Oct 152009
According to Chad Jennings, speedster Freddy Guzman has been added to the Yankees’ ALCS roster in place of Eric Hinske. Nice move by Girardi.
Related posts:
The Blog Formerly Known As The Yankee Universe
Advertising
Looking To Advertise With The Yankee Universe? Click on the "contact us" link in the toolbar and leave an email with the subject line reading "Advertising."
Site Stats
Perpetual OffTopic Post
Latest on Mon, 03:45 pm
: I cant answer the first question. Regarding the second, I love mlb.tv. If you have a decent internet connection, it is worth every penny.
: Hey guys I really need some help with a couple of things: 1st: MLB 10: The Show. I'm thinking about buying it and having it sent [...]
: The yankees are going to repeat because the sox lost bay and he is basically there whole offense is david ortiz were to struggle
: Anyone going to be in Tampa on the weekend of Feb 27 / 28? I eventually heard back from Steinbrenner Field (after three emails and two [...]
: Guys, Being a Brit, even though I get to see the Yankees as often as I can, it's no more than a few times each season [...]
| © 2010 TYU | Suffusion WordPress theme by Sayontan Sinha |
I don’t think its a nice move. It worries me because it leads me to believe that once again we are going to play the Angels’ game instead of ours. Just do what we do and stay away from their little ball nonsense.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Moshe Mandel Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Strongly agree. They better not be trying to “beat them at their own game.”
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Chris H. Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
I don’t think that’s it at all. Napoli is awful at throwing runners out (Mathis is a better defensive catcher), so why not add some more speed to the bench? The Yankees have stolen bases all year so it’s not out of their nature to do that. Guzman can definitely help in a late-inning situation. As Brett Gardner showed in the ALDS, speed can alter a ballgame.
Plus, Girardi likes to play small-ball in specific situations. That’s who he is. To get away from that would be to deviate from the regular season formula.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Moshe Mandel Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
But why now? The Twins and Angels throw runners out at the same rate, 23%. I dont get why this round is different.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other Chris H Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Hinske wasn’t going to get any at bats at all and everyone knows it, in fact I was thinking the other day that his roster spot is a waste because Joe won’t pinch hit him for any of our switch hitters or righties, best he could do is defensive replacement for Damon and Melky already does that when Gardner goes to CF.
Good move to me, you take away a useless piece for a speedster.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Jon Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Does Guzman’s inexperience bother anyone else. I haven’t seen him much, but from what I did see he seems to take a lead that makes a pick off a very real possibility. It take more than just pure speed to steal bases and I wonder if he has the ability to read pitchers in the bigs.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Chris H. Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Part of this is just for pinch-running purposes. The guy doesn’t have to steal.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other SteveS Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Yeah, I’m thinking of Molina getting a hit in a tight game. Yank him for Guzman and in goes Jorge.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Jon Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
What about Pena then? Harriston and Gardner can play OF so why not add Pena. He has decent speed and I trust him more not to get picked off late in the game.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other Chris H Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
He has no where near the speed that Guzman does so there is almost no threat of a steal with Guzman the pitcher has to worry because number one the scouting report says hes fast and number 2 he has never seen him run before.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Jon Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Guzman hasn’t seen the pitcher before though and he has little major league experience so I would give that advantage to the pitcher. Pena has enough speed to be a threat and less risk to get picked. Any major league stats to compare there steals and times caught stealing? Seems like the Yankees are in love with his speed but it takes more than that to steal bases.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other Chris H Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Then you don’t know what you are talking about… It doesn’t matter if you have ever seen the pitcher before, you immediately start to pick up on his moves to first and home and you can easily make your move to steal, it’s only an advantage for the pitcher if he hits which he never will.
Guzman is a base stealer and that’s all he does his whole minor league career, Pena doesn’t steal bags, he won’t! He isn’t the type of guy who even gets a lead and tries to go he is just an upgrade in speed.
How likely is it someone gets picked off? It almost never happens and Lackey, Weaver and Kazmir all have average to below average moves… it’s not like Pettitte is on the Angels Guzman will be fine and is a much better base stealer than Pena.
You act like Guzman just runs track and has never stolen bases before, look at his career stats he knows how to get it done and Pena doesn’t they aren’t the same animal.
(Quote)
I think Girardi saw Hinske as being pretty much useless in an AL series. He won’t go in for defense or speed, and while his bat is a solid option of the bench he really was never going to get an opportunity to hit unless it was in some crazy 15 inning game.
Mine as well take Guzman’s speed here sicne he could easily get in for Molina or Posada and has the ability to play multiple positions. Hinske will probably be back on the roster if the yankees go to the WS.
Im more intrigued to see if they replace Marte with Bruney.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Moshe Mandel Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
What if they run Guzman for Posada in the 8th inning of a close game? You need someone to hit for whoever replaces him.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Chris H. Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
I think it’s all risk versus reward. If Guzman comes in for Posada in a close game, Guzman’s speed can help to manufacture a run which would then negate the offensive issue. Also, Gardner is always the first speedster off the bench, so Guzman is in the lower end of the bench pecking order. Hinske’s bat won’t be missed, really, and Guzman has enough speed to be useful. I think it’s a wash, but it has the potential to be better than having Hinske on the bench.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other Chris H Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Especially considering Hinske hasn’t even had a live at bat since who knows when, he didn’t play the last week of the season so he is completely cold hitting wise.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Has anyone seen the projected line-up for game one?
