Open Thread: Twentyeleven

by 347 Comments

NY Giants open thread
The Obligatory Grady Sizemore Post
Get it? 20 and 11? Eh, eh? (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

(Update, 1/2/11): Time to recycle this thread once more. In a grand demonstration of the NFL’s parity, the 7-8 Rams face the 6-9 Seahawks tonight, with the winner qualifying for the postseason as the four seed. The loser is out all together. Parity doesn’t mean more good teams, it’s just means a lot of mediocre teams. Enjoy that mess.

(Update, 1/1/11): Let’s bump this sucker back up top for the first night of the new year. The Rangers and Devils are in action, plus the Winter Classic (Pens-Caps) is on as well following a weather delay. You’ve also got the Nets and some college football. Enjoy.

(Original Post, 12/31/10): Sheesh, I can’t believe 2010 is over already. Where did the time go? Anyway, thanks to everyone for another great calendar year at RAB, we’re all looking forward to 2011.

And with that, here’s your open thread for what will probably be most of the weekend. RAB will return to normal on Monday, with some actual non-mailbag posts and the radio show and the whole nine. Until then, use this sucker as you see fit. Happy New Year’s, everyone.

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NY Giants open thread
The Obligatory Grady Sizemore Post
  • plank

    Lose: Berkman, Kearns, Wood, Moseley, Albaladejo, (Johnson), (Thames), (Pettitte)

    Gain: Martin, Feliciano, (Montero)

    Am I missing anyone?

    Doesn’t seem like a disaster of an offseason as some are saying. Especially if Pettitte re-signs. Upgrade at catcher, every other position basically the same.

    • plank

      Lose: Vasquez.

      I knew I was forgetting someone big.

      • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

        Gaudin!

        • plank

          Gaudin: The Core One(tm)

          What will we do?!?

          • http://twitter.com/firstheart42 seimiya

            At least we’ll still have The Experience.

        • The Real JobawockeeZ

          Him gone gives the Yankees a win.

    • mustang

      Plank, I’m very curious of how you came up with this:

      http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....nt-1475650

      • plank

        I linked to it there.

        http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....nt-1473410

        Your response sounded like what someone would say to someone when they have someone in a headlock. I’m sorry if I misunderstood what you meant. No offense meant on my part. I just thought it was funny.

        • mustang

          None taken. I was just agreeing with Joe on his remarks about Mark’s comment.

    • plank

      Lose: Aceves

      • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

        True, but he wasn’t around much in 2010 anyway.

        • plank

          Yeah, I was just trying to make the list comprehensive for the major league team. I guess we can include $1.2M in the gain column since that’s what Albaladejo was sold to Japan for.

          • Plank

            So, it is:

            Lose: Vazquez, Gaudin, Aceves, Berkman, Kearns, Wood, Moseley, Albaladejo, (Johnson), (Thames), (Pettitte)

            Gain: Martin, Feliciano, (Montero), $1.2M (for Albie)

            Is that it?

    • CS Yankee

      resigns or re-signs?

      • plank

        Yeah, which one is which? I use resign to mean retire and re-sign to mean sign a new contract with the club. Is that right?

        • http://jukeofurl.wordpress.com Juke Early

          Correct plank…

          resign – can mean a retirement or leaving a job

          re- sign – renew a contract or deal

  • mbonzo

    Happy New Year!
    We need an extensive list of the RAB meme’s of 2010.

    • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

      I tried that once. I wouldn’t do if someone paid me.

      • http://www.retire21.org first name only male (formerly Mike R. – Retire 21)

        Start a Wikimeme section of RAB and then we could do it.

        • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

          Yeah, that scares me. Who knows what you monsters will write.

          • http://www.retire21.org first name only male (formerly Mike R. – Retire 21)
            • thurdonpaul

              that freakin laugh is AWESOME !!!

          • I Voted 4 Kodos

            Someone will get on it when they stop watching their Richard Simmons DVDs.

    • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

      I remember lol whatevs, ponytails, and this:
      http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....ent-898709

      Oh, and Ohio not being a state.

      • http://www.twitter.com/tomzig Tom Zig

        bahahaha

  • mustang

    Happy New Year to everyone and thank you for all the baseball knowledge.

    “Knowledge is the perception of the agreement or disagreement of two ideas — John Locke (1689)”

    • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

      I didn’t see that episode of Lost. sounds interesting.

  • http://www.retire21.org first name only male (formerly Mike R. – Retire 21)

    Happy New Year to all of my fellow non-chinese RAB posters, readers and followers.

  • http://twitter.com/firstheart42 seimiya

    hey RAB,

    thanks for making my year amazing. 8)

    -seimiya/firstheart42

  • Wil Nieves #1 Fan

    I wish everybody not named Cliff Lee a Happy New Year!

    • http://twitter.com/firstheart42 seimiya

      What about all those Non-Phillies-Pitcher Cliff Lees?

    • Greg Cliff Lee Sr

      That’s not very nice…

  • Jd

    Happy New Year RAB. You guys enriched my life with lots of fun blogs this year.

  • CS Yankee

    RAB,

    Thanks for a great 2010, too bad #28 wasn’t secured. I’m sure we will be competitive in 2011 and who knows, maybe it’ll be our year again.

    This is the greatest site of all-time
    /Ali’d

    • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

      Yo WasWatching, I’m really happy for you, and I’m’a let you finish, but RAB is the greatest Yankee blog of all time. ALL TIME!!!!

      (Sorry for putting RAB and WW in the same sentence there.)

      • Pat D

        Yea, that’s like…cruel.

      • China Joe

        Yankees suck, Cashman sucks, Nick Swisher sucks, Phil Hughes sucks…

        …wait, I’m on the wrong site.

  • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

    Happy New Year, all! :D

  • http://www.twitter.com/ngoral Jake LaMotta’s Left Hook

    Does anyone else have a feeling Andy will decide in a couple of days what he will do? For some reason, I think he just wanted to wait until he spends the holidays with his family before he decides if he will pitch in 2011.

    Now I’m off to get wassted3jdo (not really, I’m not like that), but Happy twenty-eleven you punks!

    • plank

      Everyone please drive safely tonight, or better yet, stay off the roads.

      • YankeesJunkie

        If not aim for the things you don’t want hit and you won’t hit those things. Works! 100% fact!

        This may or may not be true

  • http://twitter.com/bryanl26 Bryan L

    Happy New Year err-one. To Mike, Ben, and Joe, really good writing this year. Keep it up.

  • http://www.superkyle.tk Fat Abbot

    Happy Kwanzaa, bitches.

    • Accent Shallow

      It’s “cowabunga”, my friend.

      /not African

  • mustang

    Wang, Pettite, Hughes, Kennedy and Mussina

    VS

    CC, AJ, Hughes,Nova and Mitre

    Maybe its not that bad?

    • http://twitter.com/bryanl26 Bryan L

      CC > Wang, Pettitte > Burnett, Hughes > Hughes (wut?), Nova = Kennedy (IMO), Mussina > Mitre/Fifth starter.

      Even split for me.

      • plank

        I wouldn’t really break down a comparison of two rotations this way, but I think it would be more like:

        CC> Wang
        Mussina>AJ
        Pettitte>Hughes
        Hughes>Nova
        Kennedy>Mitre/5th Starter

        If I had to stick with one rotation through the whole year (not true, especially with 2010) I’d take 2008.

        • Louis

          Yes but no 1 expected moose to have that kind of year at the begininning of 2008

    • bonestock94

      Kennedy and pre-injury Wang >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Nova and Mitre

    • http://www.or.ly JM

      Why would you pick a year that we didn’t make the playoffs D=

      • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

        The offense was the issue in 2008, not the pitching.

        • The Real JobawockeeZ

          FACT: The 2009 Yankees gave up more runs than the 2008 Yankees.

          Of course the 2009 Yankees scored 200 more runs but maybe it shows the 2011 Yankees aren’t totally screwed.

        • The Big City of Dreams

          The pitching wasn’t the main issue but it was an issue.

      • mustang

        Some people in the press are comparing the 2011 rotation to 2008 that’s where I got it from.

        • http://twitter.com/bryanl26 Bryan L

          Some people in the press…

          I stopped reading after this.

          • mustang

            LOL

    • mustang

      AJ is the key if they can get something more from him.

      Anyone have AJ’s projections for next year?

      • The Real JobawockeeZ

        1 win above replacement. Hopefully. FWIW Bill James projects a 4.04 FIP for him but is way optimistic IMO.

        • The Real JobawockeeZ

          Er…change that to 2 wins above replacement.

        • plank

          Any projection system will have huge error bars around AJ. I think even the creators of the various systems out there would say giving a projection for AJ confidently is impossible.

          • Mike_Rogers

            It seems that way, but he actually has been a pretty consistent pitcher (consistent? AJ?), at least on a quality level. Exclusing 2003 when he only pitched 23 innings, here are his ERA+’s from 2001 through 2009.

