jacksonianmarch

the pen, ie Mo, was very poor, you are correct. I just looked at the pen stats to see how poorly Joe is managing the pen and to my surprise, he is divvying up the games rather well. Proctor 12 games, Vizcaino 11, Myers 10, Bruney 9, Farns 8, Mo 6. Those first two numbers are high for AN ENTIRE MONTH. We still have a week left in april and those are our pen appearance numbers. Time to get healthy in the rotation and it starts with 3 in a row right now.

when you see that a kid with 2 AA starts is pitching for you vs the all world japanese god, you shouldnt have a ton of confidence.

you arent comparing apples to apples here example. This is the point. I dont care how good you think our lineup is and how unfair it is to have to face it. The point is, we are incredibly weak in terms of backups. Our backup OFer is in an awful slump and to be honest, should be in AAA anyway at his age. Other than that we have a backup C who hasnt had a hit in the bigs in 4 yrs and a first baseman who can hardly hit his weight. The point is, this team isnt built like yours. You guys sacrificed some offense to be able to add a guy like DiceK. You sacrificed the NL ROY from last yr so you could have Beckett. You have a rotation that, when going right can give you 7IP and on other nights hand the ball directly to Papelbon. We arent built that way. We are built to have a rotation that gives quality, but not spectacular innings, hand the ball off to a power armed pen and slug the s*** out of the ball on our way to a win. You take 2 hitters out of that cog and you are forcing our rotation and bullpen to pick up the slack. Then pull our top 2 and our #5 starter out of there and we are forced to use our pitching depth WAY too early and it shows. We arent built off pitching at this juncture and taking a run or two a game away in terms of production really hurts. Where in your terms, losing a hitter doesnt mean much as you guys are built heavily on pitching. We are two different teams in all aspects right now. And if you wanted to try and compare, consider Posada's production equivalent to Lowell's (.280ish 20HRish). Consider Matsui's production equivalent to Drew's (.290ish, 20HRish 100RBIish). Consider Damon's to losing Lugo and Coco when he is going good, and take away Hinske and WMP as solid backup options. This is our predicament offensively and we still raked. As for rotation wise, imagine throwing Schilling, Tavarez, and Gabbard at us when we have Wang, Clemens, and Pettitte going. This was a mismatch in the last 2 games, you knew it, you exploited it and you earned it. Pat yourself on the back, but dont begrudge us when we find the true silver lining that is there. We have a 4 guys on this team who, if everything is going right, would be released or in the minors and then consider that we had a few guys miss a few games and not be DL'd. You won, congrats. Enjoy the 3 run lead, but you didnt beat us at our best. It isnt your fault, but it is something for us to grab hold of.

no need son. No need.

there have been players like him in short bursts though. Gagne looked like an upgraded Mariano model for 80 something games until his body exploded. Mo's secret isnt just his amazing stuff and unhittability, it is his durability as well. If Paps stays healthy, you have something there. That is always the if though with almost all closers. Hell, another one is down for what looks like the yr this yr with Ryan. Closers are like revolving doors, even the best. The one thing that guys like Mo and Hoffman have is durability to go along with dominance. If Paps stays healthy, and your rotation stays this good, you will be a force.

I could go ballpark, #1- 60 times on multiple boards at least #2- it is the truth, but I'd say 15 times at least #3- I think I made the connection between the 2 today actually, so I'll say 2. #4- Once again, the truth, maybe 20? I know I repeat a lot of stuff, but it is a good way to not get too caught up in the right now in april when I would usually be blowing my top. Remember, this isnt the guy you saw a year or so ago. I have ways to channel the anger, this is one of them.

its more for yankee fans anyway. For once I am not red faced and ripshit pissed after a loss like tonights. Interesting.

Papelbon tonight reminded me of a young Mariano. No fear, no problem. And a knowledge that he wont be hit no matter where he throws it. As for the sox. We can hit anybody. I had been very skeptical after watching the last 3 years' versions of this squad run into buzzsaw's against good pitching. It will be very interesting to see what this team can do against the tampa bay's and baltimore's of the world when the lineup is running on all cylinders. At the same time, it would be nice not having serious ojida at the start of every game because of our starter. I would like some nice consistent starting at some point. It should come. But if it doesnt, we dont have a prayer.

