The Weekend Yankeeland - 12/28

Andy Martino of the Daily News has a lengthy piece on the new responsibilities Joba Chamberlain faces both as a budding star and as an adult.

Holly Sanders of the Post shakes down the money sitch in the Bronx.

The odds of Andy Pettitte returning to the Yankees is getting less and less according to several area writers. Looks like Andy doesn't want to take a pay cut. Yo, Andy, don't damage your rep even more than you did with your HGH admission.

The "lets hope the Yankees fail" nonsense has already started.

David Cone is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. Let the debate begin.

Brian Bruney talks about the holidays and the joy of being a Dad.

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The Daily Yankeeland - 8/19

The debate continues: Hughes or Pavano for this Saturday? Nobody outside of Pavano's family wants to see him back in the Bronx (and maybe not even them), but we get the sickening feeling it may happen.

The Bronx is still getting screwed out of park areas due to the new Stadium.

A Toronto columnist basically reiterates what Bill Madden said about Hank Steinbrenner.

Andy Pettitte discusses this season.

The Daily Astorian (Oregon) takes a look at one of its native sons, Brian Bruney.

Mike Ashmore talks to George Kontos, who was nearly a Pirate.

This is apparently real since we've seen it several times. The Trenton Thunder's new GM is Will Smith (no- not that one). And his wife's name is Jada.

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Minor League Recap - 7/8

Here's a quick recap since we checked in last.

Triple-A
Scranton went 2-2 with one game suspended by rain. Among the highlights was Dan McCutchen's complete game shutout of the Syracuse Chiefs on July 5. McCutchen allowed 5 hits, walked none, and struck out 10. Eric Duncan helped him out a bit with 3 RBI in the 5-0 win. The Yankees also beat the Toledo Mud Hens 5-4 when Alberto Gonzalez hit his first home run of the season in the 12th inning.

On the downside, Jeff Karstens was knocked around by the Mud Hens last night, allowing 6 runs in 5.1 innings pitched. J.B. Cox also got tagged for 2 runs in 2.2 innings. Cox also got tagged for 4 runs in 2 innings Saturday in an 8-5 loss to Syracuse. Duncan belted a 3-run home run in that one

Double-A
The Trenton Thunder have won 4 of their last 5, including winning 3 of 4 from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. It started out with Jason Jones throwing 7 innings of 2-hit ball to beat the Portland Sea Dogs 4-0 on July 3. Phil Coke matched that effort with 7 innings of 2-hit ball against the Fisher Cats the next night in a 6-0 win.

More good pitching on 7/5 with 5 solid innings from Eric Hacker and a great job by the Thunder pen, in a 3-2 win over New Hampshire. And the Thunder won the series last night, 6-4, behind a pair of RBI each from Austin Jackson and Chris Malec. The lone set back was the third game of the series when George Kontos got knocked around in a 6-1 loss.

You wonder how long it will be until Anthony Claggett makes the jump to Triple-A. After 2 scoreless innings last night, his ERA is now 1.00 in 18 appearances for Trenton. His walk total, 16 in 36 IP, is a bit high, but he also has 33 strikeouts.

Jackson, meanwhile, has hit a bit of a slump with just 10 hits in his last 44 at-bats (.227). On the other hand, his fellow All-Star, Chris Malec, has been red hot, hitting .342 over the last 10 games.

Advanced 'A'
The Tampa Yankees are mired in a 7-game losing streak that started back on July 1st. For the most part the Yankees have gotten good pitching, but have had hitting woes. Ivan Nova gave up 2 runs over 7 innings on July 3, but the Yankees were beaten 2-1 by the Ft. Myers Miracle. The Miracle held the Yankees to 1 run in their 3 game series.

Then Tampa was swept by the Sarasota Reds. They were shutout for the third time in four games, 6-0 despite a great outing by Zach McAllister. He allowed 2 runs over 8 innings and struck out 9. Pitching was definitely not in the cards in the middle game of the series when Mike Dunn and the bullpen got blasted in a 12-5 loss. A 5-2 loss capped the series on Sunday (Monday's series opener with St. Lucie was rained out).


'A' Ball
The Charleston RiverDogs split their last four ball games, winning against Lexington last night 2-0. Wil de la Rosa struck out 9 and allowed just 2 hits over 6 innings. Jon Ortiz picked up his 22nd save of the season and Jesus Montero belted his 8th home run. The Dogs also beat the Augusta GreenJackets 6-3 on Sunday behind 3-hit ball by Jairo Heredia over 6-plus innings. Austine Romine went deep in that one.

