Spring Trainning 2010 Pre Season MLB News

[Shortline Bus]

Shifting gears. A question for any Yankee or MLB fan here? Should the Yanks place Joba Chamberlain as '5th Starter" or the 8th inning specialist and the replacement for future Hall of Famer Maraino Rivera?

Chamberlain and Phil Hughes are the finalists to be the 5th Starter for the regular season.

 

After his outstanding perfomerence in last year's playoffs Joba for rest of career should be a relief pitcher/future closer. What you guys think?

 

I say Joba needs to spend rest of his carrer in the bullpen.

[Grand Concourse]

To early to tell right now. He also has no restrictions this year compared to Huges, so he should be able to pitch up to 200 innings. And he did pitch some fairly decent games last year before the restrictions started.

But so far I think Hughes looks like the better shot for the 5th spot. But that would just mean Joba would be the starter near the end when Hughes has to be babied.

[R68 Subway Car]

Joba should stay in the bullpen. When he was in the bullpen, he had an ERA below 1.00. He was that good out of the pen. He should be the future closer for the Yankees.

 

 

Finally, some good news for the Mets. Jose Reyes has been cleared for play after the thyroid issue. He could play for us on Opening Day!

[GojiMet86]

Joba should stay in the bullpen. When he was in the bullpen, he had an ERA below 1.00. He was that good out of the pen. He should be the future closer for the Yankees.

 

 

Finally, some good news for the Mets. Jose Reyes has been cleared for play after the thyroid issue. He could play for us on Opening Day!

 

 

B)

 

 

[Grand Concourse]

Joba should stay in the bullpen. When he was in the bullpen, he had an ERA below 1.00. He was that good out of the pen. He should be the future closer for the Yankees.

 

 

Finally, some good news for the Mets. Jose Reyes has been cleared for play after the thyroid issue. He could play for us on Opening Day!

 

Then the point of babying him last year would've been for nothing. Also remember that Hughes is going to be under the same innings restrictions. Plus there are other guys like David Robertson that showed promise as a reliever.

 

And next year it remains to be seen if: Andy may or may not retire and they keep Vazquez next year as well.

Sure there's free agents like Cliff Lee, but that's not a sure thing.

 

Right now I say give Joba a chance as a starter.

[PATCOman]

Finally, some good news for the Mets. Jose Reyes has been cleared for play after the thyroid issue. He could play for us on Opening Day!

 

RATS!!!

[B35 via Church]

^^ I wouldn't worry... haven't seen anyone (on espn, or any other venue) predict the mets to win over 85 games this upcoming season... the phillies can easily pass that mark in that division....

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I'm not gonna get into whether Joba should start, or stay in the pen (again)...

 

What I will ask is... Do the Yankees even need 5 starters? they have 3 starters that can be aces on a lot of teams, alone... They place far too much emphasis on that 5th starter, and have done so for the past couple years....

[Shortline Bus]

My replies in red.

 

^^ I wouldn't worry... haven't seen anyone (on espn, or any other venue) predict the mets to win over 85 games this upcoming season... the phillies can easily pass that mark in that division....

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I think at Vegas and most odd makers so far, I read in the papers and online say the Mets will win around 80-83 games(around .500). While the Phillies are projected to win around 92-95 games and favorites to win the NL Title.

 

 

I'm not gonna get into whether Joba should start, or stay in the pen (again)...

 

What I will ask is... Do the Yankees even need 5 starters? they have 3 starters that can be aces on a lot of teams, alone... They place far too much emphasis on that 5th starter, and have done so for the past couple years....

 

Great point bro. As recently as the late 1970's most teams in MLB only used '4' starters, so the Yanks really should use the '5th guy' as the swing man starter/emgerency post season starter.

[EE Broadway Local]

Mr. Phil Hughes was named the Yankees' fifth starter today. He beat out Mr. Joba Chamberlain and three others in winning the fifth spot.

 

Mr. Joba Chamberlain will be given an opportunity to pitch out of the bullpen and is in the mix for the eighth inning setup role for closer Super Mo.

