Jun
29
Fan Confidence Poll: June 29th, 2009
ByRecord Last Week: 5-1 (37 RS, 18 RA)
Season Record: 43-32 (415 RS, 360 RA), 3.0 GB
Opponents This Week: vs. Seattle (3 games), vs. Toronto (3 games)
Top stories from last week:
- While last week was arguably the worst of the season, this week was probably the best. Tuesday’s game in Atlanta was one to forget, and Brian Cashman had to make a surprise appearance to fire up the troops. Joe Girardi used a well timed ejection to propel the team to a win the next night, and they wrapped up the series with a win despite Andy Pettitte’s now regular shakiness.
- After righting the ship in Atlanta, the Yanks returned home for a series in Flushing with their kid sister, the Mets. The Amazin’s literally threw Friday’s game away with a flurry of comical errors in the second, while AJ Burnett was just too much to handle on Saturday. Mariano Rivera picked up career save number 500 and career RBI number one in the Interleague play finale last night.
- On the trade front, we know the Yanks are seriously interested in Huston Street, but a potential target disappeared when Mark DeRosa was shipped to St. Louis. The Yanks will probably be out on the lookout for a bat now that Xavier Nady is likely out for the rest of the year after reinjuring his elbow.
- Jesus Montero and Manny Banuelos were elected to the Futures Game, and Ian Kennedy’s return from a aneurysm continues to progress. Jose Veras was even traded this week, what more could you ask for?
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 play, roster construction, farm system, management, etc., how confident are you in the Yankees' overall future?
9, yo. The pitching is coming around, and with this offense… Man, that’s exciting.
you’re still riding the high from burnett’s game sat. I was there and as soon as he gave up the hit i was like NOOOOOO!!!!!!!! who said no htiter? which one of you asshole shere jinxed it!!?! i was pissed
There’s no way AJ was going to get through 9 innings without 130+ pitches.
i dot care who finished the game. all i care about is a no hitter. there have been combined no hitters before.
hell the yanks almost pitched oe against oakland in cone’s first game back from his aneurysm til MO gave up a hit in the 8th or 9th if i remember correctly
More recently than that – Astros against the Yankees. Like 7-8 guys combined for one after the starter went down early.
yeah a burnett/bruney no no wouldve been quiote tasty
Hahahah. Ya, I creamed my pants during A.J.’s domination.
I was there Friday night, another awesome game to be at.
which one of you asshole shere jinxed it!!?!
Michael Kay. He said it about 15 times on the broadcast.
It was me, I apologize to you and Burnett.
let’s just pretend we didn’t hear that and blame michael kay.
I could picture JSB @ the game.
The guy sitting next to jsb: Wow, A.J. has a no-no goin’.
Jsb: SHHHHHHHHH!!!!
haha, yeah, i was glad my gf didnt realize cause she’s a mets fan and totally wouldve said that every inning…
and by gf i mean my excel stats spreadsheet i dressed up to look pretty and brought with me.
Way to get in front of the joke, jsb. Well done.
Heh.
To quote Dave Attell, “I don’t think you’re gay if you watch the Ice Capades. I think you’re gay if you’re all like, ‘DUDE, SHUT THE F$%# UP, I’M TRYING TO WATCH THE ICE CAPADES!!!!”
7.49, up from 6 last week. Couldn’t quite hit 8, though. Montero hitting a AA HR. No more Angel Berroa using up a roster spot for no reason. Gardner’s 5-hit night and Wang looking better helped round out this year’s confidence. ARod possibly not requiring additional hip surgery.
Negatives: Losing Nady for the season, no word on Marte, and Huston Street trade rumors. Listening to Steve Phillips rave about Hughes’s electric stuff and 8th inning problem could be solved on Sunday Night Baseball. Clubhouse swine flu.
As of now I’m feeling confident that the Yankees will likely take at least the wildcard and have a decent chance to win it all. Next year’s OF could be interesting.
Why exactly does Steve Phillips’ ranting on SNB impact your confidence in the team? Steve Phillips has no input on the Yankees, and his stupid opinions are his own.
and stupid.
it just needed to be said again. cause steve phillips is stupid.
