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Follow us on TwitterFour starts into the season, things were not looking up for Mike Mussina. The 39-year-old, coming off his worst professional season in 2007, began the year 1-3, and after a three-inning shellacking at the hands of Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox, his ERA stood at 5.75. On April 23, Hank Steinbrenner publicly slammed Mooes.
Well, since then, it’s been an entirely different story. With his eight shut-out innings this afternoon, Mike Mussina improved to 12-3 over his last 17 starts. He’s thrown 101 innings and has an ERA of 2.76 over that stretch. He has struck out 74 while walking just 13, none since his July 5 start against the Red Sox. He’s not giving up free passes; he’s pitching well with runners on base; and much like Old Man River, he just keeps rolling along.
For Mussina, today’s game was something of a milestone. He’s reached 13 wins in 21 starts, and he figures to have another 12 or 13 starts this season. Can he win seven more of those to reach 20 wins for the first time in his career? I’m pulling for him.
The Yanks, meanwhile, had their typical offensive game. Robinson Cano picked up his usual two hits; A-Rod picked up his usual two RBIs. After Glen Perkins stifled the offensive for the first four innings, mental errors doomed the Twins in the 5th, and the Yanks plated three more in the 6th.
While LaTroy Hawkins had to be lifted for Mariano Rivera with two outs in the ninth, the Yanks held on for a 5-1 win. They’ve won six straight since the All Star Break and ten in a row at home. While Tampa overcame a 2-0 deficit to top the A’s and the Mariners and Red Sox are facing off as I write, the Yankees are now in sole possession of second place in the Wild Card. This weekend, needless to say, is huge, and Joba will face Josh Beckett in a marquee match-up on Friday night. Who could ask for anything more?
Open Thread Rumors: With no game this evening, feel free to use this thread for a general baseball discussion. We’ve got rumors and news galore:
- While Jorge Posada is not quite ready to go under the knife, his days behind the plate this season are over. Ergo, according to RoboKen, the Yankees are looking for a catcher. I think the Molina/Moeller tandem can do well enough behind the dish, and the rest of the lineup should cover the offense. Go pitching, I say.
- Rumors are floating around the the Rockies are eying Humberto Sanchez as a possible piece to a Brian Fuentes trade. I’m still firmly in the “if ain’t broke, don’t fix it” camp here. The bullpen has been outstanding and shows no signs of slipping. They don’t need a lefty if everyone else is getting outs, and trading a chip for unnecessary piece isn’t a smart baseball move.
- Manny being Manny. Perhaps he hurt that knee while jaywalking.
- Melky got a talking-to after his mental error leading off the game yesterday. Oops.
Mike will hit you up with DotF later, and if news breaks, we’ll have something. Otherwise, play nice.
jose vidro making his case!
No Vidro. Not with his numbers it just doesn’t solve the right-hand bat problem.
Posada needs to suck it up and get the surgery now so he can be healthy for ALL of next year and not miss close to half of it!!!!
Adding a lefty to our bullpen would be a great addition and make it even stronger than it is. Especially since it would most likely take Hawkins out of it. Sanchez was a main piece of the Sheffield trade and would like to see what hes got before giving him away. Both Fuentes and Marte will be type A free agents in the offseason and net us 2 draft picks if we get one and don’t resign them.
Like I said once before, we need to be buyers because Tampa was playing over there heads and we were closer than last year. Now look, we are only 3.5 games out of it and the trade deadline is only 8 days away. So lets do this thing!!! We can do it.
check out MLBTR ben, prices have dropped on fuentes and nady. arroyo looks like a no go
“arroyo looks like a no go”
Is it Christmas already?
I agree with that.
a lefty reliever would be great as long as he takes hawkins place….that would really strengthen the pen…i agree that moeller and molina will be ok…
They need a lefty. No matter how great the pen has been. The more talent the better there especially with Sid and DR pitching major innings.