            105
            122
            112
            116
            115
            119
            104
            114

            And the 104 was his last year in Toronto when he won 18, and led the league in starts and strikeouts. The “projection” part for AJ is still hard since it was hard to peg how many starts he’d make, but the quality of his starts seemed pretty consistent…that is until 2010 when he collapsed to 81 in 2010.

            It really does stick out as a UFO season. Let’s hope it’s not a sign of age, but something else that can be corrected in 2011. I think we’d all be happy with another 115 season. Heck, we’d take the 104 Toronto season!

            • plank

              He was remarkably consistent until 3 years ago. The problem is recent years are weighted much more heavily than prior years and his “blip” year in 2010 was accompanied by a drop in velocity, not random variance.

              If he gets that velocity back, he could go back to that steadiness from early in his career. He could also just not be the same pitcher he was back then, hence the larger error bars than most pitchers.

              • Mike_Rogers

                I’ll give him consistency on the quality front up until 2010, especially considering the noise level that exists in ERA+. I’m not really sure he pitched better in 2009 compared to 2008, even if ERA+ says so. The take away to me is that he was a plus pitchers all those years, up until 2010.

                The drop in velo is a concern, since it corresponds to his off year. Yet, he would show increased velo in one start, then lower in another. His hit-batters also spiked up pretty dramatically, which may mean he was dealing with some mechanical issues. That’s the hope. And let’s hope that is the case, ’cause we’re going to need him.

        • http://jukeofurl.wordpress.com Juke Early

          I stopped caring about anything Bill James ever did when he went to work for the Rat Sux.

      • mustang

        http://www.baseball-reference......a.01.shtml

        This gives me a headache, but I guess if can repeat 2009 that would be good enough.

        • mustang

          And they have him until 2013!

          I’m going to have a drink.

          • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

            Could be worse, he could always be Barry Zito.

            • plank

              Worse contract (at this point and 3 years from now): AJ at 5/82.5 or Pavano at 4/40?

              You can juke the numbers a bit since they were signed a half decade apart if you like.

              • Mike_Rogers

                At this point it’s easy. Pavano was the worst contract. AJ gave us one good year and one bad year, and in his good year, he was the #2 pitcher on the a team that won the World Series, pitching game two of the Series. He loses, who knows what happens.

                Three years from now? We’ll have to see. Pavano contributed nothing, so AJ will have to work quite hard.

                Igawa was worse than Pavano. (I count the signing bonus. Money is money.)

              • YankeesJunkie

                Burnett has at least given the Yankees above replacement innings while Pavano gave the Yankees nothing! AJ would be greater than Pavano by a mile if his only start was Game 2 in the 2009 WS.

                • plank

                  True, Burnett has been better, but he’s also paid much, much more than Pavano.

                  • Mike_Rogers

                    But he’s also delivered something of value. That matters more. My goal would not be to build a cost-efficient team that loses. I’d rather overpay players at times and win.

                    • Accent Shallow

                      Concur.

                      Is Burnett paid much more than he’s worth? Of course.

                      Would Pavano have won Game 2 of the 2009 World Series? Of course not.

  • Gonzo

    Jeff Passan will be getting a HOF vote. I think the debate should be about who gets to vote for the HOF more than who belongs in the HOF.

    Hey Plank, if you are out there. I found the article where Boras said Manny is gonna be a DH.

    • http://www.twitter.com/ngoral Jake LaMotta’s Left Hook

      I wish Passan would go away.

      • plank

        I stopped caring about how the voters vote. I just decided to ignore HOF as a measure of how good players were. My life has been better ever since.

        • Gonzo

          I might take that up.

        • http://twitter.com/bryanl26 Bryan L

          Interesting…

        • Pat D

          I just can’t bring myself to do that.

          HOF, I wish I knew how to quit you.

    • plank

      Yeah, I checked after you wrote that and I saw the same thing.

    • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

      Does Incarcerated Bob have a vote now too?

  • steve

    Thanks RAB
    You definitely had an all star year!
    Happy 2011!

    • http://jukeofurl.wordpress.com Juke Early

      Agreed. Even if I can’t always agree, RAB always delivers the goods.

  • Eddie Van Halen 5150

    Orioles appear to have gotten Derek Lee, does anyone else feel they may suprise everyone this year?

    • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

      What kind of surprise? I can see them breaking .500 at best, there will be no playoffs for them in 2011.

  • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

    I know that the odds are against it, and that no one wants it to happen, but I’m going to lay it out anyway: What if AJ is terrible again in 2011. If he gets to June 1 with an ERA of around 5.5, is there anyway that the Yankees can justify sending him out there every fifth game?

    Between lack of a viable replacement and the financial obligations, I feel like AJ’s going out there no matter what. The upshot is, he just has to be better.

    • http://twitter.com/bryanl26 Bryan L

      What are the options? As of right now, our 4 & 5 is Nova & Mitre. Unless they pull off a major trade (unlikely) or Noesi/Phelps are tearing it up at AAA, Burnett is probably going to have to stay in the rotation.

    • Sean C

      Seriously, there is no other option. No one is going to pay him what the Yankees are/do, and the Yankees are not a team that sheds contracts, they take them on. AJ still has flashes of brilliance and I hope Rothschild can help him sort it out. Either way, AJ is here to stay. Then again, I have around zero faith in teams making terrible deals since Javy signed with the Marlins. Seriously.

  • Pat D

    So I log into my Netflix account on Christmas Day, to check my instant queue as they have a habit of expiring movies on the 1st of the month and only giving a week’s notice. Sure enough, 31 movies on my list will expire tomorrow.

    Since then I’ve just tried to watch as many as possible. So far I’ve watched 12 and intend to watch 2 more before the end of the night. And I saw The King’s Speech in the theater today.

    I would say I have no life, but you all know that already.

    • http://jukeofurl.wordpress.com Juke Early

      Try not being able to use the Instant Queue, because you have dial up. AND still paying for it.

  • Chris

    Brian Cashman should be fined $10K per week for as long as Sergio Mitre is in the starting rotation. That’s just a freakin disgrace having a guy that lousy starting for a team with the resources of the Yankees. When did we become the Pirates?

    • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

      When did the season start? Get a grip, we’re two months away from SPRING TRAINING games, never mind regular season games.

      • Chris

        Hope you’re right. Doesn’t look like there’s too many options out there however especially when you start hearing names like Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon being mentioned. Who’s next, Sidney Ponson? I think we’re stuck with Mitre in the rotation for at least the first couple of months of the season.

  • Matt

    Sure hope that the whispers about the Yanks interest in Soriano is false. I’d hate to give up that first round pick and a multi-year contract for a pitcher who likely will only produce 1-1.5 WAR. The only way I’d have any interest would be if he’d accept a one year deal so the Yanks could let him walk and recoup a couple of picks next year.

  • Kit

    Just wanted to pass by and wish everyone a Happy New Year.

  • Jimm McNulty

    Fuck this shit. 28 in 2011.

    • Accent Shallow

      “Shit this fuck” is funnier.

      FYI

    • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

      You polyanna.

  • YankeesJunkie

    Still 2010 in my books

  • thurdonpaul

    Mike, Ben & Joe, great job ! Happy New Year all !!

  • Xstar7

    It just hit me that it’s 2011 now.

    • Accent Shallow

      Quit your job.

      Drop out of school.

      100% not kidding

    • plank

      1/1/11

      • plank

        if you “use” the “traditional” “calendar”.

        It’s just another day in year 7 to me.

      • Sean C

        Wait for 11/11/11, then shit REALLY will get interesting. I can’t wait to see how many products launch on that date just to gimmick-ly sell more.. Goddamn Christmas season…

  • Accent Shallow

    I have made some bad decisions.

    Auld Lang Sayne, motherfuckers.

  • Accent Shallow

    Better: “for Auld Lang Syne, my dear” or “for Auld Lang Syne, my jo”?

    I prefer the latter.

  • RobC

    Anyone awake sober and not hung over enough to think talk baseball?

    Lets consider what would happen if the Yanks do go with a rotation of CC, AJ, Hughes, (Pettitte),Mitre.
    That is do not trade for an above avg SP.
    Can we reasonably expect the 3 B’s to be significantly MLB productive in 2013? Lets say one as an SP and one as a RP. Brackman gets a little MLB time this year and one other gets some MLB time next year.

    So in 2013 what does CC still have?
    Hughes should be a #2 SP.
    There should be some FA pitchers options after 2012 season.
    INF of ARod, Jeter, Cano, Teix.
    Cano should be very productive in 2013 and so should Teix.
    Jeter and ARod ???
    Montero at C or DH.

    So it does not look like there is a narrow window here.
    (Other than Mo might regress to the point his WHIP will be over 1.00 (big grin))

    • The Real JobaWockeeZ

      I’m expecting all 3 as relievers. There was even talk of ManBan being a LOOGY.

