Wednesday, September 05, 2012

What Would George Do?

Simply put, the Yankees slump is a Leadership Challenge. When you look back at slides (last year's regular season end in both the NL and AL), you can point to the players, but ultimately it boils down to a lack of leadership. Yes - I do recognize, a team without Mo, and a banged up lineup that has sidelined at one point or another: Joba, Pettitte, CC, A-Rod, and Tex -- you're not going to be a better team. However, this is the Bigs, so to me, that is just a cop out in my opinion. I've never been a fan of Girardi as the manager. I think he lacks leadership. When you think back to the '09 championship team, a lot of people point to the game that Girardi got tossed as the emotional spark. I do to, but it wasn't Girardi that provided the spark, it was Tony Pena. If the Yanks don't turn it around - it has to be on the leadership, it has to be on Girardi and he has to go.

51 comments:

old professor said...

A manager does not put the ball in play, a manager does not move runners along or hit when they are in scoring position. Nor does the manager throw hanging sliders, hanging curves or throw BP fastballs. He puts together the lineup card and works with his coaches during the game.

Pena has been calling the pitches from the dugout, Long works with the hitters who by the way are batting the following over the last several games: Jeter 177, Granderson 150, Cano 170 and Swisher 165. Those types of averages are not going to get it done.

Hughes is near the league lead in giving up homeruns (38)- Girardi don't throw one of those pitches. Rothchild works with the pitchers on mechanics and location he cannot due brain surgery.

The bigger fault may lie with the decisions Cashman made to bring in so many aging veterans: Jones is now hitting under 200, Ibanez by playing more than we should have is in a slump, Garcia is back to an 88 mph fastball. These are not things that will allow you to win.

Oh Granderson leads the league in strikeouts; here are three questions to consider regarding the offense: what leadoff hitter leads the league in hitting into DPs, what starting shortstop leads the league in hitting into DPs and who leads the league in hitting into DPs - the answer is the same - JETER.

old professor said...

I never thought I would say this, but I think it is time to consider instant replay for baseball. The umpires can't seem to get it right. Last year a perfect game was not such because of a blantly bad call. Joe Mauer hits a double in the playoffs that is ruled foul. Now we find a critical series in Baltimore changes the complextion of the race because an umpire misses a call at first base. Instead of the game being tied it goes to the Orioles. Instead of the Yankees being two games in front of the Orioles and three in front of the Rays, it is a one game lead on the O's and two onthe Rays.

The umpires have no accountablility in the game of baseball. The strike zone which is clearly defined in the rules is ignored. You have another umpire who is known for calling balks that no one else in the game would call.

Maybe just maybe if an umpire blantly misses a call he should be fined - that might make them a little bit more aware of what is going on.

Instant replay as they use in the NFL could become important in MLB. Give each team two appeals or better yet, have an umpire in the booth watching close plays and communicating with the field. It cannot add that much more time to a game that is long because of TV now.

Crash said...

Yankees survive the first big test and come out in first place in the AL East...granted it's only by a game. But they are in first place.

Now Red Sox then Rays. They need to sweep the Sox and win the series against the Rays.

Teixeira came back too quickly and will most likely miss more time. Maybe the rest of the month.

Crash said...

3 game series starts in Fenway tonight. Red Sox are 1-7 in the month of September so far. Tonight is Lester vs Kuroda. Lester has 4.99 ERA, but at home this year it's even worse 6.60 with a 3-8 record. Yankees need to jump on him early and give Kuroda a nice lead to work with.

Also Pedro Ciriaco, the rookie SS that single handily kills the Yankees, is just 3-27 this month.

Let's see how this one plays out.

Crash said...

On Giants news...the depleted secondary may be getting a little better as Prince Amukamara may be ready to play against the Bucs this Sunday.

old professor said...

No drama this year with the Yankee series with Boston. This can go one of two ways: (a) Valentine gets the Red Sox to believe this is their playoff and they route the Yankees or (b) the Red Sox look at this series as one last way to embarass Valentine and they roll over and play dead. Ortiz is out Middlebrook is out and Cirioco is not hitting. Oh and Aceves has just about worn out his welcome. (Maybe he will come back to pinstripes next season).

