Today’s news is powered by baseball-playing robots:
- Hideki’s knee acting up:
Hideki Matsui was held out of the New York Yankees’ lineup on Sunday, got his swollen knee drained and will likely miss at least one more game.
Manager Joe Girardi said after New York lost for just the second time in 14 games on Sunday, 10-3 to Seattle, that the designated hitter will have his surgically repaired knee reevaluated on Tuesday to see if the 35-year-old can play the second game of a series at Oakland. That’s New York’s next stop on its season-long, 10-game road trip.
“That is why we are careful with him, because he is really important to our lineup,” Girardi said.
Matsui had his second two-homer game of the season and a season-high five RBIs on Friday. He spoke afterward with huge ice packs on both knees, then sat out Saturday.
- Tom Terrific on the Joba Rules/Map:
“Tell me, how does a pitcher get to the next level unless he’s tested under fire?” (Tom) Seaver asked. “Where are you going to find the next Bob Gibson or Nolan Ryan or Steve Carlton unless a young pitcher is pushed? You won’t.”
. . . “[The Yankees] probably have a lot of money invested in Chamberlain, it’s a financial thing and they want to protect him. But he won’t reach his baseball limit this way.”
Seaver’s rejection of the innings limit is based on a single premise: A pitcher builds his arm by throwing, not resting. Seaver cites his own body of work as proof. At 23, the same age as Chamberlain, Seaver threw 277 innings and zoomed up to 290 innings only two years later in 1970.
By contrast, the Yankees are carefully rationing Chamberlain’s final 32 innings before he reaches his cutoff at 160. While Seaver considers such coddling counter-intuitive, if not damaging, the Yankees say the old-schoolers are just plain wrong.
. . . What Seaver probably doesn’t know, say the Yankees, is that Chamberlain threw only 100 innings in 2008. There are numerous examples of young pitchers who’ve been injured after increasing their workload by more than 30 innings the following year.
. . . “What really galls me is seeing a pitcher taken out of game that he’s dominating the opposing team,” Seaver said. “These people today don’t understand what it means to walk off the mound after holding the other team down for nine innings, the feeling of triumph for your own team — and the effect it has on the players in the other dugout.
- Steve Serby has a Q&A with Mariano Rivera:
Q: What would you say to Yankees fans who are dreading the day when the ninth inning belongs to someone else?
A: I know for sure I’m not gonna do that job forever. I know they know. . . I don’t even have to worry about that. Players come and go.
Q: What would you want written on your (Monument Park) plaque?
A: I want the legacy I left to impact the new guys. I tried to do my best.
Q: One reason, other than your faith in God, why you have been so successful.
A: First of all, support from my family — from my wife (Ciara), my kids (sons Mariano Jr., Jafet and Jaziel) — they’ve been there for me; and then you have to work hard and take care of yourself.
Q: Do you fear turning 40 in three months?
A: I don’t fear it at all — why should I fear turning 40?
- 2,674 is a magic number for the captain:
With a three-hit performance in the Bombers’ 10-3 loss to the Mariners on Sunday at Safeco Field, (Derek) Jeter surpassed Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio in becoming the all-time Major League leader in hits as a shortstop.
“It was kind of hard to believe,” Jeter said. “I just try to be consistent year in and year out. I think if you’re consistent, then good things happen.”
“I think being consistent is something that gets overlooked at times, but I think every player strives to be consistent. That’s all you can do.”
. . . “I think I have a few hits left in me,” Jeter said. “You’re going to have good years and you’re going to have bad years. I think you have to take care of yourself and you have to put in a lot of work. I’ve been fortunate, but hopefully I have a few years left playing short.”
[My take: Well, if he continues to manage playing defense as well as he has this season . . . we’ll let him stay there, right?]
- Will the Yanks’ 1st round pick sign?:
The Yankees are optimistic that they will be able to reach an agreement with Slade Heathcott, the club’s first-round selection in the June First-Year Player Draft, by Monday’s midnight ET deadline.
The 29th overall pick, the 18-year-old outfielder from Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas, was the first position player taken in the first round by the Yankees since 2005. Reports have indicated that Heathcott, a left-handed-hitting outfielder, could receive a $2 million signing bonus.