No bullpen needs a LHP. No bullpen needs a RHP. Every bullpen needs the seven best relievers that team’s GM can assemble, that’s it.
nonsense jamal. don’t you remember how important and effective mike myers, sean henn and ron villone have been over the last couple of years. why, think of the 2002 angels. they tried to win without a lefty specialist and look where that got them!
yeha i have to disagree with jamal thats senseless, tell me now its not like we are getting a lefty specialist, its a damned closer that will be setting up. now when you put fuentes in the 8th that pushes everyone else back E.H. farnsy veras edwar ect.. making the bullpen that much stronger
But it doesn’t need to be stronger, should the Yankees trade for J.J. Hardy so their back-up SS is stronger?
Agree.
A great bullpen needs a good lefty. It’s just a fact that lefty’s have a tough time hitting lefty’s. I know the stat geeks say get the best 7 out there but one of the 7 relievers should be a good lefty.
I think Fuentes or Marte apply.
I been thinking like you for most of the year and at the right price I would do it more for Marte then Fuentes. But this bullpen is getting everyone out and I don’t see the need to give up top prospects to have a lefty.
I guess this weekend we will see Boston will put this pen to the test.
big games late in the year and dare i say it the playoffs ae a lot different than june/july
Sorry Lenny, but I must agree with Mustang.
A Very Good Lefty would be nice, but not a lefty just to have one. As experience has shown us, just because one gets out LH hitters, doesn’t mean one can do the same with top flight LH hitters. Conversely, if one can get out top hitters L or R handed it doesn’t matter. Is Fuentes/Marte that much better then those we have? Or, one of the guys we give up to get him? Sanchez is projected to be a very good BP guy…maybe even a starter, if he could stay healthy. 27/08??
sanchez hasnt shown in 2 years he can stay healthy for more than a month
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with fuentes you are getting not only a guy who can get a big lefty out in a big spot, but can also pitch an inning if needed in a pressure situation.
think we dont need a left - think of how important stanton and lloyd were to the yankees back in the day. lefty vs lefty is just different than righty v righty.
there are other needs that need to be filled, but i remember hearing that the rockies had interest in IPK and now i hear sanchez. a couple more pieces and maybe we can get the package deal that could put this team over the top.
Could Kennedy, Sanchez, and another low level prospect net us Holiday and Fuentes? We can throw Hawkins in that trade as well!
IMO, Moose 2008 has more than made up for his lackluster 2007.
Unless he’s injured or falls of a cliff from here on out, I’d resign him. And if it takes a 2 year, so be it (Moose’s current pitching style is certainly conducive to him remaining effective for 2 years).
RotoWorld has released their mid-season, top 150-prospects list. Here are the Yankees on the list:
13. Austin Jackson
72. Jose Tabata
100. Mark Melancon
120. Jesus Montero
129. Dan McCutchen
134. Alan Horne
H/T to nyyfans.com.
http://www.rotoworld.com/conte.....0&pg=1
Melancon’s only 100?
That seems too low.
but he’s just a middle reliever.
Probably because many project him as a set-up man. Probably harder for someone destined for that role to go much higher.
Just one player in the top 72 is kind of disappointing.
it is, until you remember that your system just graduated a potential #1 starter.
Tabata’s done little to warrant being ranked that high. He’s been terribly inconsistent. Personally, with A-Jax and Gardner around I think Tabata’s become a trade chip.
AJ is uninspiring after all.
I doubt Gardner will become anything more than a 4/5th outfielder/ pinch runner.
Maybe so, but his history is; he starts very badly and then comes on strong. He has done that every time they have moved him up. I think he could be a very good asset for this team…but, with the pressure to win, win, win, I don’t know if they will give him the time to adjust or not. 27/08??
he is 19!
Tabata is only like 19 years old!
pretty crappy ratings - has the farm fallen that far from last year. is it more to do with the promortions or the injuies
Max Scherzer number 6? Huh? He’s been out over a month with a “minor shoulder injury.” Yeah…
Mike Bowden over Trevor Cahill? That’s utterly insane. Cahill has better stuff, better numbers, a better delivery, AND he’s two years younger. Ridiculous.
