SB Nation User Blog: DefensiveIndifference1

MANNY AND ORTIZ TESTED POSITIVE FOR ROIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DefensiveIndifference1 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:12:38 -0000

OUR WORLD SERIES RINGS ARE NOW GOING TO BE TAINTED ALONG WITH THE INDIVIDUAL RECORDS OF THE ERA. THIS NEVER ENDS.

IM GOING TO HAVE A HARDER TIME STOMACHING THIS BECAUSE THE TWO, FAR AND AWAY, BEST PLAYERS WE HAD FOR THOSE YEARS ARE FOREVER LINKED TO STEROIDS...WHAT OTHER WORLD SERIES CHAMPION TEAM CAN YOU SAY THAT ABOUT IN THE STEROID ERA??

THE YANKEES HAD CLEMENS (MOST LIKELY)..BUT HE WASNT THEIR BEST PLAYER AND FACE OF THE FRANCHISE.

2001 - DIAMONDBACKS = CLEAN

2002 - ANGELS = CLEAN

2003 - MARLINS = CLEAN OFFICIALLY BUT PROBABLY NOT REALISTICALLY

2004 - RED SOX = ROIDS...EVERYWHERE

Cano and Batting Order

DefensiveIndifference1 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:02:42 -0000

I know Cano is in one of his trademark slumps where everything he hits is a DP and he can't buy a hit, but we know about what he's capable of and his potential. Kay and even the guys on Baseball Tonight have mentioned that Cano would be a 3 hitter on almost any other team, judging on the way he swings the bat and hit past success batting towards the top of the order. So..why not try: Jeter-Damon-Cano-Teixeira-Rodriguez-Posada-Swish-Melky-Gardner

Teixeira has been brilliant in the 3 spot, so this move would be tough to do, but with Teixeira behind Cano, Robby would see so many more fastballs and get much better pitches to hit. I think if you give him protection he can be one of the best hitters in the league. Also, you put Teixeira in clean-up and don't lose anything by putting A-Rod at 5...I dont see any harm in trying it out as an experiment, and I think it adds serious depth to the lineup.

Wang, Hughes and the Purpose of the Minors

DefensiveIndifference1 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:38:11 -0000

First of all, I know the #1 issue for the Yanks over the past few weeks has been the consistency of their offense. That's a problem in and of itself. But once again, after Wang pitched decent/OK last night, and Hughes followed with another two PERFECT innings, I must ask a few questions.

What is the purpose of the Minor Leagues? Is it there for the draft picks to spend 10 years and hopefully get their shot on the big stage? Or is it there so we can follow 1 or 2 prospects each year hoping they'll get called up. According to Minorleaguebaseball.com, the purpose of the minors, in short, "is to develop players available to play in the major leagues on demand." So why isn't Wang in the minors "developing" his game back so he can be back in the rotation and pitch effectively.

Michael Kay and Sterling and ESPN have been drilling it in our heads for months now that Wang has won more games over the past 2 years than any other in baseball, and then they ask "Where did that guy go?"

Well, it's almost July, and he's still not here. Even worse, Girardi sends him out every 5th day hoping he gets just a little bit better. Oh, well his ERA is down to 11.20!!! Babysteps, babysteps. Since when is this an effective strategy in the Major Leagues. This is what the minors are for. Taking babysteps and slowly recovering you're game.

And now I get to the question I posed earlier, ISN'T THAT WHAT THE MINORS ARE FOR. I don't care how good he was, could be, how much he makes, or that he used to be the ace. Here are his stats: 0-6, with an 11.20 ERA and batters are hitting .392 against him. But some of you will say: Well, thats inflated because of the game against the Indians. I don't care. It's still bad.

Why isn't Chien-Ming Wang in Triple AAA, pitching 7 innings of 3 hit ball routinely, at least 5 times, and then decide if he's ready to be called up. Every time he takes the mound it is batting practice.

On the other hand, Hughes has done nothing but produce. He's 3-2 with a 4.57 ERA and when his curve is biting he's got some of the filthiest stuff in the rotation. Why are we throwing away games every 5 days just because it's Wang? Does Girardi feel bad for him? Hughes has been lights out in the bullpen; it just shows the fire and passion this kid has: he pitches great as a starter, gets demoted because he's younger and hasn't "proven" himself, and uses that as fuel to prove Cashman and Girardi wrong.

We have to stop playing games with Wang. It is getting ridiculous. Let him go down to the minors, work on his mechanics and get his mind straight, and if/when that happens, THEN bring him up, and we'll all welcome him with open arms.

It makes me sick when writers and critics make excuses for him, saying his ERA is getting lower and his sinker has more sink. Bottom line: Throwing 62 pitches in 5.0 innings, 3 runs and 6 hits is not an impressive outing nor should it be acceptable for a pitcher of his caliber. He used to be the Taiwanese Roy Halladay. Get him fixed up.

Let's Stop the Nonsense about Cano

DefensiveIndifference1 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:16:26 -0000

I understand the concern from everyone about the state and balance of the Yankee Universe, but when people bring up Robinson Cano's name in the same sentence as a trade, it makes me angry.

Believe it or not, we are dangerously approaching a 10 year drought from the top of the baseball world, and one of biggest criticisms from Yankee fans and baseball experts is the trading away of young talent/prospects for established and over-the-hill players.

Robinson Cano is the most promising position-playing prospect the Yankees have had since the 1996 season. Let's look at the crop of guys that have accompanied Mr. Jeter in the middle infield in the last 14 years: Mariano Duncan, Luis Sojo, Chuck Knoblauch, Jose Vizcaino, Alfonso Soriano, Randy Valarde, Enrique Wilson, Miguel Cairo, Homer Bush.....you get the point.

With the exception of Soriano, and considering he doesn't even play 2B anymore, who played as good a second base as Robby? Offensively or Defensively. Over 4 years, which is the longest a second baseman for us has held the position since probably the Mattingly era, Cano has batted .303, averaging 19 HRs and 89 RBI. We all saw him hit .342 in 2006, and we all know his potential is enormous.

Cano is in the top 5 in hits, home runs, and RBIs this season. Not to mention the plays he makes at second base look easy, he is absolutely one of the top 3 of 4 defensive second basemen in the American League.

A home-grown talent, at 26 and still refining his swing and getting more patient at the plate, Robby should be a centerpiece for the era that is inevitably on the horizon as Jeter, Posada, Damon, and others head into their later 30s.

Do you want Mark DaRosa at second base, just so you can maybe get some bullpen help? Bruney, Aceves, and Hughes will be a solid bullpen to help lead to Mariano.

Everyone just needs to relax, if the playoffs started today, we're in.