New York Yankees Gameday Thread

[Gom]

Definitely pleased about the win last night, but more specifically, Joba and A-Rod.

 

Joba looked great last night, hitting 96 with his fastball, and throwing a good, sharp slider. If he manages to regain his 2007 form, which seems like a possibility, the back end of that bullpen is going to be an absolute force. When you couple that with their other relievers, I'm confident that the 2010 Yankees' bullpen will be able to repeat the successes of the 2009 Yankees' bullpen in the second half. It seemed to turn their season around last year, and it might be the difference from the start this year.

 

As for A-Rod, it's not just the home run, but the three walks. A-Rod seems absolutely locked in right now, easily taking pitches out of the strike zone, and rarely check swinging. Considering the Yankees' success the last few years has seemed to directly correlate with A-Rod's success, this is a very good sign.

 

I saw a different game than you did.

 

I was not worried in the least about Arod. Three walks is not that abnormal, not is the homerun. Joba is hitting 96, which is great, but not the 99-100 he was hitting in 2007. He is not the same pitcher, at least not right now.

 

What impressed me most of all was Cano. Two walks, on pitches that were balls, but ones he normally swung on. If Cano keeps taking those pitches, he is a top 5 MVP candidate. No doubt about it.

 

The other thing that impressed me was Girardi. A four run lead in the 9th, Marte in, and he walks the first batter. He immediately takes him out and brings in Mo. It's not that he brought in Mo, it's that he took out Marte. This sends a very clear message to Marte and others. If you've got the lead, attack the hitters. Let them earn their way on.

 

These are things that the average fan completely misses.

[yankees228]

I saw a different game than you did.

 

I was not worried in the least about Arod. Three walks is not that abnormal, not is the homerun. Joba is hitting 96, which is great, but not the 99-100 he was hitting in 2007. He is not the same pitcher, at least not right now.

 

What impressed me most of all was Cano. Two walks, on pitches that were balls, but ones he normally swung on. If Cano keeps taking those pitches, he is a top 5 MVP candidate. No doubt about it.

 

The other thing that impressed me was Girardi. A four run lead in the 9th, Marte in, and he walks the first batter. He immediately takes him out and brings in Mo. It's not that he brought in Mo, it's that he took out Marte. This sends a very clear message to Marte and others. If you've got the lead, attack the hitters. Let them earn their way on.

 

These are things that the average fan completely misses.

 

Haha, Gom, do you think you've tooted your own horn enough times on this board?

 

I never said I was worried about A-Rod. However, he's at his best when he's taking pitches so easily. He seems to be primed for a hot streak right now when other players are due to cool off, which is a very good thing.

 

Again, I never said Joba was back to his 2007 form. All I said was that last night was a step in the right direction, and I'm optimistic about the potential of him regaining that form as he becomes re-accustomed to the role of a reliever.

 

As for Cano, I've spent a lot of time talking on this board talking about what I think of Cano. I think he has the potential to be mentioned in the same breath as Utley, and that might come as early as this year. However, while the three walks were nice, he was going against pitchers that were incredibly wild. Fact is, while he's still in the midst of a good start, maybe you missed the fact that he hasn't made solid contact since the Angels' series. It means nothing, but Cano is still proving to be a streaky hitter, and he's in one of those poor streaks right now.

 

As for Marte, he never should have entered the game in my opinion. He struggles against right handed hitters, and even though a lefty was due up, Joe had to know that he would be pinch hit for. If he wasn't going to go right to Mo to start the ninth, it should have been Aceves, in my opinion. However, I was impressed that he went right to Mo after the leadoff walk, ending the chances of any potential rally.

[Gom]

My bad, for some reason I thought Jacko was the one who posted, not you. I wouldn't have been that demeaning to you.

 

However, we did see different things, or better yet, we took different things from the game. It's part of what makes baseball special.

[yankees228]

Some of the in-game decisions Joe makes are just brutal. Sending the runners their was an absolutely horrific decision, regardless of the result.

[yankees228]

Wow, Sheets could not have thrown the ball worse in that first inning, but the Yankees have nothing to show for it.

[Chamomile]

This is a good team for Hughes to be aggressive against. The A's lineup really struggles to put the ball in play and has virtually no power.

