Name that player:
1) Batting .339 in May, slugging .726 in May, with and OPS of….wait for it….1.207
2) 4th in the league in Home Runs, 7th in OBP, 4th in OPS- for the whole season
3) 5th best OBP, 3rd in slugging, and 3rd in OPS among all players at his position in MLB
Any guesses?
May 30, 2008 at 3:01 pm |
Without looking at any stats, it must be the Great Giambino. All kidding aside, I’m ready to admit that I wrote that cheating POS off too soon. His hitting has been even better than his average — lots of hard outs. There is definately some life left in that bat. I’ve been surprised.
But while his offense is vastly improved, his “defense” remains pathetic — check out his assists total — absolutely laughable. And there is no way in hell he remains healthy enough for 600 plate appearances. That his bat has come to life does not change the fact that he is a slob who cannot field his position.
My opinion on the Moose remains unchanged. Smoke and mirrors is all he’s got left. Besides, he is only averaging 5 innings per start, so he has not been that good any way.
It’s funny that you still view this team as championship caliber where the decision to put Joba in the rotation clearly indicates that both Cashman and Giradrdi do not. Anyone with a pulse will tell you that the team is best served for this season by keeping Joba in the pen and for the long term by moving him to the rotation. Cashman’s willingness to move Joba to the rotation now is a clear and unequivocal waiving of the white flag with the hope of establishing him as a starter for next season when they will be re-tooled with a better staff and Mark Texeira, among others. Is there any doubt that Joba would be remaining in the pen if the team was playing better?
May 30, 2008 at 3:28 pm |
ding ding ding. Yes, the answer is the Great Giambino.
He may get hurt, but his assist total is due more to his only playing 35 games at 1B.
Tim Wakefield has won 2 rings using smoke and mirrors. Greg Maddux exists with smoke and mirrors these days. Mussina can throw 6 pitches for strikes (fastball, curve, knucklecurve, change, cutter and the occasional slider).
I still believe that the Yankees will make the playoffs. Everyone in the playoffs has a shot. The Rockies plyed hot right into the WS and then waited about 3 months to play the Red Sox. If this Yankee team plays healthy, Wang Pettite and Hughes pitch 1-2-3, Chamberlain (who will be at his innings limit as a starter) goes back to the 8th inning guy, and that lineup can smash anyone’s pitching. Don’t doubt for a second the Yankees could and probably would have beaten the Red Sox last year, but blew winnable games against Cleveland.
June 3, 2008 at 10:29 am |
Wakefield doesn’t use smoke and mirrors — he’s a knuckleballer. And yes, the Yanks are far from out out contention for a wildcard appearance on account of parity within the AL. Very few, if any, really good teams out there. But there is no way in hell the Yanks make a run like they did last year. I’m still guessing 86 wins, which will keep them in wildcard contention for quite sometime.
In any case, ready for Opening Day II? Joba and Pedro tonight. Should be fun. But it’s a shame that Joba is gonna be limited to 70 -75 pitches b/c that’s not a real start, just a long relief appearance at the beginning of a game. His second and third starts will be more interesting to watch.