      If anyone gets a decent chance of starting I’ll be surprised.

      • The Big City of Dreams

        great more starters turned relievers :/

  • Rafael

    anyone want a good laugh to start the year? Check this out: http://www.nesn.com/2011/01/20.....3849a5970c

    • RobC

      Yeah, more than a little optimistic
      Very good team but greatest ever?

      Hitters 6-9 don’t look scary

      Dice-K greatest #5 starter ever?
      As if that is something to be proud of???

      • http://www.twitter.com/deanezag Zack

        100m #5 starter? That was Theo’s plan all along.

    • http://www.twitter.com/deanezag Zack

      The Red Sox have won 100 or more games three times in their 110-year existence.
      They will make it four in 2011….

      Saltamacchia is a bit of a wild card, but the 25-year-old could be ready for a breakout season….

      And Dice-K might be the best No. 5 starter ever. The Japanese right-hander is the only pitcher in the rotation who’s never been an All-Star, but this could be the year he ends that streak….

      The 2011 Red Sox could accomplish a feat that has never been done. They could unseat the 1927 Yankees as the greatest major league team of all time.

      Thanks for the laugh.

    • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

      I read this at like 4 AM while seriously tipsy and was half-convinced I was making it up. I, uh, did not. Wow, just wow. I think Boston has an excellent team going into 2011 but… wow.

    • Accent Shallow

      This is laughable.

      We all know the greatest team in Major League history will have Casey Kelly on it.

    • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

      Ok, let’s take a look at this…

      “2011 Red Sox Will Challenge 1927 Yankees for Title of Greatest Team in Major League History”

      So far, Red Sox are 0-0 to the Yankees 110-44. Try again.

      “The Red Sox have won 100 or more games three times in their 110-year existence.”

      …So?
      “They will make it four in 2011.”

      My fourth grade writing teacher – “Back up assertions with quotes and facts!!”

      “But this team has the potential to accomplish something even bigger than winning 100 games.”

      …Like actually winning a single game yet?

      “The last time the Red Sox reached the 100-win mark was 1946…”

      PRECISELY.

      “…when they went 104-50-2 and lost the World Series to the Cardinals in seven games.”

      …digression #1 (keep count!)

      “Prior to that, the Red Sox posted 101 wins in 1915 and 105 in 1912. Both seasons ended with World Series titles.”

      Cute. When you win 27, call me.

      “Will the duck boats be rolling through the streets of Boston again next fall?”

      No.

      “Bookmakers like the Red Sox’ chances.”

      They also thought that the Dallas Cowboys would have a winning season this year.

      “Current odds put them at 9-2 to win the 2011 World Series. Only the Phillies, at 7-2, are bigger favorites, with the Yankees not far behind at 5-1 shots.”

      Because the Giants were huge WS favorites in January 2010.

      “Championships, of course, aren’t won in January”

      Digression #2.

      “But championship teams are built during the offseason…”

      See: 2010 Rangers (26-24 through May 30).

      “…and Theo Epstein has put together a roster that would make Branch Rickey proud.”

      And the Cowboys are a Super-Bowl caliber team.

      “Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
      Dustin Pedroia, 2B
      Carl Crawford, LF
      Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
      Kevin Youkilis, 3B
      David Ortiz, DH
      J.D. Drew, RF
      Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
      Marco Scutaro/Jed Lowrie, SS”

      That 7-8-9 made me LOL.

      “Speed.”

      Ok, I’ll give you that.

      “Power”

      Everyone has power in your bandbox, with that crappy rotation.

      “Plate discipline”

      That applies to everyone not named Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and Carl Crawford… whose job it is to get on base.

      “This lineup has it all. Good luck finding a hole from 1 to 7.”

      The hole is in the bones of Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury.

      “Saltamacchia is a bit of a wild card, but the 25-year-old could be ready for a breakout season.”

      …Or not?

      “And whoever is the starting shortstop — Scutaro or Lowrie — gives the Red Sox one of the toughest No. 9 hitters in the game.”

      So tough that they bat behind the feared Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

      “Besides a potent offensive attack, the Red Sox will boast airtight defense, perhaps the best of any team in baseball.”

      Third base will eat Youkilis alive.

      “Turn to the bench, and manager Terry Francona has plenty of options.
      Mike Cameron, OF
      Darnell McDonald, OF
      Marco Scutaro/Jed Lowrie, INF
      Jason Varitek, C”

      Any team that considers Varitek an option these days is insane. Saltallamacchia better breakout.

      “Youth, experience and versatility will ride the pine like lions waiting to hunt.”

      You better hope so.

      “…like lions waiting to hunt.”

      REPEATED FOR HILARITY.

      “Depth won’t be a problem, especially with players like Ryan Kalish, Lars Anderson and Josh Reddick on the farm.”

      Because they really tore shit up in 2010.

      “In 2010, the Red Sox scored 818 runs (second-most in the majors), or 5.1 per game.”

      And who was number one?

      “They hit 211 home runs (second in MLB) and posted a .790 OPS (tops in MLB).”

      In Fenway Park.

      “The offense, with even more weapons now, could demolish those numbers.”

      And the Cowboys will win the Superbowl.

      “Yet one run is all it might take to win a game on some days with the starting staff the Red Sox have assembled.
      Jon Lester, LHP
      Josh Beckett, RHP
      John Lackey, RHP
      Clay Buchholz, RHP
      Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP”

      WAT.

      “Lester is a Cy Young winner waiting to happen.”

      So is CC Sabathia, David Price, Justin Verlander, or any other pitcher who proved that they are better than Lester.

      “Beckett will notch more than six victories.”

      As will Ivan Nova.

      “Lackey should be better equipped to avoid the one-bad-inning syndrome.”

      YAY FOR 6.5 K/9

      “Buchholz has become a force.”

      Keep running from that FIP.

      “And Dice-K might be the best No. 5 starter ever.”

      Ha.

      “The Japanese right-hander is the only pitcher in the rotation who’s never been an All-Star, but this could be the year he ends that streak.”

      And Ivan Nova could be the second coming of Cy Young.

      “Every Red Sox starting pitcher has something to prove.”

      Winning game #1.

      ” While the Phillies might be the popular choice as the best rotation in baseball, don’t be surprised if people are singing a different tune come October.”

      Same applies to the Red Sox. Digression #3.

      “When Red Sox starters have to hand the ball to the bullpen this season, Boston fans won’t have to have to cover their eyes and pray. The weak link in 2010 could be one of the best relief corps in the business.”

      I’d start saying the Hail Mary’s every time your bitchy, one-pitch closer comes out.

      “Tim Wakefield, RHP
      Scott Atchison/Matt Albers, RHP
      Hideki Okajima, LHP
      Dan Wheeler, RHP
      Bobby Jenks, RHP
      Daniel Bard, RHP
      Jonathan Papelbon, RHP”

      TIM WAKEFIELD IS STILL IN BASEBALL!?

      “Okajima is the only known left-handed quantity.”

      Exactly.

      “But youngster Felix Doubront has talent and should see some action. Rich Hill, Lenny DiNardo and Andrew Miller also could contribute.”

      So could Royce Ring.

      “The right-handers in the mix all bring experience and different styles to the fire. Need long relief? Call on Wakefield to disrupt hitters’ timing. Need a middle-inning specialist to get key outs? Wheeler knows how to do the job, and Atchison proved serviceable last season. Albers could be a diamond in the rough. Want heat? Jenks and Bard throw seeds. Want to turn out the lights? Papelbon is pitching for a contract, so trust he will be ready to show he’s far from washed up. Reliability and consistency — foreign concepts to Boston’s bullpen last season — will be common words associated with this group”

      Digression Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7.

      “Every day should feel like Christmas for Curt Young, the new Red Sox pitching coach. The former A’s pitching coach didn’t have anything close to the horses he has now, and Oakland’s staff posted a 3.56 ERA last season, the best in the American League and fourth-best in the majors. Imagine what he can do with a Grade A collection of arms.”

      Oakland’s rotation > Red Sox

      “The Red Sox were slated to win about 95 games last year.”

      Precisely. Digression #8

      ” They won 89 despite injuries to Pedroia (a former MVP) and Youkilis (a possible future MVP).”

      Youkilis isn’t actually that good. Get over it.

      “Add them back, along with the new players and a healthy Ellsbury, and 100 wins doesn’t just appear plausible. It seems downright inevitable.”

      About as inevitable as your roster staying healthy for 162 games.

      “So does a date with history.”

      Frodo’s gonna destroy the ring?

      “The 2001 Mariners won 116 regular-season games to set the American League record for most wins in a single season and tie the 1906 Cubs for the major league record (though the North Siders accomplished the feat in 152 games). Both those teams failed to win the World Series. The Cubs lost to the White Sox in six games in the Fall Classic. The Mariners didn’t even make it that far, falling to the Yankees in five games in the ALCS.”

