a stance to drive up his trade value. (I'm not suggesting they trade him either, but it never hurts to see what he might bring back) They should send him to winter ball with an outfielders glove in his bag and see what he can do there. Nick Swisher's option will almost certainly be picked up in 2012, but after that right field will be pretty empty.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I remember the night of September 10th, 2001 vividly. It was the Giants season opener and they were on Monday Night Football facing the Broncos. The Giants had been blown out of the Super Bowl seven months before and this would be a good indicator of the season ahead. I don't remember the final score, but I remember they got killed.

As I drove to work that next morning, I kept replaying that game in my mind. How could they look that bad? It was a HUGE deal to me. I got pulled into the parking lot at 8:57am. I remember the time for some reason and I remember two guards in the lobby of my building making some comments about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. I remember my blackberry buzzed with an email from CNN about the crash as I went up in the elevator.

There are some crystal clear moments from later on. A panicked phone call from a family member to locate my wife. A phone call with the guy on the other side of this blog to suggest he leave the John Hancock Tower in Boston. Lots of emails from CNN reporting crazy things, bombs exploding on the National Mall, fighter planes being scrambled. Without a TV and unable to get radio reception, my colleagues and I were at the mercy of the internet to provide us with details of what was going on and the internet in 2001 wasn't what it is today. My office was underneath one of the main flight approaches to Logan Airport and I remember looking out my window later that day and being stunned that the usual parade of planes coming in to land was missing.

My wife and I drove down to New York City that Friday. I sent an email to my friends and family detailing that experience and here is a portion of what I wrote.

The next day we went down to Union Square to see the memorial. Words cannot describe the sadness of the scene. One man was handing out flyers with a picture of his daughter asking for any information about her whereabouts. People were huddled around impromptu memorials, crying, hugging, just trying to cope with the entire scene.

As sad as the sights of the weekend were I was struck by a real change in the way people interacted. There was tremendous civility and beneath the grief, you could sense a grim resolve to make things right. I looked at the flag of New York State flying at half mast. I was struck by the symbols on it, Justice and Liberty and the motto- Excelsior, how appropriate.

The following weekend my wife and I flew to Baltimore to attend a Yankees-Orioles game. The thing that struck me was all the people standing outside Camden Yards with signs of love and support for New York. There were Baltimore firefighters collecting money and supplies to support their brothers in New York. People came up to us and asked us if we were from New York and hugged us when we told them we were both from there. I remember the Yankees lost and I remember not really caring.

And that was the mode I slipped into for a long time. The 2001 World Series would have probably destroyed me if it had happened before that awful day, but I remember standing in my kitchen in Boston as Arizona scored that final run and just not feeling a thing.

But at some point, the games started to matter a little bit again. And then, they started to matter more. I remember the joy of Aaron Boone and the absolute agony of Games 4-7 in 2004. I started yelling at the TV again and I started replaying the games in my head again. I was back.

At 3:35 today the Yankees will try and break a four-game losing streak and at 4pm the Giants open their season. I will be frantically flipping back and forth between the two events, trying to take it all in and yelling at the TV- I will be fully invested. And around 7:30, I will get up, go to my window. stare at two enormous beacons of light in the sky and remember a terrible day that I will never forget.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Just have to wonder, did the Yankees take a "strategic" loss tonight? Let's just put it this way, Hector Noesi pitching the 7th of a game that is 1-0 is an "interesting" choice. And then George Kontos when Noesi got into trouble? Hmmm, seems like a rested bullpen might have been the goal more than a win....

Beyond that, was that Jorge Posada catching tonight? I understand that Cervelli was concussed and Martin had his thumb split open, but where was this move all year? I am sure Girardi will say it was an emergency move only, but the Yankees could have chosen to move Montero to catcher and lose the DH without much pain since the rosters have expanded. Do we view this as the Yankees doing everything they can to avoid Montero catching in a game or the Yankees deciding that a guy who hasn't caught all year is preferable behind the dish over Montero? No good answers either way there.

The good news is the Yankees' four-game slide has coincided with a similar one by Boston. So, they remain 2-1/2 up with 18 to play. But, a win would certainly be welcome tomorrow (later today)!

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:57 PM | Permalink

It's a small sample size, but so far Jesus Montero has been exactly what we thought he would be offensively. Last night, he was the only guy in the lineup who did anything against a very good pitcher. Seeing Montero thrive makes me happy (obviously) but it also frustrates me because his success once again exposes the Yankees' conservative approach with their prospects.

The thing that frustrates me about their approach is that they have been greatly rewarded the majority of the time when they did turn to a prospect. Think of Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang in 2005, Joba in 2007 or Nova this year. It hasn't always worked, see Kennedy and Hughes in 2008, but more times than not, the Yankees have been rewarded when looking within the organization- like the past few years with David Robertson.

