Jun
01
Fan Confidence Poll: June 1st, 2009
ByRecord Last Week: 4-2 (40 RS, 21 RA)
Season Record: 29-21 (283 RS, 263 RA), 0.5 game lead in AL East
Opponents This Week: @ Cleveland (1 game), vs. Texas (3 games) vs. Tampa Bay (3 games)
Top stories from last week:
- Phil Hughes started the week off with a bang, firing eight shutout innings in Texas against the team that had the best record in the American League at the time. The next game didn’t go so well, as Joba Chamberlain got knocked around a bit after a lengthy rain delay. AJ Burnett rebounded well the next night, and the Yanks escaped Arlington with a series win.
- The Yanks then jumped into Cleveland following an off day and grabbed the lead in the AL East on Friday thanks to Andy Pettitte and Al Aceves. CC Sabathia was the man yet again on Saturday, and the weekend closed out with a disappointing walk-off loss when Brett Gardner got cold feet on the bases.
- With the season just about a third of the way over, it’s time for the team to start tweaking its inefficient roster. The Yanks have made it clear that they will not move Joba to the bullpen, but they might look for relief help. They’ve also inquired about Mark DeRosa for a bench spot.
- With Chien-Ming Wang doing well, (albeit uncomfortably), in his role as a reliever, it suddenly looks like the Yanks may have too much good pitching. I say enjoy the depth, it has a way of running thin before you know it.
- Kevin Cash was optioned to Triple-A Scranton when Jorge Posada made his return from a sore hamstring, but there was some uncertainty about what roster move would be made to accommodate Georgie. Xavier Nady is playing in games down in Extended Spring Training, so his return to the lineup isn’t too far off.
- Things are going so well for the Yanks right now that even the uber-boring Derek Jeter has gotten the most All-Star votes so far.
Please take a second to answer the poll below and give us an idea of how confident you are in the team. You can view the Fan Confidence Graph anytime via the nav bar above, or by clicking here. Thanks in advance for voting.
Given the team's current roster construction, farm system, management, etc., how confident are you in the Yankees' overall future?
Confidence = 10
+1
11?!?!?
I’m tommiesmithjohncarlos, and I approved this message.
call in the next 10 minutes and we’ll give you the confidence=10 blanket free! all you have todo is pay the shipping and handling! I’m billy mays for confidence = 10.
That would work a lot better if you typed it in all CAPS!!!!!
foiled!
THE SECRET IS IN THE INTERNET CONNECTION!!!
1 , we lost a game to Carl Pavano, the world has ended, all rationals out of the windows
Ok. Seriously. Seriously. Who is the person voting 1 every week? The Yanks are in first by themselves. They had a stellar week, and someone keeps voting 1. So my money’s on a Red Sox fan or a B-Jobber.
Trolls taking polls.
That sounds like a new Dr. Seuss book. I like it.
bule trolls red trolls green trolls
coming from the woodworks to fix the RAB polls.
sox fans and rays fans and O’s fans
fearful of yankees kicking their cans
Still lacking confidence, I voted “3″ this week because I believe NYY’s front office is making the right move in slowly transitioning all starters into the bullpen.
I was thinking more Walt Clyde Frazier.
Swoop to the hoop.
my vote is grant/bo/sal/lanny/brendo
which susprises me that its 1 one vote and not 5
I do not endorse the lumping of Brendo with the others. The others I have reason to believe are the same. Not so much Brendo.
They may not be one and the same physically, but mentally, it’s like a hive mind over there.
It’s like the Borg.
Only dumb.
fair enough. brendo has been removed from the list.
Got to be a Red Sox fan with that 1 vote, or some similar form of troll. I went with an 8. I think there’s room for improvement in the depth of position players in the minors. We need a SS that can play and hit to take over for Jeter in a few years. We could use some confidence in both Brackman and Betances for our investments there.
I also think the bullpen is a mess that doesn’t have a clear answer, even via a move of some kind. There are few guarantees on the FA or trade markets from year to year and we haven’t really done a great job building with talent or value recently.
That said, you have to love Jackson and Montero’s development. We appear to be set at 1B, 2B, and 3B for the forseeable future with the aforementioned guys on their way up behind Posada and any of the aging OFers we have now. Derek is having a great year. Damon too. Matt Holliday is flirting with us already. Pitching is deep in the rotation.
Good stuff.
I voted as a joke that we lost a game where Carl Pavano started.
Way to be that guy
That’s sooo funny.
8, just as I didn’t let early struggles change my vote, I’m not going to let some recent success change it that quickly. Additionally if the pen got it together that would make me feel better.
I am back up to 8, and this is specifically because the Yankees DID recall Wang, and its working. This gives me much confidence. And if Melancon and Robertson do stick as 2 inning relievers this season, I may go to 9.
Hmm, this is scary if true. Via BP’s ‘On the Beat’:
“The Yankees couldn’t move right-hander Joba Chamberlain from the rotation back to the bullpen if they wanted to at this time, because shoulder problems make it too difficult for him to warm up quickly.”