      Digression #9. The article should just end here.

      “The Red Sox have no intention of suffering a similar fate.”

      Neither do 29 other teams.

      “The way they are constructed, they could surpass the 116-win mark, but nothing less than a World Series title will make Boston happy.”

      This is why your city is as miserable as Seattle.

      “The 2011 Red Sox possess all the pieces to have a season for the ages.”

      Not really, but OK.

      “If everything falls into place and the breaks go their way, they could do more than set records and become champions.”*

      * Guarantee is not actually guarantee.

      “They could do more than take their place on Immortality Peak and end up being mentioned in the same sentence as legendary clubs of the past: the 1929 A’s, the epic Yankees teams of the ‘30s, the 1970 Orioles, the 1976 Reds.”

      Should have also mentioned the Yankees teams of the early 50’s, early 60’s and late nineties. But hey, I’m not the accredited journalist here.

      “The 2011 Red Sox could accomplish a feat that has never been done. They could unseat the 1927 Yankees as the greatest major league team of all time.”

      Crawford/Gonzalez =/= Ruth/Gehrig.

      “That would be something to celebrate”

      I’m having my 2012 New Years eve part tomorrow. Who wants to come?

      • FIPster Doofus

        Despite your criticism of that horrendous article, some of your opinions aren’t exactly unbiased. JD Drew, he of the career 134 wRC+, hitting in the seven hole isn’t worthy of laughs – he’s pretty damn good; Lester is better than both Sabathia and Price; and Youkilis is indeed “that good.”

        Battling someone else’s overly homeristic views with your own isn’t a recipe for success. That is one of the stupidest articles I’ve ever read, though.

        • Mike_Rogers

          His response does have it’s own homerism, but it’s more sane than the the article. Probably hard for him to be sane when commenting on something insane.

          • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

            That.

            It’s time to compare the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry to the Vietnam War.

          • FIPster Doofus

            His post is absolutely more sane than the article – by far. That doesn’t mean reality should be blotted out, though.

    • http://jukeofurl.wordpress.com Juke Early

      Lot of heavy drinkers in Massholechewsit. And it ain’t Kool Aid.

    • Jimmy

      Does seeing a guy getting paid for writing this hurt any of the RABbi’s feelings?

    • BigApple Hairpie

      i hope they keep writing those articles…not the firt one i’ve seen. all it does is raise expectations and add pressure.

  • Pat D

    http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....ions123010

    I think this was referenced earlier in this thread. Now he makes a few good points, but when he gets to “School No. 3,” all I could say was “What the fuck?!?”

    Essentially he accuses everyone but Maddux, Griffey and Jeter of maybe quite possibly perhaps using PED’s. Now while it might be admirable for someone to think he has a responsibility to uphold the integrity of the game, there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed. If he decides he’s in either of the last two categories he created, then he has not only crossed that line, but he also destroyed it on his way past.

    • http://www.twitter.com/deanezag Zack

      It looks like he ‘s just mocking School #3 to me, he just showed any type of player can be linkd to PEDs somehow, and at the end of #3 he says “The Hall of Fame is not the place for educated guesses. It deserves better.“

      • Pat D

        I suppose so. Because he could have said that same about Griffey and Jeter, they’ve played with ARod and Pettitte, respectively, so they must be guilty by association, too. Maddux played a few years with Sosa, too, I believe.

        So, yea, maybe that’s why he didn’t go that far.

  • http://jukeofurl.wordpress.com Juke Early

    AND in Phila. old Bill Conlin thinks Juan Gon should be in the HOF. That’s almost as funny as Boston hubris. Which is likely redundant. It’s not an oxymoron. Well, just the moron part.

    • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

      but teh RBIs!!1!1!1

    • Accent Shallow

      This is one of the problems with putting somebody like Jim Rice in — suddenly a lot of other outfielders start to look really qualified.

      • Mike_Rogers

        An argument can be made that he is qualified by existing HOF standards.

        He has two MVPs, and his career 132 OPS+ places him ahead of approximately 70 HOFers. I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but I believe there are approximately a little more than 200 former MLB players (pitchers and position players) in the HOF, with about forty being pitchers. His OPS+ is as equal to or higher than a significant percentage of HOF position players.

        Working against him is he was an OFer who played during a high-offensive period, and his production was pretty much finished by the time he was 31, preventing him from accumulating enough counting stats that would have made him a lock. And while he has a higher OPS+ than many, many HOFers, many of those behind him are infielders and position players, or CFers, or other OFers who were much better defensive and complete players (like a Roberto Clemente), or who played long enough that their career OPS+ was pulled down by their later years. And, oh yeah, there were the steroid issue. Yet, it needs to always be noted that he never failed a steroid test. All we have is a claim by Jose Canseco, which means nothing. (Am I correct on this? Not on Jose Canseco’s opinion, but on not failing a test? I think I am, but not 100% sure.) And why is it that some people point to the long and productive careers of a Palmerio and Clemens as evidence of steroid use, while others point to the sudden end of a career, such as with Juan Gonzalez, as evidence of steroid use?

        Anyway, I don’t believe Juan Gonzalez is a HOFer, although he was solidly on track throughout his 20s and most would have figured he’d waltz in. He certainly accomplished enough to be in the debate and he wouldn’t lower the HOF standards. Not even close. He won’t make it in for a couple of reasons. Enough traditional BBWAA-voting members believe he took steroids, so they won’t consider him. The sabermetric community has entirely written off Gonzalez, perhaps unfairly using him as a test-case against the RBI stat. Perhaps both sides are wrong here. Last, unlike Rice who had their former PR head leading an “induct Rice campaign” for the past decade, Gonzalez has no group supporting him. Not his former team, not traditional BBWAA members, not the sabermetric community. He’s screwed.

        Hmmmm…this maybe the most positive anything I’ve ever written about JuanGone.

        • http://jukeofurl.wordpress.com Juke Early

          @Mike_Rogers well thought out & makes a good case. However, your work here is more worthy of the HOF than Juan Gonzalez who’d most likely be incapable of reading it.

  • BigApple Hairpie

    just joined this site…i’ve been reading it for about 6 months…very, very funny and inciteful…my spelling sucks so pls excuse it.

    yanks can sovle all pitching problems by signing Wonderboy Casey Kelly!

    • Sean C

      Didn’t you hear he isnt any good anymore since he left boston’s system?

  • http://www.twitter.com/deanezag Zack

    Wang said at a charity drive that he has made a New Year resolution to return to the MLB next year, hopefully in May.
    http://www.chinapost.com.tw/ta.....-makes.htm

    Didn’t his agent said he would be ready last May?

    • BigApple

      funny…Wang and I have the same resolution

  • http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten

    YES. Twentyeleven. THANK YOU.

    Can everyone just stop with the two-thousand-and-eleven nonsense? It’s way too many syllables and no one said one-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine.

  • http://jukeofurl.wordpress.com Juke Early

    @Kiersten – I’m with you. How about 2K-leven ;-)

  • Teh Comp Pick

    Its a new year, Joba is still set to toil as a middle reliever.

    • The Big City of Dreams

      Cashman has to believe that Joba is going to have a big yr because I’m trying to figure out why he is still on the team.

  • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

    Yo 1927 Yankees, I’m really happy for you and I’m’a let you finish, but the 2011 Red Sox are the greatest team of all time.

    ALL TIME!!!!!

    (Look, I know the Yankees get hyped and everyone babbles about Jeter’s intangibles and Sunday Night Baseball is like three+ hours of [look away, kiddies!] verbal fellatio of Cano. But please, someone find a comparable article about the Yankees prior to the 2009 season. Or even like that “masterstroke” article.)

    • Louis

      Haha I get it

    • Mike HC

      Is there any other kind of fellatio?

      • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

        Indeed, an ancient, artistic kind known only by Andy Pettitte.

      • http://www.retire21.org first name only male (formerly Mike R. – Retire 21)
  • Louis

    Random thought- wouldn’t we of been better off keeping aceves and putting him in the rotation instead of mitre?

    • Accent Shallow

      There’s been at least one scout/talent evaluator who said repeatedly that Aceves could succeed in the rotation, if the Yankees would just give him the chance.

      I really think they should get him back in the org.

    • http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten

      1. wouldn’t we HAVE
      2. there’s that whole “he’s out with a back injury” thing.

      • Louis

        I’d be willing to bet that if aceves was in a coma, hed pitch better than mitre. Throw him out there- with or without the back injury.

  • http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten

    So I live in central time now. Last night, everyone told me they show the ball drop twice here, once live at 11 and then again at midnight. So my friend and I decide we’re going to celebrate twice since most of our friends and family are in the east. But we missed it the first time. Whoops. Then at midnight, we put the TV on and they didn’t show the ball drop again. Not only that, but we completely missed the clock turning midnight.

    Just a general New Year’s fail all around.