He traded Jason Bay away!!
And attempted to trade Jose Reyes, but he still did a pretty good job as a GM in my opinion.
Seems like people lose intelligence when they go work for ESPN.
Steve Phillips gets an oaktag for life.
Yeah. I’m not listening to the rantings of a moron who traded Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano.
/libel’d
You do know how memes work, right, Ben? I don’t want to relive the B-Jobber nonsense again and have any of those earworms get into the Yankees heads about Hughes. He needs a shitload of innings to get to ~185, which is looking to be doubtful, and I’d rather not have a full-frontal media assault putting pressure on the Yankees to do something silly.
But haven’t you seen how the Yanks have not bowed to any pressure concerning Joba? Do you really think they’d start with some stupid shit spewed by Steve Phillips, of all people?
If not, I’m not quite sure what your point is.
i think his point is that the way the pen is right now, Hughes really WOULD be better in the 8th…he’d get more innings cause if we knew we were leaving him there, he could pitch a few games a week instead of just shadowing CMW.
i’m all for it!
The biggest wildcard this year, from what we know right now, is ARod’s health. He winced a few times with the hip last night, which is definitely not something we want to see.
The team is obviously very good even without him. But him healthy and hitting versus him gimpy and not hitting, or out of the lineup, is the difference between this team being, IMO, being the best of the division, versus not-quite the best. They had better rest him plenty all season long.
But him healthy and hitting versus him gimpy and not hitting, or out of the lineup, is the difference between this team being, IMO, being the best of the division, versus not-quite the best.
Way to go out on a limb there, bud
Yeah, well, if I said “third best” there’s be holy hell to pay, that’s for sure…but for now, the only other team I’m sure about is Boston. I’m not quite sure how good either Tampa or Toronto is now, but judging by glimpses of their play this season, both are potentially as good or better than the Yankees sans ARod.
Tampa is Good, and they are also good against Bawstin.
Toronto is good… for 4th place
I didnt see the game. Was there a big deal made out of Arod and any discomfort he may be feeling? Or was this something that you just noticed? I haven’t seen anything on any blogs or columns about Arod re-tweeking his hamstring.
The ESPN guys talked about it. He winced pretty noticeably.
And once swinging, which definitely did not look good.
I thought he winced as well, but tried to pretend he was just really excited. Time will tell, I guess. A day off today is a very good thing.
no team has a better record since MAY 8th, which, coincidentally was one a-rod’s first game back…
and with a week like last week, it’s even crazier what having the best record since may 8th means.
I think I was either a 7 or 8 last week, but now I’m an 8. Nothing wrong with the makeup of the team, but the streakiness needs to even out a bit. At the very least, our peaks are longer than our valleys. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be 10 (or is it 11) over .500.
The Sox aren’t going to stop winning. If we want to win the division, then we’ve got to simply be better than them from here on out.
Wang takes positive steps every time out, and I believe we will be seeing a dominant Chien-Ming Wang soon. AJ just seems flat out more comfortable. If that top three can continue to pitch close to form, and Alex continues to progress, we’re going to get the job done.
…and the flu needs to go away.
Mariano Rivera has a higher career OBP than Jeff Francoeur. That alone puts my confidence level at 10.
Alex, Tex, Robinson get hot and that is bad news for the rest of the league
+ Minors look better every month. even with Betances and Brackman struggling.
9
Cano does not need to be hitting 5th.
I think if there’s any chance that he’s going to learn to be a more effective guy in big situations, he has to hit in the big situations. It’s painful to watch him there, I know, especially when he has bad ABs. But I like him hitting 5th. At least we have the “luxury” of scoring lots of runs anyway. Man, if Cano ever got really good at pitch selection, etc., the lineup would be beastly.
“I think if there’s any chance that he’s going to learn to be a more effective guy in big situations, he has to hit in the big situations”
lol ok joe morgan.
