The Weekend Yankeeland - 12/14

Shat or Get off the Pot
What's on Andy Pettitte's mind this Sunday morning? He met with Brian Cashman on Thursday, presumably so Cashman could appeal to his sense of "Yankees pride". Translation, "we're not paying you $16 million. Take a pay cut or take a walk. Ben Sheets will be glad to take your place." The ball is now in Pettitte's court.

A Frickin' Winner
Belated congrats to Tony Kubek as this year's Ford Frick Award winner by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kubek made a name for himself on the NBC weekly telecasts with Joe Garagiola, and his broadcasting work included Yankees game in the 1990s. In 1994, tired of life on the road and dissatisfied with the state of the game, the former Yankees shortstop walked away with 2 years left on his contract.

Kubek's playing career ended pretty much the same way. He retired at age 30 after 9 years in the majors. He also, unfortunately, helped turn around the 1960 World Series for the Pirates, when Bill Virdon's bad hop grounder hit him in the throat, forcing him from the game and keeping a Pittsburgh rally alive.

We were never big fans of Kubek's broadcast work, though he grew on us during his stint with the Yankees. He was never afraid to criticize the home team like some other broadcasters and we respected that.

Kubek will be honored in Cooperstown on July 26 along with former Yankees Joe Gordon, elected to the hall by the veterans committee, and Rickey Henderson, who will enter the hall as a member of the Oakland A's.

Queme a Bebé Bernie
Bernie Williams never officially retired and though he may not want to play in the majors next season, he does want to play for his native Puerto Rico. So the guitar man is headed to Puerto Rico to play winter ball for the Carolina Giants. How long before Mike Francesa says the Yankees should bring him back (about 2 seconds after campaigns AGAIN for Joba to go back to the pen)?

Rich or Poor, It's Good to Have Money
In case you are interested, Richard Sandomir of the NY Times explains how the Yankees can afford players like CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.

We laugh at those headlines that say the rich got richer. The rich haven't won anything in 8 years.

Caller, are you there?
Mark Feinsand of the News reports that Johnny Damon and A-Rod made recruiting calls to Burnett. A-Rod promise tickets to a Madonna concert and 2 free Kaballah sessions?

Don't Let the Door Hit Ya...
Midnight Friday or is that Midnight Saturday..no 12:00 AM as it became Saturday..oh never mind. That was the deadline for non-tendering players. Not many players were let go that will have a major effect on any teams, but the Rockies let speedster Willy Taveras go and the Astros parted with infielder Ty Wiggington. The Yankees have displayed an interest in Wiggington in the past and would probably be interested him as a utility player. However, Wiggington could probably get a starting job, or at least a back up job where he would play more, rather than signing with the Bombers.

Play by the Rules
The Yankees got their pockets picked in Friday's Rule V Draft. Reegie Corona (Sea), Zach Kroenke (Fla), Jason Jones (Min), and Ivan Nova (SD) were all taken in the major league phase of the draft.

Andres Santos (Pit) and Josue Selenes (Oak) then went in the Triple-A phase to make it 6 Yankees prospects selected. Amazing that some baseball "experts" claim the Yankees don't have good prospects.

Share

Rule V Draft Underway

The major league phase of the Rule V draft is well under way and the Yankees have already lost 3 prospects, infielder Reegie Corona and pitchers Zack Kroenke and Jason Jones.

Major League Phase

Pick	Player	Position	Drafted By	Drafted From	2008 Club
1	Terrell Young	RHP	Washington	Cincinnati	Sarasota
2	Reegie Corona	INF	Seattle	New York (AL)	Trenton
3	Everth Cabrera	SS	San Diego	Colorado	Asheville
4	Donald Veal	LHP	Pittsburgh	Chicago (NL)	Tennessee
5	Lou Palmisano	C	Baltimore	Milwaukee	Brevard County
6	Luis Perdomo	RHP	San Francisco	St. Louis	Springfield
7	David Patton	RHP	Cincinnati	Colorado	Modesto
8	Kyle Bloom	LHP	Detroit	Pittsburgh	Altoona
9	Jose Lugo	LHP	Kansas City	Minnesota	Ft. Myers
10	Benjamin Copeland	CF	Oakland	San Francisco	Fresno
11	James Skelton	C	Arizona	Detroit	Erie
12	Zachary Kroenke	LHP	Florida	New York (AL)	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
13	Gilbert De La Vara	LHP	Houston	Kansas City	Northwest Arkansas
14	Jason Jones	RHP	Minnesota	New York (AL)	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
15	Darren O'Day	RHP	New York (NL)	Los Angeles (AL)	Salt Lake
16	Eddie Morlan	RHP	Milwaukee	Tampa Bay	Montgomery
17	Robert Mosebach	RHP	Philadelphia	Los Angeles (AL)	Arkansas
18	Miguel Gonzalez	RHP	Boston	Los Angeles (AL)
19	Derek Rodriguez	RHP	Tampa Bay	Chicago (AL)	Charlotte

