Bronx Liaison

Housekeeping

2011-01-31T20:47:00.004-05:00

Technical difficulties led to the blog going down for a short period of time but, as you can see, the site is back up.

Apologies,
BL

Carrol's Latest On Joba

2008-08-25T17:43:00.007-04:00

Will Carrol's been working the phones since Joba Chamberlain went down with shoulder tendinitis in Texas and posted his latest analysis today at Baseball Prospectus. By all accounts, it seems as though Chamberlain is well on his way back - regardless of what Abraham's pessimism says over at Lohud.

The idea will be to work Joba back into the rotation the same way which was implemented the first go-round - in other words use him in relief until his arm strength allows him to start again. This is an especially smart move because the minor league season will soon be over and therefore take away the chance for him to rehab down there.

Carrol's thoughts:

Things looked good for Chamberlain when he got back up on the mound in the latest in a series of throwing sessions. The news has been more about shifting him back to the pen than it has about the success of his steady but slow return. There are a couple of factors that appear to be pushing him to relief work, none of them having anything to do with the injury. First is the impending end of the minor league season, making it tougher to send him down for a rehab start, and secondly the Yankees have chosen a more advanced approach to pitching management, something that has allowed them to transition Chamberlain from the pen to the rotation in the first place. Think of this as the same sort of transition, allowing him to build up stamina at the major league level while controlling his innings. The media and less-informed fans might panic, but in the end the Yankees have one starter who should be established enough for them to build around for 2009 and beyond.

As much as I enjoy a rotation built around Carl Pavano and Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner, for some reason Chamberlain and Phil Hughes would be a bit more exciting come September.

*** Humberto Sanchez has been promoted to Tampa and pitched one scoreless inning Monday night.

*** Ian Kennedy struck out another nine batters over six innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Over his last two starts IPK has punched out 18 batters over just 11 innings while walking just three. As you've read here [probably too many times], Kennedy needs to refine his curveball if he's going to be successful in the bigs. And that's what he's been doing during his latest foray into the minor leagues. Hence the big strikeout totals.

Gerrit Cole UCLA Bound?

2008-08-14T23:23:00.004-04:00

UPDATE MONDAY 11:34 AM :

There seems to be a lot of [understandable] confusion regarding Gerrit Cole's decision to attend college and consequently turn down a multi-million dollar deal with the New York Yankees. I'm pretty confused myself. But, I have been hearing a lot of people discuss the topic with the misconception that the failed signing has, in any way, to do with the efforts of Brian Cashman.

I just sent an email explaining this to my brother and this is what I said:

This falls solely on Cole [and/or his dad]..

As you probably know, the baseball draft is an entirely different animal than the NBA or NFL drafts. In baseball, kids can get drafted out of HS [like Cole], but they can choose to go to college instead [like Cole]. However, the top prep players make sure their advisors inform clubs what the player plans to do in regards to the draft.

For example, Alex Meyer is a beast RHP coming out of High School - he made it abundently clear that he would be attending Kentucky U. next year so teams shouldn't bother picking him in the draft. The Red Sox picked him in the 20th round hoping a bunch of money might change his mind. It didn't and Meyer turned down $2million to go to college.

Cole, on the other hand, informed everyone that he DID want to pursue a careeer in professional baseball [the minors] and did not plan on attending UCLA - unless of course his financial desires weren't met. Knowing this, the Yankees jumped at the chance to draft Cole, and knew they had the financial might to sign him regardlesss of what outlandish demands Scott Boras made.

Out of nowhere Cole said he wanted to go to school and that no amount of money could sway that fact. Essentially, Cole turned down money which only top-5 picks got [and a chance to pitch for his favorite team] in order to got to school [and a just OK UCLA program].

For me and everyone else who followed the negotiations, this is completely inexplicable. There is no sound reasoning behind this decision except for maybe Cole's desire to be the big man on campus and pick up college chicks. Even so, having $5 or $6 million in the bank would probably get him more than a baseball scholarship. Hope he knows what he's doing, because an arm injury is just one greedy UCLA coach away - considering the overuse top college pitchers often face.

***

And the hits just keep on coming, huh?

According to an anonymous source cited by the always reliable Tyler Kepner, 1st round draft pick Gerrit Cole will not sign with the Yankees and instead plans on attending UCLA.

Kepner says that money was not an issue as Cole decided to go to school regardless of what money the Yankees offered.

This, regardless of what Yankees brass say, is a gutpunch considering an 18 year-old with a high-90s fastball and potential plus breaking ball is a rare commodity. It hurts even more considering the underwhelming status of the Yankees 2008 draft - which becomes especially evident without Cole in the fold.

Aside from Brett Marshall, and the probable signing of LHP Anthony Bleich, the Yankees played it safe this draft. Cole was the one piece of the puzzle which had to be had. Unfortunately, Scott Boras probably pushed for the same type of major league deal given to Andrew Brackman, and when he didn't get it, decided to take Cole's electric right arm to college and hope to get a Porcello type deal.

Looks like Mr. Cole wasn't nearly as big a Yankees fan as he led on. Either that or Boras pulled another one of his hypnotist tricks on Gerrit and Papa Cole.

The End Of An Era

2008-08-14T22:49:00.004-04:00

Apparently all that chatter about one of Mike Francesa or Chris Russo leaving the top sports radio network in the country [WFAN] and top sports talk program [Mike & The Mad Dog] is more than innuendo or contract posturing.

According to multiple reports, Chris Russo is leaving WFAN and most probably on his way to Sirius Satellite radio.

WFAN announced early Thursday evening that Chris Russo is leaving the company, making Mike Francesa the sole host of the popular afternoon drive time show.

The announcement of Russo's departure coincided with the announcement of a new contract for Francesa, whose deal was believed to be expiring around the end of the year.

Love 'em or hate 'em, this marks the end of an era in sports broadcasting as these sometimes frustrating, sometimes dead-on, but always entertaining twosome created what sports talk radio is today.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd, goodbye everybody! Ouch.

"Hey Zeus, As In Father Of Apollo"

2008-08-13T20:30:00.006-04:00

The kid is raking. He is absolutely raking.

The kid being 18 year old catcher Jesus Montero of course.

While the Yankees stink up the Bronx with their putrid road trip, the future is bright down on the farm. Keep in mind that Mr. Montero, the 6-foot-5, 230 pounder, has one of the biggest pitcher's ballpark in the minors to call home. [According to statistics, Charleston has been the 4th toughest place to hit homers over the past three years]

As of 7:45pm Wednesday, Montero is batting .325/.373/.481 with 14 homers, 31 Doubles, 72 RBI in 445 at bats. Imagine if he played at a launchpad like Lancaster for half the year.

To put it in perspective, Montero's numbers rank as follows in the Sally League:

Hits - first
Avg. - second
Doubles - fourth
Total Bases - fifth
RBI - seventh
Slugging - eighth
OPS - eighth
Runs - eleventh
OBP - twelfth

It will be fun to see Montero do damage to the Florida State League pitching next year as has solidified as a blue chip prospect in 2008.

***
In old news, Wilkins De La Rosa earned a promotion to Tampa and, not surprisingly, pitched well when facing the new challenge by throwing 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out four. On the season De La Rosa has now punched out 114 batters over 95.2 innings and allowed just 63 hits. That works out to a .188 opponents batting average.

Joba Expects To Pitch This Month

2008-08-08T18:21:00.010-04:00

I hope the Yankees are being as cautious as I expect them to be, but if Joba Chamberlain is indeed correct, it's great news that "The Hutt" could rejoin the Yankees rotation by late August - at which time he, alongside Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy could be celebrating a Generation Trey reunion.

Isn't it ironic how the Yankees will, in all likelihood, begin and end the season relying heavily on Hughes and IPK as rotation stalwarts.

Ed Price of the Star Ledger is reporting Chamberlain will likely miss a month, though he cites Yankees anonymous sources who call the injury "minor" and even says the injury was actually to his "biceps tendon" and not the rotator cuff.

From the ESPN article:

Joba Chamberlain plans to start a throwing program next week and expects to rejoin the New York Yankees' rotation this month.

"I'll be throwing in a week. I'll probably throw the beginning of next week," Chamberlain said Friday when he arrived at the Yankees' spring training complex. "Everything feels fine now."

[Chamberlain] never thought the problem was serious.

"No. Not at all," Chamberlain said. "It would have been different if I wasn't still throwing 99 [mph]. It was a different feeling that I never had, so I just wanted to make sure."

When asked if he would be ready to start again for the Yankees by Sept. 1, Chamberlain said "I'll throw way before that in a game."

Alrighty then. Yankees docs, let's try and do your due diligence on this one. I don't want the same brilliant minds who allowed the Mets' Ryan Church to play through concussion symptoms going near Mr. Chamberlain. I'd rather the Yankees play it safe with Chamberlain and thereby risk the 2008 playoffs, then take any chance on Chamberlain's shoulder and thereby risk the next decade.

If Joba is really suffering from the common malady of "shoulder tendinitis," then it does not make a difference if he rests for the next week or the next three months. As long as the inflammation subsides and his shoulder is properly restrengthened, there isn't any reason Joba can't return from this injury rather quickly.

Again, that is if the Yankees brass is offering the public an honest diagnosis and isn't playing the cloak and dagger games they have in the past.

Brett The Jet's Best Clips

2008-08-08T15:08:00.003-04:00

For Jet fans like myself, forget ESPN's fawning over Brett Favre [while John Clayton puts some odd negative spin on it] and all the ridiculous pageantry Mayer Bloomberg offered today.

This is what Brett's all about.. some great stuff:

Prediction: AFC Wildcard berth with 10-11 wins. Your heard the hex here first.

Hughes Coming On Quick,Adds New Pitch

2008-08-07T21:21:00.010-04:00

Though his command could use a little greater consistency, Phil Hughes again pitched well in his first AAA start of 2008, tossing 68 pitches [40 for strikes] through 4.2 innings and allowing one earned run on three hits. Hughes is slated for 85 pitches during his next start Tuesday in Pawtucket.

More importantly, Phil's stuff appears to be back in the electric category as it is again being reported that he was hitting the mid-90s consistently with his fastball. Also, according to Chad Jennings, Hughes has added a cut-fastball to his arsenal which was around 87-89 mph [that's replaced a mediocre slider] and tossed a handful of changeups.

Here's what my boy Dan Graziano reported as he was on assignment in Scranton tonight:

A scout who's here tonight said the scoreboard radar gun at this park can fluctuate unreliably. According to this guy's gun, Hughes' fastball was in the 94-95 mph range in the first three innings and then in the 91-93 range thereafter. The scout also said Hughes' curveball looked good, and that his slider sometimes looked a little more like a cutter, which he speculated was probably unintentional and a result of rust.

If you haven't already read the Baseball Prospectus report from Phil's last rehab start in Charleston, it's pretty obvious that BP and the scouts in attendance that night were thoroughly impressed with where Hughes' stuff was at:

Philip Hughes, RHP, Low-A Charleston (Yankees)
Technically, he's not really a prospect any more, but he's still a young unproven player. Based on what Hughes showed on Saturday, though, he could be a factor in the post-season race. Once the top pitching prospect in the game, Hughes made his second rehab appearance since coming back from a rib injury, absolutely dominating Sally League hitters on Saturday, allowing one hit in 3 2/3 shutout innings while striking out five. More important was how good Hughes' stuff was, as his fastball sat in the low 90s and consistently touched 94-95—the kind of velocity he showed frequently in the minors, but rarely with the Yanks. While neither he nor Ian Kennedy have played the expected roles at the big-league level this year, they both might come September.

Mr. Hughes looks like he's back in the building which begs the question: has Hughes reverted back to the mechanics he used in 2006? I sure hope it is the case as I've already heard rumors Phil is back to the more athletic 3/4 armslot he began with as opposed to the more over-the-top delivery he'd been using of late. If you want to read a longwinded discussion of Phil's mechanics and velocity issues, feel free to check out this post from last year.

Carrol's Initial Diagnosis On Joba Looks Positive

2008-08-05T14:53:00.003-04:00

Will Carrol, the injury savant, offers his take on the Joba Chamberlain injury:

The early word is that his muscle tightened up due to a combination of the blistering heat (I sat in that heat the night before, and yeah, it's a huge factor) and fatigue. It's the latter that's most worrisome given Chamberlain's switch of roles. While he built up his arm strength, no one has any idea how the fatigue will be affected by the shape of his season. He's headed back to New York for tests, so we'll know more soon, but early reports and sources tell me that things look relatively positive, based both on the pain's location, and on his reaction. Expect the Yanks to be ultra-conservative, and for Chamberlain to miss a start at least.

Hat tip to the man, Alex of BronxBanter.

2008-08-04T16:06:00.006-04:00

Hughes Headed To AAA

According to Tyler Kepner, the Phil Hughes rehab train will be taking the express line as the RHP is on his way to AAA-Scranton after pitching twice for Low-A Charleston. Kepner goes on to predict Hughes will only need two starts at AAA before making his major league return during the next Yankees homestand [August 17th]:

Prediction: Ian Kennedy takes over for Darrell Rasner the next time through the rotation, and Phil Hughes comes back on the next homestand. Phil made his way to Scranton last night, and he will slot into the Class AAA rotation this week. (He drove up with Shelley Duncan, who’s back in Scranton after a quick rehab for his separated shoulder in Tampa.) I can’t imagine Phil would need more than two starts until he’s ready. That could mean the end of the Sidney Ponson Era, part 2, although Ponson has done a good job.

While Kennedy earned his way back into consideration for a spot within the big league rotation, Hughes is obviously being pushed into the majors because of need, and not results. This was the same problem many had with his MLB debut last year, because the argument was that he hadn't refined his third and fourth pitches [change/slider] enough to warrant a roster spot.

Though I believe Hughes has the fastball velocity and command to succeed at the highest level, it is his ability to command the changeup which will determine how valuable he is during the '08 stretch run. In the same vain, the key to Kennedy's success remains his ability, or lack thereof, regarding the quality of his breaking stuff. No command of his curveball and the occasional slider means hitters will simply take his good changeup and sit dead red on fastballs.

It's interesting to see that Kepner is so confident Hughes and Kennedy will soon replace the dwindling twosome of Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner.

UPDATE from SWB Blog:
Chad Jennings had some great quotes from the pitching guru himself, Nardi Conteras, regarding Hughes:

Pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras is here with Hughes and watched both of his rehabs in Charleston. Contreras said Hughes looked about as good in his last start as he ever has with the Yankees. His fastball command and velocity were both very good -- 93 to 95 mph, not 101 like the stadium gun showed -- and Contreras said the curveball was as sharp as it's been since 2006 when Hughes was so good for Trenton.

Considering how well Nardi knows Phil's development and ability, [as well as his tendency to downplay pitchers] this is some exciting stuff. Looks as if the real deal Philip might actually show up in '08.

Hughes Hits Triple Digits?I Think Not, But...

2008-08-03T17:25:00.013-04:00

Phil Hughes captured the imagination of Yankees fans everywhere when, during his most recent rehab outing for Charleston, the 22 year-old starting pitcher alledgedly hit 101 mph with his fastball.

Although it was reported Hughes touched triple digits while in high school, his typical velocity will range from 91-94mph and touch the mid-90s when he dials it up.

Though the Charleston announcer reported that the stadium radar gun had been checked in between innings and was supposedly accurate, it doesn't take a whole lot of thinking before realizing the gun was juiced.

I felt like the gun was, in all probability, running approximately 4 mph too high which still means Philerup is touching 97 mph. Knocking off the same 4 mph would have had Carl Pavano [who started the game] throwing 88-89 mph, which makes sense considering this is just his second start back coming off of TJ surgery.

Some in the area have told me that the radar gun was probably about 5 mph higher than reality, meaning Hughes was essentially throwing 92-95 mph and topping out at 96 mph. Which was supported by Brian Cashman, who, while appearing on TBS during today's game, said Hughes was hitting 95 mph during last night's outing.

Let the Phil Hughes velocity obsession saga continue. Just don't think that he'll hit 100mph any time soon, unless the RHP bought a Porsche 911 and feels like dragging on the NJ Tpke.

***
After going to Friday's game and leaving with a heartwrenching 1-0 loss at the hands of Mariano Rivera [and his inability to pitch in a tie game this year], today was an enormous game and split for the Yankees.

By the way, here are Rivera's 2008 stats:

Non-save situations: 3.00 ERA, 21 IP, 18 hits, 7 ER, 25 K's, 3 HR
Vs.. Save situations: 0.33 ERA, 27.1 IP, 12 hits, 1 ER, 33 K's, 0 HR

2008-08-01T08:11:00.014-04:00

In A Word, Pathetic.

C'mon now Diamond Notes. Even for a red pom-pom waver like Gammons, it's pretty comical to see such a corrosive report condemning Manny Ramirez considering how he [and the rest of ESPN] reveled in how the Manny Being Manny circus had served as a calming effect for Boston just last postseason.

At that time, the Sox were trailing Cleveland three games to one in the ALCS, when Ramirez was quoted as saying losing the series would "not [be] the end of the world." However, when Boston admirably ran off three straight wins on their way toward a second championship in four years, Manny's initially moronic comments had somehow metamorphized into an inspirational slogan.

See, when Manny's antics add up to a World Series trophy, he's the lovable dope who doesn't know any better. But, when the organization finally decides to banish the formerly lovable dope, now his actions become the indefensible behavior of a selfish clubhouse cancer. Where were you the last five years?