“if cano is going to learn to be more consistent, he has to be mroe consistent”
(the previous message is devoid of any malice only observational humor)
I know you didn’t intend any malice, but I’m not sure I see the humor. My quote and Joe Morgan’s are not the same thing. The best way to learn to hit in a pressure spot is to be in that situation as often as possible. It’s a question of opportunity. Learning to be “consistent” implies a skill, and you can’t learn a skill by practicing a skill you don’t have.
its a joke. you made an obvious statement that doesnt make any sense. if hes going to be more effective he has to be effective. its like john madden saying if youre oging to win you have to score points.
joke
your head
Please don’t start this again. I know it was a joke. But comparing it to an inane statement like the one you quoted from Morgan makes no sense. Nor is it comparable to Madden’s statement.
It’s well established…if you want to succeed in pressure situations, you have to be in them. The more experience you get in a tough situation, the better you are able to handle it. That’s not the same as saying “you can’t win if you don’t score runs.”
My statement made perfect sense. What wouldn’t have made sense would be if I’d said “if Cano is going to improve his plate discipline, he needs to learn to take more pitches.”
What happened is that you mis-read my statement… I didn’t mean “hit in pressure situations”…I should have said “come to bat in pressure situations.”
“Hit” and “bat” in the batting order are sometimes used interchangeably.
think if there’s any chance that he’s going to learn to be a more effective guy in big situations, he has to hit in the big situations
if he is oging to be effective in big situations, he has to hit in big situations.
being efective is hitting. this is an obvious nonsensical statement that is equally as inane and humorous as joe morgan saying to be consistent you ahve to be ocnsistent. or nyone saying if you’re going to be clutch in big situations you have to hit in big situations.
its a duh moment.
seriously, relax and take a joke. it doesnt matter what you meant. what you said is humorous for its inanity.
if you’re going to learn to hit with men in scoring position he is oging to have to hit with men in scoring position.
if he will ever be able to hit 400 he will have to get mroe hits.
right, so i didnt misread anyting.
you MIS WROTE it.
as it is, for all to see, your statement is inane and entertaining for its “duh” ness.
do nto try to act like im eprsecuting you because i didnt get what you meant or mis read it. i mis rea dnothing.
Ok, then ChrisS is “inane” I guess because he said Cano “shouldn’t be hitting 5th.”
You amaze me.
Ladies! Just have angry sex already and be done with it. Good grief.
jsb would find something wrong with the way I did it, or something I said, I know that. But thanks for the suggestion Mondesi. Good for a laugh.
Ok, then ChrisS is “inane” I guess because he said Cano “shouldn’t be hitting 5th.”
that doesnt even make any sense. im done with you. learn to take a joke and calm yourself.
jsb would find something wrong with the way I did it, or something I said, I know that.
dude. seriously? you wrote something stupid. i made fun of it good naturedly. then you said i misread it in the same comment as you said you mis wrote it. you have issues.
As soon as you make a good joke, I’ll be happy to take it.
im sorry, buit your third attakc on me in an attempt to goad me will not work.you need to learn to lighten up. loosen your panties big guy. now, seriously, im so done with you. and if you make stupid comments, i will laugh at you justas i will with anyone else.
Boy, that escalated quickly! It really jumped up a notch, didn’t it?
This amp goes to 11.
Why isn’t 10 just set to be better?
well…you dont understand, these amps go up to 11.
Because this is one louder.
Well I have to say that we are in a good position to take some game back this week. We are at home and facing the bottom of the Seattle rotation, the Sox have Baltimore on the road which they should take. Barring any problems though, they have King Felix…Eric Bedard…and Brandon Marrow which is a tough task for any team. Over that same period we have Toronto at home with no Doc Halladay…thank god.
I am really interested to see what the Rockies would want for Huston Street, does anyone have any inkling? Mark Melancon…Mac…AJax?
Huh? You need to doublecheck the schedule again.
We’re facing Morrow-Washburn-Vargas from SEA and Tallet-Halladay-Richmond for TOR.
We DO get Doc, but we don’t get Felix or Bedard.