20	Ivan Nova	RHP	San Diego	New York (AL)	Tampa
21	Rocky Cherry	RHP	New York (NL)	Baltimore	Norfolk

Triple-A Phase

Pick	Player	Position	Drafted By	Drafted From	2008 Club
1	Ricardo Nanita	OF	Syracuse (WAS)	Chicago (AL)	Birmingham
2	Ryan Patrick	RHP	Tacoma (SEA)	Milwaukee	Huntsville
3	Andres Santos	LHP	Indianapolis (PIT)	New York (AL)	DSL Yankees
4	Robert Valido	SS	Norfolk (BAL)	Chicago (AL)	Charlotte
5	Matt Yourkin	LHP	Fresno (SF)	Florida	Carolina
6	Francisco Lizaragga	SS	Louisville (CIN)	Los Angeles (NL)	Los Vegas
7	Luis Ortega	RHP	Omaha (KC)	Washington	DSL Nationals
8	Yusuf Carter	OF	Sacramento (OAK)	Chicago (NL)	Daytona
9	Elio Sarmiento	C	Oklahoma City (TEX)	San Francisco	San Jose
10	Anthony Hatch	INF	Albuquerque (LAD)	Toronto	New Hamp.
11	Ryan Klosterman	SS	New Orleans (FLA)	Toronto	New Hamp.
12	Russ Haltiwanger	RHP	Memphis (STL)	Kansas City	NW Arkansas
13	Cody Haerther	OF	Las Vegas (TOR)	St. Louis	Memphis
14	Andrew Locke	RF	Round Rock (HOU)	Los Angeles (LA)	Inland Empire
15	Henry Arias	RHP	Rochester (MIN)	Cincinnati	Dayton
16	Carl Loadenthal	OF	Buffalo (NYM)	Atlanta	Richmond
17	Mark Holliman	RHP	Nashville (MIL)	Chicago (NL)	Tennessee
18	Kyle Haines	2B	Lehigh Valley (PHI)	San Francisco	Connecticut
19	Jason Rice	RHP	Pawtucket (BOS)	Chicago (AL)	Kannapolis
20	Rafael Quintero	INF	Indianapolis (PIT)	Cleveland	DSL Indians
21	Josh Perrault	RHP	Norfolk (BAL)	Washington	Harrisburg
22	Richard Suomi	C	Omaha (KC)	Philadelphia	Lehigh Valley
23	Josue Selenes	RHP	Sacramento (OAK)	New York (AL)	Staten Island
24	Guilder Rodriguez	SS	Oklahoma (TEX)	Milwaukee	Huntsville
25	Brett Harker	RHP	Albuquerque (FLA)	Philadelphia	Reading
26	David Shinskie	RHP	Syracuse (TOR)	Minnesota	New Britain
27	John Madden	RHP	New Orleans (NYM)	San Diego	Portland
28	Jonathan Ash	2B	Nashville (MIL)	Houston	Round Rock
29	Javis Diaz	OF	Lehigh Valley (PHI)	San Diego	Lake Elsinore
30	Miguel Marquez	RHP	Pawtucket (BOS)	Seattle	DNP
31	Gerardo Esparza	RHP	Indianapolis (PIT)	Seattle	VSL Mariners
32	Carlos Arias	RHP	Omaha (KC)	Cleveland	Mah. Valley
33	Ronald Hill	RHP	Albuquerque (FLA)	Philadelphia	Reading
34	Shane Justis	SS	Nashville (MIL)	Los Angeles (NL)	Jacksonville
35	Juan Sanchez	SS	Nashville (MIL)	Milwaukee	GCL Twins

Share

The Weekend Yankeeland - 9/6

We don't need to rehash last night's near no-hitter by the Mariners' Brandon Morrow. After looking like he was going to get raked over the coals, Andy Pettitte settled down and gave the Yankees a solid seven innings, but the offense was nowhere to be found.

Seattle had been receiving grief for selecting Morrow ahead of Tim Lincecum in the 2006 draft. Maybe those concerns will now be assuaged.

Trailing 3-1 in the ninth inning, the Yankees had the heart of the order set to face closer J.J. Putz. Derek Jeter led the inning off with a single, but Bobby Abreu, Alex Rodriguez, and Jason Giambi all went down meekly to end the game. With Boston's win over Texas, the Yankees are now 8.5 games out of the wildcard race. It might as well be 100.