Sunday's win would be the only game Charleston would take in the 4-game series with Augusta. They lost 5-4 on July 3 despite a pair of Brad Suttle home runs, and dropped a 5-2 game on July 4 despite a good rehab performance by Dellin Betances. The big right-hander, who didn't figure in the decision, allowed 2 runs over 5 innings and struck out 6. Betances allowed 3 hits and, more importantly, walked just one batter.

Short Season
No one is hotter than the Staten Island Yankees, who have won 10 in a row, including 5 straight since we last checked in. Luke Greinke didn't figure in the decision, but he tossed 4.2 shutout innings in the Baby Bombers 10-1 blow out of Mahoning Valley Scrappers on 7/3. Dan Brewer (hitting .351) and Mitch Albeita drove in 3 runs each.

The offense was at it again the next night in an 11-9 win over the Scrappers. Walt Ibarra hit a 3-run home runs and three players drove in 2 runs each.

Dave Phelps threw 5.1 innings to lead SI over the Auburn Doubledays, 6-2, on Saturday. Mike Lyon's (hitting .349) home run help propel the Yankees to a 4-2 win on Sunday and they finished off the Doubledays by the same score last night. Casey Erickson allowed 2 unearned runs over 6 innings and Albeita drove in another 3 runs.

Rookie Ball
The GCL Yankees dropped 3 of 4, their lone win being a 6-2 victory against the GCL Tigers. Chris Britton threw 2 shutout innings in a rehab stint. Emerson Landoni went 4-4.

Brian Bruney threw the first two innings of Saturday's game as he rehabs his Lysfranc injury. Humberto Sanchez also tossed one inning, striking out the side. The Tigers, however, were 7-1 winners.

Chad Gross hit a grand slam on Saturday, but the Yankees were out scored by the Phillies 10-9. The Philles won against last night 4-3 as Bruney and Sanchez each threw another inning. Landoni drove in 2 runs for the Yankees.

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Yankees Aching to Get Better

We'll be back with a recap of yesterday's game shortly, but first this news. Joba Chamberlain was unavailable in the bullpen yesterday and it wasn't because he threw 2 innings on Thursday. Joba apparently hurt his hamstring when he slipped on the mound in Chicago.

So lets see now. The field conditions in Chicago lead to Brian Bruney possibly being done for the year with an injured Lisfranc ligament in his foot, Kyle Farnsworth slipped and hurt his elbow (as much as we ride the guy, we don't want anyone..well outside of Jose Canseco...getting hurt), and now Joba. Lets stay out of Chi-town for a while.

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A Royal Mess

Rain, wind, vermin, pestilence....okay, we got carried away, but the Yankees look like they're plagued with a lot of problems right now. Another night of no hitting, and not enough pitching, spelled a 4-0 loss to the Kansas Royals last night.

With heavy rains in the forecast, Joe Girardi decided to hold off on sending starter Ian Kennedy to the mound and instead opted for an emergency start from reliever Brian Bruney. The right-hander struck out 4 in 2 scoreless innings before turning things over to Billy Traber who blanked the Royals in the 3rd. With heavy rains falling, the teams played on and Girardi still held out Kennedy. Which meant Kyle Farnsworth was coming in.

Farnsworth manged to pitch a scoreless 4th, thanks in part to Jose Molina throwing out Alex Gordon attempting to steal 2nd Base. But John Buck greeted Farnsworth in the 5th will a drive to center that landed in the fountains, or perhaps it was the Missouri River. That's how far the ball went.

Joey Gathright singled stole 2nd and came home on Jose Guillen's single for a 2-0 lead. Farnsworth finally escaped the 2-out, 2-men on jam, retiring Billy Butler on a ground out.

Meanwhile the Yankees hitters continued to slump against Royals starter Zach Grienke. Molina lead off the 3rd inning with a double and was still standing there when the inning ended. The Yankees mounted a 2-out rally in the 4th on an Alex Rodriguez double and a walk to Hideki Matsui, but Jason Giambi popped out to end the inning.

Kennedy finally came into the game in the 6th and immediately gave up 2 runs to extend the Royals lead to 4-0. Ross Gload delivered an RBI double and Tony Pena Jr.'s fielder's choice scored another.