Oh, I see. You were talking about Boston’s sked, not ours. My bad, nevermind.
Baltimore is seldom an easy win. They have talented players. The Sawx have been slump-immune this year; but their loss to Atlanta yesterday was a tough one. Maybe Baltimore is just the sort of team to start off a nice slump for Boston. Maybe a 4-10 stretch?
Just checked their schedule. Unlikely…Baltimore, Seattle, Oakland, KC. Maybe someone will get hot.
they got the fenway adv for the last 3 ser
I wouldn’t want to give up A-Jax or ZMac for him. Melancon I would if Street was willing to sign an extension.
That. AJax and McAllister I won’t deal for a reliever.
If Ian Kennedy was healthy and putting up his usual AAA numbers, would you of given up him for Street?
i wouldn’t. to me a starter >>>>>>> a reliever, even if the rleiever is proven and the starter not so much. I would rather trade kennedy for a young positional prospect/player or hold onto him (if he were being his usual aaa self) as insurance for nxt year in case hughes doesnt reach his innings/wang doesnt fix himself/burnett gets injured/joba gets injured/etc/etc/etc/etc
Eh, maybe. Just because I think his ceiling is a tick lower than McAllister’s.
It would have to be IPK for Street straight up, though. No throw ins. I may even ask for a PTBNL.
But, according to the starter is more valuable than a reliever argument. Why would you be willing to give up someone who projects to be more valuable than Melancon?
I just think if they could get Street, assuming he pitches well/not get injured, etc. They could lock him up for 2-3 more years, it would be a fine addition and well worth Melancon and one other prospect who they wouldn’t miss too much. Assuming that would be the deal.
Because while I think AJax, McAllister, and Kennedy are all good, valuable starter-caliber prospects, I think Kennedy is probably the least valuable of the three.
And, you have to give something to get something. AJax and Z-Mac would be too much to give up for Street. IPK and Melancon would not be too much to give up.
JMHO.
Ya, I wasn’t arguing here. I just realized I misread your first response to my comment.
My bad, holmes. Please don’t cut my balls off.
You messed with Project Mayhem.
I gotta get your balls. That’s the rules.
I screwed up. Big time.
Kennedy has zero projectability. The Rox would turn down that offer instantly, let alone make the offer. I believe a McAllister for Huston Street trade would be a fantastic addition to this ballclub, though yeah… i’d want to secure an extension before pulling the trigger on that.
If Kennedy was healthy and throwing his usual AAA numbers (which is an ERA of 2.14), yeah, I think he’d have a lot more value than people give him credit for.
I don’t think the Rockies would dismiss IPK for Street out of hand. Somebody else may outbid it, but Kennedy can still be a quality ML starter. Landing a quality ML starter for Street would be a nice haul for the Rox.
If you were the GM of the Rockies, and be honest, would you trade Street for IPK?
Yeah, I might. It would depend on what other offers were out there.
No. Wouldn’t even think twice about hanging up the phone.
The Rockies got Street plus a AAAA pitcher and a sleeper prospect for the best OFer on the market.
A AAAA starter coming off a injury isn’t going to do it.
My guess is that the list would start at AJax+
No, because a middle of the order power hitting outfielder and a closer aren’t remotely the same value.
You can’t judge what the Rockies would get for Street based on 1/3rd of what they got for Holliday. Apples and oranges.
You’re not the one selling. The Rockies are dictating the price on this deal. It’s what they want.
Obviously, a 25-year old lights-out closer on a good deal is going to get dealt straight-up for a starter that projects to be a 3rd or 4th starter if he gets his ML act right – regardless of injury.
I respect your opinion on many posts TSJC, but you’re deluding yourself on this one.
Again, if he had never been injured. Ian Kennedy would still have been a really, really good prospect. Guys with AAA ERA’s below 2.25 don’t grow on trees.
You think I’m undervaluing Street. You’re undervaluing Kennedy.
Does IPK’s lousy MLB record diminish his “prospect” value any?
Yes.
