The Chuck Knoblog - A Funny and Informative Yankee Blog

Spring Rivals

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 23:49:00 +0000

I was lucky enough to come down to Tampa for this weekend. I am currently typing this from Steinbrenner field. The panorama above was taken on my iPhone. Colon is startingthe game, with Prior and Banulous pitching after.

Update 6:48- Jeter, Cano and Posada just took the field.

Expectations for the Knicks

noreply@blogger.com (Charles O'Neill) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:38:00 +0000

Baseball is just getting started, but basketball is in its final stretch of regular season games. As you all know, the Knicks added superstar Carmelo Anthony along with Chauncey Billups in a three team swing at the deadline. New York gave a large amount of talent to move Melo to the Garden, but a closer analysis of the players given makes this an ideal trade.

The Knicks were coming off a disappointing lose to Cleveland where they looked lethargic. The win over the Heat tonight give Knicks fans a glimmer of hope. Defeating one of the elite teams in the East is a morale boost for any organization, especially after adding new pieces. The Knicks don't have time to let their offense come together. They need to continue to work hard to make this work, if they want to make a playoff run. Superstars like Melo and Amar'e are going to need to play defense and rebound, like they did tonight, in order for the Knicks to contend.

Mike D'Antoni is still trying to figure out lineups with his new players. During Sunday's game he was trying several different match-ups. He needs to figure out which lineup can work together well depending on the situation. I was impressed with Anthony Carter's performance tonight. He is a quick defender who is always snatching at the ball. He did not look too good from three point range, however.

Carmelo put the situation perfectly, "We redeemed ourselves. We're not where we want to be yet. We've got a long ways to go."

News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:15:00 +0000

N.Y. POST: CHARLES WENZELBERG

Tomorrow the Yankees will be pitching C.C., Prior and Banuelos, but you won't be able to watch since the game won't be televised and will not be on MLB.TV.
Interesting fact: Prior made his first MLB pitch to Joe Girardi, who is now his manager.
The Knicks came up with a big win over the Heat tonight in Miami.
MLB 11 The Show demo is available for download. The game will be released March 8th. If you pre-order the game you get 30 days of MLB.TV free.
The baseball word grieves over the death of Duke Snyder.

Big Poppa

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:52:00 +0000

Darell Revis On the Verge of Signing (Just in Time For Hard Knocks)

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:47:00 +0000

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

The news that Jets fans have been waiting to hear since the start of training camp. Our prized player, the coolest cornerback in the league, Darelle Revis, is close to signing.

There have been whisperings all night of a meeting between my boy Darelle's agent meeting with the Jets tonight to lock this thing up.

Some other writers have been shooting this down, which gives the impression that no one knows what the hell is going on.

Now news is coming out from Mort's twitter:

Bob Pompeani or @KDPomp of KDKA (Pittsburgh - where Revis played college ball) tweeted he "hears" deal is 10-yrs, $150m, $65m guaranteed

Before Jets fans start running around town causing havoc this is NOT DEFINATE but when there is smoke there is usually fire and this one is burning up.

My personally opinion is that the Jets knew what would get Darelle signed, they waited until Hard Knocks was about to air so that the show could help break the news. They will be painted as the good guys and Revis will be back.

I have a gut feeling on tonights Hard Knocks you will see Revis become a Jet for life.

This media blackout may have actually helped get the deal done but the downside is that the public is in the dark.

Robinson Cano: Why He Should Win MVP

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:48:00 +0000

Since the baseball season is in it's home stretch everyone starts talking about awards. C.C. Sabathia is looking like a front runner in the A.L. Cy Young race. The interesting race to follow this season will be the 2010 A.L. MVP. There are four hitters who can make a claim to the prestigious award: Josh Hamilton, Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Beltre and Robinson Cano. Joe Mauer has the average and OBP to be in the running but I booted him out due to his small power numbers this year, like his .487 slugging %.

Before I go into detail check out the stats yourself:

When you take a look at the stats you think Hamilton should win due to the large lead he has in the Batting Average category. Then you look at Cabrera's power numbers in awe and think he should lock it up due to his Homers, RBIs, OBP, and SLG while still keeping a high average. Miggy playing for Detroit will deter him from winning this award, I guarantee it.

Even though Hamilton and Miggy are leading Cano in almost every common statistical category he is still my pick for MVP on MVP and here are my reasons why.

