While we were getting our Diane Sawyer on, we learned some very interesting things. And we thought it would be splendid to list some of the key tidbits we acquired when eliminating the middle men and going straight to the source.
- Prior to his contract renewal in late 2005, there were too many chefs in the Yankee decision making kitchen. Departments were influencing other departments that weren’t their responsibility.
- He doesn’t view himself as a ninja, but he has streamlined the decision-making process to limit leaks.
- October performance doesn’t mean much at all to him when evaluating a player’s talent.
- Cash and his pitching evaluators come up with innings limit for young pitchers, but it’s up to Girardi and Eiland as to how those innings are distributed.
- Yanks didn’t necessarily believe A-Jax’s upside was equal to Granderson’s current talent level.
- He believes Gardner has the potential to be a better CF than Granderson, but Brett has to prove that before Granderson would be bumped to LF.
- He’s not particularly concerned about the Yankees’ durability.
- GMs have access to information we as fans do not have, and making decisions is based on more than just a spreadsheet.
- He doesn’t see Jesus Montero in New York this season, and while they really want him to catch, they are open to a variety of positions. His throwing release is his biggest problem right now.
- Swish takes a lot pride in his selectivity and patience at the plate, but it’s something he’s never had to work on, nor did he ever make a conscious decision to be that way.
- It was a “dream come true” for him to join the Yankees.
- He didn’t feel comfortable hitting in Yankee Stadium for a while.
- He was frustrated to learn he would have to platoon with Xavier Nady, especially coming off a poor 2008 season, but was confident in Joe Girardi’s ability to give him ample playing time.
- Joe Girardi is a great communicator.
- The players sometimes debate whether winning creates chemistry, or chemistry creates winning.
- The team looks to the “Core Four” leaders during periods of adversity.
- He loves the Bleacher Creatures.
- He may be making a new addition to his AB music, courtesy of NoMaas.
- When the Yankees acquired Granderson, he knew either him or Melky would be traded away.
- He used to be a good bunter at the lower levels, but as he got closer to the bigs, he stopped doing it to work on his swing.
- He wants to bunt more, even though defenses already play him in, because if he can get the placement, he will beat it out regardless.
- He wants to cut his strikeout rate to 10%-12%, because he realizes that his legs give him good chance to get on base when the ball is put into play.
- He knows that if he doesn’t prove he can hit ML pitchers, they will challenge him more and he won’t be able to get the walks he did in the minors.
- His goal is to have a .350 OBP or better.
- He views himself as a CF.
We hope you enjoyed these interviews. We’ll definitely be bringing you more of them, but we thought it was time for a recap.
2 Comments
Backup D3 Center March 6, 2010 07:47
Nice work Nomaas. I came here for the great arguing in the beginning but I stayed because of the info, analysis, and presentations you bring to the table.
JoeThunder March 7, 2010 07:33
Chemistry creates a team. Winning helps to infuse the players tightly together. This team showed great chemistry last year and I can see it continuing on to this year. I expect big years out of Jeter, A-Rod, and Mo. The monkey is off their backs and now they can just go out there and play baseball. The wins will come, and they will come more often than not. This team believes in themselves and believes in winning. I love the fact that Girardi insists they all spend time together and hang out w/ one another outside of the clubhouse. It’s something we were missing for years aside from the obvious goal of a winning a championship. The 2009 Yankees humbled me in a way that I’ll never forget. They truly deserved to win last year rather than in previous years where they felt they just had the right to win based on the uniform they wore. Yankees 2010, Boston stinks.