[yankees228]

Kind of sounds like the recipe for pitcher to be successful lol.

[ryan44]

This is a good team for Hughes to be aggressive against. The A's lineup really struggles to put the ball in play and has virtually no power.

So basically it's good for a pitcher to face a team that completely sucks offensively. Shocking.

[Chamomile]

Kind of sounds like the recipe for pitcher to be successful lol.

 

I'd be surprised if he didn't do well against this kind of an offense. It's not like he's a bad pitcher.

[Gom]

This could be something special...

[Chamomile]

This could be something special...

 

Yeah, maybe he won't break his leg this time.

[Chamomile]

You know a team's really struggling offensively when the opposing pitcher's pumping in 92 mph fastballs on 85% of his pitches and none of the hitters can catch up to it.

[yankees228]

Damn, this isn't what Hughes needs.

[Chamomile]

What a strange delivery. I imagine this guy would be tough to pick up the first time around

[a700hitter]

Gee, That's too bad... not!

[riverside sluggers]

Damn thats odd way to break up a no hitter

[Chamomile]

And just like that, it's just a normal start. Hughes seems like a good kid, I kind of feel bad for him. It must suck to have taken 2 no-hitters late into games and then give them up on balls you could have fielded yourself.

[yankees228]

And just like that' date=' it's just a normal start. Hughes seems like a good kid, I kind of feel bad for him. It must suck to have taken 2 no-hitters late into games and then give them up on balls you could have fielded yourself.[/quote']

 

His first one was on a pitch that wasn't put into play.

[Divinity]

Phil Hughes was Fantastic, 1 hit and 10 strike outs

[yankees228]

Really don't understand the pitch selection right there. On 3-2, go with what has been your best pitch all night - fastball away.

[Chamomile]

Wow, they just showed all of his strikeout pitches and at least half of them were 93 mph fastballs right down the middle. Oh, A's...

[yankees228]

Incredibly dumb pitch selection, which has become the Yankees' MO in recent years. No reason to go with anything but sliders there, once he got to two strikes.

[yankees228]

Nice change of speeds there, got him way out in front.

[Chamomile]

It's incredible how many gift strikes Mo gets. He really doesn't need the help.

[Chamomile]

It was refreshing to see a well pitched, well played game. Haven't seen too many of those with the Red Sox this year. Have a good night everyone!

[yankees228]

It's incredible how many gift strikes Mo gets. He really doesn't need the help.

 

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfx/cache/location.php-pitchSel=121250&game=gid_2010_04_21_nyamlb_oakmlb_1&batterX=&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=1&s_type=.gif

 

Not a single gift strike. Just because the cutters to the lefties are being caught off the plate, doesn't they didn't cross the plate.

[Chamomile]

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfx/cache/location.php-pitchSel=121250&game=gid_2010_04_21_nyamlb_oakmlb_1&batterX=&innings=yyyyyyyyy&sp_type=1&s_type=.gif

 

Not a single gift strike. Just because the cutters to the lefties are being caught off the plate, doesn't they didn't cross the plate.

 

That graph shows what the strike zone would look like if the plate was 8 inches wider than it actually is. It shows a 2 foot wide home plate when home plate is actually closer to 1 foot wide. Even the Yankees announcers were joking about the gift strike he got on a ball that was clearly off the plate.

[yankees228]

There were only three called strikes. One of them was right down the middle, and if you were to shrink pitchFX's strike zone, those other two pitches would have been right on (or near the corner). Hardly the gifts that you're talking about.

 

EDIT: Additionally, one borderline pitch, which is touching the bottom part of the strike zone, was called on a ball. Mo's success tonight had nothing to do with the umpires.

[Chamomile]

There were only three called strikes. One of them was right down the middle' date=' and if you were to shrink pitchFX's strike zone, those other two pitches would have been right on (or near the corner). Hardly the gifts that you're talking about.[/quote']

 

The graph you provided suggests that he was granted a called strike on a pitch that was 4 inches off the plate. I never said that his success is because of umpires, I in fact said the opposite; he doesn't need the help.

[yankees228]

Which one? The graph shows three called strikes, all well within the black outline.

 

EDIT: And I never said you said that he success was because of the umps. My only point is that he wasn't favored by the HP umpire tonight.