This year Montero has been the guy we have all been focusing on, but I wonder about some other names. David Phelps put up a 3.19 ERA in AAA this year and Adam Warren put up a 3.60, but neither one saw the big leagues. Kevin Whelan pitched 52 innings in AAA, striking out 54 and is on the 40-man, but he didn't even get a September promotion.

We keep hearing about the Yankees' prospects and the potential of the farm system, but none of that matters if the Yankees don't use the players in the system. Prospects have a shelf life, sort of like milk. At some point they go from being prospects to "organizational players". If the Yankees aren't going to use these players themselves they need to trade them to an organization that will.

Next year, the Yankees will probably have a number of open spots in their rotation. Before they run out and sign free agent pitchers or bring in fringe players from other organizations, the Yankees should think about the guys already in their system.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Red Sox sure know how to mess with us. Entering Friday's games, the Red Sox were 6.5 games up on the Tampa Bay Rays. That's a nice cushion to be sure, but given the way the Red Sox have been playing of late, I'm not sure it is a big enough cushion.

I really won't worry unless the Red Sox get swept by the Rays this weekend leaving them with a 3.5 game lead.

Considering the way the pitching staff has performed of late, perhaps they don't have what it takes. As I write this, John Lackey is getting his doors blown off. Again, and has a 6.30 ERA on the season. That is an F+ grade if I ever saw one. His line thus far Friday night? 3.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB. Nice John.

Andrew Miller was nice early on, but I think this experiment is over. He has been terrible and can't be counted on for any consistency (good consistency anyway).

Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz are hurt, Tim Wakefield is average at best, Eric Bedard is in Boston getting his a lat checked out by the medical staff. Only Jon Lester is holding up his end of the bargain. Really, it's Lester and then pray MLB changes all playoff series to one-game affairs with 4 days rest in between.

Add to it, the bullpen hasn't been stellar with Matt Albers a mess, Dan Wheeler coughing up a walk-off HR, Daniel Bard walking 3 and hitting 1 and giving up 5 ER in a recent loss. Any Bobby Jenks is all but shut down for the year.

6.5 games is a bunch, but the Red Sox are falling apart before our eyes and need to get healthy and play better and have very little time to do both.

Back to Bard's last game, he clearly didn't have it and I believe Jonathan Papelbon was available. Why subject Bard to that performance, one where he through well north of 30 pitches and one that basically decided the game if Papelbon was available? That doesn't make sense. Papelbon did throw 27 pitches 2 nights before, but a full day off had to have been enough.

Right now we can expect Lester, Lackey, Miller, Wakefield and Kyle Weiland to be the starters in the home stretch, not great. Entering tonight coolstandings.com had the Red Sox chances of making the playoffs at 99%. I'm sure they are right, but I can't wait until it's 100%.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 08:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Interesting article in the Daily News today about the Yankees failed trade for Cliff Lee in July of 2010. It talks about how Seattle would probably want to take that trade in hindsight because Montero, Nova and Nunez have continued to develop while Justin Smoak, the centerpiece of the deal, hasn't. My question is, would the Yankees do the trade over again?

It's a very tough argument to make either way. Put Cliff Lee on the Yankees in 2010 instead of the Rangers as they probably win the AL East and I would think they win the ALCS. But, Lee blew up in the World Series, getting shelled in Game 1 before rebounding with a better start in Game 5. Then again, Lee probably doesn't start Game 1, CC does. Over all, I still think the Yankees probably lose that World Series.

But, maybe three months in New York might convince Lee to take their money in the offseason and he is currently a Yankee right now.

But, would he be that much better than Garcia or Colon have been in 2011?

And, who fills in for Jeter and A-Rod since Nunez is in Seattle?

And, what about the loss of Ivan Nova to Seattle?

My guess is, all things considered, the Yankees are very glad Seattle passed on that trade. I didn't think so at the time, but I do now.

And hey, it's raining two hours before game time!

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)

Some may ask, why the long rain delay tonight in the Yankees-Orioles game? After all, those of us in the NYC area have been enjoying a monsoon for most of the day and the forecast is pretty lousy for the rest of the night. With the Yankees and Orioles facing off again tomorrow at 1pm (or scheduled to) a day-night doubleheader certainly seems doable.

Let's digress a moment. Count up the Yankees remaining games. 3 (including tonight) against Baltimore. 3 against Seattle, 3 against Anaheim, 3 against Toronto. 1 against Minnesota, 6 against Tampa and 3 against Boston. Add it all up and you get (3+3+3+3+1+6+3) 22. But, the Yankees have currently played 139 games (86-33) so they have 23 games to play. Where's the missing game? It's the 8/14 rainout against Tampa. I would assume it will be added to the schedule as a day-night doubleheader on September 21st, but nothing official has been announced.