    • YankeesJunkie

      Yeah the US TV stations pretty much just gave us the finger for the CST. Thank goodness Univision was on CST.

      • http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten

        So it wasn’t just us being drunk idiots? they really didn’t show it at 12 CST?

        • YankeesJunkie

          Nope. Honestly that probably helped in your search than if you were sober.

        • Sean C

          We missed it here, too. All we saw on MTV was that Jersey Shore scum and Whitney Cummings’ crotch (she kept lifting up her skirt and flashing the camer). It was a rather tasteful production all-around. The rest of the broadcasts were a crapshoot, too. Oh well, at least no one fired guns into the air in our neighborhood. This is a step up from last year.

          • Sean C

            flashing the camera*

    • http://jukeofurl.wordpress.com Juke Early

      You know it’s still a new year whether you witness that pleb crap. The fact you have a friend puts you ahead of most people ;-)

  • http://www.facebook.com/cecala Joseph Cecala

    I think the TB Lightning may have more fans than the Rays which is pretty sad..

  • Jimmy McNulty

    Woah…awesome Rose Bowl.

  • Dr. O

    Granted they couldn’t do anything about the unseasonably warm temperature, but even aside from that I don’t get Heinz Field as the venue for this game. Its as scenic as a McDonalds’ parking lot. PNC Park would have been awesome, but I’m sure it was too small.

    • YankeesJunkie

      They should play a game on Lake Placid and create a temporary 1.5 million temporary mega stadium.

  • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

    Am I the only one who thinks that people have been too low on Mitre?

    He’s no Andy Pettitte, but he has the potential to be passable. While he has a 5.27 career ERA or something, I don’t think that he’s going to pitch to that.

    • BigApple

      I look at it this way…Mitre could do no worse than Vasquez. That being said, I’d feel a whole let better if Mr. Pettite delayed retirement for one more year.

      • Xstar7

        Good luck with that

      • FIPster Doofus

        I definitely think Mitre could do worse. Vazquez had a -0.2 fWAR but, to his credit, was mostly fantastic from late May to late June. He was arguably NYY’s best pitcher during that two-month stretch. Mitre is pure garbage and has zero chance to produce a two-month performance like that, and I have no confidence his full-season effort would be better than the -0.2 fWAR Vazquez amassed in 2010.

        • FIPster Doofus

          Edit: I meant late July.

        • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

          But you see, two months is ~12 starts. Mitre has proven himself capable of making almost league average starts, many of them.

          In ’07, he made 27 starts in Florida to a 4.65 ERA. Not terrible. I’m sure that he can make a dozen league average starts. Besides, there’s no way that he makes more than a dozen starts anyway. You think he’s going to be fifth starter all year?

          • FIPster Doofus

            “You think he’s going to be fifth starter all year?”

            Nope. Before the season I expect Cashman to add another pitcher – hopefully Pettitte – which would put Nova in the fifth spot and Mitre in the bullpen, where he belongs.

        • BigApple

          late may to late june is one month, not two. so vasquez had one good month out of 6….that’s terrible. the bottom of this rotation can do whatever it wants to…if both AJ and Phil don’t pitch better and deeper into games it won’t matter one bit.

          • FIPster Doofus

            Read the post underneath the one you replied to. I meant July but typed June by accident.

    • Sweet Dick Willie

      Am I the only one who thinks that people have been too low on Mitre?

      Nope.

      Granted he sucked in 2009, but that was his first year back from TJS.

      Last year, in 54 innings, he had a 1.093 WHIP.

      I think he will most certainly have a better year in 2011 than Javy had in ’10 (talk about setting the bar low!).

      • Chris

        Yes I think you are. Mitre won’t last for more than 5-6 starts before he gets banished back to long relief.

        • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

          We all know that though; he ain’t making 30 starts, that’s a given at this point.

          Unless he’s roiding up as we speak and comes out of ST throwing 100.

    • Chris

      You must be out of your mind if you expect anything even close to passable from Mitre. Look at his splits as a starter the last 3 years. He makes the 2010 version of Vasquez look like King Felix. His stats appear halfway decent because he’s done fairly well in relief but as a starter, I’d be surprised if he pitched to even a 0 WAR.

      • NJ Andy

        His career FIP is a 4.72. I’d take that.

        Now, granted, that’s with lots of relief time added in…but his only full season as a starter gave us a FIP of 3.98.

        He won’t be that ‘good,’ but I don’t think he’ll be as bad a Javy. Honestly, everyone knows he stinks and after 5 innings Joe G will go to his binder. With small doses like that, Mitre won’t kill the team. He will need the other starters to go longer (here’s looking at you AJ) to avoid burning the ‘pen, but that’s something that can be lived with.

        Heck, they could even bring up Brackman to caddy with Mitre. Go 4 innings each or something. His starts can be viewed as nothing more than long relief roles. Nobody needs 7 out of the guy.

        • NJ Andy

          For comparisons sake: Javy’s FIP last year was 5.56. Even if Mitre falls from his career norms to a 5, he’s an improvement. It’s hard to be worse that we had last year.

      • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

        at best he makes 2010 Vazquez look like 2010 Burnett.

    • hogsmog

      Most of his innings are in relief, why do you expect him to improve on that when he starts?

  • NJ Andy

    Is anybody else disturbed by the results this poll on the YES Network home page?

    Which Yankees catcher deserves the most playing time in 2011?

    Russell Martin 43%
    Jesus Montero 35%
    Francisco Cervelli 11%
    Jorge Posada 9%

    I figure if you visit the YES site this time of year, you have to have some level of team dedications…how do we get people so on board with Frankie? I understand votes for anybody else (even if I disagree with them) but…really?

    • http://www.facebook.com/cecala Joseph Cecala

      A lot of people just irrationally hate Posada for whatever reason. Then again voting for Cervelli over Martin and Montero is just play dumb

      • http://www.facebook.com/cecala Joseph Cecala

        just dumb*

      • NJ Andy

        Right. The way I view it the votes can be viewed like this:

        Martin – “I think Montero is the future, but he needs to mature. No need to rush the kid.”

        Montero – “He’s ready. Let’s have some fun this season with a new stud.”

        Cervelli – “???”

        Posado – “He’s been good enough for the past fifteen years. Why change now?”

        • whozat

          Martin – Who?

          Montero – Isn’t he that kid? I don’t know.

          Cervelli – He has so much energy, and he’s so CLUTCH! Remember that time? And that other time? And they need defense back there, the Red Sox signed Carl Crawford!

          Posada – I don’t care how well he hits, that one passed ball every few games kills the team! And AJ can’t pitch to him!

          • pat

            +1. Perfect.

          • China Joe

            I didn’t know Mike Francesa commented on the RAB blog.

  • Granderslam

    I read today that the White Sox might be interested in Soriano if they can free up some money. Wondering if they’ll possibly make one of their starting pitchers available via trade in order to do so. Yankees should be all over that.

    • mbonzo

      I agree, I predicted they would try to free up some money to solidify their bullpen in a year they clearly look to compete. With 6 starting pitchers, its pretty obvious that’ll be the first place they look to trade a player. Mark Buehrle or Gavin Floyd to the Yankees please.

    • http://www.facebook.com/cecala Joseph Cecala

      Trading a starting pitcher for in order to get a reliever is illogical. Why would a team do that? A guy that pitches ~180+ innings is more valuable than a guy that pitches ~80 innings

      • mbonzo

        The reason they would do that: they have 6 starting pitchers. Either they run a 6 man rotation or they trade and go with a 5 man. It would be retarded to run a 6 man because its just as efficient as a 5 man but you’re paying for an extra guy. Pitchers are accustomed to regular rest so that extra day means nothing and you’d be paying around $10m for that extra arm. In this case they should trade Buehrle, save the $14m he’s supposed to make in 2011 and use that on a closer. They’ve made it clear they want to compete this year, I would gladly trade one of my 6 starting pitchers for prospects, money, and a top closer if I was the Kenny.

        • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

          Who are these six starters? Buehrle, Danks, Floyd, Jackson, an injured Peavy and Chris Sale with zero professional games started? They traded all their minor league pitching depth in the last two years, which is why they had Tony Pena starting games at the end of the season.

          • mbonzo

            Having Tony Pena making 3 emergency starts is indicative of some White Sox starting pitching needs? The White Sox only had 10 starts from their bullpen, while the Yankees had 19. I don’t know what that says, or means, or how it relates to what we’re discussing but if the White Sox have limited starting pitching depth, the Yankees are apparently twice as bad according to these standards.

            As for Sale, he’s been a starting pitcher his whole career up until his short time playing professionally. He’s not entering 2011 as a starter but the way he dominated last year really says that he’ll be up at some point next year once they stretch him out. I’m not the only one that believes that. Peavy should be back mid-April to May. If the White Sox there is a great enough risk between Peavy and Sale fighting for that 5th starting job they can always sign Garcia as a backup, who’s made it clear that he wants to return to Chicago. Trading a starting pitcher would clear up money for a bullpen piece that would move Sale to the rotation, give them a more reliable closer, save money, and if they trade the right guys they could get a decent starting pitcher prospect.

