Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

Girardi is to blame for bringing Rivera into the game at least one batter too late. Cano and Betemit were out of position on the crucial play with Cano shaded too far toward second and Betemit too close to the foul line. The ball was entirely playable. Betemit should not have been at first base at that point in the game.

I have now seen Girardi make several bullpen moves that proved foolhardy. He may be an overall better bullpen manager than Torre but strategically he still isn't there yet.

It's looking more and more clear the Yankees season was ruined when they decided to trade for Pudge. He has been just awful sinec he's been here in terms of pitch selection, pitchers wanting to work with him, throwing out baserunners, discipline at the plate. Farnsworth was actually pitching well and since he's been gone, the bullpen has been terrible.

Offseason is gonna be huge for the team. Say goodbye to Giambi, Pavano, Pudge, Abreu, etc. Re-sign Mussina to 1-year deal and Pettitte if possible. Sign Sabathia and Teixeria. Look to trade Cano and see what's out there. Jackson replaces Melky in CF.

Regarding Farnsworth, it is interesting that the Reds DFAed 31-year-old catcher David Ross (.231/.381/.366) after he had cleared waivers. Sure, Ross doesn't hit for power, but why did the Reds get rid of their best catcher but hold on to Paul Bako, who's 36? If the Yankees had only known what Jocketty was thinking, maybe they could have nabbed Ross without giving up Farnsworth....

Good point JE. Ross could have spelled Molina and the two of them could have gotten the Yanks through the year. I do think many of the pieces of this team have to depart. Nothing against those players,, but the team as presently constructed isn't championship caliber. The team was remade in the mid-90's and it set the stage for the championship run. We need to do it again. It is looking more evident that The Plan will need another year, especially with Hughes, Kennedy and now Chamberlain not being able to get in the innings they need to become durable 200 inning guys (and that's if Kennedy ever makes it). Sabathia is going to the west coast and Teixeira isn't worth the mega-bucks he will want. Plus, I wouldn't give him all those years either. Cashman needs to get creative. Let him earn those big bucks he gets paid.

Agreed, Jim. Yankee fans cannot suddenly urge Yankee brass to sign Sabathia after passing on Santana this past offseason. If my memory serves me correctly, it was the potential long-term contract that scared off Cashman, not the prospect of losing Hughes.

Regarding Teixeira, the Halos will almost certainly bid very high, particularly in terms of contract length, in order to bring him back to Anaheim and further justify the trade. The Yankees would be nuts to try to head down (up?) that path.

That was a disgrace -- letting a slow roller get through for a game-winning hit? Wake the hell up, boys. This was an absolutely brutal series that will probably be looked at as the moment the Yankees knocked themselves out of the playoffs.

If you look back at what I wrote when the Pudge trade went down, I was lukewarm about it and basically felt "Farnsworth is good, I'm a fan, but they need an upgrade at catcher and Pudge hits slightly better than the auto-out Molina." I noted that Pudge's prowess as a defensive catcher was purely reputation at this point. I knew he didn't throw well anymore. But I had no idea he called such a lousy game. He seems to be clueless. How many times have we seen him have a reliever struggling to throw strikes go away from his fastball 3-2?

The bullpen's struggles -- in my opinion -- aren't about Farnsworth leaving but Pudge arriving. He is horrible and the pitchers have suffered. It's almost like they need to use Molina as a defensive substitute when the relievers enter the game.

For those of you who might have missed it--Carl Crawford is out for the rest of the season (6-8 weeks) with a finger injury. He wasn't having a good year, but the last 2 weeks he was hitting well. Down here they are reporting that raul Ibanez is about to clear waivers and is a likely candidate now to be a trade option for Tampa. In the meantime, Rocco Baldelli took Crawford's place on the roster and went 1 for 4 yesterday.
Tim Wakefield also went on the DL with a sore shoulder for the Sox. So, event hough it looks bleak for the Yankees, it ain't over till it's over.

I think the Yanks have been hit with so many injuries this year, that Girardi has to be given credit for holding the Yanks above water.

Here's an interesting thought. I know it will never happen but this is why a forum like this is fun. Lets just say Pavano comes back. Pitches LIGHTS OUT. Wins a few playoff games including a W.S. game and the Yanks win.

How is Pavano thought of? And do the Yanks bring him back for a one year contract? After all, it wasn't long ago that the Yanks would never bring Giambi back and the Mets wouldn't bring Delgado back.

Pavano hasn't been pitching "lights out" in the minors. The Yankees don't need Pavano next year. They will have Pettitte, Mussina, Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain, perhaps Kennedy, Rasner and Ponson and another young arm or two. Why in the world would they bring pack Pavano, even if he came up now (slim chance) and pitched a perfect game?

I happen to seriously doubt that the club will bring back Giambi.

Girardi is only in his 2nd full year as a manager. He is learning everything on the fly. If Torre was still managing the Yanks, the Yanks will be much closer to 1st place in the AL East and the Wild Card in my opinion. Torre knows how to keep the team together so it doesn't fall apart. Girardi, is seeing this team falling apart right now.
The Yanks have a lot of money to spend in the off-season. How much they use it is up to them. The first order of business is to signed Cashman to a new contract.
I had issues with the internet connection, so i wasn't able to get involve with the live chat today.

Dennis, I hope you are kidding around. Give me a break with the Yankees would be closer if Torre was the manager. That is preposterous. Playing poorly and "falling apart" are two different matters. You are in a constant panic. Calm down. Girardi is managing a different team than Torre did. If you recall, Torre's Yankees had some pretty bad stretches of play, too. You remember just the titles, not all the years since with no titles. Girardi has made mistakes, but Torre made a ton of them, too.

