Yanks on cruise control. Game was over in the first inning.
Tues 3B, today SS. 5-7, 2 doubles.Originally Posted by hbcat
This team is begining to remind me of the '98 team. I am not suggesting they are going to win 114 games, but at times they just seem like they refuse to lose. And everyone they stick on the line-up, From Ibanez/Jones to Nix to Stewart to even Garcia, makes a timely contribution. They don't miss a beat.
The similarity with 1998 may be the contribution of backup players.
Darryl Strawberry: 24 HR, 57 RBI in 295 AB.
Tim Raines: .290, 93 hits, 47 RBI in 321 AB.
Chili Davis: .291
Joe Girardi: .276
Luis Sojo: Played all four infield positions, 3 errors for the season.
Absolutely. This team lost key starting pitching, an all-time great closer, their startng lF'er, another key reliever, and has not lost a beat. People just keep stepping up, similar to what happened in 98.
The '98 starting rotation was awesome -- a great staff having great years. Even Irabu had a good year -- his best in the MLB. I don't this rotation is as tough, but I could be remembering only the wins from 1998.
A big difference between the two is how they score/scored runs. This 2012 team is going to lead the League in home runs. In 1998, the Yanks had ten guys hit 10 or more home runs but no one hit more that 28 (Tino).
But they were relentless at scoring, holding leads, coming from behind, and winning in every which way. This 2012 already has two guys with more than 20, and Granderson is in the run for the home run title.
That's one thing I love about the 1998: there were no league awards for individuals in any major category. No Cy Young, or batting title, or home run leader, but the team as a whole was a fearsome winning machine.
I think we were lucky to see a team like that; I don't expect to see another in my lifetime, although it could happen. It isn't this year though, even if 2012 is a WS championship year for NY. This is a great season, all in all.
For me, a series of events that started early and spanned the entire season characterized the 1998 team.
In April, a beam from the upper deck came loose and crashed onto seats below. Luckily, the stadium was empty, but it was closed for a few days. Those postponed games plus the normal rainouts during the season meant there were a lot of makeup dates and doubleheaders later in the season.
By August, the Yankees had a lead of between 17 and 20 games, and the division race was over.
There were several makeup games that month. A five game series with the Angels, with a doubleheader.
Another was the first week in August. At the end of a west coast trip in Oakland. Monday, Tuesday doubleheader, Wednesday. Returning home on Friday, another doubleheader against the Royals. They won the day game 8-2. You would have expected them to mail in the night game. Instead, they pounded the Royals 14-1, and started a nine game win streak.
They ended the season with a seven game win steak.
They didn't throw away any games.
You have an amazing memory. I remember the beam incident ... and not much else cited here.
Aren't you married? How can you survive without a good memory?
(While I remember the overall situation, I did have to look up what, when, and how much).
I have a knack for remembering important dates, but this skill doesn't extend to narrative details of the 1998 baseball season.
Yeah, I had to look up Tino's home run total as well, although I knew it was something like that.
Tough loss.
Good pitching on both sides.
What happened to Swisher? I did catch the whole game
Hip flexor, day to day.
Hopefully, this convinces the Yankees to trade for an outfielder, which I think they should do anyway with Gardner out for the season. While Jones-Ibanez has worked out well, there should be insurance against having to play both of them full time.
Shane Victorino seems like a good fit. He replaces what the Yankees miss without Gardner - speed, and he can play centerfield.
No contract to worry about; it's a two month rental. A change of scenery from a last-place team to a division leader could energize him.
This season there is less rationale for the Phillies to hold onto him until free agency. In 2013, there is no longer draft compensation for a team losing a free agent, unless they make a representative offer.
Another possibility is Rick Ankiel. To make room on the roster, the Nationals designated him for assignment. The Yankees could just claim him.
Victorino would fill Bombers’ outfield needs
Last Updated: 6:56 AM, July 21, 2012
Posted: 2:08 AM, July 21, 2012
Kevin Kernan
Follow Kevin on Twitter
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The easy route would be to do nothing and hope the old guys, Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones, continue to produce loud hits for the Yankees.
The Yankees, though, need to make a deal for an outfielder. Send a limo down the New Jersey Turnpike to pick up speedy Shane Victorino from the Phillies.
Victorino would put the Yankees that much closer to victory. The Athletics beat them for the second straight night, 3-2 at O.co Coliseum.