I dont think you can argue all that much with my post.

My thoughts... Most people know I was not expecting this game to be even close, but just like those yankees they get me to the brink and let me down. Our rotation is in shambles and in order to make up for it, our pen is overworked. Actually, overworked is an understatement. They are on pace for over 600 bullpen innings, which has been done exactly once, by the 2002 Rangers who finished in last place. Joe has no faith in any starter (even Pettitte at times), so he is too quick with the hook and isnt ready to just throw a guy out there to burn. Today would have been good experience to give that kid a few more innings before shitcanning his ass back to Trenton. He's a bun in the oven that needs a little more time. Our manager on the other end, is overdone and gristley meat that needs to be tossed. There is no defense, win or lose, for using Scott Proctor in 71% of our games to this point. Absolutely none. In april, I'd rather he die by using a reliever who may not be ready than overwork a guy who will be a major cog in the wheel once we get rolling and healthy. As for our offense, we hit the ball well sans the bottom of our order. Good news is, Posada is expected back tomorrow as is Matsui. For the first time since the 3rd game of the season, our opening day lineup should be playing. And, when we have Igawa and Wang throw the next 2 days, it will be the first time 2 pitchers in our projected rotation throw in consecutive days in over 10 days. We will still have a rotation with Karstens and Wright until the 28th when Wright will be optioned down and Mussina activated. By the first week of May, our top 4 in our rotation should be pitching. Now the news on Pavano isnt good at all. He is described as "not even close". This is bad news for the most part as Pavano had rounded into a pitcher who could at the very least, eat a few innings. It looks like it will be Karstens job until we either get Clemens or give the kid the callup. But that brings up an interesting point. Hughes has had 2 very strong starts and one stinker in Scranton. He is due to have another start tomorrow and by the time we have our 1-4 ready, he may become the 5th man if Karstens misses his spots as badly as he did yesterday. The Hughes clock is certainly ticking. The problem will become, our pen is so overworked as it is, is it wise to restrict workload on a major league pitcher in his interests, yet to the detriment of the team? Overall, our bullpen needs a break and it wont get one with Bucky Igawa throwing tomorrow. At best, Bucky gives us 6 in Tampa. At worst, he's serving some wonton soup at the nearest Ichiban by the 3rd and our pen continues its slow burn. Like I have said before, we are a team who has been way too injured, just no serious blows yet. If all rolls well, the only guy we will have on the 15 day Pavano is Pavano. And yes, you read that right. The 15 day Pavano. We have renamed it. The 4 game deficit at this point is nothing new. The only new thing is the faces of our starting rotation. So long as we dont get napalmed in our rotation again, we should be fine.

you guys are on the ball a little. I said going in we would lose 2 of 3. I didnt think we'd have a chance in all 3games. I am a bit unnerved that we lost game 1 the way we did. Not overly upset. You can see my responses in my recap which will be posted soon.

No, if ARod makes contact, it is gone. I dont think he makes contact though.

It isnt fear. Most anyone who has played at a high enough level has faced a guy who has thrown that hard. But when you have that kind of location and offspeed stuff, you are dominant.

the cutter moves at least.

anyone subscribing to the idea that he might walk abreu to face ARod?

Paps looks just like Mo did 10 yrs ago.

gasface. This lineup is sucking right now. How do you not hit a fastball down the middle of the f***ing plate.

there is no way Paps throws a 94mph splitter. Take the juggs gun off the roids.

Yankees, either take the lead or lose it here. No more pen drain.

btw, anyone see the matchups for next week? DMats vs Wright Wake vs Igawa Tavarez vs Wang

Jason Johnson pitched at least. One good thing, though, is that it opens a slot for Clemens and Hughes.

top of the order. should be fun.

poetry at its finest. BTW, a note on Pavano, his status to this point has been considered "not even close". I would assume that means he is out for the season, lol. What a pussy.