Jim, Torre made the playoffs every year he was manager of the Yankees. Girardi is only in his 2nd year as a manager in any level. He never manage in the minors. Girardi has to learn everything on the fly. While Torre has made the some mistakes, he still manage to get the Yanks into the playoffs every year he was here.

Dennis, the Yankees were a pretty good team when Torre took over. This isn't up for debate. The foundation had been laid by Gene Michael and to some extent Buck Showalter. I went to all the playoff games the year before JT. The team was well on its way. I don't want to minimize Joe's contributions because he obviously was an effective manager, well liked by most of the players and the Yankees did win four times in five years.

But, Girardi is a very bright guy and played a key position during his career. He might be in his second year as a MGR but he was MGR of the Year in his first year in the NL. You are comparing apples and oranges. One of the reasons JT is gone is because Cashman didn't think JT was the guy to handle a team in transition, a young pitching staff, etc.

If Torre was the MGR the Yankees would be no better in the standings and probably worse. I could see Veras headed for arm surgery and Mo suffering from tired arm syndrome. Joe doesn't walk on water. He had a lot of shortcomings as a MGR. Yes, the Yankees won, but it was a different team then and the Rays weren't surging.

Yes Torre would have pitched a reliever onto the DL. Even he wouldn't have been able to overcome these injuries to make the playoffs. Matsui, Damon, Posada etc. are not chopped liver.
However, this has to be addressed a little better than the pitchers would have gone on the DL anyway. In 2006, the Marlins had the best young pitching staff in baseball, in 2007 the rotation wound up hurt or ruined (ala Dontrelle Willis for whatever reason) and those hurt are just coming back now. This year the Yankees have had numerous starting pitchers hurt and on the DL already. Joe Girardi managed the 2006 Marlins and the 2008 Yankees, is this only a coincidence or is it something else? I dont want the second coming of Dusty Baker managing a team full of young pitching.

Sandy, Fla. management absolutely blamed Girardi for what happened to those '06 pitchers, and Yankees management is absolutely not blaming him on Hughes' fragility, Wang's foot injury and Joba's ailing shoulder. You can rip Girardi for some stuff this year - some of his in-game decisions, his emotional stability - but I think his greatest strength has been his management of pitchers' workloads.

Good question Sandy. I brought this up a couple of weeks ago and wondered out loud about the conditioning/fitness regimen employed by Girardi and Eiland and was told the injuries had nothing to do with them. I still wonder. But, I think Mr. Torre was awful with the pitching staff, especially the bullpen, and can't believe Girardi is even in his league. Girardi makes mistakes (I think he made one yesterday when he let Marte stay in one batter too long) but they are different than the ones Torre made.

You are also right in pointing out the injuries to a slew of starters. I think the Yankees are fortunate to even be in the position they are in now with all the players hurt. They might not even by .500 if Torre was the MGR.

I know Scott Proctor is overjoyed his manager is Torre again, he's been on and off the DL all season.
Jim I don't think the Yankees record would be too much different under Torre maybe a game or two worse no less. However, I've never been a big fan of his managerial abilities, and I think Don Zimmer was more of an asset to him than many people really believe. I think with Zimmer, some of the moves that were automatically done (pitching changes in the 7th inning no matter what) would not have been done after the discussion with the bench coach.
I see Arizona got Aaron Dunn today, big move for them. They needed someone who can hit.

Proctor is a perfect example of the Stockholm Syndrome afflicting a baseball player.

Josh Johnson of the Marlins was quoted today in Newsday saying he had no problem with Girardi bringing him back to pitch after a 82-minute rain delay against the Mets in September of 2006, He said that he wanted to pitch and has no hard feelings towards Girardi. Johnson also said that during his rehab form elbow surgery he lost 30 pounds, got in the best shape of his life and work on his changeup.
Let's remember Girardi clash with both Marlins GM Larry Beinfest and owner Jeffrey Loria, which let to Girardi being fired. So far Girardi has gotten along with everybody in the Yankees organization.
Good move by the D'Backs in getting Adam Dunn. Dunn must have clear waviers because I doubt anyone including the D'backs claim him. He will give them some pop form the left sided because the D'backs are a righthanded hitting team.

Hello, everybody! So ... Dallas Buck and two players-to-be-named-later are all it took to acquire Dunn? (Naturally, it will be interesting to see the names of the other prospects.) I salute Josh Byrnes for the acquisition. And the Mets couldn't target the big guy before the deadline? Uy, uy, uy!

KDog -

How much more rope does Jeter get before people wake up and realize he's hit the wall and probably not coming back. What pisses me off is he seems to be in more and more commericals these days. I'm thinking Jeter and his people know he's on the back 9, so he's raking up as much extra cirricular $$ as possible.

And wake me up when A-Rod hits a walk-off.

Rock

Are the Mets the most bizarre good team in history?
They should be 10 games up on their division by now, but...

The same script once or twice a week, blowing leads to sub .500 teams through bullpen pyrotechincs. If I were Jerry Manuel, I would have gotten myself thrown out to just avoid watching a re-run.

Whe does Stokes become the long man?

Bob the Mets are the most bizarre team but I wouldn't call them good. Good teams win close games and this team has a problem with that. They're improved but not good yet.

I'd give the closers role to the kid and see if he can handle it. It worked for Jenks and Papelbon.

BTW Ken, we maybe fighting...err arguing in the other thread...but your take on Giles was spot on. He earned the right to refuse a trade. Personally, I'm a little insane and my rule is I would never go to a team that just won a championship...because they already won it without you...but I'm probably the only person in the world to feel that way.

Having said that...maybe Giles is competitive and wants to finish what he started?? Why is that wrong in society today??