In the next three months the Yanks play Boston 10 times, the Angels 3 times, and the Rays 9 times. They cannot afford to piss away those 22 games, or 15 of them or 11 of them. With the first half they had against these teams it's very important that they finished better against them in the second half.
Like yesterday's issue, it doesn't take a genius to figure out this one; pitch better, hit with men on, and don't choke away leads. Another thing I would like to add is that Joe Girardi has to stop managing these games like he's afraid to lose. He ends up over thinking and makes the wrong move time and time again in big games. It's a sign of his inexperience and it's something I'm sure he will improve upon. Hopefully that happens in the next week or so.
Also, if the manager seems to get tight in big games, it's no surprise that the players on his team seem to follow his lead. The Yankees are intimidated by the Red Sox, they're intimidated by the Angels (in Anaheim), and this has to change.
What do you think the Yankees need to do to beat these teams in the second half? And please don't say "score more than they do." You know that's not why I mean.
8 Comments:
Not have Jobba and Pettite and who ever is # 5 start two of three in the series. It will be something for the coaches/manager to align as best as possible for the second half.
tampa bay and anaheim: just stay consistent with pitching, and fight till the finish
now as for the boston red sox: what we need to do, and i've been thinking about this for a while. start a fight. yes, start a fight with them, and show them that your not scared. we go into boston, and it's like a house of horrors. they come to the bronx, and you can just feel a loss on our hands, when it should be the other way around. so someone, anyone on the team, should pick a fight with them. get a brawl started. show them that we are the team to beat, and not them. show them that this is our year. you see how the rays started fights with us and the sox last year, and it led them to the world series. we need to do the same thing. it's not so much about how we play, cause we can match up against them. but we'll play them, and they'll grit out a win, and were stuck looking stupid.
we need to fight them, bring back the meaning of the rivalry between the empire and the nation. ever since 04, we've havent been the same against them. were the yankees, we don't bow down to anyone, especially the boston red sox!
Have Cashman show up a few more times, unannounced.
I honestly like the fight idea, but am not sure the risk of injury, however slight, outweighs the potential reward. The team does seem to respond whenever Girardi gets tossed, so who knows.
The team responding whenever Girardi gets tossed should tell you something, Pena manages better under pressure than him. Seeing them play the Angels showed that the line up can fight back. Girardi and Eiland seeme to be have a bad effect on the pitching in these big games.
Lets not forgot what happened in the Nationals and Marlins series. Not only does this team need to buck up against the primo competition, they need to stop treating the gimmies as gimmies.
It gets mentioned over and over again how average to bad teams turn it up a notch when playing the Yanks. I would think this would be a good reason to play teams like the Nats and Fish as hard as you would the Sox/Halos/Phils.
exactly why Joba will be in the bullpen throwing nasty heat eventually (hopefully with Hughes assuming we get into the playoffs with 3 good starters). I love both of them in there thinking ok let me just get three outs and unleash the stuff that got them so well regarded as draft picks. They are still so young they can develop thier starter game whenever. Right now its about giving the team the best chance to win a world series. As far as making the playoffs, Joba starting is ok, its good actually if u see him as a starter but given that Joba hasnt broken out, he has to be in the pen for the playoffs with his swag in tow.
The Yankees also need to get the killer instinct. Teams "get up" to play the Yankees. So its that much more difficult to beat them. They want to beat the Yankees more than some other random teams b/c they know we are all watching.
The Yankees arent a 3rd place team. If they got any pitching in Angel series today is totally different cuz they hit the crap out of the ball. They win that series we arent talking about "can they beat the top tier teams" and the longer it takes to win those series the more difficult it will be to win them. We need to win one, get it behind us and keep it going.
I praying we meet the Sox in the playoffs. We all live for that. IMO they try really hard to be like the yankees but its an act, an emulation of Yankees ball...if we can get any edge we can take back control of the divison and the red sox know it. We have to go in loose against the Red Sox, like we did against the Angels, they looked focused but loose at the plate. I dunno what happened with the pitching but I also said on day 1 that we cant be over working the work horse starters, gotta keep them fresh and gotta keep the pressure off them. Keep hitting and get bullpen help so the starters dont have all the pressure to be perfect. Some of that is relieved with a Joba, Hughes, Mo bullpen. It doesnt help that you have to pitch extra perfect in the new ball park but we cant change that till next year. but the starters need to have no fear of the ball park confidence in the stuff, the relievers, defense (shakiest part of this Yankee team) and the hitters. Did you see the catches werth and crawford made. We need that in the outfield. Balls dont drop in on the Rays and that got them to the world series. Defense.
All the parts have to come together. Its a team game.
We really needed Wang to be the 19 win guy. To be our 3rd starter. We could get Roy but Im not willing to trade these prospects like Jackson and Montero who seem to be the real deal. We gotta get Pena and Cervelli back on the squad come playoff time and we gotta get these guys playing time. I like Molina but I dont think he is a good hitter a lil power but not much of a hitter, ok defensively compared to Posada, all things considered, id much rather play Cervelli. I prefer Pena to Ransome b/c he is more versitale and can get the bat on the ball. Just to switch up our look and mix it up and keep it loose. Hes young he has flash he brings more to the table then Ransom (although in his defense Ransom has sorta come thru way more often then I thought he ever could) I just think Pena is a wiz in the field and not a downgrade from Ransom at the plate. I also like the idea of having young guys around to be eager and for the vets to teach them. Its like the Vets have some additional responsibility and the young guys can bring some levity in all the dumb crap they do or stupid questions they ask or whatever it is, playing practical jokes on them etc. The Yankees have the best players. Its about playing up to potential and thats all about comfort level. Torre was great at that, he just didnt have the tools, the past few years, that Girardi has now.
this is awesome news!!! the yankees play four more months??? i've always wanted baseball season to go longer!
Anon, forgive me for hitting the wrong number. Oh how will I ever go on!
Post a Comment