Tagged: Vernon Wells
What, Exactly, Is a “Performance Bonus?”
Along with the news that Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon are reuniting to join the Rays comes word that Damon will be paid a $750,000 performance bonus. I’m not even going to attempt to make a bad joke about performance.
(Okay, I just did. Sorry about that.) Anyhow, I’m wondering how the Rays will determine whether or not Johnny earns his $750,000 in 2011. Will the bonus be based on the number of tickets sold throughout the course of the season or the number of bodies that actually show up at the Trop? If so, how would they attribute the totals to Damon, as opposed to any other player? Or maybe it has to do with how many Damon jerseys they move? How many bobble head dolls? I don’t mean to be deliberately obtuse. I just don’t get it. Can someone explain?
As for the Angels’ acquisition of Vernon Wells, I’m glad he’s out of the AL East. He may be a streaky player for whom Anaheim overpaid, but he always seemed to do damage against the Yankees and I’m not sorry to see him go west.
Meanwhile, we head into another weekend without answers for our rotation. I remain mystified by this. Yes, Yankee fans are spoiled, used to having our pick of the best guys available, blah blah blah. So what. We’ve long moved past the years when Andy Hawkins and Dave LaPoint were our aces. We deserve better. Right, Hal? Look at me. I’m talking to you.
So Much For That Game, Eh?
OK, so it was Vernon Wells’ turn to have a big night for the Blue Jays. Fine. Marcus Thames had one for the Yankees. The problem was Huuuughes. He just couldn’t put hitters away. With two strikes they kept fouling off his pitches and driving up his pitch count and necessitating way too many mound conferences with Posada. What a frustrating game, particularly since the Rays lost and we could have gained ground.
The larger issue is our rotation. Who’s in it? Seriously. With Huuuughes nearing his innings limit (whatever the mystery number is) and Vazquez having been banished to the pen and Andy getting his groin healed and not due back until mid-September at the earliest, are we really prepared to move forward with CC, AJ, Moseley and Nova? Is it too late to get him?
Oh, wait. He’s not in Canada anymore. And, fortunately, neither are the Yankees.
Bombed
Maybe it’s the Blue Jays who should be called the Bombers, since they were the ones doing the bombing tonight. Every time I turned around, Wells or Bautista or one of those guys was hitting the ball out. Clearly, Moseley isn’t CC and Wood isn’t Mo. And Mitre? Why even bother. Just DFA him already and call up one of the kids.
Offense is still AWOL. Third loss in a row. No longer in first place. What’s a Yankee fan to do? I’ll tell you what this Yankee fan did: watched the clip of the Red Sox and Indians going at it tonight.
Josh Beckett looks really, really mad at Shelley Duncan, doesn’t he? All I can say is that their game must have been way more entertaining than ours.
Don’t Get My Halladay Hopes Up, Cashman
I just read the latest Hot Stove article on MLB.com and immediately bolted up from my chair and did this.
According to the article, the Yankees spoke to the Jays about the possibility of trading for Roy Halladay, the pitcher I’ve coveted since I first started this blog! Be still my heart!
Who needs Lackey, Ben Sheets or any of the other names being bandied about? Halladay is the best pitcher not currently on the Yankees. (OK, there are a few others, but I’m conveniently overlooking them right now.) Sure, Doc actually lost a few games this season. But he was coming back from a stint on the DL, plus there was the uncertainty of being shipped out at any moment. I say he’s still in his prime and I want him on the Yanks for the following reasons and in no particular order:
* He’d look better in pinstripes than in that girly powder blue.
* He’s best friends with A.J. Burnett. They’d have so much fun hugging and shoving pies in each other’s faces.
* He would probably come packaged with Vernon Wells, which is OK because Vernon would play the outfield if Damon left and his offensive skills would miraculously return.
* How cool would it be to have a pitcher nicknamed after a gunslinger?
* He’s a horse like CC and could give us complete games. OK, he’s a smaller horse than CC but still.
* He throws a cutter, and we all know how successful cutter-throwers can be.
* If we had Halladay in the rotation, it would give Joba and Hughes some room to grow (assuming one of them isn’t part of the trade).
* Adding Halladay to the Yankees would drive the haters crazy and motivate them to come up with even more clever slogans than this gem.
I realize that any discussion Cashman may have had with the Blue Jays is only preliminary. But maybe he’ll make it happen. He’s been known to act disinterested in a player and then all of a sudden…..
P.S. Remember how we were talking about Cooperstown the other day, and some of us said how much we wanted to go? Well, one of our commenters, wirishrose, sent along some pics from her last visit. First, we have the statues of Gehrig, Robinson and Clemente.
Then there’s this one of Joe DiMaggio’s locker.
And finally a sign that’s very appropriate for a blog called “Confessions of a She-Fan.”
What would the sport of baseball do without women fans? I shudder to think!
AJ Takes Care of Business
What a luxury to have a starter who can shut down his former team, especially after they absolutely creamed him the last time around.
The Yankees needed a pick-me-up following CC’s crummy outing on Thursday, and AJ delivered it against the Blue Jays. He wasn’t perfect – Why does Vernon Wells emerge from his slumps whenever the Jays play the Yanks? – but he gave us seven innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts.