But not much. Because it’s only 58 innings at age 22 and 23, and the overwhelming majority of MLB pitchers struggle in their first chances in the bigs. So it dims his prospect status, but not that much.
you have to read the original question.
If Ian Kennedy was healthy and putting up his usual AAA numbers, would you of given up him for Street?
when you do you see that your comment makes no sense because we are all aware of this.
Ah, so yes. Because it ain’t happening. So my answer is as meaningless as meaningless could ever be.
it was all hypothetical to pass the time. we know itl;ll never happen because he is injured. but if he wasnt itd be a psosibility.
…if you want meaningless hypotheticals, why would CO even trade the guy? they’re still in the chase…
what we really need from them is a good ol’ fashioned 8 game losing streak to put them in the right mindset…
That’s what it can look like to our eyes. But, look waht the Yanks gave up for the Swish.
Many of us thought it would start with IPK or something of much more value than freakin’ Wilson Betemit, one of the Yankees lower pitching prospects, and a reliever.
Who thought the Padres would agree to trade Peavy for that package they got before he nixed it.
No one thought it would start at IPK. If they did, I’d like to see the posts. The Betemit trade was a straight up salary dump by the White Sox and Cashman taking advantage of a dimwitted GM.
i wouldnt call kenny williams a dim witted gm. he has been a master at pulling off trades. he botched this one, but at the same time he didnt have a hcoice because swish was in ozzi’s doghouse and wiliams NEEDED to get something for him because ozzie wouldnt play him.
and for some reason williams thought betemit could be the answer for them at 3rd. and that turned out great.
http://riveraveblues.com/2009/.....ent-455833
pluss see the above trade. gave up everything to get him, and got nothing back 6 months later
8 still. Team looks very close to rounding into form.
With ya on the 8. Team looks good, but when playing the AAAA Mets and the Braves it is easy to look good. They took care of business, and that’s good. That is what I’d expect from a team with this talent level.
I asked this over at lohud but didnt really seem to get an answer…so I’m asking you fine folks…
Burnett or Wang for friday? That CC AJ 1-2 punch was nice, but if wang is on regular rest he lines up for friday.
Wang Saturday, according to ESPN/MLB, if those are accurate.
This is a question that doesn’t make much sense. Why would you bump A.J. in favor of Wang? With an off-day, everyone gets an extra day off. The next three days are Joba, Pettitte, Sabathia followed by A.J. on Friday and Wang on Saturday.
Wang. I want him as regimented as possible. Metronomic rest, no deviations.
Solid 7.
Cashman clearly wanted the ballclub to end interleague play on a strong note and both pitching and hitting responded. Both CC and Burnett are now clicking at the same time, so that gives me confidence going forward.
On a minor league tip, I’m enjoying the breakout season from McAllister. Hopefully publications start zero’ing in on this guy. McAllister could be similar to Michael Bowden in terms of ceiling.
“Q: Given the team’s current play, roster construction, farm system, management, etc., how confident are you in the
Yankees’Mets overall future?”A: i
Is that “i ” as in the imaginary number? If so, +1. If not, +1 anyway.
Yes.
I was considering going with -i.
Is there a -i? i squared is negative 1, if I recall.
Yes. The square root of -1 is both i and -i.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I......E2.88.92i
nice.
My number is a 3 b/c Offensive holes at catcher, 1B, the corners, and rotation spots 3,4 = total f’in destruction. Oliver Perez is no more than a 5. Mets drafting is uninspired, and there’s a shocking lack of hitting talent in the upper minors.
i’ve consistently stated to my met fan friends that i do not think Omar is a great gm.
Sizemore, Philips, and Cliff Lee for Bartolo…
Was that the deal?
and 1b lee stevens. wow.
then omar traded butthole cologne 6 months later for el duque, rocky biddle, and jeff liefer.
wow.
Only 1 no confidence vote? I’m shocked by the upsurge in faith or possibly decrease in trolling.
MLB should sell video clips of plays. I would pay money to have a high-rez clip of K-Rod walking Mariano Rivera. I’d put that shit on my iPhone and watch it several times a day.