And as far as the threat of Ramirez possibly taking the rest of the Summer off had he not been dealt, why not take a look back at the conclusion of the 2006 season when a mysterious knee ailment [sound familiar?] allowed Ramirez to quit on his teammates. Apparently it's OK to bail on the team when they're bound for a third place finish in the AL East - as they were in '06 - but when Boston is in contention for a playoff spot - as they are in '08 - that's when Manny Being Manny becomes Manny being a malcontent.

The coup-de-grace for me was the steroid line of Gammons' column. Placing Manny's immaturity off the diamond on par with the most egregious cheaters of the game is about as palatable an idea as Wilson Betemit playing first base. Obviously, this Gammons piece has John Henry's fingerprints all over it. The Red Sox front office was happy to put a bullseye on Manny's back as he walked out Fenway's door, and, not surprisingly, Gammons was just as content to pick up the ammo from Theo Epstein before firing the killshot.

For all the times I've ripped Ramirez for his shenanigans as a Red Sox, I can at least point to my consistency. Though I always felt Manny's tendency to quit on his teammates or dog it on the basepaths would eventually take its toll on the rest of the team, I never questioned his unbelievable talent in the batter's box and I never dropped his name into the same category as steroid users like Bonds, McGwire or Giambi. One thing's for sure; July 31st, 2008 has become a holiday for Yankees fans and Yankees pitchers alike which is why It will also be interesting to see what impact not having Ramirez hitting behind him will have on David Ortiz.

***

Since we're on the topic of phonies, here's another unsurprising, unflattering, critique of Manny's Red Sox tenure. This one offered up by, who else, Curt Schilling during his weekly radio [via the Rob Neyer Blog]:

"At the end of the day you're taking the field with a guy who doesn't want to play with you, doesn't want to be there, doesn't want to … obviously effort-wise is just not there and that's disheartening and disappointing," Schilling said during his weekly appearance on Boston sports radio WEEI's Dennis and Callahan program."

"I enjoyed pitching with Pedro, but I watched Pedro for a year come and go as he pleased, and do whatever he pleased, from a schedule standpoint and to a point, All-Star break heading home and no one ever said a word …The things that Pedro said going out of town about Terry [Francona], that crushed me because of what I saw Tito do for him. Manny's the same way …"

Even when he's not with the team, Schilling finds a way to throw his hat into the ring. And why exactly would Red Sox fans want to hear from a guy who hasn't thrown a pitch all season and likely never will again?

Melancon Promoted To AAA

2008-07-28T22:32:00.009-04:00

It's about time.

After dominating and piling up 75 innings between Tampa and Trenton, Marky Melancon is finally on his way to Scranton.

By now you know all the stats. If not, click on the "Mark Melancon" label at the bottom of this post. The numbers speak for themselves, to go along with glowing scouting reports on his make-up, work ethic, etc.

One would assume this is where the Yankees begin regulating Melancon's innings a bit more, so that he is only pitching a frame per outing. For Tampa and Trenton Melancon often times pitched three or more innings per appearance - which can be somewhat deceiving due to the extremely low number of pitches-per-inning he was requiring.

Yesterday's NY Post article on Melancon quoted a scout as saying the following:

"Just a year [after the surgery], to have everything back with his kind of stuff . . . that's exceptional," the scout said. "A kid can't come back the way he did without working hard."

"There are some guys who are middle relievers, that don't have the mentality to come in at the end of the game," the AL scout said. "But the way he goes about his business and gets the job done . . . once you see him, you'll know."

The article also cited the scout as saying Melancon's plus fastball currently sits 92-94 mph and his filthy power curveball is between 81-84 mph. When I saw Melancon at Trenton his fastball topped out at 95, so that sounds about right.

With the hearty workload Melancon's tasted so far this year coming back from Tommy John surgery, it's not certain whether he will enjoy a September call-up. However, he may receive the same treatment which prospects like a teenage Phil Hughes received before breaking into the majors by visiting the Yankees clubhouse when the team's at home - though he would not be allowed to sit in the dugout.

Also, Brian Cashman called buzz that Phil Coke had a torn labrum "completely false." As was the plan all along, Coke has been moved to the bullpen to limit his innings.

Fallout: The Nady/Marte Deal

2008-07-26T13:57:00.016-04:00

Goodbye Tabby...

A great trade for the Yankees? Absolutely.

A gut-punch for many Yankees fans? Definitely.

Like the old adage goes, when making an important trade each team should feel some pain once the deal is done. This one was no different.

Though the original reported trade was incorrect, the the actual deal announced today is as follows:

Yankees get: LHP Damaso Marte and OF Xavier Nady
Pirates get: OF Jose Tabata, RHP Ross Ohlendorf, RHP Dan McCutchen and RHP Jeff Karstens

The last two names were in place of RHP George Kontos and LHP Phil Coke.

While I am no scout by any means, I was fortunate enough to see every one of the six mentioned Yankees prospects in person. It hurts to lose a kid as talented and projectable as a teenage Tabata because the Yankees really sold low on him. However, having control of Nady until after the 09 season and more importantly, having Austin Jackson [who leapfrogged Tabata as a prospect this year] marginalizes the hit.

I still believe McCutchen could be a mid-rotation starter or [through his versatility] could come out of the bullpen in the late innings to help a ballclub. And I love his make-up and bulldog persona; they don't call him "Danimal" for nothing. He has thrown a couple of complete games at AAA, shows an ability to consistently throw strikes [evidenced by his low walk rates] and is not afraid of anything on the mound.

However, trading guys like McCutchen, Ohlendorf and Karstens [all RHP's] is dealing from a position of absurd strength for the Yankees. Consider this, the Yankees still have guys like Melancon, Horne, Betances, Brackman, [soon Cole], McAllister, Heredia, Cox, Patterson, Sanchez, Marquez and a host of other righties in their system. With the lack of lefthanded pitching in the system, it's encouraging that a currently surging Coke - the only legitimate upper level lefty prospect in the system - will remain a Yankee. Though, with the Jarrod Washburn talks still ongoing, it is uncertain if that will remain true.

Though Keith Law's take on the trade is generally agreeable - the ESPN writer says it's win-win for both teams - I feel he truly undersells Kontos and particularly Coke in saying they would "never" contribute to the Yankees' big club anyhow. Law states that Kontos throws 90-92 and that Coke utilizes a fringe-average fastball.

When I saw Kontos, he touched 96 mph with his fastball and, though I agree with Law that his command is at times shaky, the Northwestern product possesses a big league slider, decent curve and serviceable change. In my mind, Kontos could have a lot of value if/when he moves to a bullpen role in that his fastball which is characteristically 91-93 may jump up to the mid-90's to compliment a consistently hard slider.

Coke, who has come from out of nowhere to lead the Eastern League starters with a 2.60 ERA, struck out 109 [over 114 innings] to just 38 walks and has been absolutely dominant. Furthermore, the southpaw has seen a jump in velocity of late and is now throwing 91-93 mph and touching 94. For an already cerebral lefty, that type of power fastball is extremely impressive considering his original billing as a crafty southpaw type. If nothing else, Coke offers the Yankees a starting option from the lefthand side or a future LOOGY should one become necessary behind Marte.

To say the Yankees were given Nady and Marte for nothing is an absolute joke. Tabata, until this season, had hit .300 or better at every level and more often than not was the youngest hitter at each respective stage of his development. His power element could at any time reveal itself, especially once his wrist injury is fully healed following offseason hamate surgery and he learns to pull the ball to left. Tabata's off-field problems could return or he may never reach his full potential, but make no mistake, the kid is a legit top prospect who's had a terrible season [again, at age 19] on and off the diamond.

Considering the Yankees' need for an impact bat with the uncertainty surrounding Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui and even Johnny Damon, and due to the fact that the team has zero lefthanded relievers in the already excellent bullpen, the trade made sense. Now, the team can more effectively absorb losing Posada for the season and will offer a versatile setup man to bridge Mariano Rivera in the ninth.

However, the Pirates did not hurt themselves either, picking up a blue chip positional prospect to compliment future star outfielder Andrew McCutchen as well as two young versatile right handed pitchers in Cutch/Ohlie who can provide power in the rotation or out of the pen.

Though it'd be tough to see Tabby eventually turn into Man-Ram lite, the Yankees have undeniably pushed their chips into the center of the table and can now chuckle at the clueless sportswriters decreeing this a transitional year in which the Yankees would not chase a postseason berth.

De La Rosa Torching Competition

2008-07-20T19:51:00.023-04:00

Wilkins De La Rosa is a name you should file away in the back of your mind so here's a little scouting report.

The 23 year-old began his professional career as a toolsy outfielder signed by the Yankees way back in 2001. But, when it became evident his hitting prowess did not match his mammoth arm in the outfield, the organization decided to put him on the mound instead.

The results have been nothing short of dazzling thus far. I first started following De La Rosa last season when he tossed 24 innings of relief for the GCL Yankees, striking out 32 batters, walking 11, allowing 20 hits and posting a 2.63 ERA. At that early stage of his pitching career, De La Rosa was reportedly already pumping fastballs 92-95mph and touching the high 90s when he needed it.

Considering the dearth of lefthanded pitching in the Yankees farm system at that time [hello Phil Coke, Anthony Bleich], De La Rosa became an intriguing must-monitor prospect for me. His rise has been fun to watch.

Moving up a level to Low-A Charleston this year, De La Rosa continued torching through hitters with ease and striking out opposing hitters at an absurd rate. Though his slider is a bit inconsistent in terms of command it projects to be a solid weapon in the future, and De La Rosa does have a solid grasp of his changeup right now to compliment a surprisingly repeatable delivery.

The result has been a stellar 2008 campaign, headed by his 94 strikeouts over 75.2 innings, .189 opponent batting average and sparkling 2.26 ERA. After spending the bulk of his year as a shutdown multi-inning reliever for the Riverdogs, De La Rosa was recently converted to the rotation. As has become a trend for De La Rosa, he again excelled in the new role. [And, believe it or not, his numbers have actually improved since becoming a starter]

Of his six starts this year, De La Rosa has only been truly stretched out as a starter for his last four outings. Over those last four starts the 6-foot-3 lean lefty tossed 23.1 innings, struck out 26 batters, walked just 5 and allowed only 4 earned runs. For a converted outfielder to not only pick up the art of pitching this quickly but simultaneously dominate his competition is rare, to say the very least.

Below are De La Rosa's last four starts:

July 2nd..... 5.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
July 7th...... 6 innings, 2 hits, 0 ER, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts
July 13th.... 6 innings, 3 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
July 18th.... 6 innings, 7 hits, 2 ER, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts

And finally, De La Rosa's career stats as a minor league pitcher:

2.32 ERA, 93.2 IP, 63 hits, 119 strikeouts, 44 walks, 1 HR
11.49 K/9 - 1.15 WHIP - 6.08 H/9 - 0.10 HR/9 - 4.25 BB/9

It's safe to say that Wilkins has catapulted himself from an underwhelming outfielder limited to minor league limbo into a bona fide major league pitching prospect.

Ahh Good Ol' China BringingRacism To The Olympics

2008-07-18T21:57:00.007-04:00

Sure it's totally irrelevant to baseball and the Yankees' 7-1 blowout of the Athletics tonight [how about that D-Rob striking out the side on 11 pitches in the seventh] but this new story is too insulting to ignore.

Apparently bars with an international clientele in the party town of Sanlitun - not far from Beijing - were told not to serve black patrons before or during the Olympic games. How does a country who lets atrocities go unchecked [Tibet], promotes racism as a means of crime control [above link] and whose Olympic sailing venue was until recently unnavigable, handed the most prestigious, unifying, camaraderie-driven event on the planet? That IOC has got some kind of sick humor.

Sanchez Making Progress in GCL

2008-07-17T12:26:00.006-04:00

Bronx, NY native Humberto Sanchez - like fellow organizational arms JB Cox and Mark Melancon - is making his way back from Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow.

Sanchez began his rehabilitation work for the GCL Yankees on June 24th, and has been very effective in [mind you] a very small sample size. Including yesterday's outting, Sanchez has now made seven appearances in the Gulf Coast League, and over those 6.2 innings-pitched he has allowed just one earned run on three hits while striking out nine and walking three.

The only run Sanchez has allowed thus far came during his first appearance on June 24th, the first time he'd pitched in a profressional game since 2006. According to a source, Sanchez is already throwing in the low-90s mph with his fastball and may soon again reach the mid-90s with his heater in the coming months.

Before his arm surgery, Sanchez complimented a bowling-ball heavy fastball with a filthy 12-6 curveball, power slider and serviceable changeup.

Humberto's surgery was performed by James Andrews on April 17th of last year which means he is exactly 15 months out of surgery. The standard recovery period cited for most pitchers is 12-18 months, with the latter being the expected time table for the pitcher to really feel his velocity, command and strength return.

With that said, the time table for Sanchez remains a big, fat question mark at this point as every athlete responds differently to the surgery. Therefore, any belief that he could contribute to the big club in 2008 currently seems unwarranted at this juncture.

However, Sanchez's last season of work saw him dominate AA hitters for the Tigers to the tune of a 1.76 ERA over 11 starts, with 86 strikeouts in 71.2 innings and allowing just 47 hits and 27 walks. Those are some serious numbers for a starting pitcher at the proving grounds of AA level baseball.

So, if his rehab were to continue at this rate without setback or incident, and he breezed through Tampa/Trenton as a reliever, a short stay at AAA might allow him to break into the majors in September. A lot of things have to go right, however, for that to occur.

Should the Yankees begin to stretch Sanchez out with the intent of keeping him as a starting pitcher, I would believe the chances of seeing Sanchez in the Bronx in '08 would then be nil.

The best plan for Sanchez this year and for the future is as a potential closer or setup man as it will play up an already dangerous pitching arsenal and keep his innings count down which should help him avoid another injury. Whatever the case may be, Sanchez will be an entertaining prospect to watch in person if he hits the northeast later this Summer.

This'll Get My $10 Next Summer

2008-07-17T00:07:00.008-04:00

I will give The Dark Knight the IMAX treatment this summer, but it looks like Christian Bale is again going to force me into the absurdly large and loud theater in the summer of 2009 because Terminator: Salvation looks pretty sick. I give you Exhibit A:

What's Bale got on tap for Summer 2010? Casablanca: Redux?

Nevermind, he's only filming this. A film tracing the exploits of John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd that is directed by Michael Mann and stars Bale, Johnny Depp, Billy Crudup, Giovanni Ribisi and Marion Cotillard? Where do I sign up?

Bale is putting together quite a career. Underrated in Harsh Times, absolutely disgusting in The Machinist and harrowing in Rescue Dawn, just to name a few less commercial efforts.

Meanwhile, one can only hope Terry Gilliam can work his evil genius into completing this film too.

Rest In Peace Lemon

2008-07-13T10:06:00.004-04:00

Bobby Murcer dead at the age of 62. A sad, sad moment for the Yankees, Major League Baseball and all of his fans. Unfortunately, great human-beings aren't immune to cancer.

Lemon inspired countless individuals, myself being one of them. All you need to know about Bobby Murcer is the events of August 6, 1979. In the morning Murcer buried his best friend Thurman Munson and gave the eulogy during his funeral.

That night Murcer knocked in all five runs, including a 3-run homer and a walk-off two run single, generating an eruption from the jubilant Yankee Stadium crowd as well as relief within an emotionally charged home dugout.

Prayers go out to his family and friends during an obviously tough, tough time.

McCutchen Getting Close

2008-07-11T14:26:00.009-04:00

"Danimal" McCutchen is starting to knock on the major league door with a little more authority after another solid performance Thursday night.

As of today, McCutchen has 10 starts at the AAA level and is posting an impressive 3.32 ERA. It will sound excusatory, but in nearly every one of his starts for Scranton, McCutchen's struggled and surrendered runs in one particular inning while dominating before and after.

During the five starts listed below, McCutchen has been able to avoid the one bad inning syndrome which blew up his ERA from what would have been an even more impressive number in the 2.00's. Excluding one poor start on June 20th, here are the last five outings for Cutch at AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre:

July 10th.. 6 innings, 7 hits, 2 ER, 6 strikeouts, 1 walks
July 5th.... 9 innings, 5 hits, 0 ER, 10 strikeouts, 0 walk
June 30th. 6 innings, 6 hits, 1 ER, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk
June 25th. 6.2 innings, 7 hits, 3 ER, 3 strikeouts, 3 walks
June 14th. 9 innings, 6 hits, 0 ER, 4 strikeouts, 0 walks

Over these five starts, Cutch piled up 28 strikeouts over 36.2 innings and walked only five. The 28 to 5 strikeout-to-walk ratio speaks to his excellent control, but more importantly, it highlights that McCutchen's command is improving as well. Over those five starts, Danimal's WHIP is just under the 1.00 mark, which also supports the idea of a spike in command.

While he hasn't been Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain dominant, the Danimal has been consistently very, very good in the minors. Just go back and take a look at his numbers the past two years at Tampa, Trenton and now Scranton and remember he holds a 2.63 career minor league ERA over 284 innings-pitched. On a year split between AA and AAA, Cutch has a 2.97 ERA with 102 strikeouts to just 28 walks and 112 hits over 118 innings.

Look out Rasner/Ponson.