One of the biggest largely unchallenged fallacies in all the B-Jobber nonsense is the notion that moving him to the bullpen is somehow magically going to fix any health concerns that we’d have about Young Mr. Chamberlain.
As if no relief pitcher has ever, ever been injured.
Tommie, didn’t you know that throwing his hardest on irregular rest and inconsistent would fix all a pitcher’s health problems?
Scott Proctor just cried a little while trying to hug you.
tut tut scott, careful with that surgically repaired arm in that sling.
And then immediately hurt his shoulder.
I mean; hello, elephant in the room, the reason we “need” Joba in the 8th is because the two relief pitchers we were counting on pitching the 8th, Bruney and Marte, are HURT.
How that fact escapes the mind of B-Jobbers is beyond me.
I’m not sure what to make of the Perroto’s comment. He doesn’t attribute it to a source, so who knows?
9, 10 once melk gets back in it and they bring up x, jomo and melancon
and promote Jesus
jesus is our savior.
montero for president
Barack who? Montero is the real Messiah.
Brian: I’m not the Messiah! Will you please listen? I am not the Messiah, do you understand? Honestly!
Girl: Only the true Messiah denies His divinity.
Brian: What? Well, what sort of chance does that give me? All right! I am the Messiah!
Followers: He is! He is the Messiah!
Brian: Now, fuck off!
[silence]
Arthur: How shall we fuck off, O Lord?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D8lj3dg5-o
8
Up from a 7. Though we finished off the week with a disappointing loss, developments like Teixiera’ POM campaign, Posada’s return, and Cano’s steady output leads us into June with alot of promise. The lineup to win the division is fully back.
Besides Jackson, Zach McAllister really has taken a step forward and i can’t help but feel that he could be in AAA by the start of July. He’s really dealing and the other night showed that he can rack up Ks. I’ve said before that i’d trade McAllister for Street, but if McAllister continues to dominate … dang, that would be a hard trade to stomach.
I would have hard time trading a top RHP talent for a reliever. The Yankees have a ton of relievers, already. Some even could be at the level of Street.
I agree.
I’ll trade for Street, but only for a price point lower than McAllister. A Z-Mac for Street deal would be too much, IMO. If that means we can’t get Street, so be it.
I thought he was polished and an innings-eater type, but till recent (like last week), I didn’t consider McAllister THE top pitching prospect in the system. His dominance has him looking like a #2/#3 guy, and one who could very well REACH his ceiling.
Would I trade him? Sure. He’s not untouchable. But i’m wavering on whether trading him for Street is simply a case of giving up too much.
Street is better than anyone of our relievers not named Mo. I want Street pitching the 8th. Not Veras.
Merging the confidence thing and the bullpen post a bit, but the roster is still pretty inflexible and leads to things like Angel Berroa still in the dugout.
They’re an OF injury away (like when Damon collided with the wall in TX) from having serious issues (Melky/Gardner/Swisher and Berroa on the bench) for a month or more. Especially if Nady can’t play D or suffers a setback throwing the ball and requires surgery. I’m sure something will be done roster-wise if they’re forced too, but overall it just gives me an uneasy feeling. There are a lot of guys that can tweak something and be out for a month and not much in the way of replacement parts available without adjusting the 40-man and possibly exposing someone worthwhile.
And I’m not really sure why Veras is still in the bullpen. He has no idea where that ball is going when it leaves his hand.
meh the way this lineup is structured if damon goes down im not worried about plugging in shelly/j-rod for 2 weeks to complement melk/swish/gardy.
plus, the way melkys been hitting he can take lf and we cna hope that gardner learns from his 2 rookie mistakes yesterday and can play cf. either way for 2 weeks if damon goes on the dl im not too worried
That’s my point, neither Shelly or Linden or Rodriguez are on the 40-man. There’d have to be some roster shuffling.
so if this happens and they need shelly or jrod than bang bye bye berroa or dfa veras. problem solved. the only way either one of them gets dropped at this point is if somethig forces the yankees hand. im ok with that.
They’re an OF injury away… from having serious issues… for a month or more.
There’s probably only two or three teams in the entire league for which that statement isn’t true.
like when someone said that hughes’ and Joba’s lines would be a lot worse if they were left in the game longer.
shit had me speechless
The Yankees are an old team. I’d wager they have a higher chance of losing multiple starters from the senior citizens committee than other teams.
And despite their hot starts, two months ago, everybody would be shitting eggrolls if Gardner and Melky were starting every day because Damon had a bum shoulder and the Six Million Dollar Man Matsui was using a walker. The roster is weak. I’m not voting 10, I still voted an eight. If Nady shows he can play D, I’ll feel more confident.