Crash said...

Ciriaco wasn't hitting then all of sudden the Yankees come to town and he's amazing again. Both offensively and defensively.

Girardi uses Robertson for 2 innings, not sure why, it costs the Yankees the game. Yankees should not have lost that game.

Crash said...

Not sure how the tie breaker for division winner goes. If the Yankees and Orioles finished tied, I believe it goes to head to head record (which is 9-9), then to divisional record. The Yankees are terrible in the AL East this year and the Orioles actually have a much better intra-division record so I think they would actually win the AL East and the Yankees get the WC. I think that's how it works...probably wrong though.

old professor said...

2013 Schedule is out and the Yankees will be playing the Dodgers and Giants at the stadium. Flashback to the 1950s. Retirement may not come at a better time.

Crash said...

Yankees are San Diego next year. Think I'm going to go visit a buddy and catch them out there.

Yanks hold on for a good win. Soriano makes it closer than it should have been and Jeter aggravates his ankle injury. He said he's playing tomorrow. If I'm Girardi I give him tomorrow off so he has some rest before the TB series.

old professor said...

Girardi might find out that Nunez would be a better option at short and at the plate.

The stadium at San Diego is a great venue to watch a game - try the steak sandwiches but be sure you are near an AED when you do. Their team store is nothing special and they do not have a team yearbook - go figure most of the players never stay for more than a year anyways.

Crash said...

So the Red Sox are officially for sale. John Henry confirmed this on Fox Business today.

Soriano, a Boras client, is likely to opt-out of his final year with the Yankees, says John Heyman (Boras "insider"). It's a $1.5MM buyout.

Crash said...

Looks like the Fox report was inaccurate as Henry has come out on WEEI that he's not selling the Red Sox and Larry Lucchino has signed an extension to remain as team president. Too bad...I was going to place a bid.

old professor said...

If Boras believes he will get a better contract for Soriano than the one he currently has - GOOD LUCK. Soriano, while successful (to a degree) is a primadona and a head case. If he leaves, the Yankees save money.

Crash said...

So Nova replaces Garcia on Saturday and Pettitte bounces Phelps on Tuesday. I would guess each of those guys are on standby as there will be a strict pitch count in effect.

old professor said...

I would not be surprised if Garcia becomes a non-factor for the rest of the season and is left off the playoff roster (provided this team makes the playoffs).

It is interesting to see how the dynamics of this team has changed with Nunez playing shortstop. He has more range to get to the ball defensively and offensively he is now second on the team in steals with ten - three coming yesterday.

This is a dimension for the team they have not had since Gardner.

If Gardner comes back healthy next year and nunez is put in the lineup, add Ichiro and you suddenly have a very different makeup for this team and new ways to score runds.

Crash said...

Yankees will not sign Ichiro next season. Even though he has said he wants to play for the Yankees next season. He would need to take a big pay cut. I would rather spend that $$ on Kuroda. Plus Gardner gives you the same type of offensive production with more SB. If Nunez is in the lineup next season it's in the Yankees OF and not at SS. It's going to be tough to replace Swisher's power #'s unless the Yankees decide to go after Josh Hamilton. Yankees take a couple from the Rays and kind of make them a non-factor as they are now 5 back and no games remaining against the Yankees.

Pettitte gets the start on Tuesday against the Jays.

Giants defense is dreadful. Some big injuries on a short week. Bradshaw, Diehl, Hixon, and Hynoski. Eli is definitely elite. Throwing for 510 yds and 3 TDs. He threw for over 250 in the 4th quarter alone. Giants may have the best WR in the game with Nicks & Cruz.

The last play of the game doesn't really bother me. I have never seen that before, but at the same time the O-line should have recognized that the D-line was digging in and coming in low. This may be one of those unwritten rules and should just be stored away for another day. Kind of like bunting to break up a no hitter, and the next game the guy gets plunked.