I will never ever get tired of watching that walk.
not gonna lie, i rewound it to watch it again from the foul ball.
Brian, I’m gonna be honest with you, that smells like pure gasoline.
not on youtube yet
There’s really nothing to complain about this week. Except Andy’s performance (shaky defense didnt help) and Cano’s performance at the plate, but hes just in one of those things. I like Ransom back on the bench, ARod turning it around at the plate and on defense, good health = Confidence 8
Back to “7″ after going down to “6″ last week.
The Good:
- The starters and relievers have improved by leaps and bounds from their April performances. Even Wang has looked decent.
- The whole lineup seems to have come out of their collective slump.
- Interleague play is over finally.
- Most of the team will get a little vacation during the all-star break
The Bad:
- Robinson Cano is still batting 5th
- Joe Girardi needs to stick to his plan on resting A-Rod. We don’t want A-Rod to be “fatigued” come September/October
off days count as rest right? right? come onnnn
/yankees front office’d
come onnnn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELMYEFqlGTc
“Girardi plans to work with A-Rod to schedule his off days between now and the All-Star break, giving him one per week even if the Yankees have an off day like they do today.”
If he could rest Jeter and Posada during the Mets series, why couldn’t he sit A-Rod one game?
it was a riff on the front office, who as we have discussed, is awful at following their plans (see wang on the dl, resting arod just to name a couple)
Confidence is at an 8. I think our starters are coming around. CC is throwing well, and AJ has been dominant in his last 3 outings. Joba/Pettitte have been streaky to say the least and Wanger is building confidence (the win last night will hopefully be huge for him). Our offense has seemed to become hot/cold quickly so I’m enjoying riding this offensive wave. Last night the couldn’t get more than a couple of hits after the 1st? Hopefully this doesn’t carry over into the homestand because we have a opportunity to go 5-2 or so in the next 7 games. Go yanks!
My confidence is about an 8. The only reason it’s not higher is because Tampa is really starting to turn it around. +87 run differential for them, it was just a matter of time before a correction was going to occur.
I voted 8, very close to 9 but couldn’t quite do it. We played great this week but it was against the god awful Mets and we got lucky in that game when Kawakami was dominating us and we knocked him out via luck.
Here’s one question that I’m wondering about. I see a lot of comments lately about Hughes needing 170-180 IP, why is that so necessary? He just turned 23 and if Wang is alright next season(I hope he is), Hughes is the 5th starter(Joba has better stuff and should be the 4th starter). Personally I would be quite content stretching Hughes to about 140 or so and let him work to about 170 next year as a 5th starter. Am I totally misguided here? I agree with most that he needs to go back down to Scranton to get some extra work in, but 170-180 hardly seems necessary.
If Hughes hits 170 innings, you don’t have to worry about his innings total next season unless he starts pitching like an ace.
Also, if Hughes and Wang both put it together and are pitching well as starters at the end of the season, then trading Wang in the offseason becomes an option.
If Wang doesn’t regain his form or someone else gets hurts next year, Hughes moves up a spot and you expect more innings out of him.
Summary: The more innings Hughes is capable of pitching, the more flexible the team is.
trading wang doesnt become an option if hughes starts to put it together, hughes already has it together well enough to be our number 5…if we trade wang he’s our number 4.
I have voted 10 in every poll. I think I’m the only one who didn’t jump off the ship last week. I knew that players and teams go through ups and downs. I knew there was variance in baseball. I keep trying to explain this to people but they don’t understand the concept! Sometimes balls are hit right at people, sometimes pitchers get away with bad pitches and sometimes they don’t. If a guy is a career .290 hitter and he hits .350 for a whole month, what goes up must come down. That’s baseball.
you’re like a miniature buddha covered in hair.
No, I’m just a rational and level headed human being. There will be ups and downs for every team throughout and that’s just a given. I am the only one who has been consistent in my voting and I think I deserve something for it.
Like what? Seriously…what would be appropriate RAB currency to reward you for your unwavering fan support?
your own meme.
to replace oaktag now we have:
calm the hell down.
\bill’d.