Don't Mess With Manny
I said it yesterday and I was right. Mike Mussina is all done. Not exactly a revelation, I know, but this is his last season in MLB. Great career. Thanks for the memories. The bad news is the Yankees don't really have anyone reliable to call up from Triple A, apart from the shaky Darrel Rasner and that little money pit consolation prize the Yanks picked up after losing the Dice-K sweepstakes, Kei Igawa.
So now what? Work Joba into the rotation? Give Rasner or Igawa a shot? Reach into the bottomless Yankee war chest to buy a time machine set for mid-January and make the Santana deal?
Mussina lost his spot in the rotation for a spell last season. Did they really think he'd improve a year later, at age 39? Such is the problem of the guaranteed contract. The Yanks know a lot about the pitfalls of those things. Just don't mention names like Igawa, Giambi, and Pavano. Touchy subjects for the front office in the Bronx.
The good news for Red Sox fans is they can expect more of the same from Mussina until Girardi or Cashman or Hank Steinbrenner can't take it any more. Until then, don't blame Manny Ramírez for clobbering a couple of homers every time he plays in a game against Old Man Moose. Since 2004 (a very good year) Manny's average against Mussina is .444 (16-for-36) with six home runs and 14 runs batted in.
So I guess I understand why Kyle Farnsworth blazed a fastball that could have--but didn't--hit Manny in the head. The guy destroys the starter with two homers, the game looks out of reach, so why not send a message?
Or, why not walk him? Just put up the four fingers and give Manny first base. Much safer. Instead, the hot-headed Farnsworth, another bad contract the Yanks can't wait to dump, fires his purpose pitch as Josh Beckett looks on from the visitor's dugout, slowly nodding his head, acknowledging that retribution is in order. It didn't come last night, as the Sox held off a rally in the ninth to secure the 7-5 victory without incident. But it seemed clear that this little episode made its way into the memory bank of the Red Sox ace. Next series with New York happens around July 4th. Expect some fireworks on the field.
So now what? Work Joba into the rotation? Give Rasner or Igawa a shot? Reach into the bottomless Yankee war chest to buy a time machine set for mid-January and make the Santana deal?
Mussina lost his spot in the rotation for a spell last season. Did they really think he'd improve a year later, at age 39? Such is the problem of the guaranteed contract. The Yanks know a lot about the pitfalls of those things. Just don't mention names like Igawa, Giambi, and Pavano. Touchy subjects for the front office in the Bronx.
The good news for Red Sox fans is they can expect more of the same from Mussina until Girardi or Cashman or Hank Steinbrenner can't take it any more. Until then, don't blame Manny Ramírez for clobbering a couple of homers every time he plays in a game against Old Man Moose. Since 2004 (a very good year) Manny's average against Mussina is .444 (16-for-36) with six home runs and 14 runs batted in.
So I guess I understand why Kyle Farnsworth blazed a fastball that could have--but didn't--hit Manny in the head. The guy destroys the starter with two homers, the game looks out of reach, so why not send a message?
Or, why not walk him? Just put up the four fingers and give Manny first base. Much safer. Instead, the hot-headed Farnsworth, another bad contract the Yanks can't wait to dump, fires his purpose pitch as Josh Beckett looks on from the visitor's dugout, slowly nodding his head, acknowledging that retribution is in order. It didn't come last night, as the Sox held off a rally in the ninth to secure the 7-5 victory without incident. But it seemed clear that this little episode made its way into the memory bank of the Red Sox ace. Next series with New York happens around July 4th. Expect some fireworks on the field.
Manny has proven to be, pound for pound, one of the greatest right handed hitters who ever lived. I understand Farnsworth's pitch, but it should have been Moose who threw it when he had Manny down 0-2. It's not enough to move the ball in and out, you have have to challenge the hitter's eye level up and down as well. Manny thinks too well and is far to physically capable to be struck out on in and out pitching when everything is down and in the middle 80's mph. Moose made the mistakes and Manny was ready.
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i hope that punk beckett tries something for the july series;
frankly i'm tired of jeter and a-rod getting hit almost every trip to fenway.
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Punk? Not sure that's fair. Yankee killer, sure, but not punk.
Jeter deserves to get hit because he's a plate diver, same as Youkilis. Manny and A-Rod get hit out of frustration by pitchers who can't get them out.
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It should have been Mussina, or even Albaladejo, throwing inside to Ramirez. I don't know what Mussina was thinking on the second homer, when he tried going down and in with his "fastball." Nice try. Nuke's poorly executed message was, nonetheless, the way pitchers have to throw to Ramirez. They have to knock him off the plate. He's destroying the Yankees the past few years, no two ways about it.
I sort of agree about Mussina. I think he'll still have some good starts, but I don't they'll be against Boston or other top-flight teams. The Yankees have a difficult problem--some starters who can't get deep into games, and some young starters who have limited pitch counts. That spells trouble for a bullpen that, for the first time in some time, has some depth and promise. We'll see how long certain pitchers stay in the rotation.
Damon and Giambi are killing the team right now, and Cano is not far behind. Dead spots in the lineup, especially at the top and the middle, are also hurting the Yankees big time along with some rotation issues.
And you're right, the Yankees are probably counting the days until certain contracts expire. There are days when I can hear the collective flush all the way here in the Midwest.
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Right now Mussina has no command of his diminished fast ball. If and when he finds it, may be too late to help the Yanks though he still may have value somewhere, with the Yanks eating some part of his contract. He should have been the one to brush back Manny, but it's against his nature to even pitch inside!
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When you need to appear better than you are, go to Petco. :)
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RED SOX RULE!
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