While Yankees director of amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer declined to comment on financial terms, he said that the Yankees are confident they will be able to add Heathcott to the system.
- Damaso Marte won’t be seen around the Stadium anytime soon:
The left-handed reliever, whose 30-day rehab assignment has been completed, was not throwing well at Triple-A Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre and, according to the Yankees, has been “excused for personal reasons.”
Marte left Triple-A on Friday and the Yankees refused to say what the reasons were other than that they were not physical. The Yankees can put Marte back on the disabled list, which is likely, or activate him from the DL.
Marte, in the first season of a three-year, $12 million deal, has been on the DL since April with an inflamed left shoulder.
Though manager Joe Girardi said it would be nice to have another lefty in the bullpen to go with Phil Coke, Marte didn’t impress in 11 minor league outings.
The velocity on his fastball and slider wasn’t good and he had command issues.
- Happy 38th birthday to Jorge Posada. Posada’s standing on the Yankee career leaderboard: OBP .378 (22nd place), SLG .478 (24th), OPS .857 (20th), Games 1,565 (15th), PAs 6,197 (18th), Runs 802 (19th), Hits 1,458 (19th), Total Bases 2,520 (13th), 2Bs 336 (10th), HRs 236 (8th), RBIs 936 (12th), BB 822 (9th).
- Butch Hobson turns 58 today. Hobson finished his surprisingly-short career with a .172 BA in 58 ABs with the Yanks in ’82, at the age of 30. In 1977, at the age of 25, he powered the Red Sox with 30 HRs and 112 RBIs. But his fielding at third left a bit to be desired (career .926 fielder), and he played himself out of the game within five years.
- On this date in 1920, Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman dies as a result of being hit by a pitch thrown by Yankee submariner Carl Mays. The tragedy remains the only on-field fatality in major league history.
- On this date in 1923, after 111 games, Babe Ruth is hitting .401 with 31 HRs. He’ll wind up with his highest BA, .393. With 205 hits, a ML record 170 walks, and 4 times hit by pitches, Ruth will reach base a record 379 times.
- On this date in 1933, on his way to establishing the mark of playing in 2,130 consecutive games, Lou Gehrig quietly surpasses Everett Scott’s previous record of 1,308 games. The first baseman’s single and triple don’t prevent the last-place Browns from beating the Yankees in ten innings at Sportsman’s Park, 7-6.
- On this date in 2002, homering in the seventh inning off Mariner starter James Baldwin, Yankee All-Star Alfonso Soriano becomes the first second baseman to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. Bobby Bonds is the only other Yankee to post a 30/30 season to that point, accomplishing the feat in 1975. Bernie Williams singles in his first at bat to give him 11 consecutive hits. He makes an out his next time up to fall one short of the ML record.
I love how Steve Serby just gets the God thing out of the way himself.
[1] I found the question a bit off-putting, since the interviewer did not allow the interviewee to answer the question freely. He could have achieved much the same effect with a more open question like "name three keys to your success."
Otherwise, a not-bad interview, with some very intriguing details.
[2] That's why it's funny. "Yeah, yeah - we get it, God is responsible for your success. What else you got?" It's perhaps not the slickest way to get a different answer but God knows it's well-established from whence Rivera thinks he derives his power.
[2] seems mo found a few questions off-putting as well.
you would think interviewers would know enough of their subjects to ask appropriately framed questions to elicit the most information from the interviewee (if that is in fact the purpose of the interview) rather than annoy them or worse.
has any pitcher drawn more input about his pitching from other pitchers than joba?
hope matsui's knee will be okay.
and whatever is up with marte hope is alright as well- though he is a waste of a 3year contract at this point.
[4] Yep. The Marte story is getting weirder and weirder.
"The first baseman’s single and triple don’t prevent the last-place Browns from beating the Yankees in ten innings at Sportsman’s Park, 7-6"
Obviously the Yankees needed to fire the manager and/or the general manager. The bullpen was misused the last few days. They should not lose to last place teams. Ever. Especially with the talent on the team.
FYI, I fixed the link to the Seaver article, and included some more excerpts.
I loved Tom Seaver when he called Yankee games, but sheesh. Logically, there's just so much wrong with what he says . . . ugh.
