It's as cold as it's ever been this time of year. April is still cold. Then May comes around and it's warm again. Can we stop worrying about Hughes now? The guy is going to be fine. I'm happy he got out of yesterday without hurting himself. And again, he was a bad throw by Posada from getting out of the 4th with a tied game. Speaking of hurt and Posada, WTF? Jeter and Posada out in April? This has an eerie echo of last year with the early injuries. I think it's really funny about asking ARod about moving over though. Anyone who thinks he wouldn't do it in a heartbeat if asked is crazy. And that will get ugly fast when it's time for Jeter to return.
I read they would only move Arod to short if Jeter was out for the year. For exactly the reason you mentioned. Those two are finally getting along again and that would change all that in a micro-second. Even though Betemit sucks at the position it won't happen. I also read they may bring up a minor leaguer to play the position if this becomes extended. I forget the name but the guy is a defensive whiz at the position and can't hit worth a lick. Of course, right now neither can anybody else so that wouldn't be a downgrade.
The guy's name is Alberto Gonzalez. And I really don't think A-Rod at SS would be a strain on whatever friendship they have/had. (I think that whole storyline is ridiculous, anyhow.) It's not like it'd be because Jeter's playing poorly. It'd be because he's hurt. But I've already mentioned why I wouldn't make that move, regardless.
I don't think it would do anything to their relationship to tell you the truth. I think they've both gotten past the stupid comments made in the past by Alex, mostly because now he sees how hard it actually is to win a title, no matter who is on the team. The problem is the media. They'd make a total circus out of it when it was time for Derek to return. Imagine ARod plays a masterful short while Jeter is out. You'd have every local rag talking about how Jeter is a defensive liability that should accept that he is an inferior player, and the "best thing" for the Yankees is for him to swallow his pride and let ARod stay at short. In reality, ARod has become a pretty good 3B. Having him at third has given Jeter the opportunity to play further to his "poor" side, making him a better shortstop. Moving either would be a monkeywrench we don't need now. Let Gonzalez play, or better yet, let Betemit play there for a couple weeks, and recall Albajadejo to help out in the pen. Jeter hadn't yet warmed up offensively anyway, so it's not like we'd be losing a bat in the lineup. (Though Cano really has to learn how to wait on a pitch. I keep hearing how someday he's going to be a top-tier #3 hitter, but the guy has the patience of a shark swimming in pool of blood.)
You want to see why I hold SOME concern about Hughes? Watch these videos. Tell me that what you've seen this year (even in his GOOD start) looked even close to this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=IekTIqjM3Mg&feature=related http://youtube.com/watch?v=dCoGKkk_njg&feature=related I've seen that good curve a few times. But not that fastball. I miss that fastball. :sad:
I can't view YouTube from work, but I'm still not worried anyway. It's April. If he isn't wiping the floor with guys come June, then I'll start getting nervous. Plus, in his good start, I saw his fastball dance a couple times. Really nicely. Anyway, last year taught me, don't stress out in April. There'll be plenty of time for gray hair in October.
I'm not stressed out. It's more... hmm... how to put it. I find it odd, I guess. "It's worth noting," is another way to put it. He's a young pitcher. I expect some degree of inconsistency. I'm not upset about his lack of command yesterday. I'm sure he'll have several more starts like that. I'm not upset that he got knocked around. I'm not upset that his curve isn't biting as much as it normally does. What "concerns" me - despite it being April - is that we've seen a fairly significant drop-off in his velocity. And the only reason that concerns me is because it wasn't like that two weeks ago. Say what you will about the weather, but Ohlendorf was sitting where he was supposed to sit. Joba has been sitting where he normally does. Phil's fastball averaged 89 mph in that last start. Maybe he was aiming because his command was off. Maybe his mechanics got out of whack. Maybe that's all it was. I'm not freaking out, but it's something to keep an eye on, definitely. Because coming up through the system, and even as recently as spring training, he was sitting at 93-94, and could pump it up to 95-96.
The problem with A-Rod moving to SS is that, when Jeter comes back, his terrible defense will be even more noticeable.
Yeah, but at what point has he pitched where the game time temp was in the mid-40s? Yeah, I hear your point regarding Ohlendorf, but I don't think this is a big deal. If it happens again in his next start, then I'll admit it might be something we should keep an eye on. Right now, I'll chalk it up to an anomoly. Like Wang in October. Pretty much the same thing I said. But seriously, "terrible"? I wouldn't go that far. I'll give on the lack of range argument, but I wouldn't say Jeter's defense is "terrible".
From 2003-2005, only Manny Ramirez was a worse defensive player based on PBP metrics. We'll have to wait after this year to see if Jeter improved the last three seasons, but I'm sure he's still well into the negatives.