First of all WAR. WAR stands for Wins Above Replacement which is a statistic that presents the number of wins that the player added compared to what a replacement player (think a AAA or AA player) would add. This stat shows Cano's value to the in hitting, fielding and base-running expressed in wins.

Scale: 8+ MVP
5+ AllStar
2+ Starter
0-2 Reserve
< 0 Replacement Level

Though Cano isn't leading the league in any common statistics such as Average but he is leading the league in WAR by a good margin. The MVP award is about your individual performance benefiting your team and adding 6 and 1/2 wins to the Yankees really jumps out.

Fun Fact: Cano has hit 23 of his 25 home runs in games that Yankees have won. Cano is batting .311 with RISP as well.

MVP stands for most valuable player not most valuable hitter. Defense is usually discounted when the MVP is talked about. From the three players in the running you already know- from watching baseball- that Cano is the best defender of the group.

Some quick UZRs:
Cano 3.2
Hamilton 4.6 in LF, 1.2 in CF (way less games in CF)
Cabrera -5.4

Playing on the best team in baseball helps Cano's MVP bid. In a season where the Yankees two best hitters, A-Rod and Teixeria, started off cold Cano picked up the slack. He is one of the main reasons the Yanks have the best record in baseball. If Cano reverted to another 2008 like season the Yankees would be struggling with Boston right now for the Wild Card.

Cabrera and Hamilton are both playing positions where most of the elite hitters in the game play, Outfield and 1st base. Cano is a second baseman. Think about some other second basemen in the leauge, the only one that can compare to Cano's hitting prowess in baseball is Utley. You can make the argument for Pedroia but you have to be above 6.0 ft to be considered on my site (and he is hurt this year so stop crying).

You don't believe me? Here your chart:

I hope the bold text on the main points helped people who liked to skim but now I've got you, go back and read the whole thing!

Anyway it seems pretty simple to me that Cano should be this year's MVP but hell if Dustin Pedroia can win it anyone can.

Revis Holdout Almost Over?

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:42:00 +0000

There was a uproar among Jets fans yesterday after Tim Cowlishaw claimed that a Revis deal was close to done on Twitter:

"Revis and Jets announce new deal, probably Wednesday. You heard it here first. 'Inside information!'"

After this news broke nearly everyone shot down the news or said that Cowlishaw's twitter was hacked. Then another story broke claiming Nick Mangold and not Revis, will be receiving the contract:

The Jets and the All-Pro center are closing in on a long-term contract extension that could be announced as early as tomorrow or Tuesday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

That person requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak for the team or Mangold.

Terms of the deal are still being finalized, but it is expected to be a mega-deal topping the five-year, $37.5 million contract St.Louis’ Jason Brown — the league’s highest-paid center — signed last year.

This seems to be the right move by Mike Tannenbaum since Mangold showed up to camp. Just because the Jets and Nick are close to a deal doesn't mean that Cowlishaw's news about Revis is complete bull.

Back to Revis, Cowlishaw explained further on his blog this morning:

My quiet day ended when I obtained some information early in the afternoon about Darrelle Revis, the Jets’ fabulous cornerback who has been holding out from camp in order to get a new contract.

The source of information was good, someone I have used before. Beyond that, I won’t go into further details.

Originally I was told the signing would be “probably Wednesday or Saturday.” That seemed strange that there would be a possible range of three days in the situation.

But when I found out one other aspect of the story that made me believe it had to be true, Wednesday made a lot more sense than Saturday. Since the 140-character nature of Twitter doesn’t lend itself to expanding on one’s thoughts, I just typed “probably Wednesday.”

Even limiting myself to that, “probably Wednesday” sounded weird, like I was hedging my bets. I wasn’t trying to suggest there’s a deal-breaker involved, but who knows? Things of that nature happen all the time. Still, I felt like “probably Wednesday” was the most accurate information I could provide at the time.

Once that one tweet was out there, my chances of getting much of the day off were shot (although I did manage to squeeze in three games at Top Golf with Ben and I didn’t forget to skype Rachel).

It didn’t surprise me that my information was getting shot down right and left by those covering the Jets. As a beat writer covering the Cowboys for six years, I did a lot of “shooting down” and this was in the early days of ESPN and long before the world was wired and Twitter came along.

I talked to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and the New York Daily News‘ Gary Myers on the phone, a couple of guys I have known for 20 years or more. I exchanged texts or, in some cases, tweets with others I have had long relationships with.