 

Also Mr. Chad Gaudin was released earlier today. In addition to Mr. Joba Chamberlain and Mr. Chad Gaudin, Mr. Sergio Mitre and Mr. Alfredo Acevedo were the other two Mr. Phil Hughes beat out.

[Shortline Bus]

Mr. Phil Hughes was named the Yankees' fifth starter today. He beat out Mr. Joba Chamberlain and three others in winning the fifth spot.

 

Mr. Joba Chamberlain will be given an opportunity to pitch out of the bullpen and is in the mix for the eighth inning setup role for closer Super Mo.

 

Also Mr. Chad Gaudin was released earlier today. In addition to Mr. Joba Chamberlain and Mr. Chad Gaudin, Mr. Sergio Mitre and Mr. Alfredo Acevedo were the other two Mr. Phil Hughes beat out.

 

Hopefully this means Joba stays in the Pen for rest of his carrer.:eek:

[Grand Concourse]

Given the way they pitched so far, Hughes as the starter doesn't surprise me. But I won't rule out Joba coming back later in the season when Hughes has to be babied.

Shame Gaudin was released. He could've been an extra arm from the pen.

[GojiMet86]

Chad Gaudin: A future Met?

[Grand Concourse]

He'd probably be their #3 starter.

[Forest Glen]

Mr. Phil Hughes was named the Yankees' fifth starter today. He beat out Mr. Joba Chamberlain and three others in winning the fifth spot.

 

Mr. Joba Chamberlain will be given an opportunity to pitch out of the bullpen and is in the mix for the eighth inning setup role for closer Super Mo.

 

Also Mr. Chad Gaudin was released earlier today. In addition to Mr. Joba Chamberlain and Mr. Chad Gaudin, Mr. Sergio Mitre and Mr. Alfredo Acevedo were the other two Mr. Phil Hughes beat out.

 

Hughes is better out of the bullpen. However, he's the lesser of two evils. Hughes is mediocre as a starter. Joba is horrible as a starter.

[GojiMet86]

Did anybody hear about this today? The Twins Denard Span his mother with a foul ball:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100331&content_id=9026878&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

 

TAMPA, Fla. -- Twins outfielder Denard Span struck his mother, Wanda Wilson, in the chest with a foul ball while batting in the first inning on Wednesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Span was leading off the game against the Yankees' Phil Hughes when he fouled a 3-2 pitch directly to the left of the visitors' third-base dugout, where a group of friends and family members were settling in for the game.

The ball struck his mother, who was sitting three rows from the field and wearing a Twins jersey with Span's name on it, with a thud that was audible to the players on the Minnesota bench. Span immediately dashed into the seating bowl, consoling her as help arrived.

"It just seemed like everything was in slow motion when I hit the ball," Span said after arriving back in Fort Myers. "I had no idea she was sitting there. I didn't see her before I got up to the plate. But as soon as the ball was in the air, I realized it was going after my mom. When I saw her go down, I couldn't do anything but just run after her and make sure she was OK.

"When it first happened, I kind of froze a little bit. I couldn't believe it actually hit her. I kind of froze. When I actually realized what happened, that's when I took off running."

Paramedics stationed at the stadium checked on Wilson, and while she reported being "sore," she declined to go to a local hospital and instead remained at the stadium, seeking a seat in the shade to rest and watch some more of the game. Span said his mother was administered an electrocardiogram at the stadium.

"Tell everyone that I'm all right," Wanda Wilson told The Associated Press hours later by telephone. "Everyone was so worried, he was so worried. But I'm all right."

After checking on his mother, Span completed his at-bat, looking at a called strike three from Hughes. He planned to exit the game at that point, but when the Twins extended the inning, it gave Span time to check in with family members and hear that Wilson was doing fine. So he opted to join his teammates on the field in the bottom of the first.

Span remained in the game for another two innings, at which point Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter pulled him aside and encouraged him to be with his mother.

"He was just like, 'You go see about your mom,'" Span said. "I was already feeling that way, but to have him say it to me, I was like, 'You know what? He's right.'

"Mentally, my mind wasn't into the game. It was on her well-being. That's my mom."

