2010 MLB Season

[ghost of miles]

Yeah, Jeet is sure not having a contract year to date (as Dan pointed out earlier).

The Yanks announced today that Dave Eiland's coming back this week. Hopefully he can help AJ straighten himself out... given that Aceves isn't back yet and they're trying to limit Hughes' innings, skipping AJ a start (a la Javy earlier this year) doesn't seem to be a viable option right now. He goes against the Jays Friday night, and he's been better at home than on the road, so maybe that will be the game where he finally starts to turn it around.

[Chuck Nessa]

Last 2 White Sox losses were to the Cubs. Small consolation for the Cubbies.

[Dan Gould]

Dan,

Thank you to your BoSox for sweeping the [hated] Dodgers.

Job well done

Unfortunately you can't get it done against us. Since the Sox tagged Jiminez for 6 runs, of course they get to Lincecum for 4, knocking him out after 3 innings or something. Lester all the way, giving the bullpen a nice two day rest heading into Tuesday against the struggling, and now fighting amongst themselves Rays.

Seriously, that was a ticked off Upton getting called by Longoria on a surprisingly lackadaisical chase after a ball that went for a triple and preceded a two-run homer that was the margin of victory for Arizona. Hopefully this doesn't bring the Rays together but the pressure of a rough month will keep them scrambling.

[ghost of miles]

Dan, any updates on Vic Martinez? I read some reports in the last hour that he might be out for several weeks...if true, sheesh, you guys are really getting slammed with the injuries. Great start again by Lester today.

EDIT: Over the Monster says fractured left thumb, but that he may not have to go on the DL.

Edited June 27, 2010 by ghost of miles

[Dan Gould]

Thanks for ruining my night.

I assumed it was the ball off the big toe (again). Not only can they not afford to let Varitek play for any length of time and lose Vmart's bat but their top TWO catchers at Pawtucket are on the DL - Dusty Brown and Mark Wagner. And on top of that, Mike Lowell, back on the DL with a barking hip, is actually their emergency catcher (don't laugh - he's been grabbing the shin guards to warm up pitchers whenever necessary, especially since Tek often goes to the bullpen to warm up relievers.

It doesn't stop and I can't fucking stand it any longer.

[Quincy]

Since the Sox tagged Jiminez for 6 runs, of course they get to Lincecum for 4, knocking him out after 3 innings or something.

These interleague games are jacking up the NL ERA leaders ERAs. Lincecum goes from 2.86 to 3.13. Garcia of the Cards gets roughed up by the Royals (eh?), causing his to go from 1.79 to 2.27. About time, some of those numbers were looking ridiculous.

[Tim McG]

Congrats Dan for your guys taking the weekend series against my Giants, 2-1.

Good luck the rest of the way; BEAT the damn Yankees!

[ghost of miles]

Wow--amazing, stunning comeback by the Yankees tonight, down 4 runs in the top of the 9th...they come back to tie it, then Cano hits a two-run homer in the top of the 10th and Mo notches two shutout innings for the win. Game of the season and one of the first times they've really looked like a potential repeat champion to me.

EDIT: glad NY won tonight, too, because Cliff Lee is on tap for the Mariners come Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Also glad that the whole overhyped Torre vs. A-Rod drama had a nice resolution:

A-Rod and Torre chat

...another report said Torre playfully put up his fists when Alex approached him.

Edited June 28, 2010 by ghost of miles

[BERIGAN]

Hey Paps, wasn't it nice for the Rays to beat up on the soft underbelly of the NL???

Sorry, that was just plain mean!

Anyway, good for Longoria to go after B.J. Upton. What the hell is his problem??? Amazed he would loaf in a tie game,let alone a game where his team was playing his brother's team! Think he will be traded???

The Braves had a winning record against the AL teams this year, but Tommy Hanson had the two worst starts of his career, and in back to back games. Sure hope his arm is ok, seems he wasn't quite bringing it as fast as usual.

Speaking of not bringing it...Goodspeak, did you see the speed on Lincecum's fastball yesterday??? Baseball Tonight was talking about it...90-91...no zip at all. I sure hope he would be smart enough to tell folks his arm was hurting. Perh

[Dan Gould]

I don't know if anyone asked Lincecum directly but the quote in the Globe indicated a general feeling of being out of sync, no injury:

“In the second inning, I kind of lost my stuff,’’ Lincecum said. “I felt like a robot working out there. Things weren’t moving smoothly.’’

And I don't know if Upton gets traded to anyone, the bloom is coming off his rose pretty bad. Hitting in the .220s isn't getting anyone's attention and loafing after hits doesn't help either.

The Rays have to get more from every pitcher not named Price - I think I saw that in the last few weeks, non-Price starters have an ERA over 6. And that team can be pitched to, also. There was a lineup with Longoria and one other guy over .300 and a lot of people below .250 (Bartlett isn't tearing up the league and Pena is hitting homers and getting on base but is a .220 BA too much to ask?).

