New York Yankees 2008 Season Official Thread

[thomamon]

Originally Posted by 1998 Yankees

According to the radio, Posada probably has a torn shoulder muscle and will be out for a while. Also, they just DFA'd Chad Moeller and somebody's going to claim him on waivers.

I was shocked they let Moeller go, he hasn't been claimed yet and hopefully he won't be. HE played well while he was here.

Am I the only one who doesn't thing its such a big deal that Posada is out?

[1998 Yankees]

Originally Posted by thomamon

Am I the only one who doesn't thing its such a big deal that Posada is out?

That's a big bat to lose from the lineup. But, my primary concern is defensive. If Molina goes down, the Yankees currently have no backup catcher.

[yankeesrule]

Originally Posted by 1998 Yankees

That's a big bat to lose from the lineup. But, my primary concern is defensive. If Molina goes down, the Yankees currently have no backup catcher.

Sign Mike Piazza!!!, then we can have 2 catchers that cant throw

[YankeePride]

Originally Posted by thomamon

I was shocked they let Moeller go, he hasn't been claimed yet and hopefully he won't be. HE played well while he was here.

Am I the only one who doesn't thing its such a big deal that Posada is out?

They probably had to DFA him. I don't know.

Maybe he had an agreement with them to place him on waivers if he wasn't on the MLB roster by May.

Either way, it's surprising because he did well.

[1998 Yankees]

Originally Posted by YankeePride

They probably had to DFA him. I don't know.

Maybe he had an agreement with them to place him on waivers if he wasn't on the MLB roster by May.

Either way, it's surprising because he did well.

No, they were making a roster spot for Duncan to return and as of the beginning of this weekend, Posada was recovered enough for them to cut back to two catchers. Comes Sunday, and he's going on the DL and Moeller's going on waivers.

[1998 Yankees]

Originally Posted by yankeesrule

Sign Mike Piazza!!!, then we can have 2 catchers that cant throw

I'd rather find a big fat guy, cushion him up plenty, and let him stop baseballs back there with his body. Of course, singles would instantly become triples due to lack of catcher mobility but the pitcher could always run with the ball toward the plate if they tried to steal home.

EDIT: Let me expand on this, because I have come up with something that has piqued my own interest. OK, you say, if this big fat guy does not throw, why do we need him at all if runners are going to move up immediately? Well, we do need something to stop the baseballs from going to the backstop, as that might annoy the umpire enough to award the win to our opponents due to massive delays of game. Who throws the stopped balls back to the pitcher, you ask? Why, nobody. The pitcher runs back and forth, retrieving his own pitches.

What is the key to this strategy? Plate blockage. You see, this guy would be trained to lay across the plate when a runner approaches, covering it and preventing the runner from scoring. While the runner dances around, trying to figure out how to move this bulk, the defense has more than enough time to retrieve the ball, even from the outfield stands if necessary, and run it back home for the tag out. Brilliant, eh?

Speaking of brilliant: Chien-Ming Wang so far. 5-0.

[myasu]

Originally Posted by 1998 Yankees

I'd rather find a big fat guy, cushion him up plenty, and let him stop baseballs back there with his body. Of course, singles would instantly become triples due to lack of catcher mobility but the pitcher could always run with the ball toward the plate if they tried to steal home.

EDIT: Let me expand on this, because I have come up with something that has piqued my own interest. OK, you say, if this big fat guy does not throw, why do we need him at all if runners are going to move up immediately? Well, we do need something to stop the baseballs from going to the backstop, as that might annoy the umpire enough to award the win to our opponents due to massive delays of game. Who throws the stopped balls back to the pitcher, you ask? Why, nobody. The pitcher runs back and forth, retrieving his own pitches.

What is the key to this strategy? Plate blockage. You see, this guy would be trained to lay across the plate when a runner approaches, covering it and preventing the runner from scoring. While the runner dances around, trying to figure out how to move this bulk, the defense has more than enough time to retrieve the ball, even from the outfield stands if necessary, and run it back home for the tag out. Brilliant, eh?

Speaking of brilliant: Chien-Ming Wang so far. 5-0.

Here you go, 1998 Yankees!
Not just big and fat, but with some proven athletic abilities!

http://static.flickr.com/188/440454114_25600cc2f3.jpg

[CommishJoe]

Originally Posted by thomamon

I was shocked they let Moeller go, he hasn't been claimed yet and hopefully he won't be. HE played well while he was here.

Am I the only one who doesn't thing its such a big deal that Posada is out?

Quote from Newsday:

It's even more challenging because the Yankees designated catcher Chad Moeller (7-for-20) for assignment Friday in the belief that Posada was healthy. They will not learn for a few days if he has cleared waivers.

I do believe that Posada being out will be a huge blow to the lineup. He's even improved behind the plate over the last couple of years thanks to Tony Pena. He WILL be missed.

Hopefully, they can get Moeller back in a few days. If I was the Sox, I'd claim him just to screw with the Yankees. I guess we'll see soon enough.