Rent Victorino for the rest of the season. The Yankees have done a fantastic job overcoming all their injuries to forge the best record in baseball, but sooner or later, all those injuries will catch up to them. Speed is a most valuable component the Yankees lost when they lost Brett Gardner to an elbow injury.
REUTERS; N.Y. POST: CHARLES WENZELBERG (INSET)NEED FOR SPEED: With Curtis Granderson (Out on a play by Jemile Weeks during last night’s 3-2 loss to the Athletics) the only healthy contributor of speed and power in the Yankees’ outfield, the Bombers should consider dealing with the Phillies for the Flyin’ Hawaiian,.
Shane Victorino, who would give them better speed and defense than they’re getting from Raul Ibanez or Andruw Jones.
To make matters worse, Nick Swisher had to leave Friday night’s game with a strained left hip flexor in the seventh inning. That injury meant Ibanez had to enter the game in left field and Jones had to swing over to right field. Jones, who started in left, struck out four times.
BOX SCORE
The Yankees need Victorino’s speed. A change of scenery is needed by Victorino, who is a free agent after the season. The Phillies need bullpen help, so surely Yankees general manager Brian Cashman can come up with a deal that is reasonable for both sides. The Phillies are dead in the water, the Yankees are riding the wave, but they need more to get where they need to be to try to win World Series No. 28.
Victorino is brash enough to be a short-term success. A move north would re-energize the Flyin’ Hawaiian, who would be a perfect fit in manager Joe Girardi’s offense. Girardi loves to put pressure on opposing defenses, but he does not have that speed component with Gardner out and undergoing elbow surgery next week.
This has not been the greatest season for Victorino, 31. He is batting .253, has 21 stolen bases, eight home runs and five triples. Last season he laced 16 triples and was an All-Star. He is hitting 22 points under his lifetime average and his on-base percentage is .317, but a change could change all that and bring life back to Victorino.
Gardner will be missed, especially in the postseason. Gardner had a huge series in the first-round loss to the Tigers last October, batting .412 with a .444 on-base percentage. Only Jorge Posada did better, batting .429 with a .579 on-base percentage.
So often in the postseason, it comes down to one run and Victorino is the type of player who can create that run. Victorino has a ton of postseason experience and batted .316 in the Phillies’ first-round loss to the Cardinals last October. He is a .269 hitter in the postseason over 46 games with 25 runs scored.
The Yankees have the need, and the Phillies are going nowhere and could use bullpen help. The Yankees bullpen figures to get that much stronger soon, when Joba Chamberlain returns. Where there is a need, there is a way.
Ibanez and Jones had done a solid job this season but this is about getting better for October. The Yankees could use such an upgrade.
Victorino is making $9.5 million this season.
His addition would put Ibanez and Jones back in their original roles, making the Yankees a stronger team. Isn’t that the bottom line?
The Yankees believe in their team, but adding talent never hurts. After the season there will be plenty of time to figure out the Yankees outfield for the future as the market sorts itself out.
The price for a Victorino rental would be much less than trying to acquire the Diamondbacks’ Justin Upton. It would be difficult for the Yankees to put together such a package for Upton. Arizona general manager Kevin Towers knows the Yankees system well because he worked for them in 2010.
The answer to the Yankees’ lack of speed and outfield shortfall is close at hand, just a short drive down the Turnpike, in Shane Victorino.
Right now, that is the best and speediest route to travel.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yanke...#ixzz21HYgu3lS
I never knew he's a.k.a. The Flyin' Hawaiian.
I'm sure the radio knucklehead John Sterling could do something with that.
"It is high!
It is far!
She's gone!
Oh -- Now You're Smilin' with The Flyin' Hawaiian!
He's done it again!
Shane Victorino has hit a three-run home-run, and the Yankees take a 5-4 lead!"
"I think Crawford caught that ball, John."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, it looks like he put his glove up on the edge of the warning track in front of the visitors bull pen and came up with it."
"You're right, Suzyn. Gee, I thought that ball was gone as soon as he hit it. It had the sound."
"I thought so too. Let's look at it again on the replay. Yeah, he clearly caught in on the grass just on the lip of the warning track."
"My mistake. Well, the Yankees will try again as Russell Martin steps in with two on and two out this time."
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