Manny Stays With Fausto!

Manny Acta was asked what he will do with Fausto Carmona since his most recent failed start. Manny's response was, "Fausto will start again in 5 days."

What options does he have?

He can relegate him to the minors to see if he can get his form back. Fausto would have to agree to that but that would not be out of the question if he wants to get back to his winning ways. This seemed to work before in 2009 but the fix didn't stick.

He could "physically disable" him (it has been done before) and assign him to rehab work in Columbus and/or Akron. This could be in Fausto's (and his agent's) best interest.

He could trade him but his value has plummeted with his pitching woes of 2011.

He could stay with him and hope that through coaching he will work out the problems that are plaguing this gifted pitcher.

But if Manny is going to stay with him as he has indicated, he must get into his head. He has to make him pitch his pitches and stop reacting to the home plate umpire. To do that, Manny Acta and pitching coach Tim Belcher must position themselves on the top step of the dugout and fight for the low strike calls every inning that Fausto pitches. Instead, Manny is shown on TV with a look of deep concern on his face when Fausto gets into trouble.

I am a big Manny Acta fan and he is certainly closer to the issue than any of us but would fighting for some pitches really hurt?

The good news is that pitching coach Tim Belcher has made Fausto his focus now through Sunday when Fausto pitches next...Should be very interesting!

Hey Manny, hope to see you on the top step of the dugout Sunday...It could be fun and rewarding!

How Long Do We Stay With Carmona?

Come on Guys, it's over...Fausto Carmona on the big club, that is.
No matter how you figure it, Fausto cannot continue to take up space on this ball club while he tries to figure out what happened to his pitching mojo.
Send him down Now!
Fausto, I love ya man but you are killing the team!
No one will ever forget what you did in 2007...
Wedge relegated you as the closer early in the season and that was a disaster.
You began starting and pitched very well as other were nursing minor injuries.
Then, just as you threw a gem vs. Baltimore, you were going to be assigned to the minors until Jake Westbrook pulled an oblique muscle and went on the DL.
That was all you needed and the rest is history as you almost beat out your teammate C.C. for the 2007 Cy Young Award.
So where is that guy?
We can't wait anymore to find him.
Go down, take all the time you need to get back to your old form.
Go down now.
Manny, Chris, Mark...send him down and stop the madness.
While you are at it, what about Phelps, Buck, and Kearns????
Goodbye, goodbye, and goodbye!
Hurry back Pronk!

What's Wrong With the Wahoos?

Nothing!

• This is the youngest team in major league baseball.


• Have they not surpassed all of your expectations until lately?


• We knew they would make mistakes, those mistakes just all came at the same time against very good teams.


• They will win again!

How about the fact that they are the youngest team in MLB. They are striking out more than they should, not going deep enough into pitch counts, and certainly not getting many calls at the plate. When a team is very young, it is up to the manager and his staff to fight for them until they earn the respect of not only the other teams, but of the umpires as well. What was the line about Ted Williams? If Ted Williams didn't swing at a pitch, the umpire called it a Ball. It is going to take Manny Acta and Tim Belcher a few ejections before the playing field is completely level. They should be on the top step every time one of our hitters gets two strikes on them. They should be jawing from the dugout from the start of the game to the last pitch. You have to love what Manny Acta has done with these guys. Did you see him go after Girardi? The umpiring in the NY series has been so inconsistent that batters on both teams kept turning back and looking at the umpire as if he left his guide dog in the kennel. But truth be told, the Yankees are expert at "getting" calls. They bellyache so much, they get over on many calls. Case in point; During Sunday's game, Orlando Cabrera hit a 2-hopper sharply to Derek Jeter at Short. The ball took off after the 2nd hop and skipped over Jeter's right shoulder and into left field. Pretty quickly announcer Rick Manning speculated that the play would be ruled a hit and Cabrera would have career hit #2000. Prior to a decision on the play by the scorekeeper, Jeter could be seen mouthing "Wow!" over and over as if it was such a cleanly hit ball. Ruling; Base Hit. I thought Jeter should have fielded the ball but apparently he and the scorer felt differently. I believe that Jeter had much to do with the play being ruled a hit.

When Fausto Carmona pitches, I wouldn't care if he walked every other batter until he starts getting the low strike calls, as long as he induces ground balls to every other batter. Think of it; Fausto is trying to pitch his game. He is most effective when he is keeping the ball at the bottom of the strike zone, inside or outside. He can walk the first batter, get a ground out, walk the second batter, get a ground out, walk the third batter, then induce a 3rd out ground out with no one scoring. what can help him is Belcher and Acta complaining about called balls. Instead, Fausto gets into trouble and changes his location then Wham! He has lost control of the game and gives up 3 to 5 runs. I don't have the confidence in Carmona because he lacks so much in self confidence. Too bad, he is very talented. He needs Acta and Belcher jawing at the ump.

This is the team, minus Hafner, that was the best team in major league baseball until a little over a week ago. They have faced Tampa Bay, Texas, a Minnesota team that they should have beaten more than once, and the Yankees to cause their demise of late. Look at the standings, they are still in first place by .001 point!

Tonight they finish the series with a win over New York if Acta and Belcher fight for the guys instead of letting them fight and get frustrated on the field. They are too young to do what the Yankees do...Situational Bellyaching!

Tomorrow they face the Tigers and they need to beat 'em 2 out of 3.

What if they don't?

These guys have already exceeded our expectations for 2011. However, they will get back on track and make the rest of the season very interesting.

Come on Manny Acta and Tim Belcher...start getting thrown out for standing up for your hitters and pitchers!