Crash said...

Just read that Gardner may be activated from DL, but would be limited to pinch-running duties.

old professor said...

To activate Gardner now would be a foolish move - he cannot play the field, and cannot be added to the post season roster so why risk injury?

Crash said...

Big game for Yankees. Andy's back on the mound and the O's are within a half game. It's going to be tight down the stretch just over 2 weeks left (16 games).

Still no word on the Giants injuries to Diehl, Bradshaw, or Hixon.

old professor said...

Yankees play double header needd to win both. O's win in 18 innings to move into a tie for first.

All three Giants may be out for the next game. Hixon is no big loss and Brown had a good game rushing so Bradshaw may not be missed. And with Diel just one more game added to the many he has missed.

Crash said...

Yup looks like Diehl, Bradshaw, and Hixon will miss the game. But Prince Amukamara should be back.

I am so baffled by this AL East race. I just can't understand how the O's are tied for first and just continuously win. They really shouldn't be this good.

Crash said...

Pettitte gets the afternoon game, Phelps starts the night game.

Also Pettitte is considering coming back next season. The Post has an article about how the Yankees should strongly pursue Pettitte and Kuroda because the young arms just are not ready yet. I agree. Kuroda has proven he is a very good consistent pitcher signing him to a 2 year deal is not a big risk. And signing Pettitte to another one year deal is low risk too.

Crash said...

Something interesting to watch the last 2 weeks of the season...possible triple corwn in the AL. Miguel Cabrera leads the league in avg (.333), RBI (129) and is only 2 behind Josh Hamilton in HR (42, 40). And Hamilton pulled himself from a game because of a sinus headache. If he misses any time at all, and Cabrera has been on fire lately, Cabrera could catch him. The last triple crown was Yaz in 1967. I'm rooting for it!

Also really rooting for the Pirates to the make the playoffs, they're only they're only 3.5 games back, but have to catch the Cardinals and jump the Brewers and Dodgers in the process.

Crash said...

Yankees take game 1 of the double header move back into first place in AL East. Pettitte went 5 strong. Gets the 'W'. Soriano converts the 4-out save. Dave Robertson is a frigging mess right now.

old professor said...

Cabrera will win the triple crown and be named MVP. We is more consistent than Hamilton and will pass him in HRs; he has a large lead in RBIs and continues to hit consistently so he will maintain the batting average. The only thing that will work against him is if they start walking him versus pitching to him.

Robertson could be a mess due to the new child in the house - routines tend to get messed up with a new baby.

Crash said...

Can't believe the O's won again last night in extra innings.

The MVP race isn't between Cabrera and Hamilton, but rather Cabrera and Trout.

Cabrera: .333, 41, 130, 101.
Trout: .327, 27, 77, 118, and 46 SB
Hamilton: .287, 42, 123, 98

Giants: Bradshaw, Diehl, Hixon, and Nicks all out for tonight. Defense needs to step up big time because I don't think the offense will be able to score 40+ tonight.

old professor said...

Trout should be out of the running because unlike Cabrera he has not put in a full season. In addition, the league will go to school on him and there will be a fall off in production. Cabrera can hit anything that is near the plate and cannot be readily fooled by a pitcher - how long has he been around and they have not found a weakness.

Crash said...

I don't know about the whole 'he hasn't played a full season' argument. Trout will finish with about 140 games. That's a full season with a DL stint. Remember someone recently missed the last month of the season, maybe Mauer, and still won the MVP. He has enough ABs to qualify for individual awards like HR, avg, etc then he's alright for the MVP.

Cabrera definitely has proven he can do it over a career. He's been in the league for 10 years and has finished in the top 5 for MVP 5 times. He is definitely one of the greats for this generation and is on a HOF career path if he can continue for another 6-7 years. That's about the time he would reach 500 HRs. He's still only 29 years old.

Don't look now but the Yankees are on a 5 game winning streak and are back to a full game over the O's.

Crash said...