Justin Upton Is A Freak

2008-07-08T21:27:00.007-04:00

Don't you wish you could be 20 years old, play in the major leagues and be capable of hitting 484 foot homeruns? If you haven't seen Justin Upton's mammoth, record-breaking homer from Sunday night, I recommend checking out the above link.

[N]ESPN Pulls Spygate Part II?

2008-07-08T20:25:00.012-04:00

I had heard rumors about ESPN going above and beyond their normal dugout camera duties Sunday night. Using MLB.TV I went back and checked it out for myself.

While Brett Gardner led off the eighth inning, the ESPN cameras peered into the tunnel - which they're not supposed to do - and caught Bobby Abreu showing Alex Rodriguez how Manny Delcarmen tips his pitches.

As opposed to cutting the cameras and respecting the gamesmanship of the sport, the cameras inexplicably continued to roll. Immediately, Joe Morgan said, "I don't think we should have showed that," and he was right. Morgan then promptly explained what Abreu and Rodriguez were doing.

Over the past few years, baseball fans have been jokingly calling the world wide leader [N]ESPN to make fun of the channel's love affair for the Red Sox. I had always considered it to be conspiracy theory at best, and merely ESPN showing love to a team who had won two World Series over the past four years.

However, that Sunday night expedition into the private confines of the Yankees dugout tunnel makes me think twice before dismissing the [N]ESPN theorists. Now this wasn't an ALCS game or anything, but revealing to one of Boston's key late-inning relievers how he tips his pitches is absolutely inexcusable. Imagine if Abreu and A-Rod had been talking about Jonathan Papelbon's tell - those kinds of advantages can determine who wins or loses a tight game in the late innings.

There's no doubt in my mind ESPN understood that they were breaking the rules in filming such a discussion. And it makes you laugh considering I've never seen such a scene captured in the Red Sox dugout. Next time ESPN wants to use an in-game dugout cam, the Yankees should chuckle and reply no thanks.

If a reliever is tipping his pitches he will in all likelihood eventually realize that the hitters are picking up on something. But it is completely ridiculous for a tv network to literally broadcast that pitcher's mistake so he can then make the adjustment. Looks like Boston got the benefit of Spygate II - and nobody even realizes it.

This Better Be Just A Rumor

As we all know, the Yankees [and several other teams] have a mancrush on Brian Fuentes and hope to add the hard throwing lefty to their bullpen. According to Ed Price of the Star Ledger, the Rockies have begun scouting the Yankees farm system and have their eye on Mark Melancon.

Not that Melancon has proven anything at the major league level, but I firmly believe the current lights-out Trenton Thunder closer [who should be pitching at AAA] may very well surpass Fuentes in terms of effectiveness within the next couple years. Remember, Fuentes is 32, a whole nine years older than Melancon.

Giving up a talent like Melancon for a guy like Fuentes would be discarding a potential high-caliber closer for the next decade in exchange for a very good lefty reliever who could sign elsewhere this offseason.

This is not to marginalize the current Colorado closer's career, but there is some question as to whether he could even handle New York and he had been relieved of closing duties due to ineffectiveness in the past.

I'm all for acquiring an arm as talented as Fuentes, but only if it makes sense. You don't give up a 23 year-old closer type knocking on the big league door who, in the very near future, could be as good or better than the player you're trading for.

Brewers Acquire Sabathia

2008-07-06T19:12:00.003-04:00

According to multiple sources, the Brewers and Indians have agreed to a trade involving CC Sabathia and Matt LaPorta. This is a good move for Milwaukee as they now have two ace starters in Sabathia and Ben Sheets. The question is whether or not Doug Melvin and company will pony up the dough to keep Saba in Miller Park.

Damon DLed For First Time

2008-07-06T18:14:00.002-04:00

Johnny Damon was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his major league career today and Justin Christian has been called up to fill the roster spot. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for Brett Garder - as the speedy outfielder now has free reign in leftfield [or center], and the chance to prove himself on the highest stage.

McAllister Surpassing Betances,Cutch Shuts Out Syracuse

2008-07-05T21:12:00.015-04:00

Zach McAllister is quickly [and surprisingly] leaving Dellin Betances in the dust.

The pair of 20 year-olds were expected to spend 2008 together in Charleston dominating Sally hitters alongside Jairo Heredia. Unfortunately, while McAllister is keeping up his end, Betances hit a period of shoulder soreness recently and is still working his way back into the Charleston rotation.

In the mean time, McAllister was promoted to High-A Tampa on May 31st, has already started seven games there and is posting a very impressive 2.47 ERA against the next level of minor league hitters.

Though Betances oozes the projectability and raw stuff that makes scouts take notice, McAllister has shown the maturation, versatility and maintained health teams love to see in a young prospect.

Thus far this season split between Charleston and Tampa, McAllister has logged 106 innings, with a 2.46 ERA while striking out 85 [to only 13 walks], allowing 103 hits, a promising 1.62 groundball to flyball ratio and a .252 opponent batting average.

The 6-foot-6, 235 lbs. Illinois product has only had one bad outing at the High A level which came in his Tampa debut. That poor start was the only time McAllister did not give his team a quality start - and Yesterday's start may have been McAllister's best outing yet at Tampa as he pitched 8 innings, struck out 9 batters, walked zero, and allowed two runs on five hits.

- IN SCRANTON

Tonight, Dan McCutchen posted his second complete game shutout for Scranton this season, allowing just five hits, zero walks and striking out 10 on 109 pitches [with 77 for strikes].

According to Chad Jennings, the Danimal "was hitting 93 consistently in the seventh." That's more than enough velocity to work with - and the new addition of a slider to compliment his curve, change and plus fastball makes for a solid arsenal for Cutch.

After a pedestrian start to his AAA campaign, McCutchen's latest shutout lowered his ERA to a very respectable 3.36 for Scranton. The shutout was his second at AAA since June 14th, which could be an encouraging sign of things to come.

Should that be the case, McCutchen may supplant the mediocre Jeff Karstens as the next internal rotation option should Darrell Rasner's downward spiral continue. The fact that Alan Horne is currently on the DL and Ian Kennedy has yet to again earn a spot in the big league rotation helps him as well.

And, if the Yankees swing a trade for a starting pitcher [in a deal not including him], McCutchen has the versatility to move to the bullpen and contribute there if necessary. Though this appears to be a long shot right now.

Can't Wait To Read About ThisFor The Next Six Months

2008-07-03T00:02:00.007-04:00

Alex Rodriguez has reportedly split up with his wife Cynthia. Maybe her psych classes weren't going over so well at home. She kind of seems like the ultimate control freak wife - but in the absurdly passive aggressive mold and not in the nuttier than Planters, Jackie Christie style.

Not that Alex is suddenly Mr. Perfect but rumors that Cynthia spent time with Lenny Kravitz doesn't quite help either. Hey, after seeing in person last night how hard A-Rod hit a ball the opposite way and into the right field stands, here's to a long and unhealthy relationship with C-Rod.

What To Expect From Gardner

2008-06-30T18:47:00.007-04:00

SPEED

Brett Gardner is a legitimate burner on the basepaths - he already has 34 stolen bases and 59 runs scored at AAA. His speed ranks as an 80 on the scouting scale [which ranges from 20-80]. Basically, Gardner has gamebreaking speed and should showcase it during a 3-game series against Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

BAT
While Gardner's hitting prowess is a major topic of debate amongst prospect watchers, there is no arguing his plate discipline and patience. His .412 OBP this year is a testament to his ability to work counts, find a pitch to hit or take his walks. Essentially, Gardner can do whatever it takes to get on base - a great sign from a potential leadoff batter.

Where Gardner's power projects in the majors is tough to say. Most say he has gap power, but I would call it more of gap+ power in that he can turn around on an inside fastball with more conviction than most might think. That said, he won't be putting balls over the right field short porch with regularity like, say, Johnny Damon can.

GLOVE
Gardner is not as polished an outfielder as say Aaron Rowand, but he has that same tenacity and gritty approach to the game. It comes out most clearly in his fielding. You won't see any Bobby Abreu type plays at the warning track - in other words, if making a catch in centerfield means cracking his head into a fence [like Rowand], there will be no hesitation. As is the case with his baserunning, Gardner's speed allows him to get to balls that other fielders cannot. He takes good routes to flyballs in the gap, but his instincts are not elite.

ARM
Gardner's arm is not a cannon in center, and is probably just about average in left tonight, but he has a good enough arm to play in the middle of the outfield and is very accurate as well. There will be no confusing Gardner with Melky in that regard, so that will be something to keep an eye on should Gardner ever supplant Cabrera.

Here's a bit on Gardner's 2007 accolades taken from MinorLeagueBaseball.com:

Over the last two seasons, [Gardner] has successfully stolen a base in 83.6 percent of his tries (97-for-116)...led all Yankees Minor Leaguers in stolen bases and tied for the Thunder team lead with five triples...successfully stole a base in 21-of-24 attempts with Scranton/WB...

following the season, was named to the 2007 Arizona Fall League Top Prospects Team after hitting safely in 24-of-26 contests with the Peoria Javelinas...led the AFL in stolen bases (16) and runs scored (27) while ranking second in hits (37), tying for third in walks (17), and placing fourth in on-base percentage (.433) and fifth in batting average (.343).

That two season stolen base percentage of 83.6 is an excellent indicator of Gardner's breakaway speed and great instincts in base thievery.

UPDATE:Horne Leaves Start With(out) Injury?

2008-06-29T14:10:00.009-04:00

UPDATE 7:45 - Jennings has the news on Horne. Apparently he is suffering from sort of peculiar dead arm period:

Alan Horne is not injured, but he's not perfectly fine either. For whatever reason, he said his arm had no energy when he went to the mound this afternoon.

“It was almost like I couldn’t get the ball there," he said. "It didn’t matter what I tried to do. I’d try to add something to it and it seemed like the harder I tried to throw it, the less effective it would be. My breaking stuff was just as slow and loopy as I think I’ve ever thrown it, and I can’t tell you why. Physically I’m fine. They came out there and checked me out and I said, ‘Nothing hurts. I just feel dead. My arm especially. It’s like I have no life, no drive through anything.’ ”

Horne said he's hoping his arm is simply going through a slight dead period after the extensive rehab work he did in Tampa. He's planning to throw on the side tomorrow and prepare for his next regularly scheduled start. As for shaking his arm throughout the start, Horne said it had nothing to do with aches and pains.

Horne said that he did strength tests after the game and was told his shoulder was strong and healthy. You hear people talk about a "dead arm," and maybe that's what Horne's going through right now. It's weird to say the least.

This is neither horrible or encouraging news. Just strange. I would have to assume the Yankees doctors will do further testing to discover what the cause could be for such a condition.

After just two thirds of an inning, Alan Horne exited today's start for AAA Scranton with what appears to be another arm malady. Horne had thrown 30+ pitches during that time and walked three batters.

From Chad Jennings:

He was constantly shaking his right arm in between pitches.

After walking the first two batters, then getting back-to-back outs, Horne walked the bases loaded, leading pitching coach Rafael Chaves to go to the mound to check on him. Horne promptly went down in the count 3-1 before allowing a single to left field. After the base hit, the Yankees manager, pitching coach and trainer went to the mound and Horne walked away after a brief discussion.

The barrage of injuries to Yankees pitching is becoming obscene at this point. Wang, Hughes, Kennedy, Betances, Garcia, Whelan and now Horne - [not to mention minor injuries to Cox and Heredia]

Robertson Called Up

2008-06-28T14:41:00.004-04:00

Looks like someone read my last post. Naw, but Mr. Robertson's neighborhood will now be the Bronx, NY and no longer the less desirable minor league station of Scranton Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Hat tip to Ed Price of the Star Ledger who broke the news on Robertson and also reported "no corresponding move yet." Looks like Dan Giese's stay in the majors will be a shortlived one.

Seems rather unjust considering of his two starts, one was very good [a accurate toss to second from pitching seven scoreless] and one was horrible. Giese may only have an abbreviated stay at AAA before being called up again, but I personally believe he deserved another shot at starting.

Not to say I expect much from Giese, but journeymen like him are worthy of a second chance. We saw what Sidney Ponson did with his last night.

Here's To You Mr. Robertson Or...It Can't Be Long Now

2008-06-27T00:47:00.008-04:00

Dave Robertson just keeps getting nastier. Struck out the side Thursday night.

This year he's split time at AA and AAA, piling up 74 strikeouts over 51.2 innings-pitched.

Everyone within the Yankees organization realized the only thing holding back Robertson was his high walk rates. Enter the month of June. Over his last 10 appearances [beginning on June 3], Robertson has posted a 27-to-5 strikeout to walk ratio over 17 innings. Oh, by the way, he has a 1.06 ERA and only 7 hits allowed during that time.

When people talk about Nintendo numbers to describe a pitcher's statistics, just look at Dave Roberton's career minor league numbers. Just to keep you posted, that now makes it 136 career minor league innings without allowing a home run. As the former Alabama closer continues to shrink his bb/9 rate, the only question remaining is when?... as in when will he get the call?

At this point, is there anyone on Earth who would rather have LaTroy Hawkins pitching instead of Robertson? Well, besides Red Sox fans. Seriously, what a waste of a roster spot.

Meanwhile, JB Cox is back with the team and back to dominating late AAA innings.

Do Not Trade For The Cornrows

2008-06-24T23:39:00.007-04:00

1+ innings pitched. 11 hits. 10 earned runs. 3 home runs.

Just another reason [of many] why Bronson Arroyo does not belong in a Yankees uniform. Regardless of how badly some people want you to believe that he's some sort of dominant AL East warrior, Mr. Arroyo is merely an above league-average pitcher with a 89 mph fastball and a 7.41 postseason ERA.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Great American Ballpark is a great American bandbox. I don't see it holding Edinson Volquez back and I seem to remember Aaron Harang putting together three straight impressive seasons there over the past three years.

Not to mention Tuesday's beatdown of Arroyo took place in the Rogers Centre against a suspect Blue Jays offense that's ranked 18th in batting average, 27th in runs/game, 25th in doubles, 27th in home runs, and 27th in RISP.

Every starter has poor outings. But this just seems to be an exclamation point at the end of a very cautionary sentence.

An Humberto Sighting

2008-06-24T22:10:00.005-04:00

Humberto Sanchez pitching in a real live game? Hold the phone.

That's right. The overweight Bronx native with the million dollar arm has finally made it back to the mound and pitched this afternoon for the GCL Yankees.

The results weren't great, but they're also meaningless. For the next month or so, the sole objective for Sanchez [like Cox and Melancon early on this year] is to pile up innings. As the innings increase, so will his velocity, command and strength.

As those factors return to their pre-surgery levels, the results will undoubtedly follow. I still find it hard to believe Sanchez has enough time left in the season to make his way to the bigs.

Dellin Betances pitched in the same GCL game and had a poor showing as well by tossing 2 innings and allowing three runs on four hits. As is the case with any pitcher returning from a shoulder injury, the focus remains on regaining his strength and comfort.

A Cheap Pitcher Worth Trading For

2008-06-23T22:10:00.013-04:00

Here's an underrated starting pitcher that I have yet to have heard mentioned as a potential target for the Yankees this trade deadline:

Last season he pitched to a 3.70 ERA over 175 innings in a hitter's ballpark, and in the tough AL East division.

This year, over 102 innings-pitched, he has compiled an impressive 3.51 ERA and 1.21 WHIP and his last start saw him toss 8 solid innings of one-run ball against a powerful Astros lineup - while striking out 8, walking 1 and allowing only 3 hits.

This right handed pitcher possesses a 93-95 mph fastball, a plus curveball in the high 70's as well as a strong changeup to compliment a career 2.61 ERA against the Red Sox.

If you haven't figured it out already, I'm talking about Jeremy Guthrie of the Baltimore Orioles who is still just 29 years old and is making a mere $770,000 this year. Baltimore is by no means the most agreeable trading partner, and there is little reason for them to deal such an inexpensive, effective starter.

The Orioles, however, could not be selling any higher and would likely never get a better deal for Guthrie than right now. A couple years ago Guthrie was a flamed out bust who the Orioles picked up off the Indians scrapheap. A couple years from now he could be back on that heap. Is that possibility strong enough to coerce a trade out of the elusive Camden Yards fortress Angelos so stubbornly protects?

Doubtful, but the Yankees have the type of depth with young starting pitching which could make even Peter Angelos jump. Sabathia he is not and it probably won't happen, but that doesn't mean Guthrie isn't a stopgap worth discussing.

Tribe Scoping Out Baby Bombers

2008-06-23T21:44:00.005-04:00

According to Jon Heyman, the Cleveland Indians are now scouring through the Yankees minor league system with the intent of finding a worthy package for their ace CC Sabathia:

The Indians have begun scouting the Yankees' system to see if they can find anything to interest them in case they decide to trade C.C. Sabathia. They have told teams they have to get better than the two draft choices they'd get if Sabathia left as a free agent. Sabathia, who's likely just a rental pitcher (though a great one), is believed to be interested in a "Johan Santana contract.'' Good luck there. Sabathia's a nice kid and he's lefthanded, but he should get into Johan Santana shape before anyone agrees to give him six years. The Dodgers, Red Sox, Phillies and Cubs also are believed to be interested.

Not that Sabathia is on Santana's level, but Heyman's dismissal is so strong he would have you believe the topic of conversation was Jarrod Washburn and not a 27 year-old southpaw who throws 97 mph and is coming off a Cy Young season.

