Apparently Posada has concussion-like symptoms, and wasn't available to pinch hit. I still would've pinch hit Colin Curtis and brought in Moeller to catch, but it at least makes Girardi's move defensible. If it turns out that Jorge does have a concussion, then we're fucked. I can't stomach seeing Cervelli as the every day catcher again.
So don't post here, then! Christ! Or don't say shit that is clearly wrong. I don't know... it's your choice, I guess. But I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to turn it into "Oh, Cappy does this and that," when all I'm doing is trying to talk baseball. If you don't feel like discussing it, then don't say anything. Or put me on ignore. Or start your own private blog. The whole I Don't Like Having My Opinions Questioned Because It's Unfun bit is kind of lame considering it's an internet message board. There's nothing personal on my end, and frankly, your borderline persecution complex is kind of tiresome, too. Stop trying to make it personal and just talk baseball. Please. No reason, except that it should be expected to happen several times over every season, based on the past few decades of baseball. It happens. Frequently, even.
I'm pretty sure talisaynon is being sarcastic. Don't worry Cappy, clearly your utter lack of social skills forces you to ignore the fact that you're the only person out of all the people who post in Yankees threads that I can't seem to have a decent conversation with. I'm not afraid to be wrong, or corrected. It happens quite often. I just think your dickish posting style drips with douchebaggery. I shouldn't be very surprised though, considering where you live. It's clearly rubbed off on you.
See? This is what I mean. There is nothing personal intended on my part, but you seem to have difficulty not making it personal. Might I be sarcastic? You bet. Not with malicious intent, though. Do I think you overreact to a lot of things (baseball-related or otherwise)? Yes, I do. Or it sure seems that way in this little corner of the intertubes. But that's okay, too. It doesn't bother me or anything. But do I ever call you a dick or a douchebag or instigate with any personal comments? No. No, I don't. I try to limit my criticisms to the opinions you put forward, not to whether you are an asshole or not. ETA: So please, just put me on ignore if it's that much of an issue to you. Or if not, how about just trying to talk baseball without resorting to name-calling?
who's sarcastic? Isn't it the manager's job to make the tough decisions in spite of his popularity? Jeter has a 697 ops now. The worst hitter in the lineup should be batting last. This is common sense. The lack of which was the reason Torre was castigated for. Actually, better yet let's just cut him and let Eduardo Nunez play the next six years. We'd get the same production out of him.
Wow man. I figured from the "boring to watch" bit you were setting up it up as sarcasm. My bad, you're just crazy. :smile: Jeter's troubles are a bit disconcerting though, I agree with that. Not so much for right now, since Girardi couldn't survive the fallout from dropping Jeter in the lineup, but for when we need to negotiate a new deal. He's going to get a lot of money and his diminishing skills don't justify it. Sadly, we're probably right on the edge of the next "80s" era of Yankees baseball. We're going to have multiple DHs on the roster (ARod and Posada at the very least,) a washed up shortstop, and an outfield without much power. And our team salary is still going to be through the roof. In a division where the Rays, Jays and Orioles have been bad long enough to develop talent pools we're probably going to see the Yankees and Sox have a fall from grace by the twentyteens.
I agree with the sentiment, but we all know that's not going to happen. I think he's nursing an injury, similar to 2008. This is too steep for age-related decline, especially since he was close to his career norms for the first month and a half. I can't imagine he's truly a sub-.700 OPS player from here on out.
The thing is, even though Jeter isn't anywhere close to his personal standards, he's still been one of the better shortstops in the AL. Yankees fans have really been spoiled, there just aren't that many shortstops who provide a legitimate offensive threat. If you think that Jeter is in horrible, irreversible decline and he'll be out of the league Roberto Alomar style in a year then that's one thing. But I assume that this recent homestand was pretty much rock bottom for him, and going forward for the next few years he's still a .275/.350/.380 guy. Which is better than you'll get from most shortstops. Sure he'll be overpaid, but I'm not the guy who cuts the checks. As for the Yankees supposed fall from grace, isn't that why they've been pouring so many resources into their farm system? Posada's only got a few years but Montero and Romine are waiting in the wings, Hughes should only get better and there are a bunch of power arms in the minors, guys like Swisher, Teixeira and Cano will still be in their primes, and the Yankees still have the payroll advantage to go fill in the missing pieces. I'm not losing much sleep over the the future of baseball in the Bronx.
I think this is a very sound assessment of the team's future. The only concern regarding Jeter is the overpayment and length of his upcoming contract. And not because I care about the money, per se. It's more that it will influence how much and where he plays (even though it shouldn't). If he were making $20M/year and riding the bench during his age 39 season, I'm fine with that. It's not my money and the Yanks can afford that. But is that what would happen? Or would they still be trotting him out there at the top of the lineup? I mean, you see it already. The Yanks would be a better team (especially against righties) if Jeter hit eighth or ninth with Gardner/Swisher at the top. Lineup order usually has minimal effect over the course of an entire season, but that doesn't mean you don't want to optimize it, especially when you're about to be playing games in a short series. And this doesn't even take into account that Nunez is likely already a better option than 2010 Jeter.