A Tampa native, Span had left about 20 tickets for friends and family to attend the game. It was to be his last homecoming before beginning the grind of the season.

The Twins will fly to Minnesota following their final Grapefruit League game on Thursday against the Orioles, and won't return to Tampa until August.

"I've hit foul balls and I've hit a fan before, but I've never actually seen somebody hit someone that they know or someone that they love," Span said. "This has been a crazy day. It was just a weird day. I'm thinking I'm getting to go home and play in front of my family and have a good day."

"I know it tore him up pretty good," said Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson, who was serving as Minnesota's acting manager for the split-squad game. "She's doing well, they said she's fine and he got a chance to be with her. I'm sure he'll probably buy her a nice dinner tonight and nurse her along."

Upon hitting the foul ball, Span said he heard his mother's scream and knew instantly that it was her. When he arrived in the stands, Wilson wept for several moments.

"That's what hurt me the most, was when I heard her crying," Span said.

There is a vertical net behind home plate on the field level at the Yankees' spring home, but it does not stretch all the way to the dugouts. Wilson was sitting in an area of five-seated rows that is unprotected.

"It's kind of a really dangerous spot," Hughes said. "I think they should move the nets all the way in to the dugout, because you can get those foul balls like that, arguably coming back harder than if a guy just nicks one and it goes back to the screen.

By contrast, the net at the Twins' Spring Training home, Hammond Stadium, extends from one dugout to the other. Span said he would like to see more parks like it.

"I thought that even before today," he said. "It's hard to pay attention to every single pitch. Sometimes you're coming down from the concession stands or whatever, and boom, all of the sudden a ball's coming at you. You can't control that. A hitter can't control it. It's just a bad situation. It's just surprising that nobody has gotten seriously hurt to this point."

"That is kind of weird that something like that would happen," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who was managing the other half of the split squad in Fort Myers. "I'm glad she's OK."

[Grand Concourse]

Damn, that's a long report for one incident. Scary and f'ed up that the ball ends up hitting his own mom. But it is a good thing that she is ok. But wow, 1 in a mil...

[EE Broadway Local]

Metropolitans ace Johan Santana will oppose the Marlins' Josh Johnson on Opening Day, but in a tweaking of the rotation, John Maine and rookie Jon Niese will now face the Marlins April 7th and 8th, Manager Charlie Manuel has said, citing a string of underperformances as the reason.

 

Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez, originally pencilled in to follow Johan Santana will now face the Nats in the season's second series before Johan Santana returns in the series' final game.

 

Over five starts and 20-1/3 innings this spring, Mike Pelfrey is 0-3 with a 7.97 ERA and allowing eight home runs.

 

Over five starts and 17-2/3 innings this spring, Oliver Perez is 0-1 with an 8.66 ERA. In a game against the Cardinals on Tuesday, Perez's velocity registered only in the 86 to 88 mph range.

 

Source: ESPN.com

[GojiMet86]

Charlie Manuel? He's from the Phils!

[EE Broadway Local]

On April 2, 1972 in West Palm Beach, Florida, Mets Manager Gil Hodges died of a heart attack at the age of 48. Coach Yogi Berra would be named manager before the Mets' season opened on April 15th. Topps printed Gil Hodges' 1972 card, #465 (a fourth series card number).

 

As a player, Mr. Hodges played for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1943, 1947-1961) and for the Mets (1962-1963). He had an average of .273 with 370 Home Runs and 1,274 RBIs.

 

He managed the Washington Senators (1963-1967) and Mets (1968-1971). His greatest success came in 1969 when he managed the Mets to their first winning season, first N.L. East title, first N.L. pennant and a surprising World Series championship.

 

The follow-up wasn't as successful - third place and 83-79 in 1970 and a third place tie and 83-79 in 1971. In 1970, the Mets finished 6 games behind the Pirates and in 1971 14 games.

 

The Gil Hodges/Yogi Berra years (1968-1975) were one of the rare times since 1923 when New York City's National League team(s) outdrew the Yankees.

[Locomotion69]

Hey Mr Short Line bus, is this thread going to end after tomorrow? Spring Training is way too long and boring...