Heyman seems to really enjoy lauding Santana and the Mets at times and has a little bit of Lupica in him regarding the Yankees. Nothing wrong with that, but the grand slam Felix Hernandez [yes, the pitcher] hit off Santana tonight might make him pipe down a bit on that front.

Mike & The Mad Dog Split?

2008-06-22T15:23:00.005-04:00

From Neil Best of Newsday comes a report that famed sports talk hosts Mike Francesa and Chris Russo may have reached their end as the preeminent sportsradio machine in the country. Apparently, their personal differences have reached unbearable heights as of late and one of the two media giants will move on to another gig:

Barring a change of heart, the partnership between Mike Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo is not expected to survive to see its 19th anniversary Sept. 5, industry sources with knowledge of the situation said.

They may have already done their final show together; their next scheduled broadcast is not until July 11.

It is not clear which host would remain on WFAN, only that it would not be both of them. One factor appears to be a fraying of their personal relationship in recent months.

Reached on vacation Saturday night, Francesa flatly said, "No comment."

Russo, meanwhile, denied knowledge of a potential breakup, and said that his contract, including a no-compete clause, runs through October of 2009.

Say what you want about the frustrating duo, the show has long provided New Yorkers with great baseball coverage, interviews and breaking news. In recent years there had been many rumors regarding a potential M&MD break-up - including buzz that Russo would join ESPN - but this particular report seems to have some credibility.

Sunday's updated post from Best did not change tenure and maintains the belief that "this matter will play itself out relatively quickly." In other words, the M&MD split is imminent, according to the Newsday columnist.

Mr. Caldera, You Slay Me

2008-06-22T02:29:00.006-04:00

Want to read a completely uneducated attempt at educating the casual Yankees fan on its minor league system?

Click here.

Which is more obvious: a fledgling big league columnist clearly not having a handle on a team's farm system or a "scout" who clearly knows next to nothing about Yankees prospects?

Quoting a scout whose job likely involves covering the Texas League - and not monitoring the Yankees farm - is about as solid a report as a Roger Clemens deposition. Zinger!

SNY: Give Horne A Shot

2008-06-21T14:31:00.011-04:00

The SNY site had an article up yesterday on Alan Horne regarding his place within the starting pitching pecking order.

Though the piece makes several strong points [i.e. the team's reluctance to rush pitching prospects in lieu of Hughes and Kennedys' tough starts], the author seems to forget Horne has only started twice since missing over a month with a bicep strain.

There is also the fact that he has only tossed a total of 24 AAA innings. After Phil Hughes spent so little time at AAA, the Yankees are reasonably hesitant to push Horne into the majors and are not simply being "gun shy" as the article portends.

Otherwise, the post has some insightful remarks thanks to Deric McKamey of BaseballIQ:

The injury to workhorse starter Chien-Ming Wang seriously threatens to submerge the Yankees' playoff hopes, which already were taking on water despite the recent spate of wins against the overmatched National League.

Deric McKamey of BaseballHQ.com and author of the Minor League Baseball Analyst thinks Horne deserves a shot.

“I’d definitely gamble on Horne’s upside before recycling guys like Rasner and Giese,” McKamey said. “I think there’s concern, though, given what happened to Kennedy. But Horne’s stuff is better than Kennedy’s. Of course, Phil Hughes disappointed, too, but now that’s being blamed on the injury. Their bad luck with pitching prospects is making them reluctant [with Horne].”

Horne’s fastball is his best pitch, clocking in at 94 mph consistently and with decent movement.

“He has very good stuff and obviously can miss bats,” McKamey said. “But the worry with him is his command. What’s going to happen when he falls behind to big league hitters? But, again, I think the Yankees are feeling a little gun shy right now and aren’t being as aggressive as maybe they should be.”

The 92-95 mph fastball is an enticing thought - especially when its paired with a filthy power curveball, serviceable slider and developing change. However, Salfino does not emphasize enough that 24 innings at the AAA level is pretty premature in promoting a starter to the big leagues - particular if said pitcher has not been completely dominant and is returning from injury.

The credibility of the piece also comes into question with this utter glibness:

Hughes (rib fracture) is ready to start throwing again in about a week. But Hughes has become sort of the new Mark Prior minus the good pitching.

Right. That wouldn't be a Mets fan writing for the Mets TV network, would it?

When Ambidextrousness Goes Awry

2008-06-20T13:35:00.005-04:00

In case you missed it last night, Brooklyn took on Staten Island in the NYP league and newly drafted Pat Venditte [drafted three times total by the Yankees] was at the center of a hilarious controversy. Venditte is a switch pitcher who can throw with either arm and he faced a switch hitter in the ninth inning. What followed took a page out of Abbott and Costello.

Is Cy Young In Mo's Future?

2008-06-19T23:28:00.010-04:00

Mariano Rivera is turning back the clock in 2008. He hasn't just been good or very good. He's been unbelievable, even by Rivera standards. The 38 year-old's season is even more jaw-dropping when you isolate his performances during save situations...and oh yeah, remember that he's 38 years old.

With no particular AL starting pitcher yet emerging as a no-brain selection for the Cy Young, this may be the season Rivera picks up the elusive hardware. Actually, Cliff Lee may have something to say about that.

From Ed Price:

Not only has Rivera converted his first 20 save chances, making him the third pitcher to do so since 2000, but he has not allowed a run in any of those games. He is just the third pitcher since the save was instituted in 1969 to complete his first 20 save opportunities without allowing a run, joining Detroit's John Hiller in 1973 and Boston's Jonathan Papelbon in 2006.

When the Yankees have a slim lead, he is nearly untouchable. Rivera has retired 25 of the last 26 batters he has faced when protecting a one-run lead -- 0-for-25 with one walk and 15 strikeouts. The only hit he has allowed all year with the Yankees up a run came April 3, to Toronto's Vernon Wells.

That last bit is the definition of automatic. Here's the pitching line thus far for Rivera: 34 innings, 15 hits, 39 strikeouts, 3 walks, 0.79 ERA and 0.53 WHIP. At some point The Sandman will decline - just not this year.

Where'd All Those People GoWho Wanted Joba In The Pen?

2008-06-19T18:18:00.006-04:00

You don't waste your best arm in one-inning relief.

Joba Chamberlain has thrown 18.1 innings since becoming a starting pitcher for the Yankees. Over that period, he has 19 strikeouts, 14 hits allowed and a 2.45 ERA. Considering the fact that today was the first time Chamberlain had been giving a full slate of pitches to work with, it would appear the "Chamberlain belongs in the pen" crowd have meekly scurried off to their holes.

Excluding two intentional walks, Chamberlain has handed out 10 free passes to the 19 punchouts he's issued as a starter. Although he needs to bring down his walk rate, Chamberlain's superior strikeout ability and overall stuff covers up that wart nicely. This fact was emboldened today when Chamberlain escaped a bases loaded, zero-out jam without allowing a single run to score.

I guess that second inning situation would be better suited for Dan Giese - because Joba belongs in the eighth inning, even when there's no lead to protect. Had Giese or Rasner worked himself into similar trouble, the Yankees may have been pondering a 3-2 loss - their first in six games. Instead, Chamberlain refused to let in a run and a 2-1 victory kept a seven game winning streak alive.

As I stated when the transition to the rotation was first announced, Chamberlain's only big problem in the minors was conserving his pitches and remaining economical, which was somewhat evidenced today. Had he been on a longer leash, Chamberlain would have likely completed six innings of one-run ball and earned the W. Chamberlain is 22 years old and he will eventually learn to manage his pitchcount more effectively and do a better job of holding runners on.

In the mean time, however, a few poitns have been proven true:

1) Joba has frontline stuff.
2) That stuff is maintained deep into games.
3) He has the repertoire of five pitches [fastball, sinker, slider, curve, change] to succeed as a starter

So we will continue to wait for Fatso & Fruit Loops to admit they were wrong on this particular topic. I won't hold my breath, though.

Minors Injury Updates:Cox, Garcia, Betances

2008-06-18T01:33:00.010-04:00

JB Cox began throwing again Monday after being shelved with what was labeled as shoulder soreness a week ago. This is excellent news for the Yankees and proves Mark Newman was correct in implying Cox's injury was nothing serious after some miscommunication had Brian Cashman stating Cox would be out "at least three weeks." It seems this tired shoulder and soreness is something expected after such a long layoff from elbow surgery. It does not appear the Yankees are very worried about this injury as Newman's comments were bordering on dismissive.

Apparently Dellin Betances pitched in a simulated game today and is making his way back from a similar shoulder malady to what sidelined Cox. Betances is rumored to have hit the high 90's mph with his fastball and had no discomfort. The flamethrowing righthander may return to the Charleston rotation in the very near future. It may just be the conspiracy theorist in me, but the Yankees may have simply decided to give Betances a breather in an attempt to limit his innings this year. The same type of blueprint was mapped out for Phil Hughes when he was at Charleston.

Chris Garcia has been MIA of late and an injury has been the only possible explanation. Though the Tampa Yankees are about as forthright as the Bush administration, rumor has it Garcia is suffering from the same slight soreness which bothered him while working his way through Extended Spring Training.

That's a lot of tired shoulders. It's important to remember how precautionary the Yankees have become with their minor leaguers, particularly when those players are high ceiling pitching prospects.

Garcia and Betances both have #1 starter type ceilings and will therefore be handled with as much care as professional athletes can be - regardless of what Jim Kaat thinks. Is anyone else completely perplexed by Kitty's inability to put together a coherant written column? I loved the guy in the broadcast booth, but somewhere between the microphone and the keyboard Kaat knocked his head on a toilet bowl and thought pitchers should once again throw 200 pitches per start like he did.

Wolf Fails Audition As NY Dominates,[A-Jax & Aceves Are Red Hot]

2008-06-18T00:14:00.018-04:00

Was at the stadium tonight to witness Andy Pettitte's second straight dominant start and another offensive explosion from the Yankees offense. Over his past two starts Pettitte has tossed 15 innings, struck out 15 batters, walked two, allowed 10 hits and just one run. Looks like that second half trend is beginning a little bit earlier this year.

Out of the visitor's dugout came Randy Wolf, another lefthanded starter who has recently been linked to the Yankees as a potential trade target. Unfortunately for Wolf fans, the lefty's try-out did not go as planned. [I'd like to state that I have zero interest in Wolf and would much rather see McCutchen, Horne, Aceves, for an extended period of time instead]

After retiring the side in the first, Alex Rodriguez welcomed Wolf to New York in the second inning with a bomb to straight away center field. As soon as A-Rod connected I was thinking double off the wall [which he did later in the game], only to watch in amazement as it landed in the Yankees bullpen a hundred feet in front of me. Rodriguez is beginning to heat up - after Tuesday night's game he is now hitting .328 and to lead the team in batting average.

Jason Giambi added two moonshots of his own, and the Wolf-to-the-Bronx experiment met an abrupt finish. The two homers were numbers 16 and 17 on the season and his three RBI gives the Big G a very respectable 40 RBI this season. Giambi has a lot of people, myself included, eating crow considering the type of production many expected from him this year [i.e. a .230 batting average and 10 homers before an extended stay on the DL].

The final line on Wolf: 4 innings, six hits, seven runs [five earned], two walks, two strikeouts and three home runs.

Farm News:
The unbelievable story of Alfredo Aceves continues to grow as the 25 year-old RHP proved tonight he has no challenges left for him at AA-Trenton. Over eight scoreless innings Tuesday night, Aceves allowed just one hit, struck out four and walked two. Over six starts at AA, Mr. Aceves has a 1.64 ERA over 44 innings [7+ innings per start], striking out 33, walking just 5, with 33 hits and a ridiculous WHIP of 0.86.

In the same game, Austin Jackson went 4-for-5, hit his fourth homer in as many games [his seventh] and picked up four RBI [his 45th] while upping his batting average to .283 this year. After a slow start Jackson has shown all the reasons he scorched up prospect lists - interestingly enough, it was last June when A-Jack began to catch fire at Tampa. This is an exceptional athlete who possesses "easy speed," a strong glove/arm, all of which compliments an impact bat whose power is just beginning to emerge.

Hank Takes On The NL

2008-06-16T23:14:00.005-04:00

Hank Steinbrenner holds the National League responsible for the devastating injury suffered by Chien Ming Wang when running the bases in Houston on Sunday.

"My only message is simple: The National League needs to join the 21st century," Steinbrenner said. "They need to grow up and join the 21st century. I've got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He's going to be out. I don't like that, and it's about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s."

Not to be picky, but the designated hitter rule was not instituted until 1973. Hey, what's three quarters of a century between friends. Most American League fans may agree with Steinbrenner's logic, as self-centered as it may currently seem. NL fans will preach "baseball purism" with equal vigor, and nothing will change.

Wang Out With Lisfranc Injury

2008-06-16T14:53:00.004-04:00

According to multiple sources, Chien Ming Wang has been diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot:

Imaging studies revealed a mid-foot sprain of the Lisfranc ligament of the right foot and a partial tear of the peroneal longus tendon of the right foot.

This is the same injury which has kept Brian Bruney out and Wang will be stuck in a protective boot for six weeks before beginning rehabilitation. Looks like a late August return would be the ideal situation though Wang could be out until the postseason starts.

These recovery periods are purely speculative on my part, though the Sabathia rumors will certainly gain a life of its own. No doubt about it, this injury is a devastating blow to a team which had just recently begun playing good baseball.

BL's Sabathia Trade Proposal

2008-06-16T14:20:00.011-04:00

As the Yankees universe waits with baited breath to hear how long Chien Ming Wang will be out due to yesterday's foot injury, the trade rumors have begun to circulate with frenetic pace. In the offseason the Yankees passed on a Johan Santana trade because they felt the asking price [players & money combined] was far too steep.

Should Wang be out for an extended period of time or for the season, the need for an ace-type pitcher becomes a necessity and not a luxury for the Yankees. The fact that a Sabathia deal would not demand as much talent as a Santana trade is also interesting.

However, any trade for CC Sabathia must give the Indians more value than they perceive they could possibly acquire in the form of two compensation picks in next year's draft. Essentially, a trading partner looking to pick up Saba must put together a package with equal talent to a couple of first rounders.

Here's my first proposal though I preface by admitting some other players [mentioned later] would also be feasible additions during further negotiations:

Cleveland gets: Jose Tabata; Ian Kennedy; Alan Horne and JB Cox [or Dan McCutchen and Ross Ohlendorf]

New York gets: Carsten Charles.

The Indians would be buying low on Kennedy/Horne who are both working their way back from injuries. But, they would also be getting two young starters who totally dominated last season and are at or on the verge of staying at the big league level.

In Tabata, the Indians will be getting the high ceiling corner outfielder they desire. The Yankees are - like Kennedy - selling a top prospect at a bargain price. The upside on Tabata is still tremendous, and Cleveland scouts know this.

Finally, to offer a little bit of flexibility, the Indians can choose from a high level prospect close to the majors [Horne and Cox] or a more serviceable, versatile starter [McCutchen] as well as a power pitching reliever already with big league experience [Ohlendorf]. Scott Patterson could also be substituted in any deal as a viable reliever on the brink of the bigs.

The Untouchables:
The following players in my mind would be completely untouchable in a Saba deal - Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes, Mark Melancon, Austin Jackson, Jesus Montero, Andrew Brackman.

Tough Sells:
These players should be available to deal, though it may be difficult for the fanbase to accept - Dellin Betances, Zach McAllister, Dave Robertson, Brett Gardner, Humberto Sanchez.

Sabathia Rumors Abound

2008-06-15T02:00:00.005-04:00

BL favorite Dan Graziano has a story appearing in Sunday's Star Ledger which describes the increasing buzz around a potential CC Sabathia trade.

The Indians have seen multiple tough injuries hit multiple important players like Victor Martinez and an already slumping Travis Hafner. Combined with a poor start [currently 6.5 games behind a mediocre White Sox squad], the Indians have been forced into entertaining offers for their Cy Young lefty.

About a month and a half ago, The Star-Ledger reported that the Cleveland Indians had told their scouts to pay special attention to the farm systems of certain select teams (Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Mets, some others) that would be likely to have interest in ace lefty C.C. Sabathia if the Indians decided to put him on the trade market this summer.

Stay tuned on Sabathia, because if the depleted Indians don't go on a real serious hot streak soon, you're going to be hearing his name a lot.

Graziano also mentions that Boston and Wrigleyville have already expressed interest in Saba, though nobody knows if this is yet another smokescreen [see: Santana, Johan] perpetrated by the Red Sox.

Seems unlikely the Indians will simply accept two first round picks and let Sabathia go without at least exploring his trade value. Whether or not a trade actually takes place is in Shapiro's hands. It would be hard to fathom the Yankees giving up an immense package and mega contract to CC if they wouldn't do it for Santana.

Rest assured, we'll be hearing a lot about Mr. Carston Charles.

Cox Injury A Mystery

2008-06-13T18:44:00.005-04:00

JB Cox, who is knocking on the major league door as a potentially very valuable bullpen contributor, was recently placed on the seven-day DL. Then all hell broke loose.

Pete Abraham first reported via Brian Cashman that Cox had a case of shoulder tendinitis which would keep him out of action for "at least three weeks."

However, Tyler Kepner of the NY Times spoke to Mark Newman - the VP of baseball operations - that Cox's injury was a minor case and that he should be out only a few days. Somewhere in this jumble, Cash and Newman either crossed signals or there is a liar in our midst.

