Tagged: Marlon Byrd

3 key and avoidable screwups that cost the AL

The streak is over. The NL finally found a way to win, blah blah blah. The AL didnt help its case much last night, and speculations can be made all day over what Girardi and Manuel did or didnt do. However, the following three things DID happen, and ended up costing the AL.

1-Joe Mauer makes a baserunning mistake they teach you not to do in little league.

5th inning. Robinson Cano just hit a sac fly to put the AL up 1-0. Joe Mauer is on 2nd, 1 out. Carl Crawford hits a groundball to short, and Mauer takes it upon himself to go for 3rd, right in front of Hanley Ramirez! Ramirez easily nails him at 3rd for the 2nd out.
What professional baseball player pulls a stunt like that? You go AFTER Ramirez throws to 1st, then you wouldve scored on the Torii Hunter fly ball.

 

2-Elvis Andrus stole 2nd, then caught off the bag.

Jeter led off the 6th the only way he could, he got a hit. Then in comes Andrus to run for him. He takes 2nd as Konerko strikes out, but he came in to 2nd too fast and slid himself right off the base. Brandon Phillips catches him a mile off the bag and applies the tag. Josh Hamilton then hits a single that wouldve scored the speedy Andrus. Big Floppi strikes out to end the inning.

 

(For those counting, thats now at least 2 runs the AL lost out on…but was there a way to prevent the NL runs?)

 

3-Matt Thornton (how the hell is he an all star?) walks the bases loaded despite being ahead in the count 0-2.

7th inning. Runners on the corners, 2 outs. Marlon Byrd steps up to the plate against Thornton. The count quickly goes to 0-2. One more strike and the AL can breathe easy. Thornton then decides hes gonna get Byrd to chase some high heat.
Ball one.
Ok, so, lets try something new. BUT NO! Thronton trys to get Byrd to chase another high fastball!
Ball two.
Alright. Byrd clearly isnt fooled. Go to a new pitch? Nope! Lets try the same pitch AGAIN!
Ball three. Full count.
Thornton finally decides to try a different location. Down and away, and Byrd isnt swinging.
Ball four. Bases loaded. McCann steps up and the rest is history.

 

Honerable mentions go out to Joe Girardi for leaving David Ortiz to run the bases in the 9th, Joe Mauer for that terrible throw to 2nd that ended up in center field, and David Wright for not taking 3rd on the beforementioned Mauer throw.

 

Despite the above, im not that bitter. This just means the Yankees wont need 6/7 games to win the world series at home this year.

Week 13 in review: All Star tweaking

Lets take a moment to single out all the Yankees on this years All Star team.

-Derek Jeter. As always, one of the best shortstops in the AL. The no-brainer pick to win the vote.

-Robinson Cano. The best 2B in all of baseball. Again, a no-brainer selection.

-C.C. Sabathia. Good 1st half, though he wont play if he pitches on Sunday against the Mariners.

-Phil Hughes. One of the best 1st halfs of any AL pitcher. Should be a no-brainer to start if not for his recent streak of high ERA.

-Alex Rodriguez. Only injuries could stop him from being an All Star, and this year he was healthy (thus far *knock on wood*)

-Mariano Rivera. Best closer in history. Always gets the save for the AL. The man probably has a lifetime roster spot reserved for him.

-Andy Pettitte. Thats right b!tches. Pettittes an All Star. Replacing an injured person, but he was gonna be an All Star anyway for the beforementioned Sabathia thing. That was Girardis plan all along, or so he claimed. Though, I dont see why he couldve had a Red Sox pitcher replace Sabathia, forcing Jon Lester to wait until the last minute out of spite…

-Nick Swisher (as soon as he wins the final vote thing). Because I said so…

Biggest Yankee Game:
7/4/10: Yankees-7, Blue Jays-6, 10 innings

Holy crap. That game went back and forth and back and forth the whole damn time. Jays by a run, Yanks by 2, then its Jays by 2, then Gardner hits a 2 run inside the park homer to tie it up, Yanks take a 1 run lead into the 9th, Jays touch Rivera up to tie it up again, then Thames literally comes up off the DL to win it for us in the 10th. DeWayne Wise prolly has more than a few mixed moments from the whole game himself…
Momentum building win for the Yankees, making them the first 50 win team in baseball…while the Blue Jays slip below .500
I think its officially over for them this year. Though God dammit a few more key additions for them and they can contend long term…

