Indeed, the Cano struggles have reached critical mass.  April is almost over and his OBP is approaching the Mendoza level.  Yuck.

That is one ugly line. I’ve been avoiding looking at it because I keep thinking it will leap up sometime, but…

Dwight Gooden in the house. 
Miguel Cabrera bats 5th.

Hughes striking out Sheff is sweet.  Nice hammer.

what did Hughes throw there? Gameday sucked it up for that pitch.

sweet jayzus. I go to the bathroom and theres two Tigers on.

ah

thanks frog

btw what’s the word on the blog? I’m done with my semester sometime next week and will be free after that unless I make Nationals in T&F.

Wow.  Damon in center rears its ugly head.

ugh. balls.

What happened on the single?

sweet jayzus. I go to the bathroom and theres two Tigers on.

stay away from the bathroom.

Damon did not have a good read of that ball. I think Melky would’ve had it.

OTF you can no longer go to the bathroom during games. Use a cup.

Clay- Make the nats.

In all seriousness (I know it’s only early), but if Hughes gets hit up again tonight how long will it be before he’s sent to AAA, the same with Kennedy.

Rilke, On the single the Tigers first base coach saw Damon picking up the ball and Polanco halfway between 2nd and third and started waving.

Clay, soon.  I am also able to breathe more easily in a week or so.

I washed my paws.

Thx for the reportage.

Damon is faster than Melky and reads the ball better off the bat.  I didn’t see the play, but have trouble believing Melky has more range in CF.  He certainly has a better arm - but that’s something entirely different.

I’ll do my best OTF.

I am usually pesimistic, but for some reason I think Hughes will settle down and will give us a quality start.

Hell of a game for Damon, so far.

To refer to a conversation from an earlier thread, Melky would not have caught that line drive, but Mickey would have, in ‘53 or so.

take some damn pitches!

THE NIBBLER. is still a decent fielder.

Where did Jeter’s speed go, he’s never anywhere near the bag these days on what should be close plays.

He’s swinging at a lot of first pitches too.

What does Waldman mean when she says Rodgers is “inventing out there?”  I don’t think she know either.

it means she’s also inventing.

For once i’m with Michael Kay, I see no reason why Melky should be on the bench.

More quadriceps problems?

Nice.

Both Damon and Matsui are hot hitters.  I don’t mind seeing him ride the pine for a day.

That was very gritty and National-League-ish of Abreu and Matsui.

because having the same lineup all the time is bad?

Maybe they are trying to periodically rest Melky. If his struggles at the end of last year were a result of being tired it makes sense as a way to condition him for a long season while keeping his production high.

Jeter’s line while putting in ply the first pitch is .429 .429 .714

Who is it who likes to say “that was sub-optimal”?

WOE doing its thing with RISP.

I do, but I feel as if I picked it up from someone else.

Giambi is really beginning to piss me off.  At least he won’t be mucking up the defense at 1B this evening.

Hughes’ apparent need to throw at least 2 balls to every batter is beginning to piss me off.

Hello, ladies.  I see the LOB parade has begun, eh?  How is Hughsie looking so far?

Can anyone comment on Hughes’s curve? Does it look like it did vs. Texas last year- that was one of the filthiest pitches I’ve ever seen.

Chris- I’m with you. Melky should never be benched when he is hitting well.

Thank you, Edgar, for helping out Phil’s pitch count.

Is Melky just getting a routine day off? Seems like he’s one of the few that are hitting.

wow if Hughes gets through Ivan quickly he’ll be on track to actually pitch some innings.

Well that last curve looked damn good, yankz.

Good job, Clay.

Thank you, Jonathan.

The Texas game…oh, what could have been.

Melky is indeed hitting well, but Matsui and Damon are both hitting better for the moment.  It’s just a day off, boys and girls.  Relax.

Girardi is bringing the ‘national league mentality’ to the Yankees of rotating players so that they are rested. A guy Melky’s age though shouldn’t need to be rested.

Pudge just stole a base?

Nice pitch for Phil.

He has 34 pitches. He’ll settle down, I hope.

Um.  Why is Pudge stealing bases on our uber-catcher?

And that last curve to Jones to catch him looking was fantabulous as well.  Yeah,  the curve is fine.  He needs to work controlling that two-seamer.