I don't necessarily disagree with you. He's always been, and likely always will be over the rest of his career, a better hitter than practically any shortstop in the majors. I've never taken that for granted. The big problem is the overall effect of his next contract. We know he won't accept a "demotion" to, say, left field. If he wouldn't do it for the then-best player in the sport, he's surely not going to do it now. Defensively, that's a hole for us. We almost surely can't make him a DH. ARod is going to occupy that spot the moment Posada finally retires. Speaking of Posada, while he's not my idea of a great defensive catcher, Montero isn't better. You like to dog Cervelli, but Montero needs to really put some work in to make his defensive skills good enough to trot out there daily. Again, we have enough DHs. As for everyone else, sure, I'll admit I'm a bit more gloom and doom than might be warranted. Still, age is catching up to this team. I'm not confident that they can keep up the same pace in a division that is getting younger and more talented every year.
1. We don't know that. 2. As mediocre to bad as Jeter might be defensively in the upcoming years, he's still more valuable as a SS than as a LF. At least at SS, his bat will still be average to above average. In LF, he'd be well below average offensively for the position. Montero might be bad defensively, but if his bat is really that good, it more than makes up for any defensive shortcomings, especially at the catcher position. Any team that is capable of signing big name free agents is going to be older than teams that have to develop from within. That said, while the Yanks are one of the older teams in baseball, they've gotten younger each of the past three years. Their average age is 29.3, down from the past two years (in no small part because they got rid of Damon and Matsui).
We don't know that he won't move to left field if asked. Nobody ever asked him to move from short for A-Rod, and even if they had it was a different situation because Jeter was in his prime. Jeter cares about winning first and foremost, I have a tough time believing that he'd refuse a position switch if his defense becomes an insurmountable liability. Posada has been a shitty defensive catcher from day one, but his offense more than made up for it. Montero will probably go down the same road...but the absolute worst case scenario is that he turns into a first baseman and we trade him for a Cliff Lee type. As for Cervelli, I dog him because he's a shitty player who brings nothing but energy to the table. I had high hopes for him at the beginning of the season, but if his defense remains as bad as it's been recently (yesterday he was especially brutal behind the plate) then I'd rather take my chances with Chad Moeller to be honest. The Rays are great but we will always have an inherent advantage over them because the Steinbrenners spend money. The Sox are just like us, but have a worse farm system. Toronto still can't develop reliable pitching, and their future right now is hinging on guys like Wells, Lind, Hill and Bautista--not exactly models of consistency. Like I said, I like the Yankees chances going forward.
I may not remember this correctly, but I'm pretty sure Jeter made it clear to Torre that he would not vacate short for ARod. Yes, Jeter wants to win above all else, but he also knows he can win and still get his way. I mean, the latest rumor is that he's actually looking for ARod money? Seriously? On his best day he doesn't deserve that and I love Jeter. We disagree on Cervelli. That's just a merry-go-round at this point. Of course Posada and Montero's bats make them worthwhile, but I'm a fan of catchers who can call a game over those that can hit. Saying you'd rather have Moeller behind the plate than Cervelli blows my mind. We agree on the Sox. I tried to make it clear that I feel like their sun is setting too. Toronto's pitching is getting better and their bats are driving in runs. Obviously no one can predict the future, but I think the Jays and Orioles will field very good teams by the middle of the decade.
No, I don't think Jeter ever said a word about it. People speculated, but he was never asked, and never commented on it. Yeah, but where is that rumor from, and is it reputable? I don't believe that rumor for one second, especially considering that - a long time ago - Jeter counseled A-Rod against going for the huge, huge deals. At this point, I pretty much agree with wanting Moeller back there. Cervelli's overall weak bat was offset by his allegedly solid defense, but his defense hasn't been solid for some time now (he's probably getting worn down a bit), and his game-calling has left a lot to be desired lately (although that might not be entirely his fault). Add to that that he's gone from having a surprisingly serviceable bat at the beginning of the season to being a black hole, and Moeller is probably the more reliable choice; you know you're getting zero offense, but you are also confident that you're getting adequate defense. With Cervelli, you're hoping just hoping for it from game to game. Hard to do in the AL East. The O's can be better than they are, but the Yanks (and to a lesser degree, the Sox) can always spend money to patch their holes. The other teams can't rely on that. At this point, barring gigantic mistakes by the front office, there's no reason that the Yankees shouldn't continue to remain competitive, despite older players. The only concern for the Yankees on that front is that they could lose 4-5 key players at close to the same time, making it hard to replace everyone the following year. i.e. if A-Rod, Jeter, Mo, Posada, and Pettitte, all leave after 2012 (or become far less productive), that's a lot of talent to replace. This is why it was important to cut loose guys like Damon and Matsui this year. They know they need to keep getting younger where they can.
