Patterson Up, Ensberg DFA'ed

Scott Patterson is finally getting a chance in the Yankees bullpen and Morgan Ensberg's attempt to recapture his glory is over. The Yankees recalled Patterson from Scranton for today's game and designated Patterson for assignment.

According to the Daily News' Mark Feinsand, the Yankees also plan on calling up pitcher Dan Giese from Scranton on Tuesday. Sounds like Giese could take over when Joba Chamberlain reaches his pitch count.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees will likely move Phil Hughes to the 60-Day DL. Patterson or Chris Britton would be sent down to make room on the 25-man roster.

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Minor League Recap - 4/10

The Louisville Bats thumped the Scranton Yankees 11-0 last night. Starter Steven White gave up 9 runs, 6 earned, in 4 innings. Scott Patterson had his first bad outing of the season well, giving up a pair of runs in 2 his 2 innings of work. On the bright side, Heath Phillips pitched 2 more scoreless innings and has allowed only 1 base runner in 5.1 innings.

The Trenton Thunder lost the finale of their 3-game set with the Altoona Curve. The Curve scored the winner in the 9th off of Eric Wordekemper. George Kontos bounced back from his shaky first start with a quality outing. Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata each had 2 hit games.

Mike Dunn and Grant Duff were knocked around in Tampa's 8-4 loss to the Dunedin Blue Jays. Edwar Gonzalez had a pair of doubles and an RBI for the Yankees.

The Charleston River Dogs were the lone affiliate to win, taking their third straight over the Savannah Gnats, 8-6. Jesus Montero homered for the 2nd straight game and Abe Alvarez had 4 hits and 3 RBI.

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Weekend Minor League Recap - 4/7

Triple-A

The Scranton Yankees completed a 4-game sweep of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, with 7-2 (Saturday) and 5-2 (Sunday) wins.

On Saturday, Alan Horne struck out 6 in 6 innings for his first win of the year, and Scott Patterson and Edwar Ramirez finishing things out by K'ing 4 of the 6 hitters they faced. Cody Ransom (3 RBI) and Brett Gardner each homered.

Sunday's series finale saw Darrell Rasner throw 6 innings of 3-hit, shutout ball in a 3-2 win. Jason Lane homered and drove in 2 runs.


Double-A

The Trenton Thunder split a twinbill on Saturday, and gained a 4-game series split by defeating the Binghamton Mets on Sunday.

Dan McCutcheon combined on a 5-hit shutout with Steven Jackson in Game 1's 2-0 Thunder win. Colin Curtis hit his 2nd home run of the season.

The Thunder were limited to 3 hits and starter George Kontos turned in a shaky performance in the nightcap. The Mets took it 4-1.

The Thunder bats came alive on Sunday though in a 13-7 win. Matt Carson came within a double of hitting for the cycle and drove in 5 runs.

Advanced 'A'

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Matt Belisle was in Sarasota for a rehab start, and limited the Tampa Yankees to 2 hits over 8 innings on Saturday. The Reds won 1-0 on a run in the 8th. Edwin Nunez had both Yankees hits including a triple.

Edgar Gonzalez had a huge game on Sunday as the Yankees gained a split. "E-Gonz" homered twice and drove in 6 runs, including an RBI double in the game winning 3-run, 10th inning rally. James Cooper had 3 hits, a walk, and scored 4 times.

Single-A

The Charleston River Dogs pounded the Rome Braves on Saturday, 13-0. Noel Castillo, Jesse Hoover, and Lance Pendleton combined on the 3-hitter.

The Braves salvaged the final game of the 4-game set with a 4-1 win on Sunday. Starter Adam Olbrychowski pitched well, but the Dogs bats couldn't come up with clutch hits.

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Iron Pigs Can't Hit

First off, who came up with the bright idea to name the Phillies Triple-A team, Lehigh Valley,the "Iron Pigs"? Pigs don't have opposable thumbs, which must explain why Kei Igawa threw 6 perfect innings against them tonight.

Igawa struck out 7 as he combined with Scott Patterson, Edwar Ramirez, and Jose Veras on a 1-hitter.

Jason Lane homered and Eric Duncan had 2 hits and an RBI to lead the Scranton offense.



photo courtesy of the Times Tribune

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Let it be Monday

Not that we want to rush the weekend away, but start the season already. Another boring loss to the Pirates today. Another poor performance by Kei Igawa. 5 hits from the offense, 2 of them in the 9th. Derek Jeter and Nick Green hit solo homers for the 2 runs. On the upside, the bullpen was outstanding, though Jeff Karstens appeared to have pulled a groin muscle.

