June 1, 2007
...IN A FIVE POUND BAG:
'Not a good team': Scout rips Yanks, calls Abreu 'piece of garbage' (MARK FEINSAND, 6/01/07, NY DAILY NEWS)
The scout, speaking on the condition of anonymity, believes the Yankees simply don't have the players to overcome their first two months, pointing to the struggling Bobby Abreu, a weak bench and some very average pitching as three of the biggest factors working against the Bombers."I don't think they'll pull out of this," the scout said. "I don't think there are enough players on this club to do it."
Looking at the Yankees' lineup, the scout said that beyond Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, there isn't anyone that really scares pitchers. [...]
With Giambi headed for the disabled list for an extended period of time, Melky Cabrera will likely step in as a regular in the outfield. That's not good news for the Yankees from the scout's perspective, as he believes Cabrera is vastly overrated.
"He has this reputation of being a fast outfielder with a big arm, but I haven't seen it," the scout said. "He can't turn on anything. He's got no bat speed at all."
The Yankees have few other options, as their bench, which includes Miguel Cairo, Wil Nieves and Josh Phelps, is as thin as it has been during Joe Torre's tenure as manager.
"The bench is terrible," he said. "That's not a Yankee bench. They used to bring guys off the bench that could play, guys you'd take on your team in a minute. I wouldn't take any one of those guys."
There doesn't appear to be any help coming from the minors, where the Yankees' system is barren when it comes to position players who can make an impact at the big-league level.
"They haven't drafted well," the scout said. "They don't have anyone down there to bring up. They're reaching down and there's nobody there."
Except shemales? Posted by Orrin Judd at June 1, 2007 3:11 PM
Tonight's game is a perfect illustration of the hubris of the Sawx fan on June 1.
2 months into the season, and the Sawx and their scouts decide that Abreu is washed up. And what does he do? 2 doubles and a walk. Chances are he'll wind up with stats by September similar to his yearly averages.
Meanwhile, Tito has to remove Youk and Lowell once the game gets out of hand -- in the 4th inning no less. Why? Well, both those guys broke down in a big way in August last season, and will likely do so again.
Meanwhile, 40 yr old Wake of the so recent 2.00 era is already starting to lose the plot.
The Sawx hot start is predicated on contributions from pitchers like Beckett, and the aged Wake and Schilling that are unlikely to continue, and from hitters like the aged Tek and Lowell, and youngster Pedroia that will likewise fade.
Meanwhile Fat Papi's already missing games with his hammy and Manny and Nancy (clearly not an AL player) are hitting like AAAA players.
All of which is to say that the Sawx team has many of the same weaknesses in re age that the Yankees have. The Yanks were lucky enough to suffer their hit in April and May.
It's going to be enjoyable to watch the panic in Sawx nation as 1978 repeats itself. This time though we won't need a playoff.
As for A-rod, as long as he's pitching and not catching, he's no maricon (sp?) in the Spanish world. And I haven't heard anything about Arod fantasizing about a prison cell and Chow-yun Fat.
(Saw Dice-K the other night. Ugh. How soon til he joins the Yanks overpriced import in the minors?)
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at June 1, 2007 8:38 PMWakefield is a nice luxury for a team that's this deep. You start him when you need to, move him to the bullpen when you don't, or he can even close. He's snakebit against the Yanks, who basically had to win their best matchup of the series to avoid being eliminated this weekend.
Posted by: oj at June 1, 2007 9:51 PMJim in Chicago:
And Cano has a home run, according to the good folks at MLB TV who are broadcasting this rout.
I'd be curious if Red Sox fans were crowing like this back in 1978 when they were up 14 1/2.
I'll ask Bucky Dent.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at June 1, 2007 10:02 PMThe best team in the AL plays in Cleveland. 5 runs in the 9th against Todd Jones.
Posted by: Bob at June 2, 2007 12:01 AMThe Sox just humbled the very good Tribe.
The '78 Yanks had major league pitching, but the Guidry doppelganger is Beckett.
Posted by: oj at June 2, 2007 12:19 AM"The Sox just humbled the very good Tribe."
"humbled"? I don't think you know what that word means. Yes, Boston won two but in game 1, Papelbon put the tying runs on in the 9th and hit Blake. Only a dubious umpire call got him off the hook. In game #2, the Sox #1 starter beat the Tribe's #5 who won't start a game in October. Then the Tribe shelled the "great" Matsuzaka.
Cleveland has a better and younger lineup and as good as a rotation as Boston. With the Sox bullpen, we will see how Scilling's arm looks like at the end.
Posted by: Bob at June 2, 2007 4:00 PM