YES Network: We know a squirrel seems to live on top of the right field foul pole. This is New York; there are lots of squirrels. Please get over it.
The umpires are complete fools
To offer up a counterpoint to Mike, I don’t think Joba was trying to hit Kevin Youkilis intentionally. I don’t know what happened with those pitches; I don’t know what was going through Joba’s head. But it doesn’t make sense.
That is, however, besides the point. I want to direct your attention instead to a quotation from umpire crew chief Derryl Cousins in this Jack Curry article:
“Those were two pretty nasty pitches the young man threw,” Cousins said. “Up here, you need to be a little better throwing strikes, and we just had to put a lid on it.”
Now, in my opinion, the 9th inning was handled badly by everyone today. Torre’s decision to stick with Joba in the 9th is indefensible when Chamberlain is limited in how often he can pitch. Furthermore, Angel Hernandez, the umpire who ejected Chamberlain, was out of control. Chamberlain threw two bad pitches, and no warning during the course of this entire series was issued. So why not warn the 21-year-old and let the game continue? No one wants to see Angel Hernandez flailing around like a power-hungry fool. They do, however, want to see Joba Chamberlain.
Then, when the game ends, Derryl Cousins has the nerve to refer to the 2004 fight between A-Rod and Jason Varitek as the supposed history between these two teams. He then starts talking condescendingly about “up here, you need to be a little better [at] throwing strikes.” So the umpires decided to “put a lid on it.”
Last I checked, most relief pitches don’t get ejected when they can’t find the strike zone. Did Edwar Ramirez get ejected when he threw 19 of 20 pitches out of the strike zone last month? He certainly wasn’t too good about throwing strikes “up here.” Last I checked, pitching coaches are the ones who determine when to “put a lid on it” when their young pitchers aren’t near the plate. I didn’t realize Angel Hernandez was actually helping the Yankees by removing a wild pitcher from a game. I guess we should thank him then.
So who knows what happened? Who knows why Joba was throwing over Kevin Youkilis’ head. If he did it on purpose, more power to him. If he didn’t, then oops, and everyone’s blowing this out of propotion. But there is no doubt in my mind that Angel Hernandez first and Derryl Cousins second have handled this situation so poorly. Their actions and words cast more of a negative shadow on the game and the sport than two of Joba’s errant pitches did today.
Don’t start apologizing to Torre
Over at the Worldwide Leader, Jeff Pearlman has penned a Page 2 apology to Joe Torre. Here’s the entire column in a nutshell:
A know-it-all bozo on ESPN.com’s Page 2 opines that the Yankees should save their season by firing Joe Torre, then watches in amazement as New York’s manager guides a severely flawed team back into the pennant race.
To get this out of the way (not that I have any reason to think he’s reading my work): I would like to apologize to Joe Torre for a completely wrongheaded column that never should have been written. It was dumb. Beyond dumb.
As you can imagine, Pearlman goes on to shower Torre in accolades for guiding the Yankees through the thick and thin en route to a pennant race right now. As Yankee-mania heats up and the Red Sox start to feel the pressure of a four-game lead that was once fourteen, we’ll be seeing a lot of this. We’ll see columnists extolling the virtues of Joe Torre and praising him for a job well done as he guides a team that struggled at the beginning of the season to the playoffs.
But really, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Last I checked, Joe Torre was still responsible for, according to these guys, six losses this year. Six losses, by the way, would give the Yanks a two-game lead in the East. By my count, Torre then is still on the hook for the Yanks’ having to play catch-up all summer. (Yes, I recognize the Yanks may have still gone 0-6 in those games, but Torre’s moves were fairly inexplicable at the time.)
Meanwhile, Brian Cashman was forced to trade away members of the Yankees at the trade deadline because the front office was concerned that Torre was using them as a crutch. Scott Proctor and to a greater extent Miguel Cairo were exiled from the Yankees because Torre kept insisting on deploying them in high leverage situations. That is not the sign of a manager with a full vote of confidence.
I also have to wonder how much of the credit Joe Torre really deserves for the Yankees’ offense. Take a look. Since the All Star Break, the Yanks are hitting .329/.396/.557. That’s a team OPS of .926. So yeah, good work at the plate, Mr. Torre.
Now, you can look at this and say I’m being too critical. You’re probably right. Torre’s can a better job of late of managing the bullpen now that Kyle Farnsworth, Brian Bruney and Scott Protor are either in Joe Torre’s doghouse or gone from the team, but I prefer to thank Mariano Rivera for that move.
To his credit, Torre has been very good at getting the most of his team. Bucking his past trends, he’s entrusted the centerfield job to Melky Cabrera. He’s balanced at bats between Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi. He’s stuck with Andy Phillips at first base. So, yes, Torre gets some credit.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The way the Yanks are playing, they don’t need a manager right now. And we don’t need to gloss over Torre’s faults to the detriment of the Yankees.
No fun allowed! No fun allowed!
I’ve been sitting in the right field bleachers frequently this year, so the recent string of ejections has me worried. My buddy Mischa G, who also frequents the right field benches, has written a little something-something about the whole situation. As Ben’s mother pointed out yesterday, the Fascism in Yankee Stadium is not limited to the bleachers, but it’s certainly more emphatic there.
“Yo! Melky!”
So begins most home games this season in the right field bleachers. With Bald Vinny standing, surrounded by the most die hard of fans, Yankee Stadium’s Bleacher Creatures lead as the right field bleachers chant each Yankee’s name. As they player waves back, the fans move onto the next player, from Melky in center to Matsui in left and Bobby in right. And so on. After A-Rod’s name is chanted the fans turn to the section of box seats just across the divide and chant “Box seats suck!” several times before Vinny instructs everyone to “Sit down and shut up!” and the ball game really begins.