Grienke left the game after the 8th and the Yankees had one more chance against the Royals bullpen in the 9th. A-Rod singled with one away and Matsui drew his second walk of the game. With Giambi due up, Trey Hillman opted to bring left-hander Jimmy Gobble. Giambi promptly popped out to Gordon at third for the 2nd out, and Molina struck out swinging to end the game.

News and Notes

The Yankees didn't help their cause any by grounding into 3 double plays.

As expected, Alberto Gonzalez was recalled before the game and placed in the lineup at shortstop. The rookie doubled in 3 trips to the plate. Unexpectedly, Shelley Duncan was sent to Scranton to make room. It makes sense since Big Dunc wasn't getting any at-bats.

An MRI revealed that Jorge Posada's shoulder problem is just a strain, so he'll be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

YES announcer David Cone is the buzz on blogs and media outlets this morning, because of a poor choice of words during last night's telecast. Speaking about the decision to hold off on bringing in Ian Kennedy, Cone said something to the effect of, "he was supposed to pitch, but then was jerked off." Oof.

Is there any reason to believe the Yankees won't get swept tonight? Yankees fans need to beat up on the schedule makers when they decide to schedule a series in Boston in April. This could be very ugly, even if the Sox aren't on top of their game either.

A-Rod bounced back from his Golden Sombrero with a 2-4 night. Robinson Cano has a modest 5-game hitting streak (6-21, .286) after going 1-4 last night.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, DH	3	0	1	0	1	2	2	.212
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.194
Abreu, RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.333
Rodriguez, 3B	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.303
Matsui, LF	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	.333
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	.056
Molina, C	4	0	1	0	0	1	2	.278
Cabrera, CF	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	.300
Gonzalez, SS	3	0	1	0	0	0	2	.333
Totals	31	0	7	0	3	3	14
BATTING 2B: Molina (3, Greinke), Rodriguez (4, Greinke), Gonzalez (1, Greinke), Damon (2, Greinke). TB: Damon 2; Cano; Rodriguez 3; Molina 2; Cabrera; Gonzalez 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Damon 2; Giambi; Cano; Molina. GIDP: Cano; Abreu; Gonzalez. Team LOB: 7.

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Bruney	2.0	1	0	0	1	4	0	0.00
Traber	1.0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0.00
Farnsworth (L, 0-1)	2.0	4	2	2	2	1	1	5.06
Kennedy	3.0	2	2	2	2	3	0	13.50

Kansas City	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Gathright, CF	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.219
Grudzielanek, 2B	3	1	1	0	1	0	1	.407
Teahen, LF	1	0	0	0	3	1	0	.286
Guillen, RF	4	0	1	1	0	1	3	.152
Butler, DH	3	0	1	0	1	0	2	.406
Gordon, 3B	3	1	1	0	1	2	2	.303
Gload, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	2	1	.345
Buck, C	4	1	2	1	0	1	1	.250
Pena, SS	4	0	0	1	0	1	1	.040
Totals	30	4	8	4	6	9	12
BATTING 2B: Butler (4, Bruney), Gload (1, Kennedy). HR: Buck (1, 5th inning off Farnsworth, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Gathright; Grudzielanek; Guillen; Butler 2; Gordon; Gload 2; Buck 5. RBI: Buck (5), Guillen (4), Gload (3), Pena (2). 2-out RBI: Guillen. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Buck; Guillen; Butler. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING SB: Gathright (6, 2nd base off Farnsworth/Molina). CS: Gordon (1, 2nd base by Farnsworth/Molina), Gathright (1, 3rd base by Farnsworth/Molina). FIELDING DP: 3 (Pena-Grudzielanek-Gload 2, Grudzielanek-Gload).

Pitches-strikes: Bruney 36-21, Traber 19-9, Farnsworth 30-18, Kennedy 52-32, Greinke 107-73, Yabuta 16-7, Gobble 6-5. Ground outs-fly outs: Bruney 2-0, Traber 1-1, Farnsworth 3-0, Kennedy 4-2, Greinke 14-8, Yabuta 1-0, Gobble 0-1. Batters faced: Bruney 8, Traber 5, Farnsworth 10, Kennedy 13, Greinke 29, Yabuta 3, Gobble 2. Inherited runners-scored: Gobble 2-0. Umpires: HP: Chad Fairchild. 1B: Rick Reed. 2B: Jeff Kellogg. 3B: Mark Wegner. Weather: 52 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, In from RF. T: 2:45. Att: 19,007.

