wow, zimmer is a moron.

mariano rivera is getting rocked. "give him an extension!"

joe torre's team isn't doing well. "give him an extension!"

so, when the team does poorly, it's all cashman's fault. when it's good, it's all torre's doing.

there's all sorts of other faults with zimmer's thinking on the injuries...

I don't think he's a moron (based on the article) as much as he's speaking emotionally about his friends. He's absolutely correct that Torre does not deserve to be fired over the events of the first month of the 2007 season. And by the time the offseason rolls around the Yankees might regret not having a contract with Mo. But Zimmer is speaking from his heart.

That said...

- While it would be fun to see Cashman try to manage the team, I think he'd do a much better job at that than Zimmer would in a stint as GM.

- Torre does deserve to be fired based on his mismanagement over several years, and should be fired IF they know someone who can do better. For all his faults, Torre is still a better option than a lot of people out there.

- The team has to get smarter about the contracts they take on. Torre with no extension is a great place to start. Mariano... I'm not so sure.

Four or five years ago, anyone could have managed the Yankees. And did.

Ever since Zim called out the Cubs' pitchers for not pitching shutouts when their hitters were going through a dry spell, I gave up on thinking something intelligent might come out of his mouth.

I'm still trying to figure out why everyone I hear on the radio (XM mostly) thinks Cashman is such a great GM. Does he give them backrubs during spring training?

I'm still trying to figure out why everyone I hear on the radio (XM mostly) thinks Cashman is such a great GM


1.) Cashman is "great" only compared to the Tampa group who had George's ear

2.) people feel sorry for him becuz he works for George

Quick question from a Phillies fan: How are Yankees' fans feeling about that Abreu trade? Is the team receiving its $15MM worth of performance from him this year ( he IS excellent going back on the ball, toward the fence, don't you think?). I'm sure the team option for 2007 at $16 MM will be a "no-brainer"....... Just an interlude for all those who thought it incomprehensible that any Phillies fan would have been accepting of the trade Mr. Cashman engineered last July.

While it would be fun to see Cashman try to manage the team, I think he'd do a much better job at that than Zimmer would in a stint as GM.

That wouldn't be fair. It's easier to take a step down in responsibility than a step up. Granted, the skill sets are a bit different, but Zim's a bit advanced in age to ask him to jump into contract negotiations.

joe torre's team isn't doing well. "give him an extension!"

Buddy Bell patiently waits for his lifetime contract...

There are a lot of hitters that are mired in awful slumps in NY these days.

Mienkiewicz: .154/.241/.288
Cabrera: .200/.238/.213
Damon: .229/.349/.329
Abreu: .253/.360/.308
Matsui: .207/.385/.310

LoDuca: .237/.294/.289
Delgado: .188/.262/.260
Wright: .244/.370/.311

There's going to be an offensive explosion when the weather warms up.

I'm surprised that Zim didn't blame A-Rod for the team's problems.

Quick question from a Phillies fan: How are Yankees' fans feeling about that Abreu trade? Is the team receiving its $15MM worth of performance from him this year ( he IS excellent going back on the ball, toward the fence, don't you think?). I'm sure the team option for 2007 at $16 MM will be a "no-brainer"....... Just an interlude for all those who thought it incomprehensible that any Phillies fan would have been accepting of the trade Mr. Cashman engineered last July.

Wow, you're an idiot. I can see why Phillies fans have the reputation they do. He's in a slump. Everyone goes into slumps. Jeter was in a far worse slump in early 2004. He turned okay, no?

Abreu made a nice catch going towards the wall on Saturday afternoon. He does shy away from the wall most of the time, but he's also a vastly better defensive right fielder than anyone they've had in years. In two months, his OBP will be over .400 again, and you can suck it.

Frankly I'm surprised that more attention hasn't been paid to the obvious answer: that when A-Rod is producing, the team as a whole necessarily falters, and vice-versa. He's such a selfish player.

I wish players on the team I root for had .360-,385 OBPs when they're in slumps.