Andrew McCutchen behind Austin Jackson is absolutely delusional. McCutchen’s the better prospect in every single way.
Jon Meloan on any prospect list is just ignorance of anything beyond name recognition. Talk to me when he’s not walking 2 batters every 3 innings.
Charlie Zink?!?!?! He’s going to be 29 in a month!!!
There. I got it out of my system.
“During last week’s All-Star break, the source said, Hal Steinbrenner instructed Cashman to make whatever moves were necessary before the deadline, even if it meant dealing some of the organization’s highly touted prospects. ”
“Steinbrenner brothers have been pleased with the team’s recent play, so they want to show the players that they are committed to winning this year by making moves to bolster the roster.”
Of course there are untouchables Hughes and Mark Melancon were two names, but for a Yankees fan I cannot be any happier with my upper management.
Now it’s all in Cashman’s hands as it should be.
I presume that A-Jax and Montero would also be considered “untouchable”.
I would think so.
fort knox untouchable:
jackson
montero
brackman
touchable but gotta be gotta be for a “real” return (what “real” means depends on the player, but it’s not you, brian fuentes):
aceves
hughes
mcallister
tabata
melancon
IPK
abraham lincoln at the ford theatre touchable:
duncanstein
george kontos
chase “i’d rather be wrong than” wright
scary fly ball guy
sister christian
specs igawa
hacky mcheadfirstslide
Phil Hughes and Mark Melancon are “Fort Knox Untouchable”. Hughes for obvious reasons and Melancon because they view him as the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera. The way this reliever’s market is going and the fact that outside of the injury plagued Humberto Sanchez, there is no other reliever in the system with as much upside and talent as Melancon.
sorry, but not to me. if i can get the right return, hughes goes.
i think hughes is a 2-3 and melancon isn’t a slam dunk closer candidate. not everybody sees melancon as a closer and frankly, finding a closer in 2011 is so far down the list of priorities on this team, especially with the raft of bullpen arms we’ll accumulate between now, that i’m willing to trade from the obvious strength that we have.
for example. if i could get matt holliday for a combination of hughes, tabata and melancon, i’d do it.
of course, i’d rather do it for IPK in the package (and that’s what i’d offer) rather than hughes, but if the above was the price to pay, i’d be willing to do it.
this year holliday takes left and damon moves to center, which is an easy overall improvement.
next year he takes over in right, damon in left and melky/jackson in center.
nobody in the trade above is irreplaceable.
for example. if i could get matt holliday for a combination of hughes, tabata and melancon, i’d do it.
You would be the only one who’d make that deal because Cashman would hang up the phone if that was the asking price for Holliday.
Not a chance in hell.
The only guy I’d consider moving of those three is Tabata.
Hughes stays and so does Melancon.
Don’t forget, Holliday is represented by Boras and he will be a FA at the end of 2009 no matter what.
Holliday was also just on WFAN and said while Boras is his agent, Boras works for him. he also said winning is the most important thing to him, aside from where his family is happy.
call me crazy, but i actually wouldnt be surprised if Holliday stays in Colorado.
but if he’s traded somewhere where he thinks he has a shot of winning every year, i also think he could sign an extention if he’s happy, and you give him a market offer.
Name the last high-profile Boras client to not test the free agent waters.
Even A-Rod opted out of his contract and he claimed he wanted to come back to the Yanks all along.
and then ARod dumped Boras to sign his own deal on his own terms.
Indeed.
And A-Rod signed for even more money than he made under the old contract.
The point is this, Holliday is going to be a FA at the end of 2009 no matter where he plays next season.
Cashman isn’t going to trade any of his top young prospects for someone who will be a FA in another year.
You can bet your ass on that.
and thats why when you make a trade like that, and it works, you pay the man and extend him. yankees can afford to pay him, so whats the big deal?
You must be smoking some really good stuff or you’re just plain crazy. Plus, have you not seen Holliday’s home/road splits?