Here's what Kepner posted:

When the Yankees placed reliever J.B. Cox on the disabled list Wednesday without specifying a reason, it did not seem to be a good sign. But in talking to Mark Newman just now, it seems to be just a minor problem.

Cox, a top prospect at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, has tendinitis in his right shoulder. Newman said it was only supposed to sideline Cox for four or five days, but because Class AAA allows for a seven-day disabled list, the Yankees put him there to give Scranton an extra reliever while he’s down.

“It’s a short-term deal,” Newman said by telephone from the Dominican Republic. “It’s not something to worry about.”

Cox seemed to have been very, very close to a big league promotion so this is a very interesting topic. More as it becomes available.

The Star Ledger's Dan GrazianoSits Down With Bronx Liaison

2008-06-12T00:18:00.019-04:00

The incomparable Dan Graziano of The Newark Star Ledger was kind enough to sit down with BL and answer a few questions regarding the Bronx Bombers. Dan covers both the Yankees and Mets for the Ledger, breaks MLB news in print, appears on SNY's SportsNite and also contributes to the paper's online outlet at www.NJ.com/yankees. Topics included Alex Rodriguez, the Joba Debate, the explosion of online sports media, the "Young Elephants" and the 2008 postseason.

BL: For Yankees fans the 2008 season has not begun as they had hoped. The team has hovered around the .500 mark, endured costly injuries to two of their biggest offensive threats and witnessed horrible starts from their two young starters [Hughes & Kennedy]. Have you yet been surprised with their poor overall performance and the proverbial "lack of fire" demonstrated under Joe Girardi's stewardship? After all, this was supposed to be a more fiery ballclub than the teams we saw during the final years of Joe Torre's tenure, retaliation hit batsmen aside.

Graziano: I'm not surprised they've started slowly. The biggest question facing the Yankees going into spring training was starting pitching, and that remains their biggest question. Their lineup is very strong and will score a lot of runs, slow starts notwithstanding. Their bullpen has its flaws, but it's not perceptibly worse than anybody else's. The plain fact is, if they get enough starting pitching, they'll be fine, and if they don't, they'll probably miss the playoffs. Right now, Mussina and Rasner have been their best guys while Wang and Pettitte have been struggling and Joba is still morphing. They have reason to believe that quintet will get it done, but they need to put together some consistent turns through the rotation. As for "fire," the clubhouse seems pretty lively to me, and lately they've shown a lot more late-game spunk.

BL: As unbelievable as Joba Chamberlain has been in the setup role, doesn't it seem like they're wasting his talents if the starting pitchers aren't even able to carry a lead into the seventh or eighth inning for him to protect?

Graziano: I agree that Joba should be a starter, and I think moving him to the rotation is the right move for the Yankees in 2008 and beyond.

BL: The Star Ledger sports section has always been my personal favorite daily to turn to, particularly for their coverage of MLB. With your recent foray into the blogging world what have you recognized within the online format when contrasted with the conventional newspaper form? Do you feel there is validity to the idea that blogging threatens to "dumb down" the content for both writers and readers, or do you believe there's space for it as a unique journalistic niche?

Graziano: There's no doubt there's space for it, but I do caution against calling it journalism. Sure, some blogging is journalism. But much of it is opinion and observation from people who don't go out and find out information. The blogging I do for the nj.com site is mostly journalistic, since it is generated from the reporting I do -- talking to baseball people in person at the park and on the phone to find out what's going on, how the game is played, etc. There is certainly some opinion in there, and we do try to have some fun, but I think in general there is a difference between "journalism," which I define as procuring and disseminating information, and blogging by people with no access to said information. Please understand, I do not look down on blogging or bloggers at all. I think there's a lot of brilliant stuff being done out there. Some of it qualifies as journalism, because it's based on research and reporting. But much of it is not, and therefore doesn't, for me, fall into that category. Not that there's anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld would have said...

BL: As someone who's worked as a print reporter, is under the age of 30 and somehow still religiously reads (and hopes to someday be read) daily in the sports pages, I find myself extremely conflicted over the explosion of online media. Considering you are a veteran newsman who is neither Buzz Bissinger-like (thinks online writing is blasphemous) or completely cyber-reliant, what is your take on the rise of the blog machine?

Graziano: If I can try to condense, so as not to be Bissinger-bashed, I enjoy blogs and I love the role they play in our society. I think some of the media-criticism blogs probably don't take into account what actually goes into the daily performing of our jobs, but turnabout is fair play. For years, we've critiqued ballplayers who think we don't fully appreciate how hard their jobs are.

BL: At least one Yankees beat writer has painted Alex Rodriguez as a socially perplexing interview subject who frequently just walks off or puts on headphones to signal the end of an interview. Do you notice an increasingly obvious disconnect between players, writers and, by extension, the fans or is the media microscope simply more keen and relentless on professional athletes than ever before?
Graziano: There's no doubt there's a disconnect. We don't live in their world, and they don't live in ours. Some of them hate us and resent that we're there. Some of them understand why we're there and work hard at their end of the reporter-subject dynamic. Most are quite pleasant and accommodating, some aren't. Alex is generally very distant, but sometimes you can get him one-on-one and he'll be great. He obviously knows a lot about how the game is played, and when he's willing to share it, he can be a big help to your reporting.

BL: It seems some New York writers forget that though he may seem mute in comparison with his elder, louder brother Hank, Mr. Hal Steinbrenner actually has equal say in all Yankees matters. What is your take on the new direction of Yankees ownership? Does the "mellow versus macho" dynamic [Hal and Hank] smell like a recipe for disaster or are they just a great source of backpage copy?

Graziano: It certainly smells like trouble, and there does seem to already have been some behind-the-scenes head-butting between the two. For instance, Hank Steinbrenner said last week that he planned to talk to Cashman about a new contract. Hal said it wasn't true, then Hank went ahead and did it. I wonder, going forward, how the two will operate together. And I suspect that the unknown aspect of that is part of the reason Cashman is holding off on deciding whether he'll be back. If it looks like working for Hank/Hal will be as bad as or worse than working for their dad was, he might want to skedaddle. And I think it's too early to know for sure.

BL: You said earlier that this team's clubhouse has shown some fire of late. What sort of uncharacteristic behavior would the casual baseball fan be surprised to hear about the Yankees who are often portrayed as robotic, corporate, drones?

Graziano: The mustache thing, I guess. Mussina's quote board. I just get a different feel in there than I used to. I mean, fans like to talk about those Tino Martinez/Scott Brosius/Paul O'Neill teams playing with "fire," but that didn't translate to the clubhouse. That clubhouse was quiet, corporate and stuffy. This one is much looser in general, and a more comfortable place for us to do our jobs for sure. This is a more approachable, friendly group of players who seem to like each other a great deal. They've even come to tolerate Alex. [laughs]

BL: Finally, what do you tell the large segment of the Yankees fanbase who are contemplating a Brooklyn Bridge swan dive? Are the Bombers poised for their first quiet October since the strike year or will they take advantage of an underwhelming crop of American League contenders - Tigers, Mariners, etc. - and pull out a playoff berth?
Graziano: I picked them to make the playoffs (and the Tigers to miss) before the season started. Personally, I'm thinking the Rays, A's, White Sox are all poised for a fall and the Yankees will play better. It won't be easy, and I have no way of knowing if they'll make it, but there's no way to rule them out. They've come back from worse, for sure.

Again, a big thanks goes out to Dan for taking time out of his hectic schedule to offer some knowledge and insight on the Yankees universe. And if you don't already, be sure to check out his work in the Ledger in print as well as online.

Kobe Fires Back @ Schilling

2008-06-11T22:10:00.003-04:00

Curt Schilling likes to talk a lot. As you've probably already heard, Schilling ripped Kobe Bryant on his blog today after allegedly witnessing Bryant berate his teammates during Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Bryant is not my favorite athlete in the world, but he did have a nice reply to the blathering hypocrite that is Mr. Red Light:

Asked if he was disappointed in Schilling's comments, Bryant responded, "Go Yankees!" and pumped his fist, drawing laughter from reporters Wednesday.

I would say the Kobe fanbase just gained about 10 million new disciples.

Hughes Out Until August?Sore Shoulder For Cox

2008-06-11T21:53:00.006-04:00

According to MLB.com, Phil Hughes may not return to the big leagues until early August:

Right-hander Phil Hughes is expected to be examined this week and his timetable for a big league return has been pushed back to early August.

Tough break for Hughes. The other Yankees beat reporters have yet to collaborate Bryan Hoch's report, so this may simply be a tentative date to shoot for. Until Yankees brass or other writers support the report I'll assume Hughes will be ready sometime in July.

Update on JB Cox: he was placed on the seven-day DL with shoulder soreness according to Chad Jennings. There's no word on how long he will be out or how severe the injury may be. Jennings did confirm that the injury was "not related to his elbow or his Tommy John surgery."

TROUBLE: Cox Placed On DL

2008-06-11T17:43:00.005-04:00

From the SWB Blog comes news that JB Cox, AAA reliever and projected bullpen contributor for New York after the all star break has been placed on the seven day disabled list. [the seven day DL is the shortest allowable time period in the minors with the 15 day being the shortest in the majors].

No word yet on what the injury might be, as it could be something as mild as a sore calf. It could, however, be as serious as an arm strain. No place for speculation yet, but will definitely keep an eye on this one as Cox is expected by many to ultimately pitch in the late innings to alleviate the absence left by Joba Chamberlain.

The Downfall Of Jeff Marquez

2008-06-11T12:54:00.010-04:00

So whatever happened to Jeffrey Marquez? As recently as last season many were referring to the former 1st rounder as the next Chien Ming Wang type. Though it is understood how unique a case CMW is, and that Marquez most likely would not duplicate his major league success, the similarities were there.

The turbo sinker. The declining strikeout rates yet consistent success. He was catapulted after a very good year at AA-Trenton, the minor league level recognized as the proving ground for rising pitching prospects.

During that 2007 season, Marquez was overshadowed by rotation mate Alan Horne, who won the Eastern League version of the Cy Young, as well as Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy, who blistered through Trenton on their way to the big leagues.

However, prospect watchers didn't sleep on Marquez and his status as a groundball machine. Last year saw Marquez compile an impressive 15-9 record, log 155+ innings and post a solid 3.65 ERA. Over those 155.1 innings Marquez only walked 44 batters [bb/9 of just 2.45] but his strikeout rates dropped dramatically from 7.99 k/9 in 2006 to 5.45 k/9 in 2007. That trend continued into 2008 as Marquez is currently striking out just 4.38 batters per nine innings at Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

Though Marquez allowed more hits than innings-pitched in both 2006 and 2007, that is to be expected from a prospect who pitches to contact and induces scores of groundballs. There is nothing to be alarmed about there, as he is often able to produce GIDP's much like Yankee fans saw from Wang last against Oakland. However, his 2008 hits per nine innings has seen another decided increase from just over a hit per inning last year to 11.97 h/9 this season. To be blunt, Marquez has been bombarded during his foray into AAA competition and there's been little silver lining to consider.

When he is at his best, Marquez commands a true power sinker anywhere from 88-94 mph that saws off righthanded bats with regularity. He controls the pitch well and expertly varies the speed at which he throws the two-seamer - he can sit 93-94 or create more movement with an 88-90 mph sinker. Marquez also mixes in the occasional four-seam fastball which can hit 95 mph. His best secondary offering has always been a power changeup which he throws in the low 80's. It's a swing and miss pitch, but it also gets lefties out-in-front and pound the ball into the dirt.

The Achilles heal for Marquez has been his curveball. The pitch can be above-average at times [some have even projected it as a plus pitch], but it is consistently inconsistent for Marquez and can be hung up in the zone and punished by opposing batters. In response to the inconsistency of his curve, Marquez recently introduced an effective slider, a pitch which by all accounts came from out of nowhere. Though he reportedly had just begun playing around with the pitch, it showed solid life and depth, and could ultimately prove to be the third pitch he's been searching for.

Two starts ago Marquez put together the best performance of his brief AAA career, tossing seven innings of one-run ball on four hits. Though Marquez did not strike out a batter, the slider he had overused in his previous start was working well that night and it appeared as though he had turned a corner. His previous two starts had gotten progressively better and it seemed this seven inning outing was the exclamation point. [During those previous two starts Marquez threw 14 innings and allowed just 4 runs]

Assuming Marquez had made the necessary adjustments, one would predict another strong outing last night against the Richmond Braves. The results were dominant or disastrous as Marquez put together a very pedestrian five innings, allowing three runs on four hits and again striking out zero batters. His ERA rose to 5.13 on the season, with 90 hits allowed over 73.2 innings.

On this particular player my conclusion is that it's inconclusive. Marquez has become an enigma that The Riddler wouldn't attempt solving. His near future may involve a demotion to Trenton in order to regain confidence, or his last four starts and the development of his slider could equal a major step forward. There had also been some buzz about Marquez turning to the bullpen and eventually becoming a version of Ramiro Mendoza - a guy who can pitch multiple innings and get key groundouts. Whatever takes place over the duration of the '08 season, it's safe to say Marquez has confounded us all thus far.

Reynolds No Like Joba Starting

2008-06-11T11:15:00.008-04:00

Harold Reynolds - of Seattle Mariners and ESPN harassment fame - has his own blog now and what better way to drive traffic there than a post on why Joba Chamberlain needs to stay in the bullpen.

If you've ever visited BL before, you realize where I stand on the Chamberlain debate. Let's just say I believe it's harder for a team to find a Jake Peavy than it is to find a Guerillmo Mota. In other words, the top-line starter is much more rare and consistent than the dominant setup man who can fall of the face of the earth after a couple superb seasons.

Here's the latest kneejerk reaction to Joba's transition into the starting five:

When I first heard the Yankees were considering moving Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation, I didn't like it. When it became official, I liked it even less! The end of a dynasty! Some might say that would be too extreme or maybe too harsh. Okay, how about: "The Yanks won't make the playoffs this season, ending a 12-year run."

Sorry Yankee fans, I know you don't want to hear it, but unless they can find someone to close the gap from the 6th inning on, and get the ball to Mariano Rivera, the streak will end.

To be fair, I've always been a Reynolds fan and thought Baseball Tonight took a big step back in his absence. However, as much as I agree Chamberlain shortened games in the Rivera-to-Wetteland vein, you just can't waste the best arm on your team in late inning relief.

And, should Joba prove to be a better reliever than starter it's not as if he will be locked out of the bullpen, he can always return as closer once Mariano Rivera rides off into the sunset. I doubt that would be necessary, but it's nice to know you have a lights out closer in waiting should the rotation plan falter.

Hughes Is "Pain Free"Will Throw Soon

2008-06-10T21:11:00.011-04:00

Phil Hughes reports on his website that he hasn't been having any pain in his ribcage for a week and should begin throwing again soon:

"On another note, I have been pain free for about a week and hope to be throwing again soon. I also received my new Oakley prescription glasses for when I’m back on the mound. Should be pretty intimidating."

The phrase goes you can never have too much pitching. Hughes is a nice insurance plan to have on tap should Darrell Rasner or Mike Mussina suddenly come back to earth. It's amazing how quickly a 21 year-old can transform from the future of the franchise into an injury-prone disappointment in the minds of some fans.

No one is delusional enough to laud Hughes for his horrific start to the '08 season, but if this is what passes as patience for the Yankees fanbase, I'd hate to see them at the DMV. As someone who's seen him in person at Trenton and in the Bronx, few times have I been more confident about the future of a young player.

We could throw out the "struggling young pitcher" caveat which includes countless starting pitchers like Tom Glavine [7-17 in his first full season] and Greg Maddux [6-14 with 5.61 ERA in his], but we already know 21 year-old pitchers take time to adjust to the big league level of difficulty.

This is not to suggest Hughes will become a 300 game winner or a first ballot HOFer, but it allows for a bit of sanity within an insane conversation. Just remember this kid's arm possesses a 91-95 mph plus fastball, 75 mph plus hammer curve, 80 mph slidepiece and a developing changeup. This is not Nook LaLoosh we're talking about here - i.e. fastball, fastball and more fastball.

To suggest we've seen the peak of Hughes' abilities is just as knee jerk a reaction as it would have been had the Braves and Cubs organizations not allowed 21 year-olds Glavine, Maddux and 22 year-old John Smoltz develop. A World Series, a playoff streak and seven Cy Youngs later, it appears to have worked out pretty well for them.

Knowing how competitive, determined and proud a guy Hughes is, I will be very interested to see how he responds to his second consecutive injury impacted season.

2008-06-09T23:14:00.002-04:00

Phil Hughes will get another scan on his injured rib later this week and if the test reveals a healed bone he will begin throwing again.

Joel Sherman Is Funny

2008-06-09T16:49:00.009-04:00

Had Joel Sherman's latest trade fodder post passed along to me and immediately laughed myself into near catatonia inspecting his ridiculous trade proposals for the Yankees.

Sherman prefaces his article by citing Oakland GM Billy Beane who suggests no trade is fair unless both sides feel some pain. Unfortunately, Sherman's following trade proposals essentially have the Yankees receiving a back alley lobotomy in exchange for Marisa Miller and a ticket to Ibiza.

To review, Sherman has the Yankees picking up Damaso Marte for Alan Horne and Ross Ohlendorf. Hmm. Let's trade the Yankees top starting pitching prospect and a solid late inning reliever [both in their early or mid-20's] for a 33 year-old one inning reliever who throws about 50 innings per season. That seems feasible.