            • http://www.twitter.com/deanezag Zack

              White Sox gave Pena 3 starts after he had 293 relief appearances with 0 starts – that’s a little different then calling on your long men and/or 6th starter in the minors to make some spot starts.

              • mbonzo

                Tony Pena is a long reliever. And he was primarily a starting pitcher in the minors. Also… its 3 starts!

      • http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

        You’re looking at it wrong. If you have excess in your rotation and no closer, it makes plenty of sense. I understand your point, but its a simple roster/depth chart issue.

        In any case, I thought they let Jenks go because they wanted Thorton to close. I doubt this report is accurate.

        • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

          I’d rather have rotation depth and Thornton closing, who’s better than Soriano anyway.

          • FIPster Doofus

            But he only has 17 career saves!!11

  • http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

    When Eiland says “there was never any real reason as to why” he wasn’t rehired by the Yankees, certainly you, the Yankees and every thinking Yankee fan know seven little letters are the reason: R-E-L-A-P-S-E…and it’s not the first time.

    http://bleacherreport.com/arti.....ny-yankees

    I love Bleacher Report. It’s the National Enquirer of sports blogs.

    • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

      The saddest part:

      Somewhere, someone took that article seriously.

      • http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

        I liked the part where Eliand’s wife gave birth to an alien.

  • AJ

    Anyone have thoughts on Grady Sizemore in 2011? Will he bounce back from injuries?

    • Reggie C.

      Last I read Grady was on track to play opening day. Maybe that changes but it appears he’s recovered well from the microfracture surgery. He’s only 28 and has three legit All-Star seasons under his belt.

      I dont see Grady as a trade candidate at the 2011 deadline however. The salary isn’t crushing at all and trading him now after two consecutive injury-shortened seasons would be the epitomy of selling low. I’d actually be wary if the Indians were shopping Grady. I’d like to see Grady healthy, running hard, and mashing before making BG expendable for Grady.

      • MikeD

        Just my two cents, but microfracture surgery is quite tricky and a full recovery is far from a given. While the surgery was reported successful and the recovery seems to be going well, microfracture surgery results on professional athletes have been mixed. I think the odds are better than not that he will suffer some reduction in performance. The question is how much.

  • mustang

    Mike Axisa says:
    December 31, 2010 at 7:49 pm
    The offense was the issue in 2008, not the pitching.

    In August of 2008 during the middle of the playoff race the Yankees lost 10 games that they scored at least 3 runs or more out of those 10 games opponents scored 7 runs or more in 8 of them. If I remember correctly the Yankees were still in the race going into August of 2008.

    http://www.baseball-almanac.co.....#038;t=NYA

    • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

      Ten games in August does not a season make. I’m sure you’ll be able to find ten games when they lost despite allowing three runs or fewer.

      The rotation had a 3.79 ERA that year.

      • FIPster Doofus

        I don’t understand how the rotation’s ERA was that good. Of the main SPs, only Mussina (3.37) and Chamberlain (2.60) had truly impressive ERAs. Wang was the next best at 4.07. The rest were pretty bad (Pettitte at 4.54, Rasner at 5.40, Ponson at 5.85). Kennedy, Hughes and Pavano only combined for 24 starts, but their ERAs ranged from 5.77 to 8.17.

      • mustang

        “Ten games in August does not a season make.”

        Please tell that to the Astros and the Rockies a few years back they might disagree.

        • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

          that’s pretty irrelevant IMO.

          • mustang

            What’s irrelevant?

            Two teams that despite bad starters made the playoffs because they played well late. I’m sorry the games in April and May mean the same as in August my bad.

      • mustang

        “The rotation had a 3.79 ERA that year.”

        That’s great what was it in August in the middle of the race?

        • The Real JobaWockeeZ

          …You can’t be serious.

          • mustang

            All I know they were in it going into August then the pitching blew up.

            • mustang

              Maybe because they had this going for them Pettitte (hurt), Rasner (really a long man sound like anyone we know), Ponson (should of never been near a mound)

              • Mike HC

                Yea, I remember that the pitching was in absolute shambles. Which made us pay CC more than any other pitcher ever and overpay AJ a ridiculous amount.

                Pitching, pitching, pitching was the rallying cry that off season after basically every pitcher signing in the mid 2000’s didn’t work out.

                • mustang

                  Thank you!

        • MikeD

          My first reaction is if they had a 3.79 ERA for the season, then even if they had a bad stretch come August, they overall did well for the season. They must have been winning a lot of games to get us to that point, and a win in April and May is just as important as a win in August and September. They all add up to the total yet.

          That all said, I’d like to take a closer look at the 2008 starting rotation stats, too, since they were patching it together, and Andy Pettitte basically stayed in the roation with a bad left wing, when he needed rest, because he was one of the few options we had. That 2008 rotation is the reason the Yankees went out and spent a ton on CC and AJ for 2009. We had rotation problems, no matter what that ERA says.

          • mustang

            “a win in April and May is just as important as a win in August and September. They all add up to the total yet.”

            Tell that to Mets fans!

            • Mike HC

              I’m with you. Obviously all wins count the same, but it is more important to get hot down the stretch in my opinion. It is not how you start but how you finish.

              • mustang

                My point exactly the Yankees were playing patchwork with the 2008 rotation from the go and by August it all caught up to them. I’m not saying that the offense wasn’t an issue, but I think Mike statement is a bit strong.

                • Gonzo

                  In disagree. Games in April and May are more important. See how annoying that is?

                  • mustang

                    Its annoying when you put that way. Give me some reasons and we will discuss it that’s why we come here.

                    • Gonzo

                      The 2007 Red Sox. 20 games above .500 in April and May. Won the world Series. See how annoying that is?

                    • mustang

                      2010 San Francisco Giants 41-40 7.5 games back on 7/4/10. Want keep going?

                    • Gonzo

                      The 2006 Cardinals were one game under .500 in August. They won the world series.

                    • Gonzo

                      The 2010 Giants had a better July than August. I though August was the most important?

                  • mustang

                    And what we are discussing here are the 2008 Yankees in August of that year.

                    • Gonzo

                      Yes, you can single out one month and point to that. However, why can’t you say that August wouldn’t matter if they were better in all the other months. It cuts both ways.

                    • Gonzo

                      So for the 2008 Yankees:
                      August>>>>April, May, June, July, and September?

                    • mustang

                      Because they patched it together until August 1st when they were 2.5 games back of the wild card then there pitching blew up.

                    • Gonzo

                      Was that a yes to what I said about August>>>April, May, June, July, and September?

                    • Gonzo

                      Or one could say they were only 2.5 games behind on August 1st BECAUSE the pitching was good and their hitting was crap. Works both ways.

                • mustang

                  My personal favorite.

                  In July 1978, the Yankees were 14.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox…..

                  • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

                    Just imagine if they hadn’t been a .500 team in June and July, their lives would have been much easier at the end.

              • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

                World Champion 2009 Minnesota Twins

                • Mike HC

                  Getting hot at the end got them in the playoffs. And they had to beat the Tigers in a play in game the last game of the season. You want to be clicking at the end of the season going into the playoffs. It is really a no brainer.

                  • Mike HC

                    It is the same reason why we should not panic about our starting rotation this season. It is why we don’t overwork our bullpen, and why we allowed our bullpen to shake itself out in the beginning, so we get it figured out in the end.

                    • Mike HC

                      RE: starting rotation – – we can make a move at the deadline for a starter and be fine by the end of the year.

                  • mustang

                    “It is really a no brainer.”
                    Apparently not

                    • Mike HC

                      You are right, apparently not.

                  • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

                    And if they weren’t .500ish and below before the All-Star Break they would’ve never needed to get hot to make the playoffs.

                    I mean, I know what you’re saying, kind of. It’s way better to be five back in April and June than with two weeks left in September. But you seem to be arguing for momentum, and IMO, momentum is BS. The Twins were on fire down the stretch in 2009, only to get swept aside by the Yankees. Just look at how the 1998 and 2000 Yankees ended the season – totally differently, the 1998 guys won seven in a row and the 2000 Yankees absolutely limped to the end, like worse than in 2010. They both won the World Series.

                    • Mike HC

                      I’m arguing that you want to be playing your best baseball at the end of the season and into the playoffs.

                      Apparently you guys are arguing that playing great in the beginning of the season and limping your way into the playoffs is equally as good as limping in the beginning and playing great at the end. I just can’t even come close to agreeing to that.

                    • Mike HC

                      In my experience playing competitive sports, there are undoubtedly times where everything is just clicking and you are playing great. And sometimes you just can’t seem to get it figured out and you are constantly tinkering trying to get back on track. “Momentum” is not a myth.

