TWiB 7/31 - 8/6

[Bored 0]

ESPN/Fox Games

 

MONDAY

Cleveland (Paul Byrd) at Boston (David Wells), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN

 

WEDNESDAY

Philadelphia (Brett Myers) at St. Louis (Jeff Weaver), 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN

 

THURSDAY

Toronto (Shaun Marcum) at N.Y. Yankees (Randy Johnson), 1:00 PM/10:00 AM, ESPN

Cleveland (Jake Westbrook) at Boston (Josh Beckett), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2

 

SATURDAY

Philadelphia at N.Y. Mets, 1:00 PM EST

Atlanta at Cincinnati, 1:00 PM EST

 

Oakland at Seattle, 1:00 PM PST

Texas at L.A. Angels, 1:00 PM PST

 

SUNDAY

Philadelphi at N.Y. Mets, 8:00/5:00 PM

[naiwf 0]

It's too bad the Mets don't have Kaz Matsui anymore, maybe we could have traded him for Utley, Burrell and Howard right before the deadline. It'd be nice not to have to worry about Pat hitting 6 HRs against us this week.

[Guest NYankees]

It's too bad the Mets don't have Kaz Matsui anymore, maybe we could have traded him for Utley, Burrell and Howard right before the deadline. It'd be nice not to have to worry about Pat hitting 6 HRs against us this week.

 

The Mets are in first place and are a virtual lock for the playoffs for the first time in 6 years. All you do is spend your time worrying about the Yankees and bitching. Cant you be happy about your Mets year so far? They are having a great year and running away with their division.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

So where does Abreu hit in the lineup on Tuesday night? 3? 5? 6?

[Precious Roy 0]

My guess is Abreu hits 5th

[vivalaultra 0]

I'm betting 5th. The Astros look to not fall further out of contention when they play the Padres. It'll be the battle of pitchers having an off-year on Tuesday as Jake Peavy goes against Andy Pettitte. Last year, that would've been a marquee matchup. This year, it's just...eh.

[KingPK 0]

Honestly, I'm not kidding here, but I think they should try out Abreu 4th and move A-Rod down a spot or two to bolster the bottom half of the lineup a bit. Abreu's power numbers are down, but he gets on base like a mofo and that would ease the pressure on Rodriguez a smidge.

[Guest Princess Leena]

But, then there'd be RISP, and as we know A-Rod only hits solo HR's in 25-2 contests.

[Guest StylesMark]

I think Abreu should hit 4th or 5th.

[Guest]

I'd bat Abreu in front of A-Rod.

[Precious Roy 0]

Ideally I'd like to see Damon-Jeter-Abreu-Rodriguez-Giambi as the top 5, but something tells me Torre won't disrupt the top of his lineup just yet

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Abreu would ideally bat second, but Damon-Jeter makes that impossible. The sooner Abreu bats in the lineup the better, because his on base skills make him an ideal table setter and provides RBI opportunities for Alex Rodriguez and (especially) Jason Giambi.

 

By the way, I noted a couple weeks ago that David Ortiz gets tons of clutch hits because pitchers challenge him rather than face Manny Ramirez. Anyone notice that Giambi gets tons of clutch hits batting in front of Rodriguez?

[CanadianChris 0]

By the way, I noted a couple weeks ago that David Ortiz gets tons of clutch hits because pitchers challenge him rather than face Manny Ramirez. Anyone notice that Giambi gets tons of clutch hits batting in front of Rodriguez?

No one would ever rather face Giambi than Rodriguez, because Rodriguez isn't any good.

 

I'd put Abreu third, drop Giambi to cleanup and bat A-Rod fifth. Can you imagine this lineup if/when Matsui and Sheffield come back?

 

CF Damon

SS Jeter

RF Abreu

1B Giambi

3B Rodriguez

DH Sheffield

LF Matsui

C Posada

2B Cano/Cairo

 

That's sick. When Cano comes back, there's not a soft spot in the order. It's been said jokingly before, but the Yankees would legitimately be fielding an All-Star team with this starting lineup.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Am I the only one who thinks the Abreu deal could work out very poorly for the Yanks. Even though he still has the .400+ OBP... his average and power numbers are declining. And he's noted for looking like a "lazy" player. I can easily see NY shitting on him because of these things.

 

Plus, it hurts the team defensively... as Melky is a defensive replacement at best now, once Matsui returns. Giambi's fat ass is forced to play 1st. And we know Sheff is gonna be a cunt about it.

[Precious Roy 0]

I love how a guy being calm and collected becomes "lazy" in the eyes of some armchair QBs. As long as he gets on base, steals a couple, and plays well in the field the fans will love him. The slugging is gravy, and I think we'll see a little power surge from him anyway.

 

I'm ok with Giambi playing first, I think his lack of defense is a little overstated. He doesn't have any range but at least he hustles and he knows how to play the position. There was a time when he was an above average defender. And Andy Phillips' poor offense was really canceling out the defensive upgrade he gave us.

