Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Feels like 1994 all over again . . . .

Time of Death:

The Scooter said...
September 23, 9:59 PM Officially eliminated from the Playoffs.

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I'm pulling for the Dodgers now, and yes, it was wrong not to have Torre mentioned in the video clips at the Stadium finale. . . shows just how fragile some egos in Yankee management land really are.

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Octobers are just not complete without the Pinstripes on the field of play.

14 comments:

The Scooter said...

I suppose it's finally time for me to give props to the Rays...UGHHHH

I honestly thought that all year the glass slipper would break and they would go back to wallowing in mediocrity...but it never happened.

The Red Sox aren't good enough to win the World Series.

Prof, I can't bring myself to root for the Cubs....Chicago is such a nice town with such stupid people (much like Boston)that I just cant root for them.

If Moose wins 20, he's Hall of Fame bound.

Crash said...

Buster Olny has a nice write up on the Yankees failures stemming from their free spending and inability to scout and draft talent. He argues that signing Sabbathia, Burnett, and/or Teixeira would hurt them more than help them.

Anyone else hearing that Plexico Buress has been suspended by the Giants for 2 games???

old professor said...

Crash, the Giants have confirmed the two week suspension (this includes the by-week and Seattle game). Apparently Burress was a no show for Monday's practice and failed to respond to phone calls nor did he call in a reason for his absence - bottom line - a charge of insubordination and two weeks off. Strange this all comes two weeks after signing an extension to his contract.

And since when do you start listening to anything Buster Olny has to say especially about the Yankees. I am willing to admit the Yankees should have traded Cabrera and Kennedy for Sabathia prior to the season (if in essence the Twins were trying to include Wang than the Yankees were right to pullout).

Signing Texeira would not hurt them though he may not provide all of the offensive support they need.

Regarding the Torre snub, how much time did they give to Joe McCarthy or Stengel in the farewell. (And before you ask Scooter, no I don't remember McCarthy but do remember Stengel, Houk, and the rest).

Apparently, Roger Clemens was "heartbroken" that he was not invited to the celebration or mentioned with the other great pitchers. Reports are he sat on the couch with Debbie holding her hand watching the farewell presentation on television. The heartbroken quote is from his mother-in-law.

Middle Relief said...

Season Summaries:

Melkey .243, 8 HRs
Phil Hughes, 0-4 7.96 ERA
Ian Kennedy, 0-4, 8.17 ERA
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Johan Santana 33 Games, 15-7 2.64 ERA

Crash said...

I like Buster Olny. Liked his book, like him on ESPN, find him credible as a reporter. I wouldn't rely on him concerning statistical information and sabermetric type stuff. But his argument is valid and he's not the first to identify this challenge. I just hope it doesn't take as long as some think it will to rebuild the farm to pay dividends at the big league level.

old professor said...

Mid. Santana's record with the Mets would not necessarily translated to the same record in the American League. It is easy to concentrate on Hughes, Kennedy and Melky as the rationale for the Yankees failure this year. What really caused the Yankees to fail more than anything else was inconsistent play, failure to move runners over in critical situations and failure to get runners in from scoring position with less than two outs. During their playoff years the Yankees did that very well. You cannot expect players who never were asked to hit to the right side or bunt any time during their careers, to suddenly be able to do it. (As Leiter indicated the other night these are things that are taught starting in rookie league and continued through the minors. Yankees don't appear to worry about those types of fundementals.

Nady played some first again last night. Could it be the Yankees will try to solve their first base issue by putting Nady at first??

Crash said...

I was encouraged by Hughes' performance last night. He was, at times, very dominant. Hung a curve to Rolen or else he gets a W. It was good to see the team battle and pick up a win in extras even though it means nothing in the standings.

The Yankees were inconsistent because they had too many holes in the line-up. You can tolerate a .220 hitting back-up catcher, but it's compounded when you have an undisciplined .240 hitter like Melky, and then a lazy player like Cano hitting 60 points below his career avg. #.

I like Andy Pettitte stepping up and taking responsibility, saying they missed the playoffs because of his performance. He has 1 win in his last 10 starts. He wins the team is in the playoffs. We were talking about him winning 20, he finishes at 14-14. I like Andy Pettitte but I don't bring him back next season.

Sign Mussina for 1 year with team option on 2nd year. Give him a shot at 300 in a Yankee uniform.

old professor said...

The truth about Pettitte came out last night when it was announced that Ponson would get Andy's last start this Saturday. The reason his elbow is barking as well as his shoulder.

If the manager knew the pitcher was hurting which could and did affect his ability to be successful, why keep sending him out.

Regarding Mussina coming back, it not only will depend upon the Yankees wanting him back, it is whether his wife wants him to pitch again. Indications are she would prefer him at home to spend time with the kids. Can't blame him for hot wanting to miss his kids growing up. (Once the time passes for being with kids, you can never get it back).

Crash said...

The Daily News has a neat little poll called "Keep 'em or Dump 'em"
This means even Old Prof can play GM.

No surprise over 70% of fans say dump Melky, Kennedy, and Giambi.

Over 90% say keep Joba, Wang and surprise new Yankee favorite Xavier Nady.

Jeter was above 80%, A-Rod, Posada, Mussina, and Hughes are all about 70%.

Surprises: dump Pettitte, keep Abreu, keep Damon.

Here's the link to vote:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/09/23/2008-09-23_yankees_keep_em_or_dump_em.html

Crash said...

Was looking at some #'s for some FA. Don't be surprised if the Yankees do not make a big push for Sabathia, but rather Burnett. Sabathia has a losing record against the Red Sox (2-4)with an ERA around 4, and is basically a .500 pitcher vs the AL East.

Burnett on the other hand is 5-0 in 8 starts vs. the Sox with an ERA of 2.56. He is also 26-8 vs. the AL East in his career.

Anonymous said...

So, I put this post up in regards to the Bombers not making the playoffs, I guess the title also pertains to members of Congress.

Back in '93 the Dems were forced to vote on a lot of tough, but necesary bills (tax hikes to reduce budget etc.), and they then got hammered in the election that followed.

Now, they are faced with voting for a $700b bailout of banks, voting for McCains alt. plan, or sitting and doing nothing. Either choice I think is like handing a loaded gun to their opponent for the next 4 weeks . . . interesting times.

Anonymous said...

crash - plus the brewers have been just abusing Sabathia down the stretch - who knows how much damage is being done to his arm and what the impact will be for the next few seasons.

Crash said...

I think I heard this morning that the Brewers will start Sabathia on 3 days rest for the second consecutive start, his last game was on 3 days rest. If they make it to the post season they better hope Sheets is able to throw because CC can't pitch every game.

old professor said...

Mid, regarding the bailout - what alternative does the government have? If they don't bailout the system and pick-up the loans there is a strong possibility the economy sinks into a deeper recession.

Personally, I have a problem with the government tinkering with the free market economy. People made bad investments then suffer the consequences. (Besides historically when the government gets involved in things, it only makes matters worse).

The economic problems we how face are directly tied to a president that never has had a clue how to run the government or be president. The people elected a good old boy and are now paying the consequences for their actions - a never ending war in Iraq, a psuedo war in Afghanistan, and an economy that is a joke and makes us look like a third world country.

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