Question of the day regarding the above photo. Is he saying:
#1) “Oh, Lyle, you know damn well the ball didn’t touch your toe,” after Overbay poorly portrayed the role of a hit batsman in the second inning.
#2) “Oh, Johnny, use your sunglasses,” after Damon made that non-catch of Scutero’s double in the third.
#3) “Oh, Bud, I can’t believe you’re making us put on these red Phillies/Angels caps,” after MLB decided that a nice, simple American flag wouldn’t get the job done.
(My guess is #3. Even Mo looked weird wearing the red cap when he came in for the save, and Mo never looks weird.)
The offense gave me fits early on, turning Tallet into yet another Cy Young award winner. Cano’s second inning homer was sweet…
…but he’s been just plain rotten with men on base.
The Yanks should have blown the game wide open in the fifth inning when Tallet suddenly couldn’t figure out where this was.
But they only managed to score a couple of runs. It wasn’t until A-Rod went deep in the eighth, to put us up 4-2, that I felt the win was a lock.
Coke and Hughes were impressive bridges to Mo, and that was that – a “w” to kick off the four-game series with Toronto.
With the Neverland memorial out of the picture, my husband Michael and I ventured out to one of our favorite beaches here in Santa Barbara and took a long walk. There were tons of tourists enjoying the start to the holiday, and we decided to join them. We hit Stearn’s Wharf, where everyone who visits SB ends up.
It’s a long pier with shops and restaurants and great views. Our goal? Food. And not just any food. Summer food.
I admit it. I was a total glutton. Not only did I polish off the whole thing but I had a hot fudge sundae at the ice cream place a few doors down. Gross, I know. But hey, it’s not July 4th weekend every day.
Happy 4th in advance, everyone, and thanks so much for reading.
She-Fan Exclusive: Personalized Scouting Report On Jays
The Yankees start a series against the Who-Knew Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. But what do we really know about this team, other than that they play in Canada? Sure, they have a World Championship-winning manager and a Cy Young Award-winning pitcher. But what else? Who else? Should we be afraid?
Time to take a closer look.
* Leading off and playing shortstop: Marco Scutaro.
Did you know he’s from Venezuela? Neither did I. All I knew was that he hit a homer off Mo in 2007 when he was with the A’s, and it traumatized me. He’s a pesky player and a Yankee killer. Beware.
* Batting second and playing second base: Aaron Hill.
He’s the “other guy” who stole home against Andy Pettitte. It happened in May ’07 and I’d rather it didn’t happen again on Wednesday night.
* Batting third and playing right field: Alex Rios.
His full name is Alexis Israel Rios, and although he’s of Puerto Rican heritage he was born in Alabama. Very multi-cultural. He had a 26-game hitting streak against the Yankees – the longest since 1936. In other words, he has the potential to hurt us.
* Batting cleanup and playing center field: Vernon Wells.
His nickname is “V-Dub,” and he’s won three Gold Gloves. Like Scutaro, he has a walk-off homer against Mo on his resume. But he strained a hammy in spring training and broke his wrist last year. I predict his nickname for the series will be “V-Dud.”
* Batting fifth and DH-ing: Adam Lind.
An Indiana native, Lind was plucked from minor league obscurity in ’08 by Cito Gaston and anointed as the team’s DH. On Opening Day this year, he recorded six RBIs – a Jays’ OD record. But let’s not get carried away. It was against the Tigers.
* Batting sixth and playing third base: Jose Bautista.
A former Met, Oriole, Royal and Devil Ray, he was a Pirate when he was traded to the Jays for the proverbial “player to be named later.” So how good could he be? We’re talking about a utility infielder at best. Besides, he wears eye-black under his bottom lip. Bush league.
* Batting seventh and playing first base: Lyle Overbay.
When he comes up to the plate, fans either chant a prolonged “Ooooooo” or hold up signs with the letter “O” in big letters. It doesn’t mean anything. He often grounds into double plays and even hit into a triple play last year. Let’s hope he keeps it up.
* Batting eighth and catching: Raul Chavez.
A well-traveled veteran (he played for the Expos, so he must be 100 years old), the Venezuela-born catcher who was also with the Pirates, Orioles, Astros, Mariners and Yankees is known for his defense. Which is another way of saying he can’t hit.
* Batting ninth and playing left field: Travis Snider.
He’s 21. In 2007 he was with the Lansing Lugnuts. Then he tore it up for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He was promoted to the big leagues in August ’08 and got his first hit off Carl Pavano. Enough said.
* Pitching: Roy Halladay.
I know what he can do on the mound. But I didn’t know his real first name is Harry, which isn’t nearly as intimidating as “Doc.” Plus, while it’s been widely reported that he goes into “isolation mode” before and during each start, not talking to anyone or even nodding in recognition, I’ve learned that he also refuses all food and water. If the Yankees make him work, he could get hungry and thirsty early and succumb to a craving for a Snickers bar and a can of Ensure by the sixth.
Go Yankees.
Confessions of a She-Fan 