All World All Sports
-Digger's Daily-
New York bosses named Steinbrenner can't be happy. Billions spent on a new stadium. Millions shelled out for new star ballplayers. The old saying of money doesn't buy happiness applies here too. Arch rival Boston has now beaten the lifeless Yankees 5 times in 5 tries this season.
Superstitious baseball traditionalists warned of moving the new Yankee Stadium from its' former so called sacred ground. "The House that Ruth Built" is gone. Yanks now play in the "Stadium funded by taxpayers". Ghosts of Yankees past have yet to show their magical powers. Some say they're gone forever. Judging by Yanks dismal performance in '08 and again in '09.. perhaps they're right.
The Yankees are in trouble. They've been embarrassed a few times already in this young season. Their new star players haven't delivered (CC, AJ & Teixeira). Old stars struggling (Jeter, Damon, Wang, Rivera). Disabled list trips by key cogs (ARod, Posada, Bruney, Wang). Yankee Stadium surrenduring homers at alarming rates. Another ARod controversy brewing. Attendance figures in the dumps. Hal and Hank remaining silent after losses. Boss George must be ready to explode. In the not too distant past, 22-4 home losses and an 0-5 beginning vs arch rival Boston would have prompted George to sound off. I guess his son's don't possess the same motivational skills.
Joe Girardi's Yankees are struggling again. Five no contest losses vs Red Sox (3 in Boston, 2 in NY) should sound a wake up call. YES network broadcasters make me laugh. They can't figure out how the Yanks played so well in spring and so poorly now. Guess what fellas, it was spring training. Yanks weren't facing prime pitchers for more than three innings in any given game. Don't forget, most big name players were involved with the World Baseball Classic. Most importantly, spring games mean nothing!
Now the heat is on Yankee players and their manager. Losing to Boston without much of a fight should shake the organization to its' core. This is a talented team in disarray based on bad decision making. From where I sit, it's an easy fix. I just don't see the Yankees waking up any time soon. Joba Chamberlain must go back to the bullpen once Wang returns from DL. Yanks bullpen is disasterous. Joba as a starter only makes this wound deeper. He rarely pitches deep into games which creates a double problem (bullpen overuse & 100+ pitches in 5 IP is sure to wreck his arm). Hughes, last seasons great hope, is now pitching effectively replacing injured Wang. Keep him in the rotation, move Joba to setup, Coke to 7th inning reliever and the Yanks are in business. Like I said, this should be an easy fix. So, why haven't the Yanks figured this out yet?
Yanks most daunting teams date back to Rivera setting up Wetteland... and.. Nelson/Stanton setting up Rivera. Joba (best served as closer of the future) is being misused. His career will be jeopardized at this pace. He throws too many pitches as a starter and rarely lasts deep into games. As a result, Yanks relievers are gassed.
Next up... catchers. What's up with the lousy signal calling from behind the plate? Catchers rarely call for starters #1 pitch in key situations or when pitchers are ahead in counts. Yankee pitchers have become predictable and get too deep into counts turning pitchers advantages into hitters hot zones. This is where Girardi needs to put his foot down. It's tiring watching him make up excuse after excuse after Yanks losses. Most have been from a lack of quality pitching.
At what point in time will Yanks hitters stop swing for the fences with 2 strikes and runners in scoring position? Yanks have been horrendous knocking in runs or moving runners into scoring position. How about a bunt or two to manufacture runs when struggling? Or having hitters shorten swings in key at bats? Ever hear of a hit and run play? Hey Girardi, there's more to managing the New York Yankees than filling out a lineup card. Two years in a row as an ineffective field general.
Oh, by the way... Joe Torre? Hal & Hank's first ownership mistake. Joe's helped turn Los Angeles into winners again. His team just tied the Major League record of 12 straight wins at home to begin a season.
(www.allworldallsports.com)
Showing posts with label Joe Girardi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Girardi. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Yankees Exposed, Red Sox Romp!