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Snip Snip

Pitchers Chris Britton, Heath Phillips, Scott Strickland and Dan Giese were sent to the minor league camp last night. None of those moves was unexpected.

So now with 5 starters in place (Hughes-Wang-Moose-IPK-Pettitte) and 4 relievers (Mo-Joba-Farnsworth-Hawins), that leaves 3 openings in the pen. Figure Karstens or Rasner for the long man and Traber as the lefty specialist.

Which means everyone left is fighting for the final spot. Brian Bruney and Scott Patterson are the clear front runners. And while we would go with Patterson, particulary based on Bruney's past inconsistencies, we get the feeling Bruney will be the 25th man.

That would also mean that Jon Albaladejo, Edwar Ramirez, Ross Ohlendorf, and Jose Veras would be ticketed for the minors. Sean Henn is out of options and would have to pass through the waivers to be retained. However, Henn's shoulder is bothering him and it could land him on the DL.

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Brackman Makes for Large Target

Ian Kennedy has warned him, but the Yankees 1st round draft pick in 2007 refuses to back down. At 6'10", Andrew Brackman makes for a very large target for the team's veteran pranksters. Yesterday Brackman felt the full force of retaliating on an earlier prank with one of his own.

All of his sliders- the knee length underwear used to protect the legs - were slit down the middle. His Yankees cap fell to the same fate (hmm, that seems a little baseball blasphemous). But that was nothing compared to the damage done to the half-dozen pairs of work out shoes, new spikes included. All shoelaces were cut in half and each pair of shoes was sliced right down the middle.

Brackman's car has also mysteriously disappeared from the player's parking lot at times. But Brackman isn't fazed by what has occurred..

"I'm not quitting," Brackman said of the prankster battle.

Brian Bruney and LaTroy Hawkins are thought to be two of the biggest pranksters in the clubhouse. And though Hawkins denied having any direct responsibility for the action, his hands didn't seem totally clean. He also gave Brackman some words of advice.

Source: NY Post

While looking over the damage, he (Hawkins) did say, "My people took care of some business."

Asked if he had any advice for the 22-year-old, Hawkins offered, "You got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em."

Another unnamed player added, "If you get hit by a veteran and fire back," one Yankee insider noted, "they come at you 10 times harder."

Brackman has also gained celebrity/notoriety in the locker room for a Youtube video that has been making the rounds. Besides baseball, Brackman was also on the N.C. State basketball team. In the video, UNC's Reyshawn Terry dunks over the big man, who claims a charge should have been called.

In case you haven't seen it, here it is.



In the spirit of equal time, here's Brackman taking it to the hole at Moeller Prep in Cincinnati.

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The Daily Yankeeland

Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News has a feature on the new, and hopefully improved, Brian Bruney. As we've previously mentioned, Bruney dropped 18 pounds in the off-season; he's also dropped an attitude where he was afraid to fail.

"With Torre - and I'm not trying to bad-mouth anybody - sometimes you would go out there and try to be so good because you were scared of doing bad," Bruney said. "You can't pitch like that. (Joe) Girardi understands that you make mistakes - and I'm going to make them."

Bruney is glad for a fresh start with Joe Girardi and pitching coach Dave Eiland, whom he formed a good rapport with while spending part of the '07 season at Scranton.

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The Week Ahead

The Yankees will play an intrasquad game today, before facing the U. of South Florida on Friday. Then it's a home and away series with the Phillies over the weekend. Per Peter Abraham,

Mike Mussina will pitch two innings for the “home” team in the intrasquad game today. He’ll be followed by Darrell Rasner, Dan McCutchen, Sean Henn, Jon Albaladejo, Mark Melancon for one inning each.

Jeff Karstens will go two innings for the “away” team with Scott Patterson, Steven Jackson, Billy Traber, Edwar Ramirez, Ross Ohlendorf to follow.

And from the Star Ledger's Lisa Kennelley,

Chien-Ming Wang will pitch Saturday against the Phillies in Clearwater, Pettitte at home against Philadelphia on Sunday, and then Mussina again on Monday in Kissimmee against the Astros. Hughes will start Tuesday at Dunedin against the Blue Jays on short rest since he will only pitch one inning against South Florida.

* * *

Andy Pettitte is back focusing on his pitching and his 8 a.m. daily workouts. He's gotten Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy to join him. They in turn got Alan Horne to join the routine.

