Jhonny on the Spot

Who invented that spelling anyway? Mike Ashmore has more on the Yankees acquisition, Jhonny Nunez.

- Nunez was the 25th best prospect in the Nationals organization coming into the season.

- He was the 8th best right-handed starter in the organization, behind such pitchers as Collin Balester, Tyler Clippard, Jordan Zimmermann, Shairon Martis and Colt Willems.

- He was acquired by the Nats from the Dodgers in a trade for Marlon Anderson.

- He throws a 94 MPH fastball, a slider and a changeup.

"Jhonny" made us think of this 80's Don Henley song...

Share

Yankees Deal Alberto Gonzalez

The Yankees have traded minor league shortstop Alberto Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals for pitcher Johnny Nunez.

We don't quite get this one unless the Yankees needed to make room on the 40-man roster and didn't want to just lose Gonzalez.

Share

Houston, We Have Lift Off

Sounds a lot better than, "Houston, we have a problem". The Yankees player their first ever regular season series in Houston when they start a 3-game series tonight. The Yankees haven't played the Astros since June 10-12, 2003. The Yankees took two of three in the series, but in the one game they lost they were no-hit.

The Houston Astrodome was a tough place to hit home runs, but that is not the case in Minute Maid Park, which opened in 2000 and, at the time, unfortunately had its naming rights owned by Enron. The Brewers and Astros combined for 15 home runs in the latter two games of their series on Wednesday and Thursday.

The park includes a retractable roof, and an annoying replica train filled with replica oranges. The craziest part of MMP is the uphill slope in center field, which can trip up the best defender. MMP holds just under 41K and its dimensions, per mlb.com are as follows:

Distances from plate:
Left field - 315 feet
Left-center - 362 feet
Center field - 435 feet
Deepest point - 436 feet
Right-center - 373 feet
Right field - 326 feet

Height of wall:
Left field - 19 feet
Left-center - 25 feet
Center field - 10 feet
Deepest point - 10 feet
Right-center - 10 feet
Right field - 7 feet


The Yankees did play one game here, back on March 30, 1999. It was an exhibition game prior to the regular season, with the Astros winning it 6-5. Jason Grimsley took the loss, while Paul O'Neill and Ricky Ledee each homered in the first game in the park's history. The Yankees also played the first exhibition game in 1965 prior to the Astrodome opening. Mickey Mantle hit the first home run and the Yankees lost 2-1.

The Yankees have already made a roster move and it's a good one. They've sent little used Shelley Duncan down to Scranton and recalled infielder Alberto Gonzalez. The latter's defense and mobility will make him a much better fit in the NL parks.

Pitching Probables for the Series

Friday - Joba Chamberlain (1-2, 2.67) vs. Shawn Chacon (2-2, 4.96) 8:00 EDT
Saturday - Mike Mussina (9-4, 3.82) vs. Wandy Rodriguez (2-2, 1.99) 7:00 EDT
Sunday - Chien-Ming Wang (7-2, 4.30) vs. Roy Oswalt (5-6., 5.06) 2:00 EDT

Share

Minor League Recap - 6/12

The Yankees starting pitching stunk up the joint Wednesday night, but there were a hnumberimpressive performances in the minor league system. Zach McAllister (2-1, 2.65) picked up his 2nd win for Tampa by allowing 1 earned in 6 innings. The Yankees beat the St. Lucie Mets 5-2 behind a pair of RBI each from Andres Perez and Josue Calzado.

June 11, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tampa 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 7 2 St. Lucie 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 3 Recap | Box W: Z. McAllister (2-1, 2.65); L: E. Niesen (3-7, 4.24); SV: J. Schmidt (5) HR: None.

Al Aceves bounced back from a poor showing to dominate the Connecticut Defenders, but still came out on the short end of 1-0 score. Aceves allowed 3 hits over 7 innings, didn't issue a walk, and struck out 7, but the Thunder managed just 6 hits. Mark Melancon also pitched a pair of hitless innings.

June 11, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Connecticut 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 Trenton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 Recap | Box | W: P. Oseguera (1-1, 3.81); L: A. Aceves (1-2, 2.00); SV: S. Romo (11) HR: None.

Scranton pounded the Richmond Braves 9-2 as Jeff Karstens made a return trip from the DL. He allowed 1 earned run over 5 innings to earn the win. Alberto Gonzalez had a 3-hit, 3 RBI night, and Greg Porter added 3 hits and 2 RBI of his own. Matt Carson had 3 hits as well as the Yankees banged out 14 hits on the night. Scott Patterson, Billy Traber, and Dave Robertson struck out 8 in 4 scoreless innings of relief.

J.B. Cox was placed on the 15-day DL with shoulder tendinitis.

June 11, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Scranton/WB 2 0 2 2 0 0 1 2 0 9 14 1 Richmond 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 6 2 Recap | Box | W: J. Karstens (1-2, 6.11); L: D. Moss (2-6, 4.81) HR: None.

Lance Pendleton improved to 6-2, 1.89 with an impressive 7 inning performance in the Charleston RiverDogs 6-1 win over the Rome Braves. Pendleton allowed 1 unearned run, scattered 7 hits and struck out 8 while not issuing a free pass. Austin Krum singled, doubled, homered, and drove in 3, and Jesus Montero added 3 hits.

June 11, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Charleston 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 6 12 2 Rome 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 1 Recap | Box | W: L. Pendleton (6-2, 1.89); L: C. Rodgers (1-9, 4.78) HR: CHA: A. Krum (4).

Share

Minor League Recap - 6/11

Scranton rallied late, but fell short in an 8-5 loss to the Richmond Braves. Jeff Marquez allowed 5 runs, 3 earned, in 5 innings, and the Braves reached Steven White for another 3 (2 earned) in 1.1 IP. Jason Lane homered, and he and Alberto Gonzalez drove in 2 runs each as the Yankees scored all of their runs in the last 2 innings of play.

June 10, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Scranton/WB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 5 9 3 Richmond 0 0 2 0 3 1 2 0 X 8 9 1 Recap | Box | W: M. Gonzalez (1-0, 3.38); L: J. Marquez (5-7, 5.13) HR: SWB: J. Lane (13).

The Trenton Thunder dropped a 6-3 game to the Connecticut Defenders. George Kontos had his first bad start in quite some time, allowing 4 runs in just 3.1 innings. Edwar Gonzalez had 2 hits to raise his average to .324 and scored a couple of runs.

June 10, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Connecticut 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 6 12 1 Trenton 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 0 Recap | Box | W: D. McKae (5-3, 5.16); L: G. Kontos (2-5, 3.38); SV: S. Romo (10) HR: CT: C. Sosa (6).

The Tampa Yankees were out scored by the St. Lucie Mets 10-7 as Ivan Nova got hammered in his 4 inning start. Mitch Hilligoss lead the offense with 3 RBI.

June 10, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tampa 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 3 7 10 3 St. Lucie 5 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 X 10 11 0 Recap | Box W: A. Calero (1-0, 6.75); L: I. Nova (3-8, 5.15); SV: C. Hoorelbeke (1) HR: None.

The Charleston RiverDogs were the lone Yankees affiliate to pick up a win, beating the Rome Braves 5-2. Adam Olbrychowski allowed 2 runs over 6 innings and Jon Ortiz picked up his 19th save. Austin Romine drove in 2 runs and the RiverDogs had an 11-hit attack.

June 10, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Charleston 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 5 11 0 Rome 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 0 Recap | Box | W: A. Olbrychowski (4-2, 3.19); L: E. Barrett (1-7, 5.98); SV: J. Ortiz (19) HR: ROM: A. Coe (4).

Share