That means the Yankees face three makeup games in the last three weeks of the season before you even get to tonight's game. They have the game in Baltimore Thursday. A scheduled game against Tampa 9/22 (actually a makeup of a rainout from 7/8.) And the mystery game. Tonight's game would make it four and I suspect that's the reason why we are three hours past the starting time and haven't heard about the game being called. Not exactly fan-friendly, but sadly the reality of baseball in the 21st century.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:05 PM | Permalink

I'll admit it, I thought Derek Jeter was pretty much washed up. After his dismal 2010, his numbers at the start of 2011 convinced me it was over. When he went on the DL in June hitting .260/.324/.324, I wondered if Eduardo Nunez would actually be an improvement. Well we know what has happened since. He hit .292/.347/.449 when he came off the DL in July. In August he increased that to .387/.435/.472 and in September he has hit .333/.368/.556. What's his secret? I think the answer has a lot to do with Derek Jeter the person.

We know that Jeter is an intensely private guy. He doesn't like to talk about any personal details about his life. When he is hurt, there is really no point in asking him if he is going to play because the answer will always be yes. In an era of over-sharing, Jeter is a refreshing change in some ways. But, his manner also leads to some stubborn behavior on his part. Consider his recent contract negotiations when he wanted a six-year deal coming off his worst season in the bigs. Things got a big ugly, as we all know.

And consider his response to his recent poor season. For the first time I can ever remember, Jeter went to someone, in this case Kevin Long, and tried to change his approach. Long made some suggestions and they changed his approach, but as we know, it didn't work and Jeter abandoned it after a few weeks. Now, I think Kevin Long's resume speaks for itself. Look at the numbers put up by guys like Granderson and Swisher since Long started working for them. But, as we have seen with Derek before, his trust doesn't come easily. Long haasn't earned it (no knock on Kevin intended) and so Jeter felt ok abandoning his swing and going back to what he always did. As I noted before, this approach wasn't working.

And here is where fortune favored the Yankees and Derek in an odd way- he got hurt. Sure it was a minor injury, but the Yankees took the smart road and forced Derek to go on the DL to rest and to recover. (Remember, Derek didn't want to go on the DL.) So Derek and his bad numbers intersected with an old friend in Tampa, Gary Denbo. Denbo was Jeter's first minor league manager and a guy Jeter has worked with almost every offseason. Denbo got Jeter to stay back on the ball and the results have been impressive to say the least. (By the way, you can see some interesting snippets of their work together in the recent HBO documentary on Jeter's 3,000th hit.)

You see it wasn't the groundballs that were killing Jeter, it was the lack of line drives. In his career, Jeter has hit 20% of the balls he made contact with as line drives. Last year, that number fell to 16.1%. In 2011 He hit 9.6% as liners in April, 14.5% in May and 9.5% in June. In July that reversed to 19.7%, in August 31.6% and so far in September 38.5%. Groundballs almost always find a glove to die in, liners are far more elusive.

The league will of course adjust to this new Derek Jeter and Jeter will have to adjust back. The line drive rate is unsustainable, but here we do have a case of an old dog learning some new tricks. I just hope he keeps Gary Denbo on speed dial.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

As I watched the Yankees charge onto the field after their victory, hoisting AJ Burnett, a clear hero on their shoulders, I felt a tremendous sense of peace. The season was won and AJ had proved to be the pitcher Brian Cashman thought he was. Ok, none of that happened, but the coverage of this particular game made it seem like it had.

Hey, it was a big win, but it hardly settles much. The Yankees finally won a series against Boston, but they are still trailing them. AJ Burnett didn't implode, but I can't be that impressed with 5-1/3 innings of two-run ball.

What does make me happy is that Joe Girardi managed like he wanted this series, which makes me hopeful for the future. I don't get hung up on the potential playoff opponents, but I do think winning the AL East and having home field would be important. Girardi managed like he felt that as well last night and I hope he does so again.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

I think the best parallel to the excitement over Jesus Montero's debut tonight is 2007 when Joba got his first call to the majors. Talk to any Yankees' fan, even one like me expecting them to be blown out tonight, and you will hear the excitement in their voice. This kid has a bat that is supposedly special and it will be fun to see it in real action even if AJ Burnett gives up seventeen runs in the first inning (entirely possible in my mind).

What we won't probably learn about is his catching skills. The Yankees are sticking to the party line of "it's tough to a pitching staff to break someone in during a pennant race". This sounds like an organizational excuse that can be translated to "we don't want big league scouts to see that he can't catch at this level and damage his trade value." I may be wrong, but that is my guess.

I was very happy to see Scott Proctor's name on the list of additions to the active roster. The Yankees certainly owe Proctor for destroying his arm and it is nice to see them give him a chance to reestablish himself in the bigs. I hope he does.

No surprises with Laird, Dickerson and Pendleton being added to to the Roster. Raul Valdes gets promoted because he can throw with his left hand. It's just me, but I would have take a flier on Banuelos in the relief role since a 40-man move was needed for Valdes, but oh well.

Yankees would really show me something with a win tonight. I don't see it happening, but miracles can occur. Then again, I wonder which team will score more tonight, the Patriots or the Red Sox?

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)