#2: Melky Cabrera, Austin Romine and Ian Kennedy for Huston Street. Can this post be a joke or something? Looks like Sherman is trying out for The Onion. Street can be a lights out reliever, but he is extremely injury prone and probably a week away from his latest visit to the disabled list. Sherman would make for an Isiah Thomas like general manger as this is about as low as you could sell regarding Kennedy.

#3: Hideki Matsui, Jose Tabata and Alberto Gonzalez for Jonathan Sanchez and RANDY WINN. Wow. Gets worse, huh. That's the Yankees current top contact hitter [Matsui], top position prospect [Tabata] and top utility man [A-Gon] for an unproven starter and an absolute bust of an outfielder.

#4: JB Cox and Edwar Ramirez for Ty Wigginton. Ok, Sherman realizes A-Rod and Cano will man third base and second base respectively for the next decade or so. There goes any position for Wigginton to play, as amazing as his 3 homeruns, 9 RBI this season and career OBP of .329 appear.

Did Sherman really think he could get away with this?

Royals Diss Joba

2008-06-09T16:39:00.003-04:00

According to a NY Post report, the Kansas City Royals were not impressed, much less intimidated, by Joba Chamberlain's electric stuff during his start Sunday afternoon.

"Nothing like we haven't faced before," leadoff man David DeJesus said...

DeJesus called Chamberlain "all right," saying, "Just a guy throwing hard."

Kansas City right fielder Mark Teahen praised Chamberlain's pitches but said that he was "more or less the same as he was as a reliever," adding, "Nothing special."

Yep. DeJesus and Teahen are the first hitters I think of when discussing dominance.

Times Q&A With A-Jack

2008-06-09T12:54:00.006-04:00

Austin Jackson may have leapfrogged Jose Tabata this year to become the top position prospect in the Yankees farm system [though Jesus Montero may soon have something to say about that]. Thus far this season A-Jack is batting .275 with 3 homeruns, 18 doubles, 37 RBI and 10 stolen bases for AA-Trenton.

Tyler Kepner of the NY Times sat down with Jackson for a brief question-and-answer session with the two sport star coming out of high school:

Q: You played two sports in high school, baseball and basketball. Now that you’ve had a chance to devote yourself to baseball, what kind of talent are you tapping into?

A: I think I’m starting to definitely become a smarter baseball player. In rookie ball, I knew how to hit, but I didn’t know how to work the count. I’d swing early in the count, maybe at a bad pitch, because I was just a ballplayer. But I’m starting to study the game a lot more, know what the pitchers have, things like that. I think I’m definitely becoming a better baseball player as opposed to just an athlete.

Q: Whether it’s you or Brett Gardner at AAA, what can your kind of speed do to change a game?

A: It can change the outcome of a game, one stolen base, getting yourself into scoring position, that puts a burden on the pitcher and the guy hitting behind you can drive in a run. It’s definitely good to have speed. It helps out in all aspects of the game. They say speed kills. It’s the one part of my game that I can rely on.
Q: If you’d stayed with basketball, do you think you could be in the NBA right now?

A: (laughs) I think I could. I’ve been checking out some of the talent in college basketball, I’ve been sizing them up. I think I’d have what it takes.

Twice this year A-Jack [his preferred nickname over A-Jax] compiled seven RBI in a single game. One of which included an important grand slam. If Jackson's 2007 second half of the season is any indicator, the Texas product could put together a pretty special year for the Thunder.

Horne K's 7 In AAA Return

2008-06-08T21:29:00.009-04:00

Alan Horne reportedly did not have good command Sunday night in his first AAA start since leaving his April 10th outing with a bicep injury. Horne did, however, show his great stuff and an uncanny ability to bare down by keeping the damage to a minimum.

Horne lasted only four innings, allowing three hits, one run and striking out seven to two walks. Over those four erratic frames Horne used 82 pitches with only 44 going for strikes. Impressively, Horne was able to strike out the side twice, both times coming during high pressure situations.

According to the SWB Yanks blog, Horne was gassed early on in the outing because of a rushed bullpen before the game began:

Alan Horne said he was really struggling to stay cool. He felt light-headed on the mound through the first two innings and things got so bad in the second that he thought he was going to have to tell the bench to take him out. It's not a matter of not being in shape -- "All I've been doing is lifting and running in the Tampa heat and humidity," he said -- but he had to rush his bullpen, then rush out to the field and he never had a chance to catch his breath.

Maybe even more impressive was the fact that Horne could not command his fastball, was unable to grip his curve and consequently threw sliders and changeups for the majority of his outing. Even without his best stuff and obvious discomfort on the mound, Horne was able to sit down Syracuse batters with regularity.

Apparently Horne's fastball was 88-90 mph Sunday night which certainly is not representative of his ordinary velocity - especially considering how little Horne utilized the four-seamer.

Following Horne on the mound was rising prospect Dave Robertson who tossed three scoreless innings of relief. Robertson allowed only one hit Sunday night, struck out four and walked zero.

Over his 44.2 innings split between Trenton and Scranton this year, Robertson has an aggregate ERA of 1.77 as well as a WHIP under 1.00 - to go along with 56 strikeouts and 17 walks. Allowing just 23 hits in his 44+ innings works out to a .162 opponents batting average.

These are sickly numbers. Another three weeks of this type of dominance from Robertson should lead to a big league call-up.

Hughes Injury "Update"

2008-06-07T21:25:00.005-04:00

Missed it last week, but maybe some of you guys did as well:

According to a NY Daily News report on May 29th, Phil Hughes underwent a bone scan recently which revealed a "hot spot" in his injured rib. The lack of progress meant he would have to hold off on throwing until the results of his next bone scan [this week] are revealed. Once Hughes is actually given the OK to again pick up a baseball, it will likely take about a month before he can rejoin the big club.

Get Your Gerrit Cole News

2008-06-07T03:27:00.006-04:00

Gerrit Cole - a lifelong Yankees fanatic - is pictured left as a youngster holding a sign during the 2001 World Series. Plus Cole was labeled the #1 high school player in the country by PerfectGame Crosscheckers, so how could the Yankees resist.

Here are a few stories from the local Anaheim media including one on his upcoming decision to go pro or collegiate as well as another article describing his final start of the season.

Granted, high school pitching stats are skewed, particularly when you can throw fastballs in the upper 90's, but take a look at Cole's 2008 line: 8-2 record; 0.58 ERA; 75.2 innings; 30 hits; 121 strikeouts; 18 walks.

Finally, here's some video of Cole talking about...Cole.

Melancon: I'm Ready For Bigs

2008-06-06T13:25:00.002-04:00

A confident Mark Melancon told NY Times scribe Tyler Kepner he could pitch in the majors right now in an insightful, if not excitable, piece today:

Reliever Mark Melancon sat alone with a reporter in the vacant stands before Wednesday’s game, and he did not flinch when asked if he was ready for the majors.
“I think I could be ready as soon as they want me,” Melancon said. Later, he added there was no reason to think a call-up was far away.
“If I pitch well and continue to do what I’m capable of doing, I don’t see why not,” Melancon said. “Why not? Why isn’t it close? I really do believe I am capable of doing what they’re doing, all those guys out there. So, yeah, I think it’s close.”

“He’s getting extended right now in Double-A,” said Jeff Patterson, the Yankees’ West Coast scouting supervisor, who helped sign Melancon. “He’s definitely not a guy who can only pitch one time through a lineup. He can turn a lineup over.”
Against San Francisco Giants minor leaguers Wednesday, Melancon allowed one hit and faced the minimum nine batters. He mixed changeups and curveballs with a fastball between 91 and 94 miles per hour, and threw just 32 pitches.

“The stuff has to be there, but you have to have the will and the determination to get better,” [Mariano] Rivera said. “You don’t see that a lot in the rookies and minor leaguers. He always asks questions, interesting baseball questions.”

Melancon says his stuff is better now than it was before the injury, because he developed the changeup while he was hurt. He throws his curveball across his body now instead of fully extending his arm, which led to the elbow damage.

Though I've now seen Melancon multiple times in person, it will be very fun to watch him at the major league level. That hammer curve and bending fastball up to 94 mph is going to be tough to hit at any level. Not to say Melancon won't have some growing pains at the highest level, but his toughness will make it easier on him than most rookies.

DRAFT NEWSStanford LHP Bleich

2008-06-05T17:34:00.005-04:00

With their second pick in the 2008 draft, the Yankees selected Stanford southpaw Jeremy Bleich. It comes as no surprise that the Yankees picked up a lefthanded pitcher with the sandwich pick, and though Christian Freidrich would have been my favorite, there was no way he would last until pick #44.

Bleich's favorite pitcher - and his most comparable - is Andy Pettitte, minus the cut fastball. Both pitchers are from Louisiana but Bleich's family is originally from Brooklyn and are huge Yankees fans. Therefore, Bleich is a lifelong Yankee fan who is comparable to Pettitte. Probably a bit of a reach [Tim Mellville would have been nice], but the Yankees must like what they saw from Bleich and made their move.

From PerfectGame.com:

Jeremy Bleich is a good looking 6'2/185 LHP from Metairie, LA, high 80's LHP, outstanding command, excellent hard dropping 76 mph CB, arm works fluidly, mechanics are solid, highest level college prospect with high draft potential, excellent student.

To be honest, I've never heard of Bleich before, but I will do some digging as the day progresses.

DRAFT NEWSYanks Select Cole

2008-06-05T16:45:00.006-04:00

Not to toot my own horn but I predicted Gerrit Cole would fall to the Yankees a week ago and that they would select him at 28th overall - before Keith Law and John Mayo's mock drafts were published.

This kid needs to refine his slider and changeup - like most prepsters - but already possesses an elite arm that can run fastballs in the upper 90s and touch triple digits. Cole will command a hefty signing bonus but he is a great get at the bottom of the first round.

Keith Law on the Yankees 1st round pick:

This is a great pick; he fell to the Yankees for financial reasons. Cole has the best arm among the prep pitchers in the draft. He has a loose, quick arm. He has the best fastball of the high school pitchers; it tops out 97 mph. He needs more consistency on the breaking ball. And he needs to just throw his changeup instead of guiding it. He's a high-ceiling arm that could be a No. 1 starter. If that doesn't work, he could be a dominant reliever.

And some video.

Horne To Rejoin Scranton,Kontos, Melancon Dominate AA

2008-06-04T22:57:00.011-04:00

Alan Horne will return to the Scranton rotation and, as a result, one of Karstens, Igawa, Giese, McCutchen or Marquez will be getting demoted or converted to the bullpen. Horne is now officially scheduled to pitch Sunday for Scranton.

Phil Coke's stay at AAA will be an abbreviated one as he is to be sent down to Trenton in order to make room for Horne. Though Dan McCutchen has been struggling during the start to his AAA campaign, the recent big league bullpen problems may call for converting Danimal to the bullpen.

It may have been the plan for McCutchen all along to become a major league bullpen contributor. And, considering someone must be moved to make room for Horne, now might be the opportune time for such a conversion. [This is merely spitballing on my part]

McCutchen's fastball, which regularly hovers above and below 92 mph, could receive a few extra ticks. The compliment of his changeup and curveball as potential outpitches could make him a valuable commodity out of the pen. Maybe most importantly is McCutchen's bulldog mentality on the mound and his eagerness to attack the strikezone.

Meanwhile in Trenton, George Kontos continues to flash dominance over AA hitters by tossing 7 innings of one-run ball, allowing 3 hits, striking out 7 and walking 2. Wednesday night's performance from Kontos lowered his season ERA to 3.01.

It's been a major turnaround for Kontos considering early April saw him pile up more walks than strikeouts. As of today, Kontos now boasts a very respectable 63 strikeouts to 25 walks over 68.2 innings. In his last five starts Kontos tossed 33 innings [going seven innings in four of five starts] with 30 strikeouts, 9 walks and 8 earned runs on just 19 hits.

Joining Kontos in AA dominance is Mark Melancon who tossed another three scoreless innings of work, earning his third victory of the year. Over the three frames Melancon struck out 2, walked zero and allowed one hit, dropping his ERA to 1.53 on the year. Through 17.2 innings at the AA level, Melancon has allowed just 10 hits and 2 walks while striking out 15 and limiting opposing hitters to a .169 batting average.

A promotion to AAA may soon be in order for the dominant Melancon should he continue such a high level of success. I would venture to guess Melancon will find himself pitching to AAA hitters by mid June.

Joba Debut Lasts 2.1 Innings

2008-06-03T23:02:00.010-04:00

Though the results were not superlative, Joba Chamberlain maintained his electric stuff thoroughout his brief major league starting debut Tuesday night. About a year ago I wrote that Chamberlain's velocity would still sit 94-98mph deep into games and most who have seen him start games in person would agree with that assessment.

Tonight was no different.

Throughout his mediocre outing, Chamberlain often hit the high 90's with his fastball and touched triple digits on the stadium gun a handful of times as well. According to MLB Gameday, 22 of Chamberlain's 45 fastballs were between 96-99 mph. Essentially, half of his fastballs were thrown in the upper 90's. The slider was biting, as was the curveball, but his command was understandably shaken as many youngsters feel nerves during their first start.

The four walks were somewhat redeemed by the solid three strikeouts tallied in less than three innings of work. The two runs allowed were aided by Dan Giese and a phantom balk, but were mostly caused by an uncharacteristic dispersement of free passes.

Columnist Dan Graziano of the Star Ledger had a straightforward recap of Joba's starting debut:

Nothing kills hype like reality, and Joba Chamberlain's first major-league start was a lot more fizzle than sizzle.

The Yankees' 22-year-old phenom tickled the Yankee Stadium radar gun at 100-plus mph five times in the first three innings of tonight's game. But a laborious first inning that required him to throw 38 pitches ensured a quick night. Manager Joe Girardi pulled Chamberlain from the game with one out in the third inning after he'd thrown just 62 pitches.

Incidentally, Mr. Graziano agreed to a brief interview with BL which should be up in the near future. Chamberlain's next scheduled start will be against Kansas City with an expected pitchcount of approximately 75-80 pitches.

JobaJobaJobaJobaJoba

2008-06-03T16:57:00.002-04:00

All Joba Chamberlain all the time:

Jayson Stark discusses Joba's transition with Curt Schilling and Tom Gordon - two pitchers who began in the big league bullpen before moving into the rotation. Orel Hershiser also give his two cents.

ESPN also has an Onion-esqe satirical piece on Joba's first start.

Yankees beatwriter Bryan Hoch gives his take.

A Star Ledger columnist looks into the Joba "hype machine."

Horne, Sanchez Take Another Step

2008-06-02T19:20:00.014-04:00

Alan Horne continues to make his way back from a bicep strain by tossing nearly six innings and reportedly could join the Scranton Wilkes-Barre rotation as soon as next week.

Since his injury on April 10th, Horne has gradually passed every test thrown at him and now finds himself with a high enough pitchcount to again knock on the big league door:

Horne threw 5.2 innings on 77 pitches today in extended spring training and said he expects to rejoin the Triple-A rotation this week.

According to his father, Horne had good command and bite on his curveball and slider. He allowed three or four hits, struck out 7 and only walked the last hitter he faced when [again, according to his father] Horne was losing his leg strength in the 97 degree heat.

Meanwhile, another power prospect - Humberto Sanchez - has been working his way back from Tommy John surgery and will soon be pitching to live batters. His armstrength has been built up to about 40-45 pitches.

Though the Yankees have yet to say anything official regarding Sanchez's role, it's widely believed he will break into the Yankees farm system as a late inning reliever.

I, myself and many other prospect watchers believe this is the right gameplan for an often injury ridden pitcher who possesses closer stuff. For me, Sanchez's ETA remains September, though that is simply an estimate on a very fickle athlete and injury recovery period.

Prior Done For Season,Sidearming Smoltz?

2008-06-01T21:11:00.007-04:00

Mark Prior signed a $1 million deal [excluding incentives] with the San Diego Padres last offseason in the hopes of resurrecting a career which had sputtered its way out of Wrigleyville.

Unfortunately for Prior, the painful phrase "season ending surgery" is again the mantra in 2008 as the righthander will have his shoulder operated on to repair the anterior capsule. Padres Manager Bud Black, a former big league pitcher himself told reporters "I can’t imagine how frustrated [Prior] is."

In other pitching injury news, John Smoltz is attempting to work his way back from an arm ailment which had hindered his performance by making some drastic changes to his delivery. The future HOFer will institute a three-quarters armslot with the goal of pitching toward contact, getting groundball outs, limiting strikeouts and thereby avoiding high stress pitchcounts. Apparently the transition is still very much experimental as Smoltz already threw a fastball six feet over a hitter's head last week during a minor league rehab outing.

Patterson Promoted To NY

2008-06-01T12:25:00.008-04:00

According to multiple reports, Scott Patterson has finally been called up to the majors in lieu of the short hook which will be awaiting Joba Chamberlain on Tuesday. Patterson was a wounded soldier after not making the big club out of Spring training, and that could have led to the tough start to his AAA campaign this year.

Over his 22 appearances [and 23.2 innings] at Scranton, Patterson struck out 22, walked just five, allowed 22 hits and pitched to a 3.04 ERA. Over his last 10 outings Patterson has 8 strikeouts, zero walks and 7 hits over 10.1 innings pitched with a 1.74 ERA.

Much of Patterson's success spawns from his unorthodox, funky delivery seen here:

The corresponding move was Morgan Ensberg getting the ol' DFA.