It's official, Al Aceves will take Darrell Rasner's place in the rotation. Hell, why not let let Jason Jones replace Sidney Ponson.

Reggie Jackson said it's very special for him to watch Alex Rodriguez climb the home run leader board.

Bobby Abreu was back in last night's lineup after missing a pair of games with a bruised wrist.

Yankees second pick in this year's draft, Jeremy Bleich made his professional debut for the Staten Island Yankees on Thursday. He allowed two runs in three innings pitched.

Richard Sandomir of the NY Times wonders why Babe Ruth has not yet been honored this season, in the house that he built.

The Yankees have been hit with a fine for not complying with a new state law that states that all food vendors must provide caloric information.

Kevin Romine and Damon Sublett will be heading to Hawaii for winter ball. Not a bad place to be.

Share

Down on the Farm - 8/7

Time to do some catching up at the minor league level. Today we'll start with Scranton and Trenton, taking a look at how the teams and their prospects are doing.

Austin Jackson
He's really put together a solid year and word is that he'll spend the entire season at Trenton. He's batting .290-9-61 in 449 at-bats with an .816 OPS, which escalates to .936 against left-handers. He's also stolen 15 bases in 20 attempts.

Jackson has particularly been red hot with the warm weather, batting .357 since July 1.

Al Aceves
There's been plenty of buzz around the right-hander plucked from the Mexican League. But after being out with a strained groin, he's been struggling at Scranton. Chad Jennings has more.

Jason Jones
With Ian Kennedy being called up, Jones has headed up to Scranton. Jones has put together an 11-5, 3.03 record in 21 starts. His ERA had been 2.28 before being roughed up in a pair of late July games.


Scranton

The Triple-A Yankees are 73-47 leading the Pawtucket Red Sox by one-half game in the International League's North Division. With promotions (Justin Christian, .309) and injuries, several players have stepped up. Juan Miranda is wreaking havoc on left-handed pitching, batting .352. Veteran first baseman Ben Broussard has belted 10 home runs and Brett Gardner has 37 steals to go with a .405 OBP.

As for pitching, the club has seen a rash of injuries and call ups, and the departure of Dan McCutchen and Jeff Karstens via trade. Kei Igawa has stepped up as the ace of the staff. Yes, we really said that. The overpaid left-hander is 12-5, 3.39 with 100 strikeouts in 132.2 innings pitched. He's 8-1 since June 1.

Trenton

The Thunder have had a number of players, especially key pitchers, promoted to Triple-A, but those who have taken their place have really done the job. Trenton leads the Eastern League's Northern division by 8 games over the Portland SeaDogs (again a Red Sox farm team), and has compiled a 70-45 mark.

As we mentioned earlier, Jason Jones has put together a terrific season, but he's not alone. Phil Coke (9-4, 2.51), Chase Wright (8-2, 2.96), who recently got bumped up to Scranton, McCutchen, Aceves, and Erick Hacker (6-2, 2.82) have all contributed to the club's success. The bullpen has been solid too with Anthony Claggett (3-2, 1.76, 8 saves) and Mark Melancon (6-0, 1.81, 2 saves) being the big names.

Offensively, the team lost Matt Carson and Edwar Gonzalez to promotion, but Chris Malec is hitting .304, and catchers P.J. Pilliterre and Joe Muich have added a lot offensively. And of course there's Action Jackson.

Tomorrow - Tampa and Charleston

Share

Minor League Recap - 7/9

Games of 7/8

Ian Kennedy allowed 2 runs in a 4 inning start for Scranton last night. Unfortunately, for the Triple-A Yankees, that was the best that any of their pitchers did last night. The Toledo Mud Hens belted Scranton 10-2. Ben Broussard, back with the Yankees for the 2nd time this season (and his 5th organization this year), homered for Scranton.

	July 8, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Scranton/WB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 5 1 Toledo 0 0 0 2 6 0 1 1 X 10 17 0 Recap | Box | W: I. Ostlund (3-0, 2.95); L: I. Kennedy (1-1, 1.46) HR: SWB: B. Broussard (2).

Jason Jones is red hot. He threw 6 shutout innings last night in Trenton's 8-0 win over the Altoona Curve. Jones has thrown 13 straight scoreless innings for Trenton plus another 5 from his scoreless start for Scranton. Overall he is 10-3, 2.05 in 18 starts. Austin Jackson and P.J. Pillitere led a 14-hit attack with 3 hits each. Pillitere drove in a team high 3 runs and Edwar Gonzalez hit his 7th home run of the season.

	July 8, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Altoona 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 Trenton 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 X 8 14 1 Recap | Box | W: J. Jones (10-3, 2.15); L: J. Hill (4-11, 4.99) HR: TRE: E. Gonzalez (7).

