Rickey on Reyes, Scoreless Streak, Hinske, Curveball
By Mike Silva ~ July 27th, 2009. Filed under: Morning Digest.
- Phil Hughes entering the Yankees bullpen might turn out to be the reason for its turnaround. Obviously 21 consecutive scoreless innings is the story, but how he has helped Joe Girardi establish some consistent roles is equally, if not more, important.
- Jeff Francoeur has 14 RBI’s in 12 games. Again, I am not saying that Frenchy doesn’t have warts on his game, but you can’t be unhappy with what you have seen so far. Can anyone argue that in a full lineup Francoeur couldn’t provide punch down in the 7 hole?
- After NYBD ran a piece yesterday saying that Reyes is the closest thing to Rickey Henderson “talent wise”, Kevin Kernan has an article at the NY Post where Rickey diagnoses the problem with Jose Reyes. According to Rickey, one of the issues with Jose is that he tries to be a power hitter. Sounds like the same problem that Willie Mays Hayes had in Major League.
- Staying on the Rickey Henderson topic. Great job with his speech. Mentions were made to Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, and George Steinbrenner. Who knew that Billy was that big of an influence on Rickey’s career?
- The guys at Nomaas are wondering why Eric Hinske doesn’t spell A-Rod at third. What a great pickup this was for the Yankees. Hinske is exactly the type of player that thrives in winning situations. Maybe Sensei and company are on to something. With Cody Ransom hitting .200, and displaying no power, it couldn’t hurt to use Hinske on days that A-Rod needs a rest.
- There is something just criminal about Daniel Murphy hitting cleanup. Beam me in from the year 2006, have me look at yesterday’s Mets lineup, and it wouldn’t be a secret this is a year to forget.
- I talked about the Mets facing their “Waterloo” right before the All Star Break. This week the Tampa Bay Rays may be in the same situation. The Yankees could officially bury them with a three game sweep. Even two out of three might put them far enough back on their heels. With Oakland in Boston, Tampa might find themselves far enough back of both the Yankees and Sox that it might be unrealistic to think comeback.
- I am going to send Dr. Mike Marshall this piece about the curveball and Little League pitchers. Apparently the American Sports Institute believes that throwing a curveball is no more stressful on a kid than a fastball. His response should be interesting.
- Hear Howard and I talk about Rickey Henderson, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Jonathan Niese, and Metstradamus Hall of Hate inductee on last night’s NYBD Weekly Digest.
