Joe Morgan: (interrupting) My pleasure.
KR: --closed door meeting, then Aaron Small comes in in a big spot...what is your feeling about this Yankee pitching staff? Does it have what it takes to last through September and into October?
JM: Well, I really think they do. I think Randy Johnson is going to be the Randy Johnson of old. He may not shut people down, but he's going to pitch well enough to win. Jaret Wright's gonna be okay.
Ken Tremendous: He is? He's had a terrible year, and he got hit on the neck by a line drive last time out. Evidence? No? Okay. Keep talking.
JM: I'm not sure-- it doesn't look good for Mussina, because he's not throwing right now, so we have to wait and see. And you can't discount Aaron Small. I mean, this guy has gone out there and delivered, even after losses.
KT: Even after...what? His losses? He's like 19-0. After Yankees' losses? I don't understand.
JM: So, I'm confident that they're gonna be able to do it, and I really have a lot of confidence in their offense right now.
KR: What is it--
JM: (overrunning KR) I think they're starting to understand it's not just about the long ball.
KT: They are? They hit a ton of home runs. They are 3rd in MLB with 187, just one behind the Reds, so they'll probably be second in a matter of days. What have they been doing differently lately that indicates they "are starting to understand it's not just about the long ball?" It isn't stealing bases, because they have only 68 SB, good for 15th in MLB. Are they bunting constantly? What are you talking about? The Yankees' game is the same as the A's, same as the Red Sox'. Get on base and powder the ball.
KR: What is it about Randy that you come out and say, "I believe he's going to dominate. (seemingly genuinely confused)What...why do you...what have you seen?
JM: One of the things that happens with a veteran player -- you know, I've been there, done that, and all that -- one thing that happens down the stretch is, you do not want to be embarrassed. You do not want to be the guy that they blame this on. And I think Randy Johnson has enough left that he can handle it for three or four starts down the stretch.
KR: (resigned to the fact that this is all he is getting in the way of analysis; almost...sad) All right.
KT: You heard it here first, everybody. The highest-paid analyst in ESPN's arsenal, their #1 color guy, the guy who brags that he has been there, done that, says that Randy Johnson is going to dominate people down the stretch out of fear of embarrassment. Not because his velocity is up. Not because he found a mechanical flaw involving his arm slot on the slider, or something vague like that. Because he is afraid of embarrassment. Something from which Joe Morgan himself seems not to suffer.
Labels: joe morgan, yankees