They were supportive if curious as to how this information was coming from a Dallas-based general columnist. Understandably curious.

As for those who said I was making it up to get more followers: Does that sound like a good thing to do? I’ve worked for The Dallas Morning News for more than 20 years, ESPN for another seven. Is just making stuff up and having no clue about it a big part of my history?

Getting predictions wrong, yeah, I’ve done that two or three times. Two or three thousand times, I mean.

Throwing stuff against the wall with no idea whether or not it might stick? Not a real good way to maintain any shred of credibility.

The messages coming in from Jets’ fans were pretty much non-stop and the only surprising thing about any of that was how many of them seemed to suggest they didn’t think Revis would sign until well into the season, if at all.

How often does that happen? How often does that work?

Emmitt Smith got extra guaranteed money by sitting two games in 1993. But that was the league MVP-to-be and he had to get somewhat lucky in rolling the dice that the Cowboys would go 0-2 to Washington and Buffalo and that Coach Jimmy Johnson would go so crazy about it that Jerry Jones would have no choice but to cave in.

As great a player as Revis is, that’s a big gamble to take.

Regardless, it does not appear that he is going to roll those dice. All signs indicate that the Revis saga, a major storyline for HBO’s Hard Knocks‘ special on the Jets, ends this week.

And then I can tweet more about Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon … even if it doesn’t quite reach the same audience that Darrelle Revis does.

Revis Island should return for the season.

Now after reading this post Cowlishaw really thinks that his source it right. I think they will announce Mangold's deal before Revis' but they still may be making progress with both. This is great news for Jets fans like me.

It's Good To Be Home

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:12:00 +0000

The Notorious C.C.

C.C. Sabathia is tied for the most wins in baseball with 17. He is the best pitcher in baseball right now in my opinion and would have my Cy Young vote.

Of course C.C.'s numbers are impressive but what really jumps out are his stats at home. Sabathia is 9-0 at home this season. This season his home ERA (2.64) is a whole point lower than his away era (3.55).

With around 7 starts left in the regular season for C.C. it seems almost definite that he will lock up 20 wins for the first time in his career.

Game 124: Mariners at Yankees

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:53:00 +0000

Yankees

1. Derek Jeter SS

2. Nick Swisher RF

3. Mark Teixeira 1B

4. Robinson Cano 2B

5. Marcus Thames DH

6. Jorge Posada C

7. Austin Kearns LF

8. Brett Gardner CF

9. Eduardo Nunez 3B

CC Sabathia P

Mariners

1. Ichiro Suzuki RF

2. Chone Figgins 2B

3. Russell Branyan DH

4. Jose Lopez 3B

5. Franklin Gutierrez CF

6. Casey Kotchman 1B

7. Adam Moore C

8. Matt Tuiasosopo LF

9. Josh Wilson SS

Luke French P

- Posted from my iPhone

A-Rod To DL

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:31:00 +0000

A-Rod is being put on the DL and Ivan Nova is being called up to pitch on Monday. We are going to be seeing more of Nunez.

- Posted from my iPhone

Game 123: Mariners at Yankees

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:26:00 +0000

YANKEES (75-47)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Austin Kearns LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Eduardo Nunez 3B

RHP Javier Vazquez (9-9, 4.89)

MARINERS (49-73)
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chone Figgins 2B
Russell Branyan DH
Jose Lopez 3B
Franklin Gutierrez CF
Casey Kotchman 1B
Josh Bard C
Michael Saunders LF
Josh Wilson SS

LHP Jason Vargas (9-5, 3.15)

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m. / YES Network

UMPIRES: HP Brian Knight, 1B Sam Holbrook, 2B Gerry Davis, 3B Greg Gibson

WEATHER: Low 80s. Hardly any chance of rain. Little bit of a breeze blowing in.

Notes: I am on the way to the game. Currently I am stuck in traffic on the bridge.

Update: Now I am stuck on the deagan. Great.

- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Hudson Terrace,Fort Lee,United States

A.J. Burnett: The Tale of Two Men

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 14:36:00 +0000

When A.J. Burnett steps out to the mound you never know what you are going to get. Sometimes he strikes out nine guys while pitching 7 innings and sometimes he gives up 8 runs to Toronto. Every Yankee fan knows what I am talking about, this guy is inconsistent. I can take just the starts from this month to show you.

August 2nd was a bad A.J. sighting, he pitched 4 and 2/3rds innings while giving up 8 runs on 8 hits against Toronto.