Except recently there’s a new tradition. Starting around the series vs. the A’s at the end of June, the chant of “Box seats suck!” was met with ejections. In fact a zero tolerance policy was instituted in the right field bleachers, far beyond any enforcement in any other section of the park.
Pointing at out-of-town fans and singing “Why are you gay?” during the YMCA is now met with immediate ejection in the bleahcers, and rightfully so. Those doing so are usually not the regulars anyway. Instead, those leading the stadium tradition of roll call have often been thrown from games before the first out for so little as shouting “sucks”. The enforcement is highly inconsistent from day to day, but is generally strict.
Slowly the Bleacher Creatures, saluted on billboards outside the park, are being killed off. Their cruder rituals like the gangbang song, have long since gone the way of the dodo in the stands. Now you only hear whispers of “Mets Suck” sung to every song piped through the stadium. “Box Seats Sucks” has only been chanted (and not met with ejection) a few times in the last month. The wave even occasionally ripples through the right field stands.
So these days roll call often ends a different way.
“Rob-in-son! Rob-in-son!”
“De-rek Je-ter! De-rek Je-ter!”
“A-Rod! A-Rod!”
“No Fun Allowed!”
Yankee Stadium, now with less facepaint
A story from Tuesday, courtesy of my mom. She witnessed the following incident while putting the stuff she brought to the game in one of those flimsy terrorist-proof, clear plastic bags.
As I was putting food into a clear plastic bag, 3 guys were stopped by the person giving out the bags because their faces were painted. One face was half white and half blue; the other two had the interlocking NY on their cheeks. She told them that facepainting was not allowed in Yankee Stadium. She told them that they had to wash it off before entering the stadium. They were incredulous and asked where they were supposed to do that. After a bit of back and forth, she let the guy with the half white and half blue face into the stadium to wash his face while the other two waited for his return. I never did see the outcome because I went inside but I think the idea was that the friends were kind of like hostages so the first guy would come back out to get them. I don’t know if they had to wash off too, maybe one at a time.
I thought the whole incident was ridiculous. Who’s rule is that? How many times have I seen facepainted people on TV at other stadiums?
Last month, we wrote about the ban on the “Box seats suck” chant (which may or may not have been related to anti-Semitic slurs hurled at Shawn Green). But this story is ridiculous. The Yankees don’t allow facepaint in the Stadium. Are you kidding me?
If the Yankees really think facepainted fans are a threat to those around them or interfere with the enjoyment of the game, they need to remove the giant stick from their collective asses. Facepainting has long been a part of the fan experience, and to ban seems ridiculously over-the-top. If they haven’t banned facepaint, then this security guard needs a stern talking-to.
Read nothing into Cashman’s comments
Nothing warms my heart better than typing the next three words: Great win tonight. The Yanks overcame Roy Halladay and Kyle Farnsworth to win a thrilling game. They shaved a game off the Red Sox lead and held steady in the Wild Card. Things are clicking.
Today, I would like you all to reserve the Kyle Farnsworth insults for the comments on this post. Instead, as Phil Hughes prepares for another Minor League rehab start, let’s talk about what Brian Cashman said yesterday afternoon.
As Peter Abraham noted last night, the Yanks’ GM spoke a bit about Kei Igawa’s spot on the rotation as Phil Hughes’ return comes closer. Cashman claims that Kei Igawa has been hurt by his irregular spot in the rotation and that Hughes has nothing guaranteed. “Until he’s ready it’s not something we have to consider. He’s not guaranteed anything,” Cashman told the Yanks’ reporters.
Now, let’s get one thing straight: Phil Hughes will always be a better pitching option than Kei Igawa. Kei Igawa won’t magically stop giving up home runs if he starts getting on a regular work schedule. He won’t find a way to make 115 pitches last 8 innings instead of 5 innings, and he won’t magically find a way to get out Major League hitters.
That being said, Brian Cashman here is doing his job as General Manager. He isn’t going to throw Igawa to the wolves even though we know Igawa will end up with the wolves if Hughes returns healthy and ready to go. He can’t say that, yes, Kei Igawa has just two more starts left in the Bronx this year. Considering that Kei Igawa is under contract for four more years, the Yanks won’t be as tactless as to cut him loose now.
Plus, as Abraham later noted, no 21-year-old is ever guaranteed a spot in the rotation based upon his work in 10.2 Major League innings. We know what Hughes can do; we saw it in Texas on the night his hamstring popped. For now, Hughes doesn’t automatically get that spot.
But know this, readers: Phil Hughes will be back in the Yankee rotation if he aces his last two rehab tests. Cashman will be on hand today in Trenton, and if Phil delivers the goods, as I expect him to, Cashman will say to himself at least that Igawa is gone. So don’t despair; Cashman is simply tending to his sheep. As the Yankees’ shepherd, that’s his job.
Say ‘hello’ to the new backup first baseman
While some people are fearing the arrival of Shea Hillenbrand in New York, I think the new backup first baseman will be none other than Erubiel Durazo come the end of the All Star Break.
Yesterday, the Yanks signed Durazo to a minor league contract. This move came a day after Miguel Cairo’s three errors led to a Yankee loss.
It’s expected that the Yanks will cut a member of the bullpen. While it would nice to see Ron Villone or Mike Myers let go, Brian Bruney still has options, and the Yanks would like him to work out the problems he’s faced due to overuse a recent loss of control.
Durazo, meanwhile, has never lived up to his billing. He’s marginally better than Shea Hillenbrand and not nearly as big a malcontent as Hillenbrand. This move, however, is fine. It’s probably temporary until Mientkiewicz comes back, and it carries a low-risk/high-reward potential as long as Durazo doesn’t take innings away from Andy Phillips.
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