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.

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.

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

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.

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

Damn, this isn't what Hughes needs.

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

I hope Tim Lincecum enjoyed his two Cy Young Awards.

In addition to Joe really having a poor idea when to send runners (two bad decisions already in this game), I don't understand playing Winn today. The most logical day to play him in place of Swisher is tomorrow. Today - Night game after a night game, with the Yankees' number five starter on the mound. Tomorrow - Day game after a night game, with the Yankees' ace on the mound. Makes no sense to me, unless, for some reason unbeknownst to me, Swisher couldn't go today.

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

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

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.

a700, would have you been in favor of the Red Sox signing Holliday, and not acquiring Cameron, Beltre, and Scutaro? Only reason I ask is that, money wise, I'm not sure there would have been any other way.

Couldn't disagree more with this. Either way, this discussion is clearly going nowhere, and I'm prepared to drop it. I realize, lately, I've contributed to a couple threads going off course, but it's just frustrating to see various different threads being derailed because the collective board (but specifically a few people) has a legitimate issue with Jacko.

To each their own I guess - hope you're enjoying the board.

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.

You haven't been here long, but one of the prevalent themes on this board is everyone taking issue with all of Jacko's comments. The content of his posts seems to be widely ignored, and people just focus on his username. In my opinion, things like this are a direct hindrance to the quality of the board, and become increasingly annoying for people who are only looking to engage in intelligent discussion. The way I see it, he made a comment that holds some truth. I really don't see how that's in doubt. If that's 'inappropriate and instigative', I expect that you'll have a problem with many other posts.

Five of the seven runs were a direct result of a misplay and enormous contributions from someone who probably won't keep it up. The offense did show some signs of life, but Jacko has a point as well. Additionally, it's not like he came into the thread and just said it was all a fluke, out of the blue. He was responding to a post with his opinion, and maybe it's just me, but I thought this was the point of the board. But, by all means, continue to saturate the board with questions about Jacko's motives, and the subsequent personal insults that are sure to follow (directed, not just at you, but everyone).

I think you guys are missing Jacko's point. He's not devaluing the victory in any way, like you guys seem to be thinking. He was responding to a post that seemed to insinuate that the Red Sox's offense was showing signs of life.

I think Joe waited a batter too long here. Logan hasn't been great all night, going to a lot of long counts, but he became too obsessed with matching up the lefties. He didn't go to his best, and now the margin for error is becoming slimmer and slimmer. Big spot here for Joba, and a great chance for Oakland to get back into this game.

Well Javy is going to give up some home runs, but instead of them both being solo shots, the Yankees' defense let Javy down a bit. What went from being a laugher is now a three run game, and the Yankees need to figure out how to get eleven outs from their bullpen.

Javy seems like he's getting squeezed a bit.