Speaking of Price, I am pretty sure the Sox miss him in both upcoming series, which is a great thing. And, the Yankees will get both Cliff Lee and King Felix in both of their upcoming series, so that's a good thing too.

(Assuming the Mets don't trade for Lee, as I am hearing rumblings about.)

[Tim McG]

I don't know if anyone asked Lincecum directly but the quote in the Globe indicated a general feeling of being out of sync, no injury:

He was off his go-to pitches.

No injury...just a bad day.

My son and I will be there for the Wednesday game against the [hated] Dodgers.

We can only hope for a sweep.

I'll wave to you, Dan.

Edited June 29, 2010 by GoodSpeak

[papsrus]

Yeah, Upton has more than a few times kind of loped around out there in CF. Good for Longoria for getting in his face. And Upton is IMO the least disciplined/patient hitter on that club -- and that's saying something. So he's lacking on both counts. And he hasn't progressed on either count. There's only so long you can use youth as an excuse. It all adds up to a selfish player, I'm afraid.

Maybe he'll respond. He seems like a bright guy, you'd think it would have sunk in by now.

[Chalupa]

Jesus, with all of the injuries the Phillies are starting to resemble last years Mets. Now Polanco and Utley are headed to the DL. Utley may require surgery. If that comes to pass they might as well pack it in. No way they make the playoffs w/out Utley. I think they have had their starting line up intact for about 15 games. Don't even get me started on the pitching staff.

Wow. Lidge served up a 3 run homer in the 9th to Votto to tie the game.

[Dan Gould]

Jesus, with all of the injuries the Phillies are starting to resemble last years Mets. Now Polanco and Utley are headed to the DL. Utley may require surgery. If that comes to pass they might as well pack it in. No way they make the playoffs w/out Utley. I think they have had their starting line up intact for about 15 games. Don't even get me started on the pitching staff.

Wow. Lidge served up a 3 run homer in the 9th to Votto to tie the game.

At least they won, with Lidge getting the vulture win. And if the Phils have had their starting lineup intact for 15 games, that's probably about five more than the Red Sox.

Ellsbury still isn't cleared to resume baseball activities and its July!

V-Mart disabled, he's supposed to only miss 11 games between now and the first game after the break - between the break and two days off this week - but no one knows that his thumb will be ready.

Buchholz won't pitch before next Tuesday, and no one knows that his hamstring will allow it.

Beckett is targeting July 21 or 26 for his return, depending on whether or not he needs three or four rehab starts, and that will be about 9 weeks without their "ace".

Pedroia needs two to three weeks of non-weight bearing healing in his foot, which really makes the hope for only four weeks in the realm of fantasy. He's 5-6 weeks from a return.

Hermida remains out with his broken ribs and is just now starting his hitting progression. If they are lucky he returns right before the break.

Until then its a 27 year old rookie and a 31 year old career minor leaguer (he's had more at-bats with the Red Sox than in all of his other short major league stints combined) and Cameron on a two-days on, one day off plan.

Being one game back is almost unfathomable, being 1 game back when everyone is back in August would take a miracle.

Speaking of broken ribs, did anyone see the infield pop that Beltre came steaming in for and Varitek laid out on to avoid another catastrophic collision? He definitely said something to Beltre because Beltre had a big grin on his face.

Phil Hughes’ first six starts of the season: 39 IP & an ERA of 1.38

Phil Hughes’ last seven starts this season: 43.1 IP & an ERA of 4.78

And in his first start since then, he goes 5 2/3 and allows 6 earned runs. So that's an ERA over 5, and in a larger proportion of his season than when he was dealing. Might be time to wonder about Hughes. Or is he another guy who needs Eiland around?

[Dan Gould]

With V-Mart out I was really concerned about who would catch Wakefield, but have no fear, another catching Molina brother is here!

Gustavo Molina!

And, he not only has experience catching a knuckler in the minors, his bullpen session with Wake reportedly "went well".

So that's one fewer thing to worry about.

[Dan Gould]

Finally cosmic justice for asshats who won't get off their cell phones at the park: A face full of Mr. Rawlings.

http://deadspin.com/5576040/yankee-fan-on-cellphone-catches-ground-rule-double-with-his-face

[papsrus]

Even though it was kind of an adventure at times, Zobrist did pretty well in CF tonight, and may have even gotten to a couple of balls that Upton would have watched fall.

And I like Rodriguez at 2B, so moving Zobrist primarily to the OF would be fine with me. And maybe give Joyce a chance to see what he can do.

[Dan Gould]

I don't know what you mean by "adventure" - he didn't circle around balls then barely snag them, he went back and saved multiple XBH in a most infuriating way.

The whole fucking night was infuriating between Dice-K's bullshit, our inability to hit that utterly repulsive POS Garza, all the balls that are out of most stadiums that settled into gloves, and finally the bullpen implosion that made still-winnable game a blow out.

Its the last thing that ticks me off the most. We're sitting here worried about the injuries when the fact is that outside of Bard the bullpen is a complete and utter disaster. No one can fucking get anyone out with any consistency, and if you watch Papelbon on the mound with any sense of confidence, you're a mental defective.