Hughes/Tabata/Melancon is way too much to pay for Holliday. The Holliday problem is, he’s an all-star based on his overall production, but his production is skewed by Coors. So they’ll value him as a top 8 ML outfielder, but we’d have to discount his value by what we think he’d produce here, which would be lower (better than our current outfielders, yes, but definitely not top 8).
So either we’d be overpaying, or they’d be underselling. Which is why the deal just won’t happen.
Ditto on Fuentes, but there’s a twist: they’re pricing him as an elite reliever. But even if they priced him as just a decent reliever, history says quite clearly that ALL relievers are overpriced. There isn’t a single baseball trade that works out less frequently than the midseason reliever trade, and there’s not a single baseball position with more volatility and a shorter lifespan than a reliever. Unless you can get a reliever on the super, super cheap (as in like not one of your top 35 prospects kinda cheap), you’re pretty much always better off just promoting from within. Because, you’re probably going to get burned. The bullpen is an area where you should invest free agent dollars and draft picks, but not trades. If we really want a lefty, we should call up Phil Coke, Mike Dunn, Zach Kroenke, Wilkins Arias, or even Kei Igawa before we trade anything of value for a guy who could be Latroy Hawkins or Eric Gagne before you know it.
Probably no on Holliday, unless we can get a very reasonable price. Definitely no on Fuentes, unless we can get an absolute they’re-giving-him-away-for-peanuts steal.
Those are the kind of statements that make me thank the gods that you are not the Yanks GM. 27/08??
I think if you look at Jamal G. list above those guys probably make up the “untouchable” list.
god bless hank - it is about time he said this - wish he would have said this last offseason when one of the best LF ever was on the market ad went pretty cheap considering.
lets see if he has the pull his old man did
interesting take from the rotoworld writeup on porcello:
Porcello, though, hasn’t been overpowering as a pro. Billed as a mid-90s guy coming out of high school, he’s usually been in the 91-94 mph range with his fastball in the FSL. Fortunately, he does get sinking movement on the heater and he has three complimentary pitches, including a plus curveball. Because of his ability to induce grounders, he still appears to possess No. 2-starter ability.
hmmm … now why does that sound familiar???
I’m curious to see what Brackman does when he gets healthier. Going to compare him and Porcello for a long time.
Hughes is just 21 so let’s not throw in the towel
huh? who’s throwing in the towel? i’m merely stating the obvious, he was hyped as throwing mid 90’s and he doesn’t. it doesn’t mean he won’t be a quality ML pitcher, he’s just doesn’t throw that hard and frankly, he projects as a 2-3 to me. those are valuable … they’re just not joba valuable.
Rick Porcello does throw in the mid-90’s but he sits in the 91-94MPH range. People tend to get those misunderstood. Hitting a certain velocity does not mean the pitcher throws that certain velocity.
I made the same mistake, Rick Porcello throws in the 91-94MPH range, but he hits mid-90’s.
i’m not sure i follow … i think that if porcello sits 91-94 (which i’m sure means somewhere in the 92-93 range generally), he doesn’t throw mid-90s, he “throws” low-90s. would you describe sean gallagher as “throws mid-90s” ? he was sitting 92-93 and touching 95-96 when he needed to during his last start against us, but none of the scouting reports that i read on him referred to him having “mid-90s” stuff.
joba throws “mid-90s”. not “upper-90s”, even though he can reach back and hit that.
“throws” (to me) is where you sit, not what you can hit.
(though i admit, there really needs to be a finer grading of the intermediary steps of the scale … low 90’s seems broad enough to apply to 90-92 as well as 92-94 … which is rather different, imho)
Did you not see my correction? The one you actually replied to?
Its a “can throw” and thats what ppl latch onto, why, because its sexier, and thats what agents pump
ah, yes, it’s the old argument that when delusion becomes reality, why, let’s imagine delusion!
but when i know reality, and *you* know reality and everyone around us knows delusion from reality, what point is there in pretending otherwise?
hint!