Favorite Picture:


HoPark.pngDuring the Yankees 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays over the weekend, Chan Ho Park came in and was anything but effective. During that outing, he hits Aaron Hill with a pitch and knocks him over, to which the Yankees announcer, Michael Kay says “…and Chan Ho Parks Aaron Hill.” Which I laughed at for a while. I couldnt find a picture or video of it, so heres a pic of Park from that very game, which is the best I can give you right now…

Fantasy:
The following are all 5 of my fantasy teams, and (purely for my ego and bad @s$ drafting/trading/waiver skills) All Stars for each of them…

The Roid Sox:
-Justin Morneau
-Brandon Phillips
-Jose Bautista
-Miguel Cabrera
-Ty Wigginton
-Nick Swisher*

Showdown:
-Brian McCann
-David Ortiz
-Alex Rodriguez

cpDOOM 2.0:
-Jose Bautista
-Carl Crawford
-Ryan Braun
-Chris Young
-Ty Wigginton
-Nick Swisher*

Pretenders:
-Derek Jeter
-Marlon Byrd
-Roy Halladay
-Phil Hughes

F*cking Lozers:
-Brandon Phillips
-Evan Longoria
-Corey Hart
-Michael Bourn
-John Buck
-Tim Lincecum
-Josh Johnson
-Phil Hughes
-Trevor Cahill
-Brian Wilson

This Week:
West coast trip time. Lots of 10oClock games for me. At the A’s and at the Mariners.

 

…BTW, Sundays game was the official half way point in the schedule. 50 wins already? I smell another 100 win season!

Week 4 in review: God hates the Indians

Yankees are back on track, taking 2 of 3 from both the Orioles and White Sox. The Red Sox meanwhile just got swept by the Os and while the Rays are still on top, its only a matter of time before the Yankees take whats theirs. Besides, the standing dont truely start to matter until June anyway…

Now that April is officially in the rearview, its time to address players slumps. No more spring rust. If you’re sucking now, theres no excuse.

Nick Johnson, Javy Vazquez? Spotlights on you two. Randy winn as well, but as a bench player its not as vital.

With Marcus Thames hitting well and Brett Gardner not needing anyone to face lefties instead of him, Johnsons opprotunities are starting to dry up. Gardner and Nick Swisher both could prove excellent replacments in the #2 spot in the lineup.
Johnsons struggles could easity be explained by an apparent injury he was suffering, plus he knocked in a couple hits and RBIs in yesterdays thrashing of the White Sox, so maybe hes on the upward climb.

Vazquez though?
There is no explanation in existence to show why he suck all of a sudden except one. Its the same explanation as to why Roy Halladay is making the NL his b*tch.
The National League blows. If you were a dominating pitcher in the NL, you’ll only be a mear human in the AL.
Vazquez was borderline great in the NL, which transitions into borderline crap here in the AL. He has yet to have a good start this year and theres nothing physically wrong with him, so whats his issue? Its Girardis call as to how soon Vazquez will get the hook, unless he rights himself by mid May, theres no reason to keep him in the rotation. Sergio Mitre should be the #4 starter. As it is we only use him in long relief for when Vazquez self detonates. Thanks to him we actually stood a chance the last time Vazquez pitched.

Biggest Yankee Game
4/29/10 Yankees-4, Orioles-0
AJ Burnett took no prisoners in 8 shutout innings and Cano continues his domination over Baltimore by launching 2 homers. Hill and Pedroia can eat their hearts out, Robinson Cano is by far the best 2nd baseman in the division, if not the entire league.

Favorite Picture


indians.jpgActually, Indians fans, yes we can hate you that much. Especially if you hate yourselves most of the time.
Recently the top 10 most hated teams in the MLB came out. The Yankees (always a fan favorite to hate) placed only 5th. Turns out theres more overall hate for the Astros and Reds. The Red Sox placed 2nd, which Ive yet to stop laughing over…
But there is no more hated team than the Cleveland Indians….my brother in law is a fan of them, which makes me happy as well.
And I can only assume the picture is related to the 2007 ALDS. Big whoop, you lost in the ALCS…classy…
God himself would hate the Indians if you asked him…

Fantasy
After trailing 10-0 for most of last week, my F*cking Lozers team pulled a massive turnaround and won 7-4 and are now 1.5 games out of 1st. Injuries have been kicking my *** still but Ive been making some nice pick ups as a result, including the streaking Alex Gonzalez, and CJ Wilson.