 

That font of wisdom John Kruk suggested they convert Sheffield to first base. Theoretically it's not a horrible idea, he started out as a SS/3B and I think he could play the position well enough with some practice, but something tells me Sheff wouldn't exactly be on board with that idea, and he's got enough on his plate coming back from injury to be learning a new position. Honestly, I'm not that worried about Sheff. Some people have suggested he'll dog it, but he's in a contract year, I think if he does come back he'll make every AB count. He might be surly about losing playing time, but oh well, he's almost always surly about something. And really, I'm not convinced that Sheff will even be back, or if he is that he'll be the same player. I'm a lot more confident about Matsui.

 

The biggest point of contention with Yankee fans seems to be Melky losing time, which I think is silly. Yes, he's played above expectations this year, but ideally he should be a bench or platoon player on this team. He's 22, he should be in pinstripes for a long time, it doesn't hurt to let him be a role player right now. Some people have gone so far as to suggest this is a bad trade because it will put Melky on the bench, which is just nonsense. We have so much more flexibility now, having Cabrera and Bernie available off the bench in the playoffs could be huge. And one of Joe Torre's strengths over the years has been juggling deep lineups, getting a lot of guys ABs, and generally keeping everyone happy. If anyone can deal with this "problem" it's him.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Am I the only one who thinks the Abreu deal could work out very poorly for the Yanks. Even though he still has the .400+ OBP... his average and power numbers are declining. And he's noted for looking like a "lazy" player. I can easily see NY shitting on him because of these things.

 

Plus, it hurts the team defensively... as Melky is a defensive replacement at best now, once Matsui returns. Giambi's fat ass is forced to play 1st. And we know Sheff is gonna be a cunt about it.

 

Even in his diminished capacity, Abreu was 7th in the NL in Win Shares (per THT's method of calculations). He's also pushing Aaron Guiel out of the everyday lineup, which can only be a good thing.

[Precious Roy 0]

Duaner Sanchez is out for the year with a seperated shoulder. How did he get hurt? You guessed it: Cab accident (no, I'm not joking). Bad break for the Mets.

[Guest]

This was around the time of year when Sanchez blows up.

[C Dubya 04 0]

Chase got his hit and was taken out of the game for the Phils. 32 in a row and only has to look next to him for the Phil with a longer streak.

[Jericholic82 0]

I love how a guy being calm and collected becomes "lazy" in the eyes of some armchair QBs. As long as he gets on base, steals a couple, and plays well in the field the fans will love him. The slugging is gravy, and I think we'll see a little power surge from him anyway.

 

I'm ok with Giambi playing first, I think his lack of defense is a little overstated. He doesn't have any range but at least he hustles and he knows how to play the position. There was a time when he was an above average defender. And Andy Phillips' poor offense was really canceling out the defensive upgrade he gave us.

 

That font of wisdom John Kruk suggested they convert Sheffield to first base. Theoretically it's not a horrible idea, he started out as a SS/3B and I think he could play the position well enough with some practice, but something tells me Sheff wouldn't exactly be on board with that idea, and he's got enough on his plate coming back from injury to be learning a new position. Honestly, I'm not that worried about Sheff. Some people have suggested he'll dog it, but he's in a contract year, I think if he does come back he'll make every AB count. He might be surly about losing playing time, but oh well, he's almost always surly about something. And really, I'm not convinced that Sheff will even be back, or if he is that he'll be the same player. I'm a lot more confident about Matsui.

 

The biggest point of contention with Yankee fans seems to be Melky losing time, which I think is silly. Yes, he's played above expectations this year, but ideally he should be a bench or platoon player on this team. He's 22, he should be in pinstripes for a long time, it doesn't hurt to let him be a role player right now. Some people have gone so far as to suggest this is a bad trade because it will put Melky on the bench, which is just nonsense. We have so much more flexibility now, having Cabrera and Bernie available off the bench in the playoffs could be huge. And one of Joe Torre's strengths over the years has been juggling deep lineups, getting a lot of guys ABs, and generally keeping everyone happy. If anyone can deal with this "problem" it's him.

 

well said roy

[Jericholic82 0]

Duaner Sanchez is out for the year with a seperated shoulder. How did he get hurt? You guessed it: Cab accident (no, I'm not joking). Bad break for the Mets.

sound slike some of the yanks bad luck moved to the mets, thats what their fans get for hating on us I guess.

[alfdogg 0]

"I'm glad one of your players was involved in a car accident; you people shouldn't say those mean things about our fans!"

[Brett Favre 0]

Torre likes to go lefty, righty, lefty, righty, so as of now I see the lineup being Damon, Jeter, Giambi, A-Rod, Abreu, Posada, Phillips/Wilson, Cabrera, Cairo.

[Guest]

Luke Hochevar still hasn't signed with the Royals. If he holds out again, he can forget about baseball.

[Guest NYankees]

David Wells pitched a gem tonight. He pitched just like Curt Schilling the night before and just like Randy Johnson two days before that.

[Guest Felonies!]

Mark Prior should retire.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I like how the wheels need to completely fall off before Francona makes a move.

 

They're interviewing Jim Hendry in the booth and he's rattling on about how he thinks Prior's over the hump and he'll be a quality starter the rest of the way. Minutes later, he gives up a grandslam to Orlando Hudson. Orlando Hudson.

[CanadianChris 0]

PAPI DID IT AGAIN!!!!!

[KingPK 0]

You gotta be kidding me.

 

You gotta be fucking kidding me.

[JustJoe2k5 0]

David Ortiz is a beast.