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"This isn't a zoo!" barked Roger Clemens at reports and photogs yesterday when he arrived at Houston Astros camp. Columnist Mike Vacarro disagrees and tells the Rocket its time to close the zoo.

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The Weekend Yankeeland

Joe Girardi has set the spring rotation up so that Chien-Ming Wang would be the opening day starter. The Wanger was supposed to get the assignment last season, but he was one of the many Yankees to suffer hamstring pulls. It's still hard to believe Carl Pavano made that start.

Joba Chamberlain may only be 22-yrs old, but he's one of the guys who are keeping the Yankees clubhouse loose. It was revealed a week ago that he and rookie Andrew Brackman were sporting nipple rings. Joba the Pitcher is a live wire who can even bring out humor, even in the sometimes curmudgeonly Mike Mussina. Just take this exchange reported by the NY Times' Joe LaPointe.

Addressing Mussina by his nickname, Moose, Chamberlain asked if he wanted to join in playing video games. "No", the 39-year-old Mussina told the 22-year-old Chamberlain; he does not play video games.

"Want to watch me play video games?" Chamberlain asked. "No thanks", Mussina said. "Well", Chamberlain continued, would Mussina like to play Ping-Pong? Without answering, Mussina kept walking out the door and turned left down the corridor.

So Chamberlain added in a loud voice, “Hey, is the hearing the first thing to go when you get old?”

Suddenly, Mussina reappeared in the doorway and replied, “I hear everything!” in a way that made Chamberlain smile and onlookers chuckle.

For a team that has long been the model of a corporate personality, guys like Joba and Shelley Duncan are a welcome addition.

The Daily News' Mark Feinsand has a good piece on Ian Kennedy, who may not have the same spotlight on him as Joba, but may make just as big a splash in the majors.

Speaking of guys not in the spolight- Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees' Director of Scouting is one such person. He's the guy responsible for the Yankees getting Kennedy, Chamberlain, and Mark Melancon in the same draft. John Harper of the News gives us an in-depth look at the man responsible for much of the team's young talent.

Steve Serby of the NY Post has a Q&A with freshly minted Hall-of-Famer, Goose Gossage. Topics included Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.

Ed Price of the Star Ledger has a story on the "other" Duncan- Eric Duncan, who is still trying to live up to his draft hype. Still just 23 years old, Duncan knows he needs to start putting up consistently good numbers.

Peter Abraham talks about the possibly new and improved Brian Bruney. The portly righty has lost 20 pounds and some of his bad attitude.

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That's about 25,000 a Walk

Brian Bruney avoided arbitration by agreeing to a 1-year $725,000 deal. Bruney falls into that pile of relievers that would be good, "if they could only harness that fastball". Nice job keeping the bullpen in shambles, Cash.

Maybe he should get his tattoo on home plate.

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Pick a Number, any Number

We're heading towards the end of January, which means its time for those little nasty meetings called arbitration hearings. Agents usually advise their clients not to attend so they don't hear the bad things that management says about them.

Wilson Betemit avoided arbitration by agreeing last week to a 1-year, $1.165 million deal. That's a bump of three-quarters of a million dollars. In the meantime, representatives for Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano, and Brian Bruney have submitted their arbitration figures and the Yankees have countered with their offers. Here's how it shakes out.

Chieng-Ming Wang Wants: $4.6 million
Yankees: $4 million
2007 Salary: $489,500

Our Take: Considering Wang has won 19 games in back-to-back seasons, we don't see his playoff meltdown impacting his salary. We think he should be awarded the higher figure. Obviously we'd like to see the two sides compromise at $4.3 and avoid the hearing.

Robinson Cano Wants: $4.55 million
Yankees: $3.2 million
2007 Salary: $490,800

Our Take: This is a tough one. Cano started the season horribly, but then had a huge 2nd half. Because of that split, we think the Yankees will win the arbitration hearing, so again we'd like to see a compromise and a pre-arbitration contract.




Brian Bruney Wants: $845,000
Yankees: $640,000
2007 Salary: $395,545

Our Take: Dude, seriously. You stunk last year. And ERA of 4.68 and 37 walks in 50 innings pitched. The Yankees will win this one in a cake walk.

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Clueless in NY

Not Alicia Silverstone, but Brian Bruney. Bruney told reporters that he was shocked when he was told his services would no longer be needed by the team this season. Guess he must not be watching his own performance.

Source

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