August 10th good A.J. showed up, though he lost, A.J. still pitched 7 innings while giving up three runs to the Rangers, one of the best offenses in baseball.

August 15th really good A.J. showed up against the Royals, he pitched 8 innings and only gave up one run but lost due to some guy named Bullington.

August 20th was last nights game and he looked like shit. He gave up 12 hits and 6 runs to one of the worst offenses in baseball.

It is like Mr. Burnett is living a double life.

8/20: Mairners at YankeesGame-122: (A-Rod Returns)

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:58:00 +0000

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Ramiro Pena 3B

Here They Come, Yo. Here They Come.

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:41:00 +0000

Curtis Grand has gotten a lot of crap since coming to New York, especially since the guy who the Yankees traded for him, Austin Jackson, is hitting .303. He started off the year red hot but then a groin injury slowed him down. It seems now C-Grand is starting to pick up steam again.

In the last ten games Grandy is batting .333 with 3 homers. Maybe hope week is inspiring him or maybe Kevin Long's swing revamp is the cause of this resurgence. His outs have been hit hard as well and it seems he is early on almost every pitcher. He has jumped his average 10 points up.

I like to group Thames and Grandy together so I can do rap group photoshops.

Marcus Markley Thames (yes it is his real name) has been even hotter than the Grandyman. Hitting .379 over his last 10 games. Marcus might be one of Cashman's best signings this year.

DO DA DIPITY!

Clemens Indicted

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:52:00 +0000

My MS Paint picture from when this Clemens news first came about, a post in late 2007.

It has been a while since we have had some steroid news, nearly 2 years after Roger Clemens testified in front of congress he has been indicted on 6 counts of perjury. These government steroid trials take so long, I wish this was all over but this is far from over.

No need to fear, lemme handle this, Look buddy, I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings, uh, I'm well educated, well versed. I know that situations like this, court wise, are complex.

Let me put on my lawyer pants and break this down for you.

With these charges looming over his head Clemens has a few choices: take a plea bargain, go to trail or flee the country. Since Clemens has been fairly defiant throughout this whole processes I highly doubt he grovel for a plea bargain. So that means we will get to see a trial......in about a year. Clemens will put on a show for the jury with his silky smooth arguments (remember 2008? I am being sarcastic). It is very likely that Clemens will go to jail, my guess if for at least 6 months along with some fines. It all comes down to the jury, which no one can predict.

From the Rocket's Twitter:

I never took HGH or Steroids. And I did not lie to Congress. I look forward to challenging the Governments accusations, and hope people will keep an open mind until trial. I appreciate all the support I have been getting. I am happy to finally have my day in court.

Rocket

Here is the link to the full indictment if you are into that sort of thing.

Here is a breakdown of what and why he was charged with if you are too lazy to read the legal document:

Count 1: Obstruction of Justice:
• Four separate denials that he'd never used HGH or steroids
• Never spoken to Brian McNamee about HGH or steroids
• Denial about his knowledge of HGH
• Two separate denials he'd been injected by McNamee with vitamin B-12
• Two denials he'd been injected by McNamee with lidocaine
• Said needles were lined up in the clubhouse after games, ready for B-12 injections
• Said Yankee teammate Andy Petitte misheard or misremembered Clemens telling teammate in or around 1999 of HGH use
• Said Clemens didn't know McNamee was injecting Clemens' wife
• Said Clemens had "no idea" former Sen. George Mitchell wanted to talk to him for his 2007 report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball
• Said he was not in [Jose Canseco's] house on or about June 9, 1998

Count 2: False statements, HGH
• Based on denial he used HGH

Count 3: False statements, steroids
• Based on denial he used steroids

Count 4: False statements, B12
• Said McNamee injected him with B12

Count 5: Perjury, HGH
• Based on denial he received HGH from McNamee

Count 6: Perjury, steroids
• Based on denial he received steroids from McNamee

Oh and one more thing:

HAHAHAHA

Gets me every time.

Injury Updates: Berkman to DL

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Lance was put on the DL today to make room for infielder Eduardo Nunez, the team was tired of having Cervelli being the 5th infielder. According to Cashman neither A-Rod's nor Berkman's injuries are serious:

“There’s only so long you’re comfortable going with no backup infielder, it’s nothing serious on either one of them.”