But having a bunch of million-dollar DHs and Melky/Gardmer reverting to earth makes me uneasy.
seriously though, 8. I feel there are a lot of things that could be done better but no one is perfect and it’s about winning and that is what is happening. My vote i dont foresee going up very much because I don’t think you can have a 10 because it will never be perfect and a 9 is going to mean a lot will have to go right, mostly to do with luck i feel.
but as for the longterm future it could go dow depending on the draft (say we cant sign our replacement pick for cole and are sol) or the handling of our young guys development (joba/hughes issues or if theres an injury and ajax gets rushed, etc) or any trades to shit on the far system for a reliever. right now we’re in a good spot and have a lot to build on.
WE CAN BUILD ON THISS!!!!!!1
My vote i dont foresee going up very much because I don’t think you can have a 10 because it will never be perfect and a 9 is going to mean a lot will have to go right, mostly to do with luck i feel.
Just wait until July, when CC, AJ, Joba, Hughes and Andy are all lights out; Wang rejoins the rotation throwing a nasty sinker with a newly found ability to strike guys out; X-Man and Molina and Posada are all healthy and mashing, and we’ve got a 6 game lead on the Sox.
My amp is going to start going to 11.
6-man rotation?
No.
In July, when Wang is ready to rejoin the rotation, Hughes goes back to Scranton for a month or two, and comes back up when we’re ready to shut Joba down.
No six-man rotation. Bad Idea Jeans.
You know, I had the same exact thought and conversation with a friend during the game. e thought Joba was going to the bullpen. I think Hughes may go down a little earlier the you, maybe 1-2 more starts, but will be back when Joba reaches 120 inning or so, then they possible put Joba in the pen then to continue his innings to 150, gving us a good arm in the pen to compliment Mo, Al, Bruney, Marte, Malancon, Robertson and coke. obviously, they might have to trim some. But I don’t think you just sit Joba for the rest of the year. He’s to good and can be helpful out of the pen (disclaimer: I am in no way a B-Jobber, Joba is our future ace and thank you very much).
Going with 8, up from 7.
Po is back and the lineup just got seriously deep. Wang’s last 2 outings looked very good and I think he might be very close to back to being the “terror of worms”. aceves finally gives us someone we can trust (besides Mo) coming out of the bullpen. robertson has been encouraging since coming back up. team is hitting very well (RiSP is no longer the horror that it was) with Alex back. Teixiera is just awesome to watch, on both sides of the ball.
worries: the bullpen. matsui’s knees. keeping Po healthy. getting Bruney back. the bullpen.
The “uber-boring Derek Jeter”? I’m thinking that was semi-sarcastic. But I’d still like to say that I for one am very happy that there are still some prefessional athletes that actually act like professionals.
Too many people are letting girardi get away with his crappy managing job on sunday his anwsers do not justify his decisions!!
1. if wang is pitching good then let him pitch another inning and let Aceves be your emergency starter on Wednesday..
2. Garder had 5 ptiches to steal..your couldn’t give the sign to the first base coash to tell him to steal on the next pitch? so its not that Girardi is incomptent its that a rookie outfielder who is playing for his playing life, doesn’t respect Girardi enough to listen to him and steal???
3. yes Gardner is our 4th ourfielder cause hes a bad outfielder…yet our genious manager always bring hims in for defensive purposes in the 9th to take over Center!!!!!!
DFTT.
MULTIPLE INTERROBANGS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!
Is that you Pete Abe?
8. Things are going pretty well, though the pitching isn’t quite where I’d like it, and Girardi – while better than some other managers (seriously, Eric Wedge? Why pull Pavano there?) – still does the ‘ole “can’t use my closer in a tie game on the road” crap, which pisses me off. The bullpen is still shaky (more Robertson, please).
The offense is doing its job, and the team has played solid defense, notwithstanding Gardner’s screwup yesterday. Various prospects are playing well (AJax & Montero in particular). The Yanks are in 1st place, and for every weakness/question mark they have I can think of one for their divisional competition. Life is good.
I’m at 6. Still can’t budge, really.
Why the pessimism? Well, my rating scale says an “average” team would be 5, so I still see the Yankees future as above average.
But there are longterm roster issues. Serious ones.
A-Rod is signed for 9 more years. Within 3-4, or certainly well before the end of that contract, he’s going to have trouble playing 3rd base. Where does he go? Simple, fir….wait, can’t do that.
Jeter is at best an average defensive shortstop. I think he’s atrocious, but if anything I’d rather understate it. He has another year on his contract, and the Yankees aren’t going to let him go without him getting his 3000th hit as a Yankee, so we’re going to be stuck with an aging, decent hitter with very little power, and declining speed who has no place to play, maybe other than LF, where his weaker bat may count as a liability. He can’t play 1st obviously, and probably doesn’t have a good enough arm to play 3rd.
Our best minor league prospect is a monster hitter, Montero, who apparently may not be good enough to catch at the major league level. So, he’s a DH (A-Rod?), or a 1b (Texiera). Nice fit, all the way around. Maybe they can make him a LF and he can back up Jeter there.
Maybe that’s a short list, but the Yankees are tied up with lots of long term deals, and the tail end of these contracts aren’t going to be pretty sights.