All World All Sports
-Digger's Daily-
Boston and New York were both riding winning streaks heading into this weekend's three game series. Red Sox had won 7 straight. Yanks, showing signs of life, had won 3 in a row. They were tied with 9-6 records. Joe Girardi's Yankees needed a good showing in Fenway. Instead, they received an old fashoned schooling by Terry Francona's Red Sox.
Boston did nearly everything great teams are supposed to do. They hit with runners in scoring position. Battled back when trailing. Pitched effectively. Bullpen saved games. Aggressive baserunning. Good fielding. Power. Managerial moves. Baseball 101 on full display. Sox swept Yanks 5-4, 16-11, 4-1.
My thoughts heading into this early season key matchup was to be more or less of a weather gauge. Yanks entered on a roller coaster type of season. They've looked good and horrific. The test was on vs arch rival Boston and Yanks embarrassed themselves.
Friday: Joba (should be setup for Rivera) pitched 5+ gutsy innings. Yanks were up 4-2... until... Rivera blew his 12th career regular season game vs Boston. Yanks had been 84-0 when leading after 8 since '08. The Sox have Mariano's number. They keep getting big hit after big hit against flat pitches by Rivera. Sox wait for his cutter and destroy high fastballs. Posada/Molina need to change up pitching locations. How many failures does it take for these battery mates to get it right? Big losses to ARod's replacement Ransom and SP Wang (15 day DL). Bruney was nearly lights out most nights setting up Rivera has a bad elbow.
Saturday: All seemed great. Yanks storm out to 6-0 early lead. AJ Burnett had 3 shutout innings behind him. All seemed right... until... Boston stormed back scoring 5 in the 4th, 3 in 5th, 1 in 6th, 3 in 7th and 4 in 8th. Burnett got bombed for 8. No reliever pitched 3 outs as they gave up 8 too! 16-11 Yanks bashed. Saturday's game was Day 1 of my Joe Girardi watch. I think the Steinbrenner watch began Sunday.... Tick Tock.
Sunday: Andy Pettitte has been Yanks only solid SP thus far entering at 2-0 in 3 quality starts. Yanks missed their chances and scored only 1. Yanks caught sleeping in the 5th. Bases loaded vs Pettitte (pitching from a full wind up)... and Ellsbury stole home with ease. It was at this moment I predict Steinbrenner's "official" stop watch was turned on against Girardi. Sloppy baseball. Yanks not on their toes. Not even their veteran southpaw. Tick Tock.
New billion dollar Stadium, new multi-million dollar deals to CC, AJ & Teixeira. Empty prime seating empty. Something's gotta give. Yanks were playoff bound every year for Torre. Girardi, while well liked by his players, can't seem to motivate these guys to produce. Some say "well ARod's been injured" yada yada. It's very early in the year and no need for fans to hit any panic buttons (leave it to owners). If the Yanks finish April with a losing record, Girardi is gone. Tick Tock.
The pitching staff is getting rocked. CC has started slowly. AJ was solid until Boston, same for Pettitte. However, Chien-Ming Wang... Wowie! I've never seen anything like it. So bad, no words sum it up. He's been tossing batting practice meatballs. 3 starts, 6 innings (total), 23 hits, 23 runs, 6 walks, 2 strikeouts (must be a typo), 2 home runs. ERA 34.50!!! Yanks shut him down (15 day DL) and called up a red hot Phil Hughes who was a complete bust in '08. Let's hope his AAA success has given Phil some confidence in preparation for Tuesday's game in Detroit.
As for the hitters, the stats look nice but they're not coming thru in clutch situations. Always seem to be swinging for homers instead of making contact for singles with runners in scoring positions. Yanks aren't doing the little things well consistently. Leaving runners on base game after game. Making bad outs. Tick Tock.
I like Girardi. He was a great manager for Florida before having a public fued with owners. He'll be a great manager for another team. Joe's just not the right guy for this one. Steinbrenner's have been unusually silent. Something has to wake up this team. If Joe can't do it... Yanks will find someone who can.