Geez, Larry, losing some ballgames sure makes you cranky.

In two months, his OBP will be over .400 again

Will his SLG ever get there (.400) again? An ISO of .055? Is there anything obvious in his swing this year that would indicate loss of power? He hasn't been the same since the HR Derby.

From Chris Jaffe's series on managers:

Don Zimmer. Never known as a particularly brilliant manager, his score of +119 was a big surprise to me. (Well, actually it's +133 because of a month where he filled in for Torre in New York). His positive score is entirely because of the 1989 Cubs, which rode fluke seasons from Les Lancaster, Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith, Mike Bielicki and others to an unlikely division crown. Zim scored a +145.14 for that year. It was a great fluke season all-around. My favorite anecdote was that at one point the Cubs successfully called about a dozen pitch outs where they got the runner. Things worked so well that even Bill Lee gave an interview complimenting his handling of the staff that year. To be fair, that wasn't his only good year. As Red Sox manager he went +44 during those years. Still, when a team finishes 107 games over .500 the manger should be doing an awful lot better than +44. Not surprisingly, they won despite him, not because of him. The most striking thing in his career is his success at team runs allowed. In the fourteen years he helped manage a team his teams finished positive in that category eleven times. In a twelfth season he was –2.55, and –10.05 in a thirteenth. I have no idea what might cause a team to do especially good in this category other than luck, but if there is something to it, Don Zimmer had it. That's wildly unexpected.

"Wow, you're an idiot. I can see why Phillies fans have the reputation they do. He's in a slump. Everyone goes into slumps. Jeter was in a far worse slump in early 2004. He turned okay, no?

Abreu made a nice catch going towards the wall on Saturday afternoon. He does shy away from the wall most of the time, but he's also a vastly better defensive right fielder than anyone they've had in years. In two months, his OBP will be over .400 again, and you can suck it."

Well, we're all entitled to our opinions.......Baseball-reference.com suggests that Abreu's career is "most like" Bernie Williams. Go back and look at Bernie's numbers for age 34-37, and tell me how those would have been received in New York without the nostalgia of the World Series rings. Abreu is on the downhill side of his career, and the Phillies made a good move unloading his contract.

the Phillies made a good move unloading his contract.

Aren't the Phillies picking up about half of that contract? Leaving only enough for say, Adam Eaton, joy of joys?

One (last?) Abreu comment. He was traded to the yankees on 7/30/06. Records since the trade: Yankees 46-41 (including ALDS )...Phillies 47-37

Yankees 46-41 (including ALDS )...Phillies 47-37 including playoff appearance

Much better.

Yankees 46-41 (including ALDS )...Phillies 47-37 including playoff appearance

Huh?

Huh?

I think that post was what the kids these days refer to as a "snap".

Okay, maybe 10 years ago, but still...pretty good snap.

Baseball-reference.com suggests that Abreu's career is "most like" Bernie Williams. Go back and look at Bernie's numbers for age 34-37, and tell me how those would have been received in New York without the nostalgia of the World Series rings.

Is Bobby planning to blow out his knee?

"Wow, you're an idiot. I can see why Phillies fans have the reputation they do."

Is claiming that Abreu will hit better than he has so far incompatible with noting that Abreu might not give the Yankees their money's worth this year? I happen to think both are true- and I still like the trade, and liked it when it happened.

Bobby's eyes are really close together for a star athlete. Maybe that's why he's so bad at going straight back on a fly ball?

One (last?) Abreu comment. He was traded to the yankees on 7/30/06. Records since the trade: Yankees 46-41 (including ALDS )...Phillies 47-37

Abreu owes Philly 3 games.

Abreu with the Yankees: 307/401/447. I expect him to hit more or less like that for the rest of the year. Still a good deal for the Yankees, and probably worth $16m considering it's a short term commitment and they gave up nothing of value to get him.

Huh?

Maybe it would've been clearer if I'd put it in parenthesis...for parallelism's sake.