Hughes now has 16 wins and ERA of 4.05...if he has 2 good starts in these final games he could finish with 18 wins and an ERA about 3.90. Not bad for your number 4 or 5 guy. And keep in mind he had a terrible start to the season his ERA was near 8 through the month of April. There was plenty of talk about trading him and/or Joba this offseason as they are both free agents after next season. But I don't think you can trade him. If you can bump him to the #3 spot and still get 18 W's with an ERA under 4, that's too good to trade.

old professor said...

If you look at the Yankee rotation, the ERAs of the starting five are not all that bad - three of the five have ERAs under 4 and the other two are in the mid 4 range. The biggest disappointment to the second half has been the collapse of the bullpen.

Guys that had reliable for the first half are having terrible second halves. Rapada has been inconsistent, Eppley appears to have nothing left and Robertson is sitting at 1-7 which is God awful for the main set up guy. Joba looks like the reincarnation of Hedeki Irabu (may he rest in peace).

Crash said...

I know these games mean a lot. But I would be giving the guys I want on my post season roster a couple days off and using guys like Wade and Lowe a lot more. Robertson, Logan, & Rapada. I think Phelps is the Yankees "secret weapon" this year in October.

Crash said...

Not a bad series for the Yankees this past weekend. They win the series. Don't lose any ground to the O's who also lost yesterday. Now they just have the Twins, Jays, and Sox left. If they win each of those series, that means they have at least 7 more wins, that puts them at 95 wins for the year. They should win the AL East with that.

The A's are stumbling are 4 back of Texas but have 7 games left with the Rangers. can you imagine if the A's get hot and end up taking the AL West??? That would be unreal.

Crash said...

Pettitte is on a pitch count again tonight...NY Post saying 85-90. He should be able to get through at least 6 or 7 with that.

old professor said...

The Yankees need to win each and ever game until they clinch - that way their fate is in their hands. Baltimore plays Toronto for the next three nights before moving on to the Rays. The only thing the Yankees can guarantee if they win each of the last three series is a place in the playoffs.

Worst case scenario they tie Baltimore and are forced to have a playoff to determine the division winner and then end up going into a one game wildcard series. I am not convinced the Yankees have what it takes to win the division.

They played tight and sloppy versus the A's the only thing that saved them was the A's played sloppier baseball.

Yankees face a guy tonight that is 1-7, which means the Yankees will make him look like an ace.

Crash said...

Pettitte looked good last night. 6 shutout innings 7 hits. He is going to be HUGE for the Yankees come playoff time. CC pitched well last time out too. If Kuroda can get back to good. Yankees will be tough to beat with that pitching. It all starts and ends with the pitching.

Read a stat yesterday that the Yankees are 99.4% sure of a playoff birth as of last night prior to their win, so that may have gone up just a touch.

Also with an interesting take, Jayson Stark of ESPN looked at the possibility of a 4 way tie, between Yankees, O's, A's and Angels (LA is 2 back in the WC race, O's are 1.5 ahead of the A's, Yankees are 1.5 ahead of the O's...follow that so far).

The Yankees and O's would hold a one game playoff in Baltimore to determine the AL East winner.

The A's and Angels would face each other in Oakland to settle the "first" WC.

If the O's lost to the Yankees they would then go to Oakland or LA. If the Yankees lost to the O's they would host either Oakland or LA because the won those reg season series.

Crash said...

I know Hughes got the loss last night but that should go to Girardi and Logan. Absolutely ridiculous to lose that game.

Onto the NY Football Giants...Both Bradshaw and Nicks say they are good to go for Sunday's game against the Eagles. Tonight on the NFL Network there is a Tom Coughlin special.

old professor said...

It is time to move away from the formulas in the binder and go back to managing. The data comes from computers/machines and the game is played by humans. A pitch slightly of target can get hit a long way - wonder of that factors into the binder!

Crash said...

CC is back to pitching like an ace. His last 2 starts have been pretty impressive. With Pettitte back and a solid Kuroda you have to like the Yankees rotation heading into October.