George must be pissed that he has to wait until next year for a win in his self-named park.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, DH	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.217
a-Brown, PH-DH	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.200
Jeter, SS	2	1	1	1	1	0	0	.261
1-Gonzalez, PR-SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.208
Duncan, RF	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.364
Tabata, J, RF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.100
Rodriguez, A, 3B	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	.436
Green, 3B	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	.185
Posada, C	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.237
Molina, C	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	.351
Matsui, LF	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	.364
Porter, LF	2	0	0	0	0	2	1	.259
Ensberg, 1B	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.234
Ransom, 1B	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.289
Betemit, 2B	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.157
Castro, B, 2B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Cabrera, CF	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.327
Lane, CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.222
Totals	31	2	5	2	2	6	7
a-Struck out for Damon in the 8th. 1-Ran for Jeter in the 6th.
BATTING 2B: Molina (4, Grabow). HR: Jeter (1, 1st inning off Gorzelanny, 0 on, 1 out), Green (2, 9th inning off Grabow, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Jeter 4; Rodriguez, A; Green 4; Molina 2; Ransom. RBI: Jeter (1), Green (5). 2-out RBI: Green. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Porter. GIDP: Ensberg. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING E: Ensberg (3, fielding), Ohlendorf (1, pickoff). Outfield assists: Cabrera (Morgan at 2nd base). Pickoffs: Posada (Morgan at 1st base), Molina (Laboy at 2nd base).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Igawa (L, 1-1)	3.1	5	4	4	3	2	0	5.56
Karstens	1.1	1	0	0	0	2	0	8.44
Patterson	1.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Ohlendorf	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1.86
Bruney	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	2.00
Schmidt	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	1	9.00

Ground outs-fly outs: Igawa 7-1, Karstens 0-1, Patterson 2-1, Ohlendorf 2-0,
Bruney 0-1, Schmidt 1-1.
Batters faced: Igawa 19, Karstens 4, Patterson 4, Ohlendorf 3, Bruney 4, Schmidt 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Karstens 2-0, Patterson 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Andy Fletcher. 1B: Dan Bolino. 2B: Scot Chamberlain. 3B: --NO UMP--.
Weather: 73 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 6 mph, Varies.
T: 2:39 (:10 delay).
Att: 10,719.

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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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Make Lemonade

"What is what to do when life hands you lemons?". Scott Patterson might have thought he was handed a bunch of lemons when he jammed in his finger in a doorway three years ago. But being switched from a starter, where he struggled, to a reliever, where he has excelled, has given Patterson's career a new lease on life.

“I stubbed my finger in a door at my host family’s house in Lancaster,” Patterson said. “They brought me back slowly and said, ‘Could you work out of the pen?’ It was my first time ever doing that, and I just let it go for an inning. I was up to 90, 91, 92 miles an hour, and I was like, This could be good; let me stay here for a little bit.”

Patterson has put up a 1.47 ERA in 70 minor league games, all but one at the Double-A affiliate. This year Patterson has an excellent shot of going north with the big club this season.

“He’s made enough of an impression that we think he’ll help us at some point this season,” General Manager Brian Cashman said. “We don’t know where he’ll start, but he’s still here.”

The injury allowed Patterson to better establish his fastball (nicknamed the "Invisiball" by teammates because "no one hits it") and slow curve. His herky jerky motion adds to his repertoire by keeping hitters off balance.

Though he expects to start the season at Triple-A, Patterson's made a case for himself by not allowing a run this spring. Considering the way the pen has underperformed the last several years, he'd be a welcome addition.

Source: NY Times

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The Daily Yankeeland

Mike Mussina has stepped up during spring training to school his young teammates. Ian Kennedy already had a locker next door, but Moose asked the clubhouse guys to switch Billy Traber with Phil Hughes.



Because of how much money they have invested in Kei Igawa, the Yankees are not giving up on the struggling left-hander just yet. To provide better communication with their Japanese import, Joe Girardi and new pitching coach Dave Eiland sat down with Igawa and his interpreter for a 30 minute chat yesterday.

“It was a very friendly talk,” Igawa said through his interpreter. “Definitely, communication is the first step we want to take.”

For some reason, statistical obsessives are obsessed with showing what a poor fielder Derek Jeter is. The hallowed ivy league halls of the University of Pennsylvania is the latest.

The Bergen Record has a meet and greet feature on Dave Eiland.

Jorge Posada has never been afraid to express his opinion, but as a senior member of the club, he words carry more weight now. Posada said, if asked, he thinks Joba Chamberlain should stay in the bullpen.

"I think he's capable of starting and he's done it in the past, but with his makeup and his body, I think he just looks like a reliever to me," Posada said. "If they asked me, I'd tell them. But I think I'm the last guy they ask."

Joe Girardi caught Kyle Farnsworth 73 times when the two were members of the Cubs from 2000-2002. The new Yankees skipper is confident he can help turn Farnsworth around.

"I believe in Kyle Farnsworth because I've personally witnessed it," said Girardi. "I know he can be an outstanding pitcher. I know he has the ability to strike out people in tough situations.

"I expect big things from him."

The Beaver County Times & Allegheny Times has a nice piece on their hometown boy Scott Patterson, who is in his first big league with the Yankees. The 28-yr old right-hander has been from pillar to post trying to pitch at the big level. With the uncertainty of the Yankees' pen, Patterson has as good a chance as anyone.

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