Garcia Impresses, McAllister Doesn't

2008-06-01T00:03:00.010-04:00

There is bounty of young power pitchers spread throughout the Yankees farm system these days. Some are flying through the ranks, some are struggling with recent promotions and others are working their way back from injuries.

From the excellent writers at Saberscouting comes this glowing praise for Tampa starter Chris Garcia this season:

Garcia’s been up to 93 [mph] with life with a curveball that’s flashed 70, best one I’ve ever seen. So I’m on the bandwagon if he can stay healthy and put it together.

Meanwhile Garcia's rotation mate, Zach McAllister, had a humbling High-A debut for Tampa tonight, allowing four runs on seven hits in four innings. True to form, McAllister's impressive 2008 k/bb ratio remains intact, striking out four and walking one [intentionally] during his outing.

In Scranton, the story was Dave Robertson who struck out six [walking zero] over 2.1 innings to get the win. Chad Jennings offered his take on Robertson:

Robertson was outstanding and the coaching staff was raving about his curveball. That might have been the best it's been this season, and his fastball still cuts like crazy. Chaves used a different bit of terminology to describe the fastball movement, but we'll keep this a family blog.

As far as I know, Garcia is slated to start for Tampa tomorrow. Keep in mind, Alan Horne is supposedly pitching "somewhere" tomorrow in either Charleston, Tampa, Trenton or Scranton. Whether or not this effects Garcia I do not know.

The Melancon Speaks

2008-05-31T10:37:00.002-04:00

To The Thunder Blog and discusses his velocity, repertoire as well as being labeled "The Next Joba."

Ashmore: For someone who hasn’t seen you pitch before, can you give me a scouting report on yourself in terms of what you throw and your mentality out there?

Melancon: “I have a two-seam fastball, four-seam fastball, curveball, and a changeup that I’m working on now. I feel a lot more comfortable with it than I did four or five weeks ago. I’m trying to incorporate all those pitches. Just kind of a bulldog mentality…I go after guys, and I’m not afraid to come in and locate inside. That’s kind of my mentality.”

Ashmore: I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you this, but that curveball you’ve got is pretty nasty. Is there a certain way that you throw it that makes it so successful, or…

Melancon: “I think my arm speed. I don’t spike it, it seems like a lot of guys…the new thing to do is spike it (a different way of gripping the pitch). I never had a feel for that pitch. When my curveball’s not as good, it’s usually because my arm speed isn’t there. I tell myself to throw it hard and mimic a fastball arm speed.”

Ashmore: So do you feel like your velocity is where it was before, or do you feel like you’re throwing harder…

Melancon: “Well, in college, I’d sit 92 or around there. And that’s where I’m sitting now. I feel like I wouldn’t get that velocity earlier in the year and now I feel like I’m getting it sooner in the year. But I still haven’t thrown that many innings in competitive games to know if I’m going to gain more velocity or what. But as of right now, I’m very happy with my velocity.”

Ashmore: Everybody says stuff like “the next Joba” when it comes to you…again, I’m well aware I’m not the first person to tell you that. But when people do say that to you, or you do hear that, what comes to mind…

Melancon: “Well, I’m thankful for Joba opening the door. Him and Ian, proving that young guys can do it. But at the same time, that’s fine if they compare me to Joba, because that’s a good thing. He’s doing really well. I don’t take that to heart as a bad thing.”

Melancon goes on to describe how important it was for him to close games at Arizona U. and how difficult the "very strenuous rehab" was coming back from Tommy John surgery.

The Air I Breathe

2008-05-30T18:05:00.009-04:00

[Warning: If you disliked 21 Grams & Magnolia ignore this post]

The Air I Breathe is basically a combination of Crash and Sin City with some Amores Perros influence involved as well. I just happened across this film during a trip to Blockbusters and was surprised with the dark, cinematics and gritty acting.

The cast includes giants like Andy Garcia and Forest Whitaker, as well as upcoming star Emile Hirsch and notables Kevin Bacon, Brendan Fraser, and Sarah Michelle Gellar.

If you enjoy obscure ensemble works like 11:14 you will like The Air. It's definitely worth a rent.

Also Recommend: You Kill Me; Wet Hot American Summer

Joba Will Start Tuesday At Home

2008-05-30T17:38:00.004-04:00

Joba Chamberlain will make the first major league start of his career this Tuesday at home against Toronto. As luck would have it, Chamberlain draws Blue Jays ace, Roy Halliday, which will surely make it a tough test for the 22 year-old.

Reportedly, Chamberlain will be limited to 65-70 pitches Tuesday then move up to 75-80 pitches and 85-90 pitches in his next two starts.

[HT to Matt]

More Tabata Drama

2008-05-30T13:41:00.005-04:00

Jose Tabata, top Yankees outfield prospect, found himself in more trouble after being removed from the dugout last night. The first report contends the genesis of Tabata's most recent drama began with his failure to backup Austin Jackson on a play in the outfield.

Apparently the details are still debatable, though The Thunder Blog intimates Tabata may have been involved in an altercation with Thunder shortstop Reegie Corona.

We had an in-house issue we needed to deal with. Don't ask me what it is because I'm not telling you,'' a visibly irritated [Manager Tony] Franklin said. "We're very pleased with the way he is playing. He is playing hard. But there are certain standards that need to be met within this organization and with this team, and when those standards are not met we take action. It's our job to make sure these players know what they are supposed to do at all times out there.''

According to one account, Reegie Corona chased a fly ball into medium right field in the middle of the game. It was, again according to this particular account, a ball that Tabata clearly should have waived Reegie off of. After the out, Tabata appeared to stare at Corona. When the inning was over something happened in the dugout. It looked like Tabata and another player, possibly Corona, were getting into it and there was some shoving at the home plate side of the dugout. Tabata was restrained and pulled into the tunnel.

Right now Tabata has one half of the Manny Ramirez comparison down flat. In other words, he acts like Manny, but hits like Willie Mays Hayes.

'King' Of Inaccuracy Says Joba Will Start Monday Or Tuesday

2008-05-30T13:36:00.006-04:00

From the NY Post's George King comes the opinion that Joba Chamberlain's first career big league start will come on either Monday [at the Twins] or Tuesday [against Toronto].

As of late afternoon, Joe Girardi and Cashman were undecided whether Chamberlain would start Monday or Tuesday. Because Monday's game is against the Twins at the Metrodome and would provide a calmer setting than Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium against the Blue Jays, and because it would provide Andy Pettitte with an extra day of rest when he goes Tuesday, that seemed a stronger option.

Chamberlain would most likely be on a pitchcount of around 75 in either case.

McAllister Promoted To Tampa

2008-05-29T20:08:00.006-04:00

Even Brian Cashman's preseason declaration that Zach McAllister [and Dellin Betances] would remain at Low-A Charleston all year couldn't hold off McAllister's promotion to Tampa.

The 20 year-old had proven all that was necessary at Charleston and having him continue to embarrass Low-A hitters would only delay his development. His XBox-like strikeout to walk ratio [53:8] and groundball to flyball ratio [2.16] are glaring supports of McAllister's promotion.

The Tampa Yankees rotation now has a very talented, young triumvirate of starters in McAllister [20], Ivan Nova [21], and Chris Garcia [22].

McAllister marks the first RiverDog to be promoted in the 2008 season.

The 6’6”, 230 lb. right-hander was enjoying a phenomenal first season in the South Atlantic League (SAL), posting a team-best 6-3 record with a 2.45 ERA. In 62.1 innings of work, the Chillicothe, Ill. native surrendered 28 runs (17 earned), while allowing just eight walks and striking out 53 batters.

From what I hear, McAllister added some velocity to his fastball and may have found a better feel for his four-seamer. Last year McAllister was primarily a sinker ball pitcher whose curve and changeup had not yet clicked. It would appear the youngster found something in Charleston and has been extremely consistent since that time.

Regardless of what minor league level Yankee fans decide to follow, chances are you will encounter some rising pitching prospects. Charleston awaits the return of Jairo Heredia and Betances [who was DLed with shoulder fatigue], while Trenton has George Kontos and Mark Melancon and, finally, Scranton boasts Alan Horne, Dan McCutchen, JB Cox and Dave Robertson.

DRAFT COVERAGEYanks Could Target RHP Cole

2008-05-29T15:02:00.010-04:00

The upcoming draft has a handful of top-tier talent. Unfortunately, the majority of these top draft prospects will most likely fall off the board before the Yankees pick at #28. There have been some rumors that Gerrit Cole, the talented California prepster, could slide to the Yankees on draft day. Could this be one time where Scott Boras' greed factor assists the Yankees?

Cole boasts a lightning quick arm that pumps lively fastballs at 93-97 mph as well as a solid slider in the 80's which projects as a plus pitch to go along with a developing changeup. Most reports paint Cole as a strike thrower with all three pitches which is even more impressive considering he is not a collegiate prospect.

How well Cole can command and advance his secondary pitches will dictate whether he is a frontline starter or backend bullpen arm. Either way, as unlikely as it may be, he could end up another high ceiling power pitcher [who touches 100 mph] amongst names like Brackman, Betances, McAllister, etc. If he's there, expect the Yankees to buy Cole out of his UCLA commitment.

From Keith Law's most recent ESPN chat:

Chris: Kennewick,WA: Keith Who do you see the yankees taking with #28? I know they take the best player left on the board, anychance that Gerrit cole is still around?

Keith Law: (1:54 PM ET ) I think they'd take Cole if he reached them, or Hosmer, Crow, or Alvarez if any of them slides that far. What I don't know is what they'll do if all the legit first-rounders with high bonus demands go before them.

Though Cole would be a great get at #28, Yankee fans would have wet dreams about Aaron Crow donning pinstripes.

Joba Has Decent Stuff

2008-05-29T12:53:00.005-04:00

NoMaas.org beat me to the punch on this one... Because I missed an inning of Joba Chamberlain's outing last night I went back to MLB.com's Gameday option to see how his stuff was grading out. Suffice to say this screenshot shows how ridiculous Chamberlain's pitching repertoire can be:

Even if Joba throws only 95-97mph in the sixth inning instead of the 98-100mph he used in the bullpen role, I'm pretty sure he will still be difficult to hit.

Mets Using Phony Attendance #'s

2008-05-28T23:43:00.007-04:00

That doesn't look like a sell-out.

Apparently the New York Mets have been doctoring their attendance figures in order to distort the perceived size of the Shea Stadium crowds. The organization, however, is taking more than the normal cosmetic liberties and instead are calling in figures up to 20,000 fans off.

Congratulations to the Mets, who successfully have taken over the lead in New York for fabricating attendance figures.
This was no easy accomplishment, because the Knicks have been piping numbers for several years now, pretending they had a string of sellouts when there were tickets available at the window and empty seats galore.

But now, the Mets have been adding pretend fans in tens of thousands, each and every night. At their last two games, announced attendances of 51,489 and 47,093 weren’t just exaggerations. They were dreamy fabrications.
I am not a stupid sportswriter. I know that these are supposed to be ticket sale numbers, not an exact turnstile count, and that there inevitably are some no-shows. But the Mets would require a 40% no-show rate to make this believable, and their crowd is working class. Very few Met fans are going to buy expensive tickets and then watch the game on television.
I was at these two games and personally witnessed entire, vast regions of the upper deck devoid of life. This is a stadium that seats 55,601. There were no more than 35,000 fans in the park on Monday, and no more than 25,000 on Tuesday.
I don’t quite understand why it is necessary to pretend that the Mets are drawing fans in droves to their lame-duck, decrepit stadium. Hopefully, when they move to Citi Field, there will be real bodies in the seats instead of air.

I had heard of this rumor recently and took it as a half truth. I assumed the Mets were overblowing their attendance numbers, but not at the levels which had been rumored.

Turns out the chatter was accurate as Shea Stadium is regularly filling up with imaginary no-shows. Not to say that the Mets are the only team who practice this technique, but going to such extremes is just weak.

Kennedy, Betances Placed On DL

2008-05-28T11:14:00.004-04:00

Ian Kennedy, as expected, will be placed on the disabled list with a strain of the lat muscle located near the shoulder. This is the same injury which pushed him out of the playoff rotation picture last season. Kennedy has been sent back to New York for an MRI and the medical staff will move forward from there.

Another top young arm in the Yankees organization - Dellin Betances - has officially been placed on the DL by the Charleston Riverdogs. Though Betances was shut down last year with elbow inflammation, it has not yet been determined what type of injury the hulking 6'9'' right hander suffered.

Joba Getting Rocket Texts

2008-05-28T10:56:00.003-04:00

Joba Chamberlain is getting text messages from Roger Clemens with advice on how to become a better major leaguer. No word on whether the texts contained a recipe for performance-enhancing-drugs.

Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain, who is making the transition from eighth-inning reliever to the rotation, says he is in touch with Clemens regularly.

“We text back and forth and I ask him a lot of questions, because that’s how you get better,” Chamberlain said before the Yankees’ game in Baltimore Tuesday night. “You can’t be afraid to ask questions. I ask him everything from workout questions to how to pitch to certain batters. I never thought I’d be texting Roger Clemens.”

...Chamberlain says he’s taking pieces of Clemens’ workout routine and incorporating them. One piece of advice Clemens gave him: “The easiest day should be the day you pitch,” Chamberlain says. “Then, I beat myself up in between starts. I run, lift, eat right and take care of myself between starts.”

Maybe Chamberlain should stick to pitching tips and leave the "workout questions" alone for now.

Horne Ready For Next Step

2008-05-28T10:39:00.004-04:00

From the SWB Yanks Blog comes news on Alan Horne and his progression coming back from an arm injury. Apparently Horne is done pitching in Extended Spring Training games and will throw in the higher affiliates this weekend.

[Horne] made another extended spring training start today, pitching 3.2 innings with seven strikeouts and no walks... Horne said he once again felt great.

He also said he doesn't expect to make another extended start, but he's not sure where his next assignment will be. All he's been told is that he will pitch somewhere on Sunday. Could be Tampa, Trenton or Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

There are a whole lot of people inside the organization pulling for Horne's return. There's also a bunch outside the organization in the form of reporters, fans, family, etc. I'm one of them.

W.O.W.

2008-05-28T10:09:00.004-04:00

What a horrendous loss. New York surrendered three straight leads of 4-0 and 8-4 and finally 9-8. The last two bullpen options to close the game were Jose Veras and someone who can't get lefties out.

To me, Veras was the choice as the upcoming inning called for three straight lefthanded hitters. However Joe Girardi calledup upon LaTroy Hawkins who will now have a new chant at Yankee Stadium: D-F-A.

Boy oh boy will the "Joba stays in the pen" crowd have a field day with this one.

Kennedy Leaves With Lat Strain

2008-05-27T21:08:00.003-04:00

Looks like the transitioning of Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation may have come at exactly the right time.

During another subpar performance from Ian Kennedy, the righthander was peculiarly lifted from the game after only 51 pitches and three innings of work. As you may imagine, IPK left due to an apparent arm injury and will be reevaluated tomorrow.

From NJ.com:

Yankees starter Ian Kennedy, who came out after three innings and 51 pitches, has been diagnosed with a "slight" strain of his right latissimus dorsi.

Because of an off day Thursday, he Yankees can get by with four starters unitl June 3. Could Joba Chamberlain be ready for the rotation by then?

I would bet my bottom dollar the Yankees are far too strict with Joba's transition strategy to start him on June 3rd - and only able to toss 80 pitches. Guys like Dan[imal] McCutchen may be available to make a start by then. If Alan Horne was a couple weeks further into his recovery time he would certainly be top candidate for a call up as well.

Avert Your Eyes, Met Fans

2008-05-27T11:57:00.003-04:00

How good is this guy?

Last night Scott Kazmir tossed 7 innings of one-run ball, striking out 10 and walking zero.

In his last four starts, Kazmir's thrown 26 innings with 13 hits, 27 strikeouts, 7 walks and 2 earned runs. He is 4-0 over this time, carrying Tampa Bay back into first place in the AL East.

Every team has horrendous trades [AJ Pierzynski to the Giants anyone?] but the name Victor Zambrano will last forever in Flushing.

Columnists Want Joba In Pen

2008-05-27T11:44:00.004-04:00

Completely unsurprising in its uniformity, is the shared opinion of most baseball columnists that moving Joba Chamberlain to the rotation is a mistake. Taking the George Washington Bridge at 4 o'clock could be a mistake as well, but if it's the smartest route toward your destination, how are you going to know unless you actually give it a shot.

Keeping Chamberlain in the bullpen this year means another wasted year in which Chamberlain hasn't thrown enough innings to become a fulltime starter next season. It's always funny to me to see those stubborn sports writers (not all of course) try out their crystal balls and pretend a setup man supercedes the contributions a frontine starter could offer.

It was especially enjoyable to hear one particular beat reporter contend the Yankees might have won yesterday had Joba been pitching and not Hawkins/Veras. Discard the fact that the Yankees were losing when the terrible twosome entered the ballgame, there have to be other relievers in the Yankees pen besides Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera. If New York was protecting a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning in which Hawkins and Vera's blew, there would have at least been a point to take seriously.

Cano Walks Off, Garcia K's 10

2008-05-22T22:27:00.004-04:00

Robinson Cano put a bow on the best performance from Ian Kennedy this year by hitting a walk off RBI single and giving the Yankees a 2-1 win. Kennedy tossed six innings, striking out four (but walking four) and allowing only one run on four hits. Escaping a bases-loaded with one out jam without yielding a run was the key point of the game.