Saw that Aardsma and Gardner were activated the other day. Gardner actually got in the game as a defensive substitution. Not sure if Aardsma made it into the game or not. Big 4 game series against the Jays.

old professor said...

First it would appear that Andrew Brackman had as much lack of success with the Reds minor league teams as he did with the Yankees. He had a few starts and eventually was moved to the bullpen in Louisville where he went 1-3 with an ERA of 9.65.

As for Aardsma, I am somewhat confused that Girardi indicated he would choose a time when a game was out of reach to bring him in. Okay the score is 8-2 and Girardi has Aardsma up but brings in Eppley. If you can't trust a guy with a six run lead, why bother brining him up in the first place?

Now for the rotation. CC "appears" to be back - realistically he did well against the Jays and Twins neither of which are real strong right now.

Kuroda has been struggling over the last couple of starts and may just be tired. Hughes has pitched well in spots and Pettitte is riding a high right now. If Kuroda can turn it around and CC continues to improve and Pettitte can be Pettitte than yes they have a real good shot.

old professor said...

Here is a news flash - Yankees will not make the playoffs. They have played like crap the during the last series and last night. The only positive from the previous series is that Oakland played worse thus coughed up two of the three games.

Nova has no business being on the mound when you have an effective David Phelps sitting in the pen waiting for the phone to ring.

Cano not only got caught off of second on a deep fly, but bobbled the throw from right field which could have limited the damage to one run not two - which didn't really matter because the Yankees can't advance runners and do the little things to bring runs home.

Seventh inning a double and a walk no outs and the runners never advance as Granderson strikes out - wow what a surprise - and then two weak fly balls to the outfield. Shutout in Toronto - how sad!!!!

If they get to the playoffs, it will be because they backed in not won it.

Crash said...

I agree on 2 fronts. Nova is terrible and should not be pitching down the stretch. Secondly, Cano played like crap. Yankees magic number to get into the playoffs is 3. They won't back into that. Regardless if it's Phelps or Nova it doesn't matter...come playoffs it's CC, Kuroda, Pettitte, and Hughes.

Anonymous said...

Yankees wasted an excellent pitching performance from Pettitte. Yankees failed again to move the runners. Much different outcome on Sunday.

Crash said...

I missed most of the game yesterday, but was catching updates over Twitter. It had to be in the 7-inning and a big situation for the Yankees offense. The NY beat writers were praising A-Rod for his grind it AB where he drew a walk.

Here is a guy who is making $29MM this year. Who was once the best offensive player in the game. Where you need the big hit or big home run in a clutch situation, in the heat of an October playoff race, and we are reduced to praising him for his tough AB that resulted in a walk. This is why A-Rod draws the wrath of Yankee fans. Because he sucks plain and simple. I'll buy him the PEDs if it means he can return to his old self for the playoffs. 2 things I truly don't want to hear in the playoffs this year. "Great walk by A-Rod" and "A-Rod strikes out looking to end the game with runners in scoring position." Unfortunately both of these are a given.

Anonymous said...

The Yankee rally took place in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. They were done 5-1 going into the seventh. Tying run came in on a wild pitch. As for A-Rod either he has completely deteriorated and is at the end of his career or he has not fully recovered from the broken wrist. He has only three homeruns this month and has not had an extra base hit since 9/14. Signing in as anonymous due to issues with the IPad

Crash said...

Just say this stat. The Yankees have 3 15 game winners (CC, Kuroda, and Hughes) for the first time since...2006! Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina, and Chin Ming Wang.

Crash said...

Yankees announce that Manny Banuelos will have Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2013 season.

Crash said...

Yankees win tonight they are assured of the AL East and the best record in the AL. Meaning they would then get the winner of Texas/Oakland vs.Baltimore. If Oakland wins tonight they actually win the AL West. AL West would face AL Central.

If Yankees lose, it opens a whole other can of worms.

old professor said...