“Pudge just stole a base?”

He is 3-3 this year.

“A guy Melky’s age though shouldn’t need to be rested.”

Although there were suggestions that he was gassed at the end of last year…

I think the Yanks made him not play winter ball, too.

Hughes is actually pitching pretty well, he’s just been unlucky pitching on a day with Damon in centre field.

That last AB had one 81 mph curve and one 71.  Does Hughes have multiple curves?

Damon is not Bernie in center.  He lacks Melky’s arm, but I repeat, he’s faster, reacts better to the ball off the bat and probably has more range.

no, it was probably the change.

The reason the Tigers were able to score the second run though was because of Damon’s noodle arm, regardless of his range.

Doesn’t he also have kind of a slurve?

That last AB had one 81 mph curve and one 71.  Does Hughes have multiple curves?

I believe that’s just a bad gun.  His curve speed shouldn’t be that varied.

the next pitch had the same break and same PFX, was 78 and was labeled a change

Girardi is bringing the ‘national league mentality’ to the Yankees of rotating players so that they are rested.

I’ve seen some National League games.  It seems the ‘national league mentality’ is: you don’t try too hard, because your players aren’t very good, so there’s no real point.  So you rest your hot-hitting 23 year-old because he has to make the cupcakes that you give to the opposing team after the game to show them that now that it’s all over, you’re friends again.

Has Phil thrown the change up tonite?

Gameday has had a Rogers fastball at 83 MPH and a Rogers changeup at 82 MPH.

Frog, 23 year-olds aren’t allowed in Tee-ball.

I want a cupcake…Melky-made one would be a bonus.

“It is high, it is far, it is caught!”

Fuck. Ensberg hit it on the nose.

Yay!

GONE!

That was a line drive.

HAH!

Canoooooooooo

Sterling explained that Ensberg’s ball would have been a HR in Minute Maid Park and that’s why he called it that way.  When the hell has Sterling been in Houston?  That’s the most ridiculous excuse that bozo has ever made.

Slump-buster?

That’s the most ridiculous excuse that bozo has ever made.

“We don’t have a monitor up here.”

Weh hey, let’s hope that’s the start of something big for Cano.

yeah Gameday gets messed up by soft tossers and the pitch recognition system can be pretty wonky. But judging by the fact the gameday had him throwing almost entirely changes you can guess that the change is his fastball. It’s kind of like reading for context when you can’t figure out what a word means, but with baseball.

Frog, 23 year-olds aren’t allowed in Tee-ball.

But I hear Danny Almonte is gonna try.

Jeter hasn’t been patient at the plate. He has walked only 2 times this season.

Yeah, I think Moose has been throwing mostly “changeups” per Gameday too.

what the hell is Rogers throwing? Now gameday has me confused. Is he really backing up his change that much or is he throwing two different types of “fastballs”?

Jeter is the new Groundzilla.

“It’s kind of like reading for context when you can’t figure out what a word means, but with baseball”

Just read Nabokov’s _Ada_ - at one point he starts using “pain” in place of “time”...

Yeah, something’s wrong with Jeter. Not just making outs, but the way he’s getting out- totally unusual for him. I wouldn’t mind sitting him for a day for the AG.

Actually, I don’t mind a solo HR.  That’s a function of being aggressive.  I absolutely hate the walks.

Is he really backing up his change that much or is he throwing two different types of “fastballs”?

Look at the break, not just the speed.  They aren’t the same pitch.

First HR allowed by Hughes in 20.1 IP

Actually, I don’t mind a solo HR.

Actually, I mind not getting people out.

Waldman is saying Hughes needs to throw the ball over the plate and now she is criticizing him for throwing the ball over the plate, because it “is going to get hit.”

And if he didn’t throw the ball over the plate she’d say he’s afraid to, and if he strikes batters out with pitches just off the plate he’s painting the corners.

Stop pitching like Wayne Franklin, Phil.

Now that was bad.

Send him down?

Dammit Phil.

oy.

Darrell Rasner where are you.

It’s really time to bring up Rasner.  We can’t really expect Mussina to pitch deep into games and Hughes and Kennedy are going to throw clunkers, as we’ve seen.  If Girardi has to burn the bullpen every time someone gets rocked, it’s going to hurt the team.