Berkman wanted to run today but the staff told him to take it slow. Here is a rundown courtesy of Lo-Hud:

• Alfredo Aceves is here, but he’s still going to have at least one more rehab start, probably more. Cashman said Aceves is being evaluated “on an outing-by-outing basis” and there’s not set date for his return.

• There’s a chance Aceves will be stretched out, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be considered as a rotation option. “Arm strength-wise, it would probably help to stretch him out,” Cashman said.

• Berkman’s DL stint should be retroactive to August 16. Berkman said he expects to be ready to play as soon as his 15 days are up. “Unless I fall down the stairs or something,” he said.

• Joe Girardi said he’s not sure if or when the Yankees might need to skip a Phil Hughes start to keep his innings from getting out of control, “because I can’t tell you what (number of innings) every start is going to be,” Girardi said.

• Off days on the schedule will be a chance to rest all five starters, not necessarily a chance to skip Hughes. “It will probably be an extra day for everyone,” Girardi said.

More on the offense explosion in a little bit.

The Best Team That Plays at CITI

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:30:00 +0000

- The Mets wheelchair softball team in action at the National Championships at Citi Field. Via The Mets.

I Will Not Make A Crappy Rainbow Joke

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:49:00 +0000

SOMEWHERE!!!!! OVER THE RAINBOW!!!!

Damn it.

A-Rod Update

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:45:00 +0000

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

A-Rod took some swings in the cage yesterday and reported no pain in his calf. So will he be in the lineup today? No. The answer is no. Girardi said that A-Rod will not be playing until he can prove he can run with no pain.

"That's not running, so, I'll see where he's at tomorrow. He felt better today. But he didn't run and obviously that's a concern."

My guess is we won't see A-Rod until next week, this weekend at the earliest. With the offensive explosion we have had the past two games A-Rod can take his sweet time.

Amazing Sky

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Hat Tip to Lenny for getting this nice shot.

8/18- Tigers at Yankees: Game 118

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:51:00 +0000

Yankees (73-46, 38-21 at home)

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Austin Kearns RF
Ramiro Pena 3B

Dustin Moseley (2-2, 4.41 ERA)

Last appearance: 8/13 at KAN
4.1 IP, 4 ER
Dec = Loss

Tigers (58-61)

Austin Jackson CF
Ramon Santiago 2B
Ryan Raburn RF
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Johnny Damon DH
Jhonny Peralta SS
Brandon Inge 3B
Alex Avila C
Don Kelly LF

Jeremy Bonderman (6-8, 5.16 ERA)

Last appearance: 8/13 at CHW
6.0 IP, 6 ER
Dec = Loss

Notes: A-Rod and Berkman are still day to day. It seems A-Rod will be sitting out for a few games, I would guess we won't see him starting until early next week.

Photo of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:34:00 +0000

There is so much going on in this picture.

Thames, Ca$hman and C.C. grinning madly.

Jeter wondering when he can get out of there.

And Granderson in his intellectual glasses, looking thrilled to be there.

Picture via NYC Mayor's Office

Cash Drops Some Knowledge

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:04:00 +0000

This is via Marc Craig of LoHud:

From Cashman, it sounds like Aceves will make at least one more rehab appearance.

...

Also from Cashman: Hughes IP limit applies only to regular season. In playoffs, it's "all hands on deck." Hughes a candidate to start.

.
Cashman also Ivan Nova as an option to help the rotation if needed.

...

Cashman says the Yankees aren't looking to make any waiver trades: "This is the team we've got."

If Nova is called up I am excited to see what this kid has, his value has been high in trade talks.

When Will We See Andy?

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:14:00 +0000


Antonelli/News

As you should know by now Andy Pettitte went to get and MRI yesterday. The MRI revealed a “small persistent strain” of the left groin. Pettitte is not allowed to throw off a mound for another week. He will continue to throw off flat ground.

Girardi said not to expect Pettitte back until sometime in mid September. Joe likes to guess conservatively so there is a chance Pettitte could come back at the start of September. Due to Andy's age however I would not expect him to be back until Girardi and the staff are 100% sure that he is good to go.

Though we really could use Pettitte right now due to Javy's deadarm (a skipped start would really help him out), Dustin Mosley has stepped up for now. What we really need Pettitte for is our playoff run. The man helped carry us to our 27th title last year pitching gems in all three rounds. His 18-9 record in the playoff is what is most valuable to the Yankees right now and they need to protect his arm for October.

My Shot 8/17/2010

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 06:05:00 +0000

Click for full size. This is one large panorama.