Tampa was rained out for the second straight night, so they'll be trying to play two with St. Lucie today, beginning at 5:00.

The Charleston RiverDogs dropped their series opener with the Lexington Legends, 3-1. Noel Castillo pitched very well, allowing 2 earned runs in 7.2 IP, but the Dogs could push across just one run on a Brandon Laird double.

	July 8, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Lexington 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 6 0 Charleston 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 1 Recap | Box | W: A. Bello (3-5, 3.71); L: N. Castillo (7-5, 3.36); SV: J. Powell (4) HR: None.

Staten Island had the night off, but the Baby Bombers start a 3-game series at home tonight against Oneonta.

The GCL Yankees game with their Blue Jays counterparts was rained out, so they'll be playing two today.

Share

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.

Share

Minor League Recap - 7/2

Games of 7/1

The Scranton Yankees came from behind to top the Buffalo Bisons 5-2. Ross Ohlendorf made his first start for the Yankees, allowing 1 run in 3 innings pitched. The Yankees trailed 2-0 until tying it in the 6th inning on a Justin Christian 2-run home run. Then it was red hot J.D. Closser striking in the 7th with a 3-run home run, his second in as many games. J.B. Cox pitched 2 scoreless frames for the win.

Chad Jennings reported that Justin Christian has been named to the Triple-A All-Star Team. Austin Jackson, Chris Malec, PJ Pilittere and Jason Jones have been named to the Double-A All-Star squad.

Shelley Duncan will getting checked out today for a possible separated shoulder.

	July 1, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Buffalo 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 8 0 Scranton/WB 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 X 5 7 0 Recap | Box | W: J. Cox (3-2, 1.59); L: J. Rincon (0-1, 16.20); SV: S. Strickland (2) HR: SWB: J. Christian (5), J. Closser (2).

The Trenton Thunder lost the first game of their three game series with the Portland SeaDogs 4-1. The Thunder fell behind early, as George Kontos got tagged for 3 runs in the 1st inning. Zach Kroenke and Eric Wordekemper did a good job keeping the Thunder in the game over the final 4 innings, but Trenton could manage only a single run after an Austin Jackson double in the 8th.

Mike Ashmore reported that Jose Tabata had to leave the game with a possible hamstring issue. It was later reported as a cramp, but he's not expected to play today. Carlos Mendoza also had to leave the game after being hit in the leg by a pitch.

	July 1, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Portland 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 6 2 Trenton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 8 2 Recap | Box | W: K. Johnson (7-3, 3.09); L: G. Kontos (3-8, 3.39); SV: B. Vaughan (10) HR: None.

19-yr old Deolis Guerra, acquired from the Mets in the Johan Santana deal, shut out the Tampa Yankees on just 3 hits as the Ft. Myers Miracle won 4-0. Phil Bartleski was the lone bright spot for Tampa. The 25-yr old reliever has allowed just 3 earned runs in 27.1 innings this season, with 33 strikeouts. He's also walked just 9 hitters.

	July 1, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tampa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 Fort Myers 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 X 4 9 2 Recap | Box W: D. Guerra (8-4, 4.32); L: G. Duff (1-5, 3.27) HR: None.

The Charleston RiverDogs had their 3-game winning streak snapped as the Savannah Sand Gnats salvaged the finale of the 4-game series with a 7-0 win. Lance Pendleton was tagged with 4 earned runs in 4 innings pitched. Austin Krum had 2 of the RiverDogs 6 hits and also added a walk.

	July 1, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Savannah 0 0 1 4 0 1 0 1 0 7 12 0 Charleston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 Recap | Box | W: J. Stinson (2-4, 2.96); L: L. Pendleton (6-4, 2.64); SV: N. Abel (1) HR: SAV: C. Guzman (4), G. Veloz (4).

Staten Island was out hit 9-6, but beat the Aberdeen IronBirds 9-4. Dan Brewer drove in 2 runs and Walt Ibarra had an RBI and a pair of runs scored. Andy Shive picked up his first win of the year.

	July 1, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Aberdeen 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 9 3 Staten Island 0 0 0 5 0 0 4 0 X 9 6 2 Recap | Box W: A. Shive (1-2, 3.09); L: A. Odom (1-2, 3.24) HR: None.

The GCL Yankees dropped a 6-2 decision to the GCL Indians as Rich Martinez was tagged for a pair of home runs.

	July 1, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E GCL Yankees 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 1 GCL Indians 0 0 1 0 2 2 1 0 X 6 9 1 Recap | Box W: T. McFarland (1-1, 3.14); L: R. Martinez (0-1, 5.14) HR: IND: A. Abreu (2), A. Rodriguez (1).

Share