I still believe the issue with Banuelos will be a headache with the Yankees. They had planned on a rotation of CC, Nova, Hughes, Banuelos (or Betances) and ??. Banuelos was not stellar before the injury, Betances regressed, Nova has proved to be an uninterested headcase. As the Yankees celebrated the comeback win against the Red Sox, walking in the background with a sour look on his face was Nova. He needs to realize, his demotion to the pen was directly related to his inability to pitch consistently for more than one inning.

I would expect the Yankees will do what is needed to keep Kuroda under contract, convince Pettitte to come back for one more season, and keep Hughes. I am not convinced Pineda will be able to make a impact next year.

Crash said...

I believe Pineda has already started his throwing program. He will be in the rotation next season.

Crash said...

Jayson Stark from ESPN breaks down all the playoff scenarios. The main thing is if Yankees win they are the #1 seed and go to the winner of the WC game.

Here are the rest:

If the Yankees lose and the Orioles win
Then the AL East is tied (at 94-68), and the Yankees and Orioles have to play a tiebreaker game Thursday in Baltimore. The winner is the AL East champ. The loser is the wild-card team. But is it the "first" wild card or the "second" wild card? That depends on what happens in Oakland.
If the A's beat the Rangers
Then Oakland (94-68) wins the AL West, and Texas (93-69) is a wild-card team. But would the Rangers be the "first" wild card or the "second" wild card? That depends on what happens in the AL East:
• If the Yankees and Orioles both win Wednesday, the Orioles (94-68) would host the Rangers (93-69) in the wild-card game Friday. Why? Because a Baltimore win Wednesday would give the Orioles the better record.
• If the Orioles lose Wednesday and finish with the same record as Texas (93-69), the Rangers would host the wild-card game Friday because they won the season series from Baltimore.
• If the Rangers lose and there's a tie for the AL East (at 94-68), the AL East loser hosts the Rangers in the wild-card game because either still would have more wins (94) than Texas (93).
If the Rangers beat the A's
Then the Rangers (94-68) win the AL West, and Oakland (93-67) is a wild card. But is it the "first" wild card or "second" wild card? Again, that depends on developments in the AL East.
• If the Yankees and Orioles both win Wednesday, the Orioles would host the A's in the wild-card game because Baltimore would have one more regular-season win (94) than Oakland (93).
• If the Yankees lose, the Orioles win, there's a tie for the AL East and Oakland loses to Texas, the loser of the AL East tiebreaker game hosts the A's. Again, the reason: The AL East loser still would have more wins (94) than Oakland (93).
• If the Yankees, Orioles and A's all lose Wednesday, the Orioles and A's would finish with the same record (93-69). If that happens, the A's host the wild-card game Friday. Why? Because they won the season series.

If there's a Yankees-Orioles tie:
This gets trickier. Then there's a three-way tie for the best record in the AL (Yankees, Orioles and the AL West champ, all at 94-68).
Under that scenario, the AL East tiebreaker game would not be used to determine seeding, even though it is otherwise considered a regular-season game. So how would that seeding be sorted out? Here's the breakdown:
• Yankees win the AL East, Rangers win the AL West: Yankees are the No. 1 seed and play the wild-card winner. Rangers are the No. 2 seed and play at Detroit. Why? Yankees won the season series.
• Yankees win the AL East, A's win the AL West: A's are the No. 1 seed and play the wild-card survivor. Yankees are the No. 2 seed and face Detroit. Why? Yankees and A's split the season series, but A's had the better record in division games.
• Orioles win the AL East, Rangers win the AL West: Rangers are the No. 1 seed and draw the wild-card winner. Orioles are the No. 2 seed and play Detroit. Why? Rangers won the season series.
• Orioles win the AL East, A's win the AL West: A's are the No. 1 seed. Orioles are the No. 2 seed. Same LDS matchups. Why? Orioles won the season series.
If the Yankees and the Orioles both lose Wednesday
Then there's a tie for the best record between the Yankees and the AL West champ (at 93-69).
Under that scenario, the Yankees are the No. 1 seed if the Rangers win the West -- but the No. 2 seed if the A's win the West. Why? See the tiebreaker scenarios above.

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