The Pretenders are holding steady, under 10 points of 1st. Marlon Byrd has been an indredible pickup there. Now that its May I can start Teixeira without worry. It doesnt hurt to have Halladay or Santana either…

cpDOOM 2.0 (3-1) won a close one against a former perfect team and are now tied for 1st. This week they face the other team involved in the current 3 way tie. With the Rockies Catcher situation all figured out, I can now start Olivo without worry.

The Showdown (1-3) got beat again, as all of us owners are trying to figure out how to fix it. It seems the more owners there are, the more indecision there is. We voted and we’re actually gonna try starting David Ortiz, which I think is a bad idea, but we’ve got no better options right now. ARods little slump doesnt help things either, but he always does great after Girardi benches him for a game.

The Roid Sox (3-1) just competed some utter domination last week, and are all set to face another weak team this week. My “all power” lineup seems to have hit a snag seeing as how Clint Barmes sucks and theres no such thing as a power hitter on the waiver wire. Eric Young Jr is on a streak right now, so I picked him up for the time being, despite how wierd his 0 home runs looks in my lineup of 2-6 home run hitters…

This week
Yankees play the Orioles again this week, with Sabathia and Burnett looking to give encore performances, while Pettitte will face them for the first time since his near perfect game last year. Afterwards, we’ll face the dying Red Sox…with Vazquez pitching in the 1st game…

2010

Everyone have a good christmas? Kwanza? New Years? Alrighty then…

Yankees at Fenway to begin, and end the season?
Phillies and their new ace go to Toronto?
Manny returning to Boston?
Yankees at Dodgers?
This season will have no shortage of great games to watch.

…but since at the end of the day all I care about it what the Yanks are doing, lets take a closer look at what the future holds…and some lingering questions…

Yankees vs Red Sox: opening day/end of the season.
We got spanked by the BoSox early last year right before we turned around and gave it right back to them just as hard, and took the division right in front of them…
It seems the most likely scenerio will be CC vs Beckett, then AJ vs Lackey, then Pettitte vs whatever overrated bum they have next. Either team could win any of those games and Id be an idiot to guess who would before pitchers/catchers have even reported, but there will be no sweeps…unlike last year where almost every set was a sweep.

Yankees at Dodgers
This was the dream world series matchup last postseason, even more so than the Angels vs Dodgers possibility.
Joe Torre vs Joe Girardi, Matt Kemp vs Curtis Granderson, Mark Texeira vs Andre Ethier, Derek Jeter vs Manny Ramirez, C.C. Sabathis vs…uh…can any Dodger compete with any Yankee pitcher?
Point is, this would be a great matchup of managers…not so much teams. Dodgers didnt do much this offseason, and if I didnt think they stood a chance against the Yankees then, then they definatly dont stand a chance against the Yankees now…

Left Field?
Damons still up in the air, and right before he signed with the Cubs, I was telling my dad about how good Marlon Byrn might be for us. The list of available fixes is growing short…
Heres a short list of people I nominate(d) to play left for NY in 2010, in order of ranking…

Damon
Holliday
DeRosa
Byrd
Dye
Bay
Cabrera
Gardner
Guererro
Hoffman

#5 Starter?
CC-AJ-Pettitte-Vazquez-???
It seems to be between Joba and Hughes…but never count out Gaudin or even Mitre.

…any hey, with C.M.Wang gone, the Yankees have a vancancy at the position of “Once a great pitcher but got hurt too much” that Ben Sheets could fill.

Remaining free agents

Last year had Bobby Abreu and Manny Ramirez homeless until the last possible moments…what about this year? Could the Yankees use any of them to fill a couple holes, mainly Left field?

 

…Lets rifle through the list of free agents to see what weve got left…

 

Justin Duchscherer
Oakland denied him abritration and let him go as a free agent, neither of which could possibly help his depression. Too injury prone for the Yankees to want and Oakland really wants to youth the team up.

Jason Bay
The man wanted out of Boston and it looks like New York wants him…not the Yankees though, too much money. The Mets are the only non-Boston team interested in him to fill their void in left.

Vladimir Guerrero
We wouldve killed for this mo fo the last time he was a free agent, not this time though. With Matsui in LA and the Angels not needing 2 DHs, Vlad-the-impailer is a man without a country. Yankees dont want him now seeing how if we wanted a full time DH we wouldve kept Godzilla.

