Open Thread: Ramiro Mendoza
By
(MLB.com)
It’s been six years since he last pitched in affiliated baseball, but right-hander Ramiro Mendoza told Jose Pineda that he hopes to play for Panama in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. “It’s a source of pride for me,” said the former Yankees swingman, who has been training with his home country’s squad. “It’s a great honor to wear Panama’s uniform. I want to do it here, in front of my fans and I hope it’s not the last time.”
Mendoza, 40, pitched in the 2009 WBC and spent that summer with the independent Newark Bears, but he hasn’t been in the big leagues since his ill-fated second stint in pinstripes in 2005. He was a valuable arm and generally underappreciated part of the late-90s dynasty, pitching to a 3.48 ERA (3.79 FIP) in 698.2 innings and 277 appearances (57 starts) from 1996-2002 before joining with the Red Sox and promptly falling apart. Mendoza was the original Embedded Yankee.
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Here is your open thread for the evening. The Giants and Cardinals are playing Game Seven of the NLCS (Cain vs. Lohse, 8pm ET on FOX), and the Monday Night Football game is the Lions at the Bears (8:30pm ET on ESPN). Talk about those games or any other non-politics topic right here.
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*Comes out of baseball free cave* is it safe yet? I’ve only posted a few times since The Sweep subtitle: The End of The Yankees and Baseball as We Know It, Also Known As ‘Every Year the Yankees Don’t Win The World Series’ and it seems like people are still crazy.
On a side note, that is my working title for the book I just thought of about the entitlement of sports fans (specifically Yankee fans) in the NYC area.
I would read that.
You did the right thing staying away. It was pretty nuts. Kind of fun too, though, in a sadistic way. The attitude around here sort of became “throw shit at a wall and see what sticks”, so the non-trolls got their say too.
Side Note: I wouldn’t read the book. So ha.
If it happens, Torre should throw out the first pitch.
Shameless self promotion: this is a video montage I made of every single one of the 252 home runs hit by the Yankees this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRcMjMP50RY
Ah how I miss A-Rod’s sweet,sweet swing.
BTW, do you have a life?
good shit.
I’ll promote this on twitter for you.
Awesome
I thought he was an important piece with the Yankees during his tenure.
May 10, 1998: Mendoza throws a 5-hit shutout against the Twins.
July 10, 1998: Mendoza records a save in a 8-4 victory over the Rays.
Even though they were 63-20 after that July 10 game, I knew it was going to be a special year because when in the age of the specialized bullpen had a pitcher done both of those things in the same season?
Good work
Can I ask you a question and actually get a response? Did I do something in the past to insult you or anger you? Or are you just an asshole?
What a surprise, no response. You know what? I don’t give a shit any more. O:S time for your dumb ass.
Were you surprised?
Of course not.
Dumb ass
Didn’t work for the Braves this year.
D’oh! Should have at least checked this year.
HEY GUYS! Long time no talk!
Rooting for the Giants. I love the Cain fro.
Second best Panamanian pitcher in Yankee history?
It’s a pretty fun fact that here in Panama there are two players with 5 World Series Rings… Mo and “El brujo” Mendoza. Mendoza is a luckiest player than Mariano is
Every hit is painful to me right now. Hell, every quality at bat is painful.
Are you guys listening to this crowd??
I try to drown them out so I can get every nugget of wisdom from McCarver.
What the hell was one of the tips to the game?:
“In baseball they say if you slow down to win you’ll lose in the end?”
um what?
Was it better than this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xdTYVxzEwI
Lol. I actually understood what cartoon Tim McCarver said, unlike “real life” Tim.
Cain delivers just sounds weird.
I miss El Brujo
Pretty good write up of Gary Sanchez here:
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs.....kees-pt-3/
For anyone interested.
The Cardinals really should have beaten Barry freaking Zito at home in game 5.
See how much more exciting it was to see Cain flail through 3 pitches than to see an actual hitter at the plate?
ummm, you might be new here, so let me break down something for you right quick…
“flailing through pitches” is kiiiiiind of a sore spot in Yankee Land right now, so you may wanna soft shoe around it for a hot minute.
kthx
It’s a pretty fun fact that here in Panama there are two players with 5 World Series Rings… Mo and “El brujo” Mendoza. Mendoza is a luckiest player than Mariano is
1 run in 24 innings (and counting) for the Cardinals.
See? Any team can go cold at shitty times.
The Cardinals are a bunch of overpaid chokers…
If they weren’t all so old, too.
throw a parade…
1 run in 28 innings to choke away a 3-1 series lead.
I think I preferred the Yankee’s fate to the Cardinal’s fate.
Just sucking instead of choking is more preferable.
Yeah. Wow, that one’s gotta sting.
Wait, why am I acting like I don’t know how this feels?
Oh yeah, the 04′ postseason was cancelled. Never mind.
Good thing Yankees fans don’t know what blowing a big series lead feels like!
Go Giants and beat the ever living shit out of the Tigers!
The Tigers have to be stale after eleven days off…
Don’t be surprised if you see a repeat of 2006.
Hey maybe that Pujols guy could have helped them win one extra game. How much is a WS worth?
now wait.
what’s with the sn?
i bought ball four at a garage sale when i was eleven.
what makes you fake?
What’s A-Rod’s contract again? That was the price of 2009!
2015 ws mvp, thank you very much.
Actually, it was the CC/AJ/Teix contracts.
I keep being afraid that what they did in ’09 with bringing in those guys and possibly only winning one championship is going to parallel what has happened, or I guess did happen at this point, when the Celtics brought in Garnett and Allen. Just one ring.
I’m referring to multiple, dramatic HRs that saved several games for us in the 2009 post season.
Pure and simple, we don’t win in 2009 without A-Rod.
Mendoza was lights out in game 7 versus Arizona 1n the 2001 world series and I was hoping Joe left him in for the 8th inning and Mo would have only needed the ninth. mo got touched up in the 9th and the series was gone. Tough call for Joe not to stretch Rivera 2 innings but Mendoza was mowing them down that inning.
Correction, Stanton pitched the 7th inning that night but Mendoza was great that series and I think could have gotten the 8th and made things easier for Mo in the 9th, sorry for the correction.
guys, seriously.
scutaro? scutaro???
the hell.
Here are some other guys who have been MVP’s of postseason series:
Don Larsen
Larry Sherry
Donn Clendenon
Gene Tenace
Bucky Dent
Manny Trillo
Steve Yeager
Rick Dempsey
Jeffrey Leonard
Rob Dibble/Randy Myers
Steve Avery
Pat Borders
Mike Devereaux
Sterling Hitchcock
Eddie Perez
Craig Counsell
Adam Kennedy
David Eckstein
Cody Ross
Plus you’ve got things like Brian Doyle’s 7 for 16 performance in the ’78 Series, and Billy Hatcher going 9 for 12 with a 2.050 OPS in the ’90 Series.
Translation: Shit happens in one small series.
No Mike, actually Ramiro Mendoza was overappreciated. They could have traded Mendoza for Jim Edmunds in his prime. Instead, Joe Torre wanted a sixth inning setup man. Mendoza never had a good year again. Edmunds had around 12 more good years.
Uhhhh…Bernie Williams CF, O’Neill RF.
Raines, Strawberry, Spencer, Ledee, Curtis, and Justice were just fine in LF when you had Girardi/Leyritz/Posada C, Martinez 1B, Duncan/Knoblauch 2B, Boggs/Hayes/Brosius 3B, Jeter SS, Fielder/Davis DH.
Mendoza was an excellent swingman and the best one the Yanks ever had.