(www.allworldallsports.com)
-Digger's Daily-
Boston and New York were both riding winning streaks heading into this weekend's three game series. Red Sox had won 7 straight. Yanks, showing signs of life, had won 3 in a row. They were tied with 9-6 records. Joe Girardi's Yankees needed a good showing in Fenway. Instead, they received an old fashoned schooling by Terry Francona's Red Sox.
Boston did nearly everything great teams are supposed to do. They hit with runners in scoring position. Battled back when trailing. Pitched effectively. Bullpen saved games. Aggressive baserunning. Good fielding. Power. Managerial moves. Baseball 101 on full display. Sox swept Yanks 5-4, 16-11, 4-1.
My thoughts heading into this early season key matchup was to be more or less of a weather gauge. Yanks entered on a roller coaster type of season. They've looked good and horrific. The test was on vs arch rival Boston and Yanks embarrassed themselves.
Friday: Joba (should be setup for Rivera) pitched 5+ gutsy innings. Yanks were up 4-2... until... Rivera blew his 12th career regular season game vs Boston. Yanks had been 84-0 when leading after 8 since '08. The Sox have Mariano's number. They keep getting big hit after big hit against flat pitches by Rivera. Sox wait for his cutter and destroy high fastballs. Posada/Molina need to change up pitching locations. How many failures does it take for these battery mates to get it right? Big losses to ARod's replacement Ransom and SP Wang (15 day DL). Bruney was nearly lights out most nights setting up Rivera has a bad elbow.
Saturday: All seemed great. Yanks storm out to 6-0 early lead. AJ Burnett had 3 shutout innings behind him. All seemed right... until... Boston stormed back scoring 5 in the 4th, 3 in 5th, 1 in 6th, 3 in 7th and 4 in 8th. Burnett got bombed for 8. No reliever pitched 3 outs as they gave up 8 too! 16-11 Yanks bashed. Saturday's game was Day 1 of my Joe Girardi watch. I think the Steinbrenner watch began Sunday.... Tick Tock.
Sunday: Andy Pettitte has been Yanks only solid SP thus far entering at 2-0 in 3 quality starts. Yanks missed their chances and scored only 1. Yanks caught sleeping in the 5th. Bases loaded vs Pettitte (pitching from a full wind up)... and Ellsbury stole home with ease. It was at this moment I predict Steinbrenner's "official" stop watch was turned on against Girardi. Sloppy baseball. Yanks not on their toes. Not even their veteran southpaw. Tick Tock.
New billion dollar Stadium, new multi-million dollar deals to CC, AJ & Teixeira. Empty prime seating empty. Something's gotta give. Yanks were playoff bound every year for Torre. Girardi, while well liked by his players, can't seem to motivate these guys to produce. Some say "well ARod's been injured" yada yada. It's very early in the year and no need for fans to hit any panic buttons (leave it to owners). If the Yanks finish April with a losing record, Girardi is gone. Tick Tock.
The pitching staff is getting rocked. CC has started slowly. AJ was solid until Boston, same for Pettitte. However, Chien-Ming Wang... Wowie! I've never seen anything like it. So bad, no words sum it up. He's been tossing batting practice meatballs. 3 starts, 6 innings (total), 23 hits, 23 runs, 6 walks, 2 strikeouts (must be a typo), 2 home runs. ERA 34.50!!! Yanks shut him down (15 day DL) and called up a red hot Phil Hughes who was a complete bust in '08. Let's hope his AAA success has given Phil some confidence in preparation for Tuesday's game in Detroit.
As for the hitters, the stats look nice but they're not coming thru in clutch situations. Always seem to be swinging for homers instead of making contact for singles with runners in scoring positions. Yanks aren't doing the little things well consistently. Leaving runners on base game after game. Making bad outs. Tick Tock.
I like Girardi. He was a great manager for Florida before having a public fued with owners. He'll be a great manager for another team. Joe's just not the right guy for this one. Steinbrenner's have been unusually silent. Something has to wake up this team. If Joe can't do it... Yanks will find someone who can.
(www.allworldallsports.com)
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