Rafael Soriano told the Yankees that he didn’t want to pitch against an American League East team in spring training, so he was scratched from tonight’s game and will pitch at the minor league complex tomorrow.
The above little gem was courtesy of LoHud and it sort of put a damper on my euphoria about Ivan Nova and the Yankees beating up on the O’s 10-0 in the kind of game I love (a blowout). I was so impressed with Nova, enjoyed seeing the regular lineup play most of the game and, of course, was thrilled to have Mo come in to pitch the seventh.
I expected to see Soriano too and was surprised when I didn’t. Now I know the reason for his absence. He’s certainly not the first guy to want to avoid his division rivals during spring training.
Francona scratched Buchholz the other night when the Yankees were in Fort Myers to play the Red Sox; supposedly the manager didn’t want his pitcher facing the Yankees any more often than necessary. I remember saying, “How silly is that? The Yankees have seen Buchholz a thousand times and will see him a thousand more.”
I also remember when Curt Schilling refused to face any AL East teams in spring training the year he came to the Red Sox from the Diamondbacks. In that case, I just said, “It’s Schilling. He’s a diva. What else is new?”
But Soriano? He faced AL East teams every six seconds when he was with the Rays. What’s the big deal all of a sudden? It’s stuff like this that pisses me off. If you’ve got good stuff, you’ll fool hitters no matter how many times they’ve seen you. Am I wrong?
I’m baaaack!! Missed commenting in your blogs. I;m sick at home so I have time to actually read and comment on my Yankees with people that know what I’m actually talking about…
Anywho.. WHO THE HELL those Soriano THINKS he is???? He pitches whenever I , I mean Girardi, says to.
You’re right, he used to pitch to all the American League East teams every other second, what is he? scared? he should of thought of that before joining our team.
I’ll have to ask Charlie to give him some of his tiger’s blood to he can also be a winner. :0P
Jane,
I think my team can take the credit for that thought process. The Rays tend to have their starters do minor league games instead of going up against the A L East teams near the end of the Grapefruit League schedule. Soriano might be mouthing the 2010 mantra of Rays Pitching Coach Jim Hickey who did not want his top tier guys giving their secrets away in the Spring. Recently Rays starters James Shields and Jeff Neimann did minor league starts instead of going against the Red Sox and Blue Jays respectfully.
Actually it does have some merit, but I do not think Soriano as a set-up man needs to worry since there is so much video out there and you can only sneer and scowl so many ways before we figure out your pitch selection. Maybe Moe needs to remind him that he is the Shark in that pond…But Soriano can be the Piranaha
Lillie! So nice to see you here. Sorry you’re home sick though. Good idea about getting Soriano some tiger blood. He’s pitched exactly once in a spring training game so far (I think), so at some point he needs to get real innings in no matter which team we’re facing. Grrr.
Renegade, I would understand the logic of Soriano following Jim Hickey’s approach if Soriano were still with the Rays. He’s not. And as far as I know, the Yankees’ pitching coach doesn’t have the same policy. To me, it doesn’t have merit. There are no secrets. As you point out, everybody’s already seen everybody, plus there’s video.
I agree. How many times have batters faced Mo? One thousand? More? That cutter still cuts. As long as it does, it doesn’t matter if they’ve faced him before.
Perfect example, Ilene. Look at Mo. Everybody’s seen him over and over and he doesn’t shy away from pitching against anybody in spring training. He gave up a hit to Vlad tonight and I doubt he went back to the clubhouse and said, “Oh, man, if only I hadn’t let the Orioles see me before Opening Day.”
Dominating performance from the Yanks (just watched the game on MLB.TV). I’m not sure about Soriano not pitching against AL East opponents in ST. Most of these teams will have seen him before – the Rays especially will know everything there is to know about him. I would have thought that it was more important to increase innings count and arm strength. Surely it would be useful to face guys you have not met before – information is power. I remember in an interview once, Carlos Delgado revealed that he kept a written record of every pitch he faced…not AB, every single pitch. I’m sure that pitchers like Halladay, Hernandez, and Lincecum do the same. Greatness is not just a product of talent; dedication, ambition, work ethic, and intelligence are also pre-requisites.
On a lighter subject, did anyone enjoy Paul O’Neil last night on YES as much as I did? He is a real gem. Michael Kay told him that everyone always tells him they love when O’Neil does games. He wasn’t fibbing. We said exactly that to Kay last year when we talked to him in the parking garage at the Stadium. He told us the same thing that day. It’s a shame O”Neil isn’t ready to do more games. He is really enjoying his family right now. Not surprising if you might have read his book about him and his Dad.
Nova will win 14 games this season. Count on it!
I have definitely heard of pitchers wanting to limit their repertoire when facing a rival or at least a team that will pop up early on the schedule, during spring training. But Soriano has a reputation of being an @$$ so it feels different with him, in my opinion.
Couldn’t agree more, Tony D. Of course the AL East teams have seen him before. And you’re so right about the need to get into games and test his arm strength. If Mo can pitch, so can Soriano. Information is power for both the pitcher and the batter. Absolutely true.
I LOVED Paulie last night, John. It was a pleasure to listen to him and Kay again, ribbing each other and cracking jokes. I loved when they were talking about Jeter being on the cover of GQ and Paulie said, “I’ve only been on the cover Columbus Magazine.” LOL. And yes, Nova will be a star!
Soriano does have that reputation, Jeff, and now I’m wondering if that was part of the reason Cashman didn’t want to sign him. That said, if Mo can’t fix his attitude sitting next to him in the bullpen for a season, nobody can.
This is eerily reminiscent to his refusal to enter games that weren’t save situations for the Rays which drew the ire of management and teammates more than once.
I don’t like it either.
http://paullebowitz.com.previewyoursite.com/blog/?p=597
I remember reading about that, Paul, but there was also a piece in which Hickey said Soriano had turned a corner in terms of his attitude and all that bad stuff was over. Maybe not.
I realize that there have always been prima donnas, but I sure miss old school pitchers from the days before over specialization and pitch counts. There are pitchers who have some of that old school about them – I know Mo goes into the game in whatever inning and for as many innings as the team needs and there are a fair number of others, but that number seems to be shrinking.
I miss the old school pitchers too, Kristen. They just pitched! Maybe we’re romanticizing the past and there have always been prima donnas, but I love the idea of keeping it simple.
Hi Jane,
It’s great to have a chance to stop by and say hello. I’m with most of you guys on the Soriano issue, but if he expressed a preference regarding what worked for him in the past, and the coaching staff went along with it, I’d call it a non-issue. On the other hand, if he’s been a jerk about it, he’d better perform at a high level when the bell rings and he gets the call.
Yes, it was great hearing Paul O’Neill on last night’s broadcast.
Nice to see you, jojovanb. Hope all’s well. Yes, if Soriano had a prior arrangement with the staff, that mitigates the situation somewhat. But in the end, I just want him to pitch well!