Given how poorly Oppenheimer messed up the top of last year's draft, the Yankees have no choice but to sign their top two picks, and they will. They signed Caleb Cotham, their 5th round pick, well overslot.
Jeter has earned the right to play SS next season, beyond that, it's an open question.
If I had to guess, Marte has to consider getting shoulder surgery.
[9] Huh? The not-signing-Cole thing was unfortunate, but everyone I've read about the Cole signing - Keith Law, Kevin Goldstein, John Sickels, Lane Meyer at NoMaas, Baseball America - plus plenty of people not connected to scouting/the draft - all say Cole had a last-minute change of mind and that there was no way Oppenheimer or anyone else could have predicted it. Given that, what and how did Oppenheimer mess up?
Outside of Cole, everyone else at the top signed except for Bittle, and that was no loss. Those guys are all performing reasonably well, as are some of the late-round guys they paid a lot of money to.
BTW, Heathcott has signed.
[10] So what? You're responsible for the choices you make.
"God thing"? Are you referring to Mariano's faith? It was definitely smart of Serby to gloss over something that is very important in the life of his subject. Maybe that's why he didn't get many good answers.
I think Mariano's faith is a given. He always prefaces every comment he makes with that, which is fine, but if you want some insight, you have to get past that.
WRT Marte, granted it was a small sample size, but when I saw him pitch @ SWB earlier this month he didn't have much in the way of velocity or command. Whatever it is that's bothering him, physically or mentally, I hope he gets it squared away.
WRT Seaver, I see where he's coming from. Jim Kaat has similar views as well. I think Leo Mazzone and Mike Marshall advocate the same thing, that pitchers need to throw. I look at the innings totals of pitchers from the 60's and 70's (at both the minors and the majors) and I am amazed. Tom Seaver, @ 21 threw 210 innings in Jacksonville (AAA), then the next 3 years threw 251, 277 & 273 innings for the Mets. He was in the USMC Reserves, so I'd imagine that he was in phenomenal shape when he played @ USC & when he signed with the Mets.
Jeter has earned the right to play SS next season, beyond that, it’s an open question
Which will be answered through the draft, through FA or through a trade.
[13] I'm not referring to Mariano's faith, I'm referring to the fact that the #1 answer to that question from Rivera is, and always will be, "God, etc". What's behind that as far as his faith goes is his own business and certainly nothing I'm interested in nor interested in discussing. I'm just tickled that the interviewer attempted - successfully, I might add - to put that to the side in order to get a different answer.
As far as how smart it was, I don't know, but I never said it was smart. For that question, though, he did get something other than the typical answer.
Beyond that, I don't know how many "good answers" anyone can expect to get out of Rivera, as he's like many professional athletes and reveals as little as possible and/or has very little to reveal.
Or, see [14].
I find it interesting that the one constant is Mo's faith, which many here (and also Serby) would want simply overlook or try to "get past" in order to get "insight" into the man. Perhaps the real insight is that he's a man of deep--and by all appearances--unshakable faith. It would be more insightful and interesting, rather than trying to sidestep the issue, to dig deeper into it. Why not ask how Rivera balances or even melds his faith with his approach to pro sports? Then we might learn something about him, rather than ask a question that essentially closes off a large part of the subjects of life.
[17] [i]For that question, though, he did get something other than the typical answer. [/i]
Yeah, he got "support of family" and "hard work". Whoopty-doo. Maybe Mo would have been more revealing if the question were not potentially antagonistic.
[19] Don't you mean "whoop-dee-doo"?
[19] Anyway, even if you disapprove of Mariano citing hard work and family, it's still different than thanking god. So kudos to the interviewer, he successfully got Baby Jesus out of the picture ... Now excuse me while I go potentially antagonize someone.
[20] Unless he's Derrick Coleman, then it's whoop-de-damn-doo
[22] Or Gary Coleman, then it's "whatchoo-talkin-bout-willis?"
Since 1961, here is the list of Yankee pitchers age 23 or younger, by # of innings pitched in that year.
http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/PQFD
[24] Cool. I'm reading Ball Four and it's given me pause as far as handling young pitchers with care. Looking at Bouton's stats there, even moreso.