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Chris H. Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
If the Angels use the same lineup that they featured against Jon Lester in G1 of the ALDS, then I believe it’ll be:
Figgins
Abreu
Hunter
Vlad
Rivera
Morales
Kendrick
Mathis
Aybar
Mathis catches Lackey and Scioscia opted for Rivera in front of Morales (which could definitely change). Napoli crushes lefties, but I think Scioscia will stick with Mathis.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other Chris H Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I agree with Chris, Mathis is Lackey’s favorite catcher and Napoli is god awful behind the plate so for the first game at least Napoli will be on the bench.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
One thing of note that none of us have considered yet, maybe Girardi plans to start Gardner in a game? That would leave no real burner on the bench (Hairston isn’t a burner). Adding Guzman helps them.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Old Ranger Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Thanks, I wanted to add that but, everyone knows I like Brett over Melky so I didn’t.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other Chris H Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
It could be for sure… However Melky has over a .330 batting average career against Lackey so I would assume that Melky will at least start game 1.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
I’m hoping Gardner does get at least one start. He may be the better option. I wouldn’t mind seeing him tomorrow night, in fact.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Chris H. Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Melky has good numbers against Lackey. If Joe was going to start Gardner, I think it’ll be in LA against Jered Weaver.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Here are the stats you asked for…
In his minor league career Pena has 33 stolen bases and 16 caught stealing while Guzman has 443 stolen bases and 85 caught stealing.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other Chris H Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Can anyone believe people are actually worried about a guy not knowing how to steal a base when he has 528 total attempted stolen bases? It really is ridiculous to want Pena and his 49 tries over Guzman’s 443 stolen bases…
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Jon Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Dude, you are giving MINOR league stats. He has a total of 9 stolen bases in the BIGS and has been caught 4 times. All regular season with nothing on the line. He was first up in 04 with the Padres and if was that great he would have at least stuck with someone as a good bench guy. Either the rest of the league is wrong in evaluating his talent or the Yankees are.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Chris H. Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
People are overanalyzing this decision. He’ll serve as a pinch-runner or as a possible base stealer. The Yankees have Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, a bunch of guys who aren’t very fast. Having another pair of wheels, just in case, can’t really hurt them as long as Girardi uses him wisely.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other Chris H Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
I think it’s funny that what is being questioned is if Steals translate in the post season… If you can steal you can steal and he is better at it than Pena so it’s clear Guzman should be the pinch runner after Gardner… Can’t believe someone wants to argue over who should be the second pinch runner!
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other Chris H Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
He doesn’t stick because he doesn’t have a bat worthy of bumping anyone with any kind of bat off the bench, with the Yankees however he never has to hit because the line up is thick enough not to need any match up changes and pinch hits so he can strictly be a fast base stealer which he can do in any league.
Don’t give me minor Vs BIGS anything when it comes to base stealing, it’s the thing that changes the least from level to level in an organization and someone who can steal at triple A can steal at the major league level…
Your own logic defeats you because Ramiro Pena only has 4 steals in 5 attempts which is to small a sample size to do anything with because he doesn’t steal bases! He pinch ran for Matsui all year and didn’t even get a lead big enough to put a steal in the other teams mind.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Jon Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 8:35 am
I never said Pena was a better base stealer than Guzman. He offers more value on the roster than Guzman in my opinion though. He offers a second infield option and we already have Hariston and Gardner who can play OF and in a real pinch Pena could even play OF. His bat is better and his wheels are fine. All in all I trust him more than Guzman in a big situation. As far as your logic that base stealing in the minors vs majors I have a hard time believing that the ptichers don’t have better moves and the catchers don’t have better arms in the bigs.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
Actually, I was thinking that if Damon’s slump continues, we may see Gardner starting in CF and Melky starting in left. Not that Damon can’t pinch run, but they may want Guzman for that purpose. Add to that another couple of games with Molina starting behind the plate and Jorge coming in when AJ leaves, and there’s plenty of room for a pinch runner.
I’d rather have Bruney than Marte, though. Marte looks like he’s a waste of $10 million or whatever. Does anyone know if the complete roster’s final, or did they just announce that Guzman’s on it?
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]
The other Chris H Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Damon will start in every game no doubt… It’s not worth it to have both Gardner and Melky both in a playoff game it just doesn’t make sense because neither have Damon’s power which could be sprung at any second.
Marte was hurt this year and after he came back from the injury he did a lot better but he simply didn’t have enough time with the team to get into the groove someone would be in after a whole year of work. I really don’t see anyway Bruney is better, Marte can face the lefties and is less likely to walk someone than Bruney is if anyone else was available I might not take Marte but he is better than the other options.
The rosters aren’t final until they hand the card to the umpire tomorrow so technically they can be changed until then.
(Quote)
[Reply To This Comment]