                      Timing is also everything. If a guy is a 90% free throw shooter in basketball, but can’t hit them at the end of the game, it is meaningless. Give me the 80% free throw shooter who hits them at the end when the pressure is on.

                    • Mike HC

                      Same reason why closers in baseball get paid far more than set up men even though many set up men pitch a similar amount of innings and to similar era’s.

                    • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

                      In my experience playing competitive sports, there are undoubtedly times where everything is just clicking and you are playing great.

                      Right, like the 2009 Twins at the end of the year, who had come back from a large deficit pretty dang late in the season and had the biggest win of their season less than 24 hours before they played the Yankees in the ALDS. That’s like the definition of momentum. Or the 2007 Rockies, or the Phillies that year too. Or the 2010 Phillies.

                      Momentum can’t hurt, no. But when you play a team that’s better than you are, it can only help so much. Heck, I still don’t think the 2010 Giants were better than the 2010 Phillies.

                    • Mike HC

                      Obviously momentum can only carry you so far. You need to be good. The Yanks in 2009 were simply a superior team to every team in the league. The Red Sox were the superior team to the Rockies. But the Rockies made the WS due to getting hot at the right time. The Giants won the WS last year due to getting hot at the right time.

                      The playoffs are considered such a crap shoot here at RAB because we understand that the best team does not necessarily win every time. It is the team that is playing best when it matters the most.

              • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

                If I went 81-0 in the second half but 0-81 in the first, I’m a .500 team.

                • Mike HC

                  So you wouldn’t prefer our team to better in the second half of the season than the first assuming the win total would be equal at the end?

                  • mustang

                    Nooo. That why I was picking the 41-40/ 7.5 games back San Francisco Giants to win it all back July 4th 2010.

                  • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

                    No, I’m saying that consistency is best. All 162 games are made equal; for example, if you’re in a win and in situation on the last game of the season, had you won literally any other game that you lost, a tense, last game situation would be avoided. The Giants could very well be favored at 41-40, but had they been 42-39 the season would not have come down to the last day.

                    • Mike HC

                      Playing great the entire season is clearly optimal. But if the choice is shaky in the beginning and great in the end, or great in the beginning and shaky in the end, the choice is easy.

                    • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

                      when has that ever been a choice though?

              • Mike HC

                The team that wins the championship is the team that is playing best at the end of the season. You can’t win championships in april and may.

                • Slappy White

                  but you can lose them if you fall too far behind

                  • Mike HC

                    True. You obviously can’t completely punt the beginning of the season. But you want to just stay solid and in the race and then come on strong in the end.

      • mustang

        ” I’m sure you’ll be able to find ten games when they lost despite allowing three runs or fewer.”

        I found 2 In August 2008.

      • http://www.yfsf.org AndrewYF

        Sorry Mike, but you’re looking at the bullpen numbers.

        Yankee starters put up a 4.58 ERA in 2008.

        • FIPster Doofus

          I knew 3.79 seemed way too solid an ERA for that group of starters to have put up.

          • Mike HC

            Yea, same. That rotation was an absolute mess. It was painful to even watch some of those games with who we were throwing out there.

        • mustang

          That seem more in line.

    • http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten

      If Posada and Matsui had been healthy that season, the Yankees would have made the playoffs even with their abysmal rotation.

      They would have most likely lost in the first round, but they most likely would have been there.

      • Accent Shallow

        And if Joba and Wang don’t get hurt, they might make the playoffs anyway.

        • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

          If Joba and Wang don’t get hurt, and Pettitte’s arm doesn’t require some twine attaching it to his shoulder after the ASB, 2008 actually had a really good rotation.

          • Jimmy McNulty

            And if my Aunt Julie had balls she’d be a kick ass uncle.

            • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

              No kidding.

              Just my point is Pettitte was good for a while until he just imploded, and Joba and Wang were good until they got hurt.

              • http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

                I’m amazed you just put Pettitte and Wang in the same sentence without it being some sort of devious innuendo.

                You’re really slipping, kiddo.

                • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

                  HAHAHAHAHA.

                  I am not sure how to make a clever dirty joke about that, but it honestly did not even occur to me.

              • Jimmy McNulty

                Joba’s was a rookie pitcher who racked up a lot of strike outs and walks. High pitch counts and not a lot of experience = injury risk. If Mark Prior and Kerry Wood stayed healthy the Cubs would have had an awesome rotation 2004-2008 or so. Wang’s injury was a freak accident, but seeing as how he never really came back…yikes. I don’t know what to think about that.

  • Gonzo

    Callis compared Betances to Ranaudo in terms of value. And Doubront to Nova in the same way.

    • http://www.yfsf.org AndrewYF

      I love how Betances = Ranaudo, when Ranaudo hasn’t pitched a single professional game in his life.

      Can’t wait until the next ‘next Boston SUPAHSTAH’ falls flat on his face in the minor leagues.

      • Jimmy McNulty

        It’s a shitty lazy comparison. They’re both tall latino pitchers who have had injury issues, that’s where the similarities end. Ranaudo is more refined (naturally since he’s a college pitcher) but he’s more 92-93 with sink and better control. Betances is more of a pure stuff guy.

        • http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

          I don’t think Dellin is even Latino. He was born in Brooklyn and I think his dad is African-American.

          • Jimmy McNulty

            Ahhh…Betances is a latino name, it wouldn’t surprise me if he had some in his background (not that it makes one bit of difference one way or another), if he’s not change the similarities to “Latino sounding names”

            • Shaun

              He’s mixed, father is latino; mother is black

              • Jimmy McNulty

                Ahhh yes, my original statement stands.

                Me FTW.

                • Gonzo

                  He said in terms on value not stuff, makeup, etc…

  • icebird753

    Slow day. Time to shave my stache

  • http://twitter.com/bryanl26 Bryan L

    I get it Mike, trying to be green eh? all recycle like?

  • Jimmy McNulty

    Seriously, if any coach of in Landover deserves to get the ax it’s Mike Shanahan. He got in a fight with a quarterback that his team traded a high pick for and he couldn’t work things out with a player that the team is paying 100M.

  • http://www.twitter.com/jordansmed JGS

    In a grand demonstration of the NFL’s parity, the 7-8 Rams face the 6-9 Seahawks tonight, with the winner qualifying for the postseason as the four seed. The loser is out all together. Parity doesn’t mean more good teams, it’s just means a lot of mediocre teams. Enjoy that mess.

    When they (inevitably) expand the playoffs after this season, how long before there is a sub-.500 team playing in October?

    • http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

      There’s an easy answer to that. Eliminate the divisions and go with seeding.

      But Baseball will never do that, because they love to cultivate and promote regional rivalries. Baseball is a very regional game, that’s why revenue sharing doesn’t work the way it does in other leagues.

      • Ed

        I don’t think they care about regional rivalries, at least not to the level you think they do.

        Fans aren’t going to care about a 12th place team. That’s going to feel like an impossible hole to dig out of. The 16th place team in the NL ? Forget it, they’ll be looking at Marlins level attendance.

        5th place feels like a hole you can dig out of. I’m guessing there are plenty of Nationals fans that believe they’ll be competitive in 2012 thanks to Werth, the return of Strasburg, and the debut of Harper. They only have to move up 3 spots to be in the playoff race, and the Mets and Marlins aren’t intimidating. It’s a lot harder to get excited about a 14th place team that has to move up 10 places to make the playoffs.

  • http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

    http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/.....inger.html

    This is a glittering example of how to read a FA rumor. You always have to filter a rumor through which side you think it’s coming from. From MLBTR:

    The Yankees are not after Rafael Soriano, according to Rosenthal (on Twitter).

    That’s because Ken gets his information from the Yankee front office.

    They have inquired on the Scott Boras client, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.

    That’s because Heyman gets most of his info from agents, particularly Boras.

  • http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten

    Somehow I JUST discovered Stumble Upon.

    …and I will never be bored again.

    • RichYF

      That’s a shame. You’ve already missed so much of the Internet.

  • http://twitter.com/steveh_mandaura Steve H

    Tom Brady’s hair>>>>>Sam Bradford’s hair

  • http://twitter.com/steveh_mandaura Steve H

    Brandon Meriweather has been named to as many Pro Bowls in his career as Rodney Harrison.

    Is Heyman a voter?

  • http://twitter.com/Carlosological Carlosologist

    Who here would do Swish-Phelps/Noesi for Dan Haren? I’d jump on that immediately.

    • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

      I wouldn’t. That’s twice as much as they gave Arizona for him, and Haren’s value has gone down because you’re not getting those extra three months of him.

      • http://twitter.com/steveh_mandaura Steve H

        Would the Angels do it? I don’t think you can hold what Haren got in trade in consideration for trading for him now though. There are plenty of bad GM’s in baseball, can’t let that affect you later. Put a value on a player and if you can get that player for what you value him for, do it.