If Hughes velocity is down 4-5 mph this early in the season and at his age then it is a concern. If anyone else had a similar drop off then it wouldn't be. I hope he isn't hiding a problem. It could be he is either consciously or subconsciously worrying about another hamstring injury and not pushing off as hard. I hope not as that could eventually cause arm issues, I would think.
im attributing his lower velocite to him not wanting to reel back in the cold weather. Im not concerned until his velocity is 88-90 in mid may.
There would be more concern if a veteran had a MPH drop off. It could easily be age. But for Hughes, he's pitching in terrible conditions and he's admitted that he usually gets off to a slow start. He's not masking any injury, and isn't worried about re-injury. Do people already forget that, AFTER his injury, he had a great September and dominated in his relief appearance for Clemens in the playoffs (where he was hitting 91-92 MPH on the gun with ease)? It's April 9th and the weather is TERRIBLE. He's 21 years old. What you're seeing is NORMAL.
unfortunately, for those who have never pitched before, youre speaking an entirely different language that requires a translator. In that case, this board will see its share of arguments over the next 5 months on this topic.
I'm a former pitcher, and not just little league... I was going to pitch for Boston College til I blew out my shoulder. I say that not to toot my own horn, but only to show that I'm not some armchair QB here. I know how to pitch. I know the weather/temperature CAN be a factor for command. It CAN - but usually isn't - as much of a concern for velocity. It's why you still saw Joba and Ohlendorf sitting where they usually are (high 90's and 94 respectively). THAT is why I question how much the weather is a factor. Hitting 91-92 with ease isn't the problem. He used to sit at 92-94 and hit 95 with ease. I took this from another site: -------------------------------------- May 1st vs Texas (2007): Mean Fastball Speed = 92.39 GAMETIME TEMP: 69? September 22nd vs Toronto (2007): Mean Fastball Speed = 91.57 GAMETIME TEMP: 70? October 7th vs Cleveland (2007): Mean Fastball Speed = 91.76 GAMETIME TEMP: 71? April 3rd vs Toronto (2008): Mean Fastball Speed = 90.12 GAMETIME TEMP: 42? April 8th vs Kansas City (2008): Mean Fastball Speed = 90.09 GAMETIME TEMP: 46? --------------------------------------- His velocity, even in that Cleveland game, was below where we saw him previously. You might say, hey, that's only 1-2 mph lower... or not even. But given that we're looking at the mean velocity, and the number of fastballs thrown in a typical appearance, it's a significant drop. Yes, I'm aware of the difference in temperatures. That might be the reason. If it is, though, I don't know what makes it so that everyone else is sitting right where they normally are. And for the record, I'm confident that whatever it is will straighten itself out. I just don't like to see such a significant drop in a short amount of time. He was hitting 93-94 two weeks ago.
When you're throwing that many fastballs, the "mean average" difference between 91.76 MPH and 92.39 MPH is almost non-existent. It also doesn't break down the numbers enough, he could've been averaging 91 flat his first few fastballs against Cleveland since he came out of the bullpen and didn't have as much time to warm up as he usually would. And I'm not sure how much the weather varied when you pitched, but it's much harder to hit regular velocity at 42-46 degrees than it is 69-71. It can happen, but then you could get injured. You can be sure the Yankees told him not to over throw to make up for the lack of velocity. That's why it went from 93-94 MPH to 91 MPH, he went from pitching in the mid-80's to the mid-40's. That's a huge difference for control AND velocity. I also remember Joba's fastball was mid-90's on opening night.
Actually, it's the other way around. With that many fastballs, when you consider the variance, a difference between means of 92.39 and 91.76 (or to be more topical 90.09) is most definitely significant. Don't believe me? Grab the pitch velocities from gameday, put them into excel, and run a t-statistic test on them. The difference is going to be significant. (And by significant, I'm talking statistically significant in its literal, mathematical sense.) Incidentally, I went back and watched Hughes' first inning of work against the Tribe in that playoff game. His fastballs in that inning: 92 92 93 93 93 92 92 93 93 93 93. So his velocity decreased after that initially inning. Not to mention that he had all the time he needed to warm up, coming into the game because of an injury. I pitched in New York. The weather was all over the place. And hit 101 on his third appearance, in the mid-40's. Ohlendorf was sitting at 94 yesterday. Maybe it's different for everyone... but it's not because the cold is physically preventing pitchers from reaching their typical velocities.
I guess you're right. I'm not a pitcher, so I don't know enough about it all. But even you said you weren't worried, so I guess we're on the same page. So... anyone know why it's the 1st inning and Brian Bruney's pitching?
Well, I hate to change the subject, but it's very interesting how Girardi played this game. Putting in Bruney to start to preserve Kennedy is pure genius.
The rain is expected to cause a delay. Rather than waste a Kennedy start, he'll pitch when the game comes off delay.