IN PROSPECT NEWS:

Chris Garcia was an uber prospect out of high school but has since become an injury bitten enigma. This year, Garcia is making his way back into games and made his 2008 debut last week. Tonight, the 22 year-old Garcia tossed a gem by striking out 10 batters, walking one and surrendering two hits over six scoreless innings.

I haven't yet heard about Garcia's stuff or velocity, but when he was 100% healthy in years past he would use a plus fastball ranging from 92-95 mph and touching 97. Though his fastball is reportedly only at 91+ mph right now, Garcia will likely regain his velocity down the road. At 6'5 and 210 lbs. he has the perfect frame for workhorse power pitcher.

Pre Tommy John, Garcia also possesses dynamite off-speed pitches including a hammer power curveball 80-83 mph. Along with his knuckle curve Garcia also uses a devastating changeup around 80mph. It was said that when Garcia was healthy and could stay on the mound he had the best curve and changeup in the entire organization.

If Garcia dominates at A+ Tampa, he could move rather quickly. However, the most important part of Garcia's season will be proving he can remain healthy and log innings. Striking out 16 batters [to just 2 walks] through 10.2 innings this year is a step in the right direction.

Braves Fan Falls To Death

2008-05-22T14:57:00.003-04:00

This is the second such incident in which a MLB fan has fallen to his death while leaving a stadium's confines. Unlike the first tragic event which took place at Shea Stadium, this latest tragedy involves a potential overuse of alcohol as a cause. An eerie coincidence that both instances came during a Mets game:

Justin Hayes of Cumming, Ga., suffered head injuries Wednesday night and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. He fell about 150 feet from the club level to the landing on the field level during the eighth inning.
The investigation is "pointing toward drinking. Alcohol was a factor," said Atlanta police department spokesman Ronald Campbell on Thursday.
Campbell said Hayes may have been sliding down the handrails when he fell.

There has to be some way to require these immense stairwells be covered with plexiglass and the like to ensure no one can fall.

Olney: Santana's Wear & Tear

2008-05-22T11:28:00.003-04:00

From Buster Olney's blog today comes the discussion of Johan Santana's longterm health and effectiveness throughout his contract with the Mets:

Heard this from a couple of evaluators: Johan Santana's velocity is down 3-4 miles per hour from a couple of years ago. He is short-arming the ball more than he has in the past -- and this is after some red flags appeared in the physical examination he underwent before signing with the Mets. Sources say his shoulder showed some wear and tear, which is not unusual for a pitcher of Santana's age. This is not to say Santana is not an effective pitcher now, but all of this information makes you wonder how effective he will remain during the course of his multi-year deal.

Obviously, these rumors could be discarded should Santana continue to dominate hitters during the life of his new deal. However, should Santana's shoulder crumble in the next couple of seasons it will be interesting to hear what Hank Steinbrenner [and similar-sounding Yankee fans] feel about Brian Cashman's decision to pass on the Johan sweepstakes.

To be fair, when I saw Santana pitch at Yankee Stadium last weekend the stadium gun had the lefty consistently pitching 91-93 mph. Santana frequently hit 94 and topped out at 96 a few times with his fastball. This is all reliant on the Yankee Stadium radar gun which is often said to be inaccurate at times. Though Keith Law agrees with that idea, I usually find the stadium gun to be very accurate.

Newsflash, Joba To Become StarterGirardi: "The Process Has Started"

2008-05-21T23:15:00.013-04:00

By July 1, a Nebraskan fireballer will be starting games every fifth day for the Yankees. As this blog and several other Yankee sites had been confidently asserting since spring training, Joba Chamberlain is to become a starting pitcher in 2008.

Now it's official as Joe Girardi told Kim Jones after the game, "The process has started."

It was pretty evident that the process had begun once Chamberlain threw four or five changeups in the two innings he pitched during an 8-0 blowout victory Wednesday night.

As soon as I saw the 80 mph radar readings and the solid fading downward movement of his change I knew Joba to the Rotation had begun. The only guy on the YES telecast not observant enough to recognize it was Michael Kay as John Flaherty and Singleton read the handwriting on the wall.

Mark Melancon and JB Cox and Dan McCutchen and Dave Robertson just got a whole lot closer to the majors - even though they currently remain at their respective AA and AAA levels.

It will be extremely entertaining to hear the NY radio talk circuit munch on this for hour after hour. It will be just as fun to see how clueless some of these personalities are regarding the minor league prospects moving towards the back of the bullpen.

Just a bit of advice. If any writer, radio host or ESPN analyst states names like Farnsworth or Hawkins as Joba's longterm replacement as the setup man feel free to disregard them as having any knowledge about baseball for the remainder of your sports-watching life.

As Big Club Falters, Minors Prosper

2008-05-21T00:23:00.012-04:00

The big club in the Bronx may look like the Bad News Bears recently, but the Yankees minor leaguers are giving fans something to smile about.

With Joba Chamberlain's meteoric rise through the minors a well-chronicled journey last year, fans will be much more inclined to keep their ears open for the next young fireballer. Hopefully some of my thoughts will contribute toward your overall prospect knowledge in some capacity.

Periodically throughout every week I will recap the most noteworthy goings-on in the baby bombers arena. Today the focus will be on rising pitching prospects who all took the mound on Tuesday night.

Zach McAllister continues to dominate Sally league:

Last night - 8 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts.

Over his past two starts McAllister [pictured above] has thrown 15 innings, struck out 17, walked zero and allowed one earned run. That's domination. Over nine starts this season McAllister has had exactly one outing which was not very good.

Mark Melancon's progression has been superaltive:

Last night - 3 hitless and scoreless innings, 4 strikeouts, 1 walk, 5 groundball outs to zero in the air. [Melancon entered the game in a 0-0 tie and held off Reading until his team scored three runs in the top of the 10th before closing it out with a 1-2-3 inning]

Once again, that's domination. If you had never heard his name before and went to see him pitch now, you would assume Melancon had been making his way through the minor league ranks for at least a couple years before arriving in Trenton. [Try 37 career minor league innings] His mound demeanor and stuff continue to soar off scouting charts.

JB Cox knocking on the door:

Last night - 1.2 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk

His last professional season - which was at AA Trenton - was a dominant campaign for the former Texas University closer. Since returning from elbow surgery this year, Cox has pitched 16.1 innings with a 1.65 ERA and 2.38 GO/AO rate. Safe to say the sinker/slider repertoire remained intact for Cox. Should JB continue to pitch this well at AAA - for say a month or so - he could soon bolster a Joba-less bullpen.

Scott Patterson recovers from early woes:

Last night - 1 inning, 0 hits/runs/walks/strikeouts

In his last nine appearances, Patterson has not allowed an earned run. Over those 9.1 innings the funky righthander allowed 6 hits, 2 walks to go with 9 strikeouts. On the year Patterson has now tossed 20 innings, giving up 17 hits while striking out 19 to just 5 walks and posting a solid 2.70 ERA. It would seem Patterson has fully returned after a poor start to his 2008 season.

Ivan Nova looking to get on track:

Last night - 8 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk

In by far his best start of the season, Nova looked like the dominating pitcher many Yankee fans hope he can develop into. Though this season - and somewhat his career - has been extremely inconsistent, the 21 year-old still has a great deal of promise, evidenced by last night's performance. There had been rumors this April that Nova had lost some of the velocity off his plus fastball [which averaged 93mph last year], but building on his last start would help to quiet his critics.

Jeter Day-To-Day

2008-05-21T00:17:00.003-04:00

After taking a 93 mph Daniel Cabrera fastball to the left hand, Derek Jeter is officially day to day. [How much you want to bet Mike Mussina paid Cabrera to plunk Jeter after the Yankees shortstop flubbed a routine grounder which extended a nightmare first inning and ending the frame trailing 7-0 instead of what would have been just a 1-0 deficit.]

But of course Jeter says he is fine:

"It'll be fine," said Jeter, whose hand was in a protective wrap after the game. "It's not a big deal. I should be all right by (today). He hit me pretty good. (Thankfully) it's not broken."

Yankees reliever LaTroy Hawkins incited a bench-clearing incident in the top of the sixth when he threw at Orioles outfielder Luke Scott's head in apparent retaliation. Home plate umpire Chuck Meriwether promptly ejected Hawkins. No punches were thrown after the benches and bullpens emptied.

Scott was incensed that Hawkins aimed at his head.

"Of course it was (intentional)," Scott said. "I understand that you have to protect your players, but there's a certain way to go about it and that was not it. You never throw at anyone's head intentionally. You can injure someone. ... You can end a career."

Hawkins said that he was simply "throwing the pitch inside and it got away from me."

Alex Rodriguez returned from the DL, so it was only fair that the Yankees Captain become injured. So is the way of the Yankees universe these days.

McCutchen Promoted To AAA

2008-05-20T15:52:00.002-04:00

George King can now put it in his column.

The New York Post writer initially jumped the gun last week, but now Dan McCutchen has officially been called up to AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

The promotion was well-deserved for Cutch who over 91 total innings at Trenton struck out 82 batters, walked 27, allowed 78 hits and pitched to an ERA under 2.50 and nearly an even 1.00 WHIP.

[Over his 222 career minor league innings, Cutch has a 2.43 ERA, a 6.97 h/9, a 1.02 WHIP, a 0.69 hr/9 and 2.19 bb/9]

In a corresponding move, Bo Hall has been sent down to Trenton.

On and off the field McCutchen is a hard-working, good guy who is certainly worthy of such success and movement.

Did Hank Consult Hal?

2008-05-20T01:58:00.003-04:00

It would sound like Hank Steinbrenner took some advice from his brother before his latest public comments:

“I don’t think, truthfully, anybody knows exactly who’s going to be where in the American League. Only two teams among the favorites are doing anything right now, and that’s the Red Sox and the Angels. We’re not doing well, Detroit’s not doing well, Cleveland’s not doing that great. The A.L. is a little topsy-turvy.
“I don’t know if we need to make any trades. We’ll see what happens, but I think the days where you can get a Cone or a Duque or a Wells may be over. We didn’t get Santana, so we’ve got to deal with what we have, and we’ll do the best that we can and keep building.”

I did not bring up Johan Santana, but since Steinbrenner mentioned him, I asked if he still thinks about that potential trade, and whether Santana’s performance this season would have any bearing on his evaluations going forward.

“That ship has sailed,” Steinbrenner said. “I’m not going to keep dwelling on that. Everybody knows what my opinion was, but that’s in the past. Mussina’s pitching great. Wang has turned out to be an ace. I know Andy will start pitching well again. Rasner’s been impressive, and our bullpen’s been great. Our hitting will come around – it’s got to.”

So by "not going to keep dwelling on [Santana]," that means you will still bring him up unprovoked? Hankenstein needs to get himself a better definition of dwell.

Horne Survives Spring Start

2008-05-19T16:56:00.003-04:00

Alan Horne, the top Yankees pitching prospect recovering from a bicep strain, pitched two scoreless innings today in an Extended Spring Training game. He threw some 26 pitches and is slated to get in another game on Thursday with a goal of upping his pitchcount to 50.

Though no timetable is currently set in stone, it is altogether possible Horne rejoins the AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre rotation in a week. Horne provides another starting pitching option or trading chip for Brian Cashman to plug in.

Meanwhile... Jeff Karstens will start tonight for Scranton after pitching in Tampa of late. Karstens has been working his way back from a groin injury suffered in early Spring and could ultimately find his way into a longman role in ~~turnoverville~~ the Yankees bullpen.

A-Rod Is A-OK For Return

2008-05-19T16:22:00.002-04:00

Alex Rodriguez is ready to go per the Star Ledger update:

The word from Tampa: Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-6 in his final extended spring training game and is ready to join the team tomorrow.

"I'm excited to get back into Yankee Stadium and playing baseball. It's where I belong," Rodriguez told the Associated Press.

More from the AP: Rodriguez doubled and singled in six at-bats against Philadelphia minor league right-hander Reginal Simon. He also reached on error, struck out and flied out twice, making him 3-for-10 with a homer in two extended spring training games.

"I wanted to go left, I wanted to go right defensively. I wanted to come forward on some slow rollers, and I got every [grounder]," Rodriguez said. "I'm happy about that. I got a chance to slide a few times, and swing the bat well."

The defending AL MVP will have a great deal of pressure on his shoulders to immediately perform at a high level.

Farnsworthless Reappears,McAllister & Betances Dominant

2008-05-17T21:17:00.022-04:00

Not the most exciting game I've seen at the stadium, but hey, at least the real Kyle Farnsworth stood up. Two homers, three runs coughed up during a one-run game that Andy Pettitte scratched and clawed through turned a nail-biter into another ugly Yankees loss. Like every baseball fan already knows, Farnsworth can string together a couple weeks of good pitching, but every time he's placed in a pressure spot he'll fold, as today once again proves.

Joba Chamberlain has been going to the curveball with much more regularity. Maybe the Yankees have told him to refine his curve and changeup in preparation for joining the starting rotation. Maybe I'm putting the cart before the horse. Either way, Carlos Delgado won a hard fought battle, resulting in a much needed insurance run as the Mets earned an important 7-4 win.

Mark Melancon and JB Cox continue to move up the ranks. Soon the words Farnsworth and pressure situation will be aliens to a Yankee fan's vocabulary.

- Meanwhile, in the lower ranks:

Charleston young guns Zach McAllister [20] and Dellin Betances [20] are making real progress. McAllister has been especially dominant: 49 innings, 44 hits, 43 strikeouts, 7 walks, 2.20 ERA. The 6:1 ratio of strikeouts to walks and 2.66 GO/AO are video game numbers and his last outing was extremely impressive.

After the only terrible outing of his 2008 campaign [8 runs on 11 hits over 3 innings], McAllister dominated in his next start by tossing 7 shutout innings, striking out 11 and walking zero. Though he is still a youngan, McAllister has already outclassed the Sally League competition and is deserving of a Tampa promotion.

Betances, in the meantime, has been striking out batters left and right. Unfortunately, he's also been handing out walks like they're going out of style. Over 47 innings Betances has only allowed 27 hits and struck out a ridiculous 57 batters [while walking an equally noticeable 32], with a 3.26 ERA and .167 batting average against. A source in Charleston let me know Betances has been sitting 92-94 mph with his fastball and hitting 96 on occasion.

Like McAllister, Betances had suffered the worst start of his 2008 season a week ago before recovering extremely well yesterday by throwing 6 no-hit innings and striking out 8 batters before being pulled for pitchcount. (Betances is regularly held to 90 pitches and was taken out of the game after throwing 94 last night) According to multiple forums, Betances was sitting at 94 mph all night, hit 95 on the gun 15 times and topped out at 97.

Though Betances has the higher ceiling, McAllister is obviously showing the greater command and maturity. Before the season started, Brian Cashman decreed both elite arms would spend the entire season at Charleston. However, McAllister has already proven to need a higher level of competition and Betances may soon follow suit - if he can ever reduce his current walk rate of 6.80 b/9.

Finally, the much anticipated return of Christian Garcia took place tonight as the oft-injured pitching prospect threw 4.2 innings for Tampa, allowed 6 hits, 1 earned run, struck out 6 and walked 1. Garcia has been making his way back from Tommy John and serious knee surgeries and, when healthy, possesses some of the best stuff in the entire Yankees farm system. Keep an eye on Garcia this year as he is an very intriguing project.

See You At The Game

2008-05-17T00:17:00.003-04:00

Luckily I didn't get tickets for last night's game, but I will be in attendance for this afternoon's match up which pits Andy Pettitte against Johan Santana.

This will be the first time I see Santana in person. I missed him by a day last summer when I was in Minneapolis and, typically, the night before Santana struck out 17 Texas Rangers over eight innings.

The Yankees will be hoping for a more tame Johan on Saturday.

Girardi's Dead On...On Kennedy

2008-05-16T23:37:00.007-04:00

Caught the tail end of Joe Girardi's weekly appearance on the Mike & The Mad Dog radio show and he said what I've been thinking (and blogging) since Ian Kennedy's 2008 struggles began.

"He's become a two-pitch pitcher" was the thought Girardi relayed to Francesa & Russo when asked about Kennedy's continued struggles Thursday afternoon. The Yankees manager then stated Kennedy "needs to use all his pitches."

After hearing about Kennedy's great performance at AAA [in which the righthander had a perfect game going], it was significant to note the effectiveness of his curveball that night. I said, and still say, the command and use of the curveball is a key cog in deciding whether he will have success at the major league level.

Without his curve - and occasional slider - Kennedy becomes a fastball/changeup pitcher without the threat of another pitch. [Edwar Ramirez comes to mind, right?] Obviously Kennedy is most comfortable and in command of these two pitches and is scared of taking the chance of using his breaking balls.

However, he does not have the velocity differential that Johan Santana [and now Edinson Volquez] incorporates and therefore must rely on breaking pitches. And even if Kennedy had Santana or Volquez's plus fastball to accompany their dominant changeups, no starter can survive without a reliable breaking ball - as Volquez will soon learn and Santana already has in refining his slider.

The sooner Kennedy let's it go with his breaking balls, the sooner he will discover how to get major leaguers out. As long as the USC alum remains tentative with throwing the hook, hitters will wait on the fastball and keep pounding him into the cheap seats.

For Yankees fans, it's a positive sign Girardi noticed this particular tendency. The next step is rectifying it.