        • whozat

          I think Mike’s saying that that’s giving significantly MORE value for less of Haren than the Angels had to spend to get him in the first place. That it’s too much for the Yanks to give up. Nick Swisher is a borderline All-Star outfielder in his prime on a reasonable, short-term deal.

          • http://twitter.com/steveh_mandaura Steve H

            I get that it would take more to get Haren than the Angels gave up for him, but that’s because Dipoto made a bad deal. You can’t necessarily use a prior bad trade to consider what value you assign a player. Haren’s ability didn’t change because he was traded for less than expected. He’s still the player he was regardless and carries the same on field value. Haren is an All-Star caliber pitcher also on a reasonable short term deal. You’d have to give up something considerable for him, and I’d guess it would take at least Swisher plus a prospect or two.

            • Matt

              If the Yankees were going to trade a guy like Swisher or Grandy for a starting pitcher, it would have been nice to have signed Crawford to fill the gap.

              • FIPster Doofus

                Agreed. The “trading an OF for a starting pitcher” ship has sailed.

    • Matt

      Too much to give up at this point however Cashman really blew it by not getting Haren last fall when the Yankees could have easily topped the Angels offer. Things would look a lot better now if Haren were in the rotation.

      • whozat

        Did we ever hear anything about that? Who did they want from the Yanks?

        • http://twitter.com/Carlosological Carlosologist

          Supposedly it was something like Nova and Joba for Haren.

          • http://twitter.com/Carlosological Carlosologist

            There may have been a position player thrown in there too.

            • The Big City of Dreams

              Hindsight is 20/20 but know what we know now I’m sure many fans would have done that trade.

              • Matt

                I really don’t think Cashman ever considered the possiblity that they wouldn’t be able to sign Lee.

                • The Big City of Dreams

                  Yea I agree. I think he along with the rest of the organization thought it was in the bag.

              • The Big City of Dreams

                knowing what we know*

        • Matt

          Yeah the Yankees reportedly were interested. Supposedly Cashman balked when Arizona wanted Joba in the deal.
          Here’s the link

          http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/s.....cks-072410

          • Matt

            I’d make that deal tomorrow if I could.

            • The Big City of Dreams

              Lol everyone would make that deal especially since all Joba is is a middle reliever.

              • Matt

                Everyone except Cashman when he had the chance.

                • whozat

                  That’s the thing…Cashman isn’t stupid. It makes me wonder if “something like Nova and Joba” was really “Banuelos, Romine, Nova and Joba”, and he was willing to do something like Banuelos, Romine, Nova and Melancon, but they wanted Joba instead of Melancon…you know?

                  • The Big City of Dreams

                    Cashman isn’t stupid but he has been very reluctant to move Chamberlain. If Joba was lights out in the pen fine no one would disagree but that’s not the case.

          • FIPster Doofus

            I was pissed off when NYY didn’t get Haren and I still am. There really wouldn’t have been a need for Lee had the Yankees landed Haren in the summer. Lee just would’ve been a luxury. Instead, Haren is wasting his services on a franchise which is unafraid to spend and spinning its wheels, Lee is in Philly, and Sergio Mitre is in New York’s rotation (for now, anyway). That just flat-out sucks.

            • The Big City of Dreams

              I think the non move for Haren was based on the belief that Lee was a “guarantee” to come here. I really believe the Yankees felt it was a sure bet that Cliff would take his talents to the Bronx and play for the Yankees but that was not the case. The problem is now the team is looking for pitching.

            • FIPster Doofus

              *afraid to spend

    • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

      Also, I’d prefer to not trade either Granderson or Swisher. If they do and Gardner turns into a pumpkin coming off wrist surgery, the outfield will get real thin, real quick.

      • Matt

        Usually a wrist injury saps a player of power. If that happens to Gardner, he may not be able to get the ball through the infield.

  • Xstar7

    Whoa I just saw a Boston Sports ad on RABs homepage a minute ago! WHAT THE F**K!

    • whozat

      There used to be red sox merchandise ads sometimes. Gots to pay the bills :-)

  • mustang

    You things are bad in Yankees land when:

    1- You goggle: Yankees news and you get: Spotted: A-Rod and Cameron Diaz!? – 9 hours ago

    2- Mike has recycled the same Open Thread for 3 days.

    3- I have had three different discussions in that same Open Thread.

    4-The 3 day thread has yet to break 300 comments.

    • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

      Well, it is a holiday weekend. Did the same thing last weekend.

      • mustang

        Totally kidding.

  • OldYanksFan

    Wow… a VERY disturbing article.
    Are the Yankees Losing Plate Discipline?
    http://itsaboutthemoney.net/
    check out the TEAM number. Ouch

    • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

      It’s one year’s worth of data, I wouldn’t get too worried about it.

      • http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.

        That. And pitching was significantly better in 2010.

        • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

          Yeah, no kidding. The league average on out-of-zone swing percentage was between 25.0-25.4% from 2007 through 2009. Last year it was 29.3%.

          • whozat

            Whoa. Did the umps start calling a more liberal zone? Did a bunch of dudes with nasty swing-and-miss stuff come into their own? Did the emphasis on defense bring a bunch of hacktastic players into the league?

            I guess one could look at out-of-zone swing% for pitchers who’d been in the league for a while, see if there was a boost in % for those guys. That could control for new pitchers, maybe.

  • SouthernYankeeFan

    So i really F-ed up with a girl this weekend. Didn’t cheat or anything like that just generally acted like an ass. Any creative apology methods would be much appreciated.

    • derek

      get in your pick-up and blast some Jason Aldean

    • http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
      • whozat

        Lemme guess…you’re about 30? Still kinda wish you were Lloyd Dobler?

        • http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno

          23.

    • camilo Gerardo

      play it down, but ask if you’ve been too much of an ass for her tast

    • Betty Lizard

      In this type of situation, creativity isn’t really a strong suit. There are, however, time-tested tactics.

      Preliminaries: (if this is a girl you genuinely care about. If not, don’t bother.)

      Flowers. Delivered by an actual florist. Extravagant flowers. That’s just to, shall we say, clear the air.

      A written apology. With groveling. Perhaps delivered with the flowers?

      A really, really, really nice dinner with a really really good wine. That is, if she’ll even agree to see you.

      All of this just sets the stage for the important part, which is your sincere pledge not to act like an asshat.

      Then comes the hard part, which is actually not acting like an asshat.

      • whozat

        Sure…that…or this

    • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

      Women love being the center of attention. If the situation allows for it, have flowers delivered to her at the office. She’ll love being able to rub it in the face of all the bitches she hates there.

      • whozat

        Joking aside, flowers at the office is a great way to start. Especially if you actually remember a kind or a color that she particularly likes. Red roses are trite.

    • Mike HC

      Take responsibility for your actions. Tell her you realize that it was a poor choice to take a shot for every second of the 10 second countdown to New Year’s, leading to you throwing up all over her in bed that night. And that it was not your fault that stupid hooker gave you herpes last week which you passed on to her and that you won’t give her herpes again. Follow that with some flowers and you should be all good.

      • Mike HC

        Also, it goes without saying that if you have to pay for it, it is not “cheating.”

        • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

          Even if you don’t pay for it, it doesn’t count as cheating if they live in different zip codes. It’s science.

    • http://www.twitter.com/jordansmed JGS
    • http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

      I would just like to say that for the record, I’m no flower fan. Get me chocolate. Or Andy Pettitte. Maybe Andy Pettitte carrying chocolate.

      The thing Mike said about making all the other bitches at work or whatever jealous is 100000% true though.

      • whozat

        What about FLOWERS MADE FROM CHOCOLATE?!?!?!!?!

        (but, yeah…clearly, if she’s not a flower person, you should probably know that by now. if you don’t…maybe just call it lesson learned and move on…)

    • SouthernYankeeFan

      Thanks for the ideas. I think I’m gonna go the flower route. This is the first time I have been such an ass to someone i genuinly cared about. worst part was we had an hour car ride home the next day and it was tense. She wouldn’t even speak to me in the car

    • Jimmy McNulty

      Yeah, I did the same thing. Give it a day or two then apologize your ass off.

  • Total Dominication

    Great article for those pessimistic about 2011: http://itsaboutthemoney.net/ar.....-to-worry/

    • YankeesJunkie

      I might panic if Mitre is the fifth starter in April because that means he might be the third starter in May. However, I don’t see that happening.

  • FIPster Doofus

    The Rams and Seahawks are absolutely horrendous.

    • http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

      Parity!

      • YankeesJunkie

        Real parity won’t come until next year where all the teams have a 0-0 record.

  • YankeesJunkie

    So anybody been reading the Hardball Times Annual or playing FIFA 11?

  • Jimmy McNulty

    I love that a 7-9 team made the playoffs.

    • Gonzo

      Gotta say, I like it too.

    • Pat D

      Yea, especially one that the Giants absolutely manhandled.

      Oh, wait, they did that to the Bears, too.