[1998 Yankees]

Originally Posted by myasu

Here you go, 1998 Yankees!
Not just big and fat, but with some proven athletic abilities!

http://static.flickr.com/188/440454114_25600cc2f3.jpg

LOL! Yes, I believe he would "cover home plate" quite nicely, thank you very much.

[YankeePride]

Originally Posted by 1998 Yankees

No, they were making a roster spot for Duncan to return and as of the beginning of this weekend, Posada was recovered enough for them to cut back to two catchers. Comes Sunday, and he's going on the DL and Moeller's going on waivers.

That's what I mean.

They had to DFA him because they couldn't just send him outright to the minors.

The Yankees had no choice.

[1998 Yankees]

Originally Posted by YankeePride

That's what I mean.

They had to DFA him because they couldn't just send him outright to the minors.

The Yankees had no choice.

Well, now they're saying that there's a chance he may make it through waivers unclaimed. Right. We'll know by Wednesday.

[CommishJoe]

Any word on how seriously A-Rod is hurt?

[1998 Yankees]

Originally Posted by CommishJoe

Any word on how seriously A-Rod is hurt?

Congratulations on post #4,000, you double Hall of Famer!

From what I heard, it's the same injury as last time, same level of severity, but he praised Jeter for taking six days off to recover from his similar injury. So this time he may be out a bit longer.

[1998 Yankees]

Hughes, tonight:

            IP  H   R  ER  BB  K  HR  Season ERA  
P. Hughes  3.2  8   6   6   3  2   2        9.00

We have to remember the long run is what is important, especially with a 21-year-old pitcher. The Yankees should do something with him other than continuing to throw him out there, but they should not panic and start sharpening the ax (for Cashman, not Hughes). It's going to take years to see if this guy has what it takes. It does not look good right now, though.

[Astros33Resurrected]

Originally Posted by 1998 Yankees

Hughes, tonight:

            IP  H   R  ER  BB  K  HR  Season ERA  
P. Hughes  3.2  8   6   6   3  2   2        9.00

We have to remember the long run is what is important, especially with a 21-year-old pitcher. The Yankees should do something with him other than continuing to throw him out there, but they should not panic and start sharpening the ax (for Cashman, not Hughes). It's going to take years to see if this guy has what it takes. It does not look good right now, though.

I hear the Mets are interested in trading Santana for him

[Tony M]

The NYY youngsters are truly having a baptism of fire this season, which doesn't bode well for the, I assume negligible already, chances of Girardi leading the team out at the new Yankee Stadium.

And now to lose A-Rod to the 15 day DL takes out a big chunk of offensive prowess, it's going to be down to Mussina and co to step up and be like Wang and Pettitte.

On the bright side, at least you've only tried 6 starters so far this season. IIRC, last season you were into double figures by the end of April in terms of starting pitchers.

[myasu]

Originally Posted by redsoxford

The NYY youngsters are truly having a baptism of fire this season, which doesn't bode well for the, I assume negligible already, chances of Girardi leading the team out at the new Yankee Stadium.

And now to lose A-Rod to the 15 day DL takes out a big chunk of offensive prowess, it's going to be down to Mussina and co to step up and be like Wang and Pettitte.

On the bright side, at least you've only tried 6 starters so far this season. IIRC, last season you were into double figures by the end of April in terms of starting pitchers.

And what happened to Igawa!?
I do not hear a lot about him even here in Japan...

[Astros33Resurrected]

Originally Posted by myasu

And what happened to Igawa!?
I do not hear a lot about him even here in Japan...

He's sitting in AAA. 2-3 with a 3.58 ERA and 32 SO is 32.2 IP. Not bad numbers at all really. Especially in the hitter packed AAA.

[CommishJoe]

I hear the Yankees are thinking about sending Hughes down and bringing Igawa up. However, they also have to worry about Kennedy who hasn't thrown well either. I think they are waiting to see how he does tonight before making their decision. If he screws up, I would expect to see Kennedy demoted with Igawa coming up, giving Hughes another shot.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Hughes get some AAA time to relax him a bit. He seems to be pushing way too hard. I'm hoping that the Yankee brass are able to get his head straightened out before it's too late and he's burnt out. All of that talk about the Santana no-trade must have put a lot of pressure on his shoulders.

[thomamon]

Originally Posted by CommishJoe

I hear the Yankees are thinking about sending Hughes down and bringing Igawa up. However, they also have to worry about Kennedy who hasn't thrown well either. I think they are waiting to see how he does tonight before making their decision. If he screws up, I would expect to see Kennedy demoted with Igawa coming up, giving Hughes another shot.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Hughes get some AAA time to relax him a bit. He seems to be pushing way too hard. I'm hoping that the Yankee brass are able to get his head straightened out before it's too late and he's burnt out. All of that talk about the Santana no-trade must have put a lot of pressure on his shoulders.

Pettitte goes tonight.