Ivan Nova threw a fine game on Sunday and Curtis Granderson’s three run homer was the difference as the Yanks beat the Jays, 5-2 to take the weekend series in the Bronx.
Here’s Mark Teixeira hitting a dinger in the first inning:
Robinson Cano bruised his hand and is day-to-day; Alex Rodriguez is in a slump. Nick Swisher hasn’t hit. Jorge Posada–who did have a double today–and Derek Jeter have been awful. But again, Nova pitched well, and the bullpen didn’t allow a run. Mariano got his 10th save and the Yanks are in first place.
Hmm, what sort of bat-wielding anthropomorphic character does Tex remind me of in that first frame?...Ah, yes.
This team iscertainly much better when ARod hits.
Watching Po (.133 .235 .387 ) and Jeter (.242 .308 .263 ) is just painful.
Gritners current line: .200 .300 .400 (what are the odds?)
[2] Yet Gardner's catching most of the flack. Funny how the game works sometimes.
[2] When does the Posada situation hit crisis mode? He doesn't have any value if he can't hit. And management has made sure that he will be totally out of shape to get behind the plate anytime in the near future.
On the other hand, he's an icon from the most recent dynasty, a fan favorite and part of the so-called, "Core Four," which is now the Three Amigos.
Regarding The Grandy Man, when does Curtis start getting credit for his hard work and accomplishments? It seems like every HR he hits, every RBI is attributed to Kevin Long, as if the great hitting god is pulling the strings.
I'm of the mind that Jorge's gonna want nothing to with DHing after this year unless he gets around 30 taters; even then it will be hard to justify keeping him around when you have two power hitters who can hit for average as DHs-in-waiting (Alex and Montero).
And yeah, it's funny people give Long all the credit for Grandy while not dinging him for Jorge, Jeter, Brett, Jeter, Swisher, Jeter...
And Long is being dinged for "Jeter ... Jeter ... Jeter", when Jeter has, by his own admission, thrown away the suggestions Long has made, why, exactly???
What was the saying?
Oh, right.
Something about horses, water and drinking???
As for Jorge ... I'm sure you can point out the articles where Long reworked Posada's swing for this year, right?
And for Gardner and Swisher, here's a simple thought for you to remember, *hitting coaches don't preclude slumps*.
Not hard, right?
None of which is in any sense meant to imply Long is perfect or infallible or anything close to it, just, well, any criticism of Long ought to involve slightly more thought and effort than that ...
[7] i thought the saying was: "you can lead a cult to beer..." ; )
Are stadium radar-gun numbers cooked?
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors (mid page)
"I know for a fact that every time Brad Penny(notes) pitched for the Dodgers in San Diego it was probably the lowest velocities he ever had. He liked velocity. He'd stare at the board. He was throwing 95-96 [mph], but we'd have it at 91 and he'd get pissed off and throw harder and harder and start elevating."
The Great Mickey Mantle batted .237 his last year (back in the day when BA was THE stat). He still posted a team leading 142 OPS+, for a shitty team finishing in last place, but still, it was brutal to watch.
The beloved Donnie Baseball, posted a 97 OPS+ his last year. Even with a respectable .288 BA, it was painful to watch.
Thurman Munson, who was truly the Heart and Soul of his Yankees team, won the MVP in 1976 with a 126 OPS+. The followng three years saw his OPS+ go to 121, 101 and then 95 in the year of his death. As a 32 year old Catcher, it was hard to deny that he was in decline.
In his day, many people considered Willie Mays to be the greatest all-around player in history. While he posted very decent numbers in his second to last year, his last year saw him post a 81 OPS+. Worse was wathcing him literally stumble around in the OF. It made you want to cry, watching this baseball God attrophy before your eyes.
Even the greatest heros get old. This is as shocking as death and taxes. It's not fun to watch, but it's a fact of life.
Already this year, Jeter's and Posada's FAILURES and getting as much talk as the Yankees team play. I am not declaring Jeter and/or Posada dead... but it doesn't look good. There is nothing in their peripherals that indicates a slump, as opposed to decline.
If these 2 don't pull out of their nosedives, the YanKees FO will be in a very difficult position. More the anything, I believe Fans want the Yankees to Win. I hope these guys are not remembered for hurting their team in 2011, but rather for their great and historic careers.
If... IF things continue to go badly for these 2 Yankee Greats, I hope the FO handles it the right way. If they hurt the team, it will leave fans feeling very bitter.