The fact that the MFY lost only makes it worse since this would have brought them into a tie for first.

[ghost of miles]

Well, Dan, you should at least take solace from how pitiful the Yanks have looked the last two nights at home against the Mariners. Scoring 4 runs off Lee wasn't even as decent as it sounds, given that two of them came in the bottom of the 9th, and the other two were Nick Swisher solo homers...and as excellent as Felix Hernandez is, it's still a pretty miserable performance to nick only two hits off him over 9 innings. What's more troubling, though, is the pitching. Surrendering all of those runs to one of the lightest-hitting batting orders in the AL is not a good sign.

Last year NY had an incredible post-All Star Game run. This year I'd say it's your team that's better-positioned to make such a run, once everybody's back from the DL. NY? We're only awaiting Nick Johnson's return.

*Well, OK, it would help to get Aceves back... NY has its own bullpen implosion problems. Park is terrible after 1 IP and every 8th-inning appearance from Joba is fraught with drama--and I don't mean that in a good way. Robertson seems to be slowly regaining his 2009 form, so I guess that's a small ray of hope. And sure, Mo is still a very reliable closer--it's just that the bridge to him looks a bit like this:

The bridge to Mo

[Dan Gould]

There is no shame in looking bad against Cliff Lee and King Felix. I'm just glad that they are lined up to face the Yanks again next week.

There's no doubt both bullpens have substantial problems, but I disagree that the Red Sox are better situated for a run. The Yankees aren't just "waiting for Nick Johnson" - they have the best record with minimal, inconsistent contribution from Jeter, A-Rod and Teixeira. If any or all get their shit together - and the back of their baseball cards says they will - the Yankees could easily go on the the kind of run they had last year. And no bridge to Mo will be necessary if the combination of starting pitching and offense puts most games out of reach.

And the injuries keep piling up. Manny Delcarmen was the best arm not attached to Daniel Bard up until about a week ago. But facing 14 batters, retiring 3 and allowing 10 to score and fuck up your ERA in a hurry. And now he says his elbow/forearm have been hurting and he'll see the doctor on Friday. This for a guy who already had Tommy John surgery.

[ghost of miles]

But you could easily say the same thing regarding the slew of injuries that have hit the Bosox and yet they're only 1 game behind NY. Sure, Tex is having a very bad year, though his power/RBI production isn't down quite as much as his BA...and we've had a few injury situations ourselves, but nothing to really rival what you're going through. (And I was definitely being sarcastic about Nick Johnson--outside of the Human Walk Machine factor, his contribution to the offense was negligible. So I don't see his being on the DL as any great loss, especially since it allows us to put Cervelli behind the plate and Posada at DH.) A-Rod and Jeter are certainly having subpar years by their standards, and at their ages it's no guarantee that they'll have a huge improvement in the second half...but again, I don't think any potential gains from improved performances by them will be as significant as the Bosox getting Ellsbury, Beckett et al back again.

OTOH, Dave Eiland thinks he may have already figured out the source of A.J.'s woes. We'll see--I sure hope so, since Phil Hughes does indeed seem to be declining as the season goes on.

Unrelated, but kind of cool--the New York Times video breaking down Mo's cutter.

[Dave James]

Notice to all Yankee fans. Enjoy last year's World Series championship. It's going to be awhile before you see another.

[ghost of miles]

Notice to all Yankee fans. Enjoy last year's World Series championship. It's going to be awhile before you see another.

I haven't completely written off their chances for winning it again this year--but going forward, yes, I think it's going to be a long time. Pettitte probably retires after this year no matter what happens in the postseason. Jeter and A-Rod are now past their prime and may start declining quickly. Mo probably has a couple of good years left; Posada, maybe one or two as well, but primarily as a DH (a spot that will need to be utilized increasingly by Jeter and A-Rod, too). Cano, Swisher and Tex are all still in their peak years, but the dissipation of the Core 4 nucleus is going to be an immense challenge to NY. I can't comment with much knowledge about the farm system right now--Jesus Montero is considered to be a very promising prospect as a hitter, less so as a catcher. (Austin Romine's another young catcher with some buzz about him.)

[papsrus]

The reverse hexes are getting out of control around here.

ESPN's MLB power rankings, fwiw:

1. Yankees

2. Red Sox

3. Rangers

4. Rays

5. Braves

6. Padres

7. Twins

8. Cards

9. Reds

10. Mets

I might move the Braves and Padres up a notch, the Rays down a few -- more than a few, given their month-long fade.

Add a Cliff Lee or Oswalt to the Rangers and things get real interesting.

As for Zobrist, he's a much smarter bat than Upton, and can certainly figure out his way around CF. Plus he hustles. Case closed, far as I'm concerned. And if they keep Joyce in the mix, I see no need to put up with BJ's too often lackadaisical play.

[Chalupa]

Utley to have surgery later today on his thumb. out 6-8 weeks. Season over.