Johnny Damon
If I were in charge of the Yankees, Id make it policy to have at most 1 Scott Boras client on roster at a time. With Cabrera gone the Yankees have a hole in left field that Damon used to fill. We want him, at OUR price. This has turned into the same stand off BS that we did in 07 with ARod, another Boras client. We’ll get him, as soon as Damon smacks Boras and tells him to “Shut up and go stand in the corner while I talk with the Yankees”

Erik Bedard
The reason the Mariners let him go is because of back-to-back injury filled seasons. Also a reason no team with thoughts of contention would wanna sign him either.

Jermaine Dye
Giants want him. Rangers want him bad. Whispers say the Yankees could plug him in left field. Dye is good. For some reason he always manages to quietly put together a good season. Had he been on the Giants or Rangers LAST season, they mightve made the playoffs.

Adrian Beltre
Heres the dilemma in Boston. They want Lowell out real bad, Ortiz cant play the field to save his life, if Victor Matrinez could play a decent 1st base he wouldnt need to also be a catcher (and vice versa) and Adrian Gonzalez is a pipe dream at best…so they need SOMEBODY besides Youkilis to play the corner infield. Beltre may be their best chance, which isnt a good think offensively.

Russell Branyan
Why not him for Boston? If not Beltre than why not sign Branyan? Decent bench 1st baseman. Seattle might actually want to keep this one.

Hank Blalock
…Never a defensive choice and his average has been lacking. Plus theres the thing where hes always a lock to get hurt every year…

Fernando Rodney
Angels are apparently all over this though. Should the Yankees grab him, he would complete an unstoppabel bullpen. Hey, if the Red Sox are dreaming for Adrian Gonzalez, I can dream for Rodney…

Marlon Byrd
Heres a guy who could but up decent numbers and/or split time with Gardner in left. None of his numbers scream out at you but he could quietly produce…which for the Yankees is better than nothing…

Joe Crede
Wants to play for the Twins again in 2010…but his agent is Scott Boras…

Melvin Mora
Aging…crappy stats…already a surplus of free agent 3rd basemen…PASS…even the Orioles dont wanna bother…

Miguel Olivo
Pretty good power numbers for a catcher, but low stats everywhere else, plus the fact that the Royals dont want you….as long as any “Molina” remains on the market, Ovilo wont have a home…

Matt Holliday
Cardinals want him, and for a long time. Boston wants him because Bay ran away. Yankees could sign him just to be as*holes. probably wont since hes too much money. If I were him, unless the Yankees come calling, stay in St Louis.

Mark DeRosa
Officially known in St Louis as “Plan B” in case Holliday gets away. Yankees might grab him to put in left.

Jose Valverde
For some reason no one wants him. I’m not sure why. I’d take him over Rodney, but thats just me…

Brett Myers
Houston wants him in their bullpen to help fill holes left by a couple people leaving, including the aformentioned Valverde. Myers could do worse than the Astros.

Miguel Tejada
Houston wants him back, which sounds smart on thier part.

Bengie Molina
Mets want him. Then again the Mets want everyone.

Pedro Martinez
The man didnt pitch last year until the 2nd half and he still had nothing left when the world series came. Now he wants to pitch for an entire season? Since the 03 ALCS he just hasnt been as dominating as advertised and last November proved he STILL cant beat the Yankees. Philles should pass, and any team that wants to win should pass too…then again, sign him, let him pitch decent for you until July, then trade him before he craps out. GMs can thank me later.

Joel Pineiro
Good, not great. Too many decent pitchers on the market in front of him. Not many, but he wont go until the better ones go.

Carlos Delgado
HA! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

John Smoltz
If he proved anything last year, its that the Red Sox cant judge pitching worth a damn. He can start, relieve or possible close. A do anything pitcher like him will definatly find a home…probably in the NL.

Adam LaRoche
Braves might want him for 1 more year. Might be his best option.

Rick Ankiel
He’d be a decent pickup…if he werent so injured all the time. If anyone picks him up, itll prolly be to just fill out the roster or a 5th outfielder.

Orlando Hudson
Last year he was one of those last minute signings and the Dodgers looked like geniuses as a result. This year might feature another last minute signing for Hudson, and he’ll once again make whatever GM look smart…might end up being the Dodgers again…

 

…My God this took longer than I thought…