Garcia finally makes his season debut

May 20, 2009 by Mike Axisa 72 Comments

One year ago today on DotF, the trio of Ivan Nova, Zach McAllister & Mark Melancon combined for 19 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 16 K, 27-13 GB/FB on the night.

Marc Carig penned a piece on Austin Jackson and his transition to Triple-A. Make sure you check it out. Oh, and Carmen Angelini has been demoted to Extended Spring Training. Can’t say I’m surprised, I hope he turns it around.

Triple-A Scranton had a scheduled off day, as did the rest of the International League.

Double-A Trenton (5-1 win over Akron)
Eduardo Nunez: 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 SB
Seth Fortenberry: 1 for 3, 1 3B, 1 BB, 1 K – 37 K in 33 games
Colin Curtis & Marcos Vechionacci: both 0 for 4 – Curtis K’ed once, Vech twice … Vech also committed a fielding error
Jorge Vazquez: 2 for 3, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI – bombs
Edwar Gonzalez: 1 for 4, 1 R, 2 K
Kevin Smith: 2 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Kyle Anson & Justin Snyder: both 0 for 3 – Anson K’ed once, Snyder twice
Chris Garcia: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 7-2 GB/FB – had been down in Ext. ST dealing with an elbow issue
Kanekoa Texeira: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 5-2 GB/FB
Wilkins Arias: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 1-1 GB/FB
Josh Schmidt: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1-1 GB/FB

High-A Tampa was washed out yet again. They’re going to play two tomorrow, assuming it stops raining.

Low-A Charleston (8-7 win over Lexington)
Abe Almonte: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB – threw a runner out at second from CF
Corban Joseph: 1 for 5, 2 K
David Adams: 1 for 3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 E (fielding) – 6 for his last 19 (.316)
Dan Brewer: 0 for 3, 1 R, 2 BB
Taylor Grote: 0 for 4
Melky Mesa: 1 for 3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K – hit his league leading 9th homer
Jose Pirela: 2 for 4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 E (fielding) – taking over for Angelini at short
Mike Lyon: 3 for 3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Chase Weems: 2 for 4, 2 RBI, 1 K – threw out two would-be base stealers
David Phelps: 5.1 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 Balk, 1 HB, 2-6 GB/FB
Brandon Braboy: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 1-1 GB/FB
Casey Erickson: 1 IP, zeroes, 2 K, 1-0 GB/FB – April 23rd, a span of 12.2 IP
Pat Venditte: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1-1 GB/FB

manimal

So when does Vasquez go up to Scranton to help out their weak offense?
- Drew
  
  Ah, beat me to it, he’s just slugging the hell out of AA pitching.
Accent Shallow

Hey, Chris Garcia!

Hopefully Angelini can get his shit together. He’s just been awful in Charleston, both this year and last.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
  
  I’d love to know the organization’s thought process with Garcia. He’s been so injured so much, but he is 23 with excellent stuff and he’s already on the 40 man. I’d wonder if they’d let him start at Trenton for May-June-July, then bump him up to Scranton for August and then give him an inning or two out of the pen in September when rosters expand.
  - Drew
    
    Maybe a release and sign for Garcia?
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
      
      No, that’s the opposite of what I’m saying.
      
      I’m not trying to find a way to get him off the 40-man, I’m advocating for him to get a taste of the big leagues this fall because he’s on the 40-man. I want him to stay on the 40 man and I’m warming up to the concept of him getting in the bullpen mix for 2010.
      - http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/ The Artist
        
        He can’t stay healthy as a starter, sounds good to me.
      - Drew
        
        Got ya. I don’t see him soaring through the system a la Joba and Edwar but I’ve been wrong before. He’s still young enough where we don’t have to rush him to be up next year.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
        
        Yeah. My plan is just to get Garcia to the spot where going into 2010, he’s the next Melancon, the young kid at Scranton ready to get into the big leagues in and try to earn a spot at the back of the bullpen. I don’t want him fastracked Joba style where he’s in the 2009 playoff bullpen, that’s way too premature, but I’d love to see him get a cup of coffee with Mariano and throw 2-3 innings in a blowout in September in YS3.
        
        A.D.
        
        If he were to actually be healthy he could soar through the system.
    - Steve O.
      
      Nah, he’s healthy now and he’s dealing. Humberto Sanchez was a different animal, he wasn’t going to pitch anytime soon.
  - Steve O.
    
    This is a well thought out, rational idea of what the Yankees should and probably will do.
    
    (Golf Clap)
    - http://bronxbaseballdaily.com Matt ACTY/BBD
      
      +1. I’d like to see that move.
      - Chris V.
        
        I think they should give him the rest of the year to start. If he cant stay healthy transition him to the bullpen. Anything the yankees get from him is a oonus at this point. He’s reaching alan horne status.
        
        Chris V.
        
        bonus
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
        
        The funny thing is, he’s almost three years younger than Horne. Just seems like they’ve both been around (and hurt) forever.
http://bronxbaseballdaily.com Matt ACTY/BBD

No more Angelini error watch. :(
- Steve O.
  
  Eh, there’s always June. Here’s to hoping he’ll have a nice showing in Staten Island.
Drew

How long till Vasquez gets the call to Scranton? Miranda is in his way but I’d assume the two could alternate DH.
http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/ The Artist

Anyone still want Girardi fired?

Disgraceful. Every last one of you.

How do you pull up the gate on this bandwagon?
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
  
  Don’t look now, but we’re 2.5 games out of first place and we have the seventh best record in all of baseball. And, we’ll likely add Wang, Bruney, Marte, Nady, Posada, and Molina back into the mix in the next month.
  - http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/ The Artist
    
    Its even better than that, 1 in the loss for the division behind both Toronto and Boston.
    
    I didn’t want to be an ass, but I just wish there was some penalty attached to the knee jerk clowns who call for manager’s heads in April. A penalty besides the one that relates to them making complete asses of themselves, since that obviously has no deterrent effect.
  - Accent Shallow
    
    Not to nitpick, but is Molina even a net positive? Seems like Cervelli can at least approximate his net production
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
      
      Eh, we’ll see. Frankie’s not likely to OBP .393 for a prolonged stretch. He’s due for a course correction.
      
      Right now, in super small sample sizes for both of them, Frankie’s OPSing 103 and Molina OPSed 89. I’d rate both of them as good defensive catchers, but a healthy Molina’s probably still better. It’s splitting hairs, but they’re probably about equal. Over a long haul, Molina probably outproduces him.
      
      Good problem to have. Makes me wonder if we keep all three on the roster when all are healthy, and have Posada DH more (although Nady’s presence probably puts the kibosh on that idea).
      - http://mantisfists.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/julius-carry-aka-shonuff.jpg The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
        
        I’m a Panda fan, I think he’s a perfectly serviceable MLB back-up catcher… But, FWIW, while he’s been great, defensively, in his career, he really didn’t look great behind the plate this season. Clearly, small sample size warnings apply here. I’m not ready to anoint Cervelli the back-up, I just think that he’s looked better, defensively, in 2009, than Molina did. Just throwing it out there.
        
        (I know I sound like the people who are drooling over Cervelli because he’s hitting over .300, and I hate that I sound like that. I’m just a big fan of catchers and he’s looked great behind the plate so far. I guess I’ve got a bit of a crush on his defense.)
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
        
        I’m a Panda fan, I think he’s a perfectly serviceable MLB back-up catcher… But, FWIW, while he’s been great, defensively, in his career, he really didn’t look great behind the plate this season.
        
        True. But Molina v. Cervelli is kinda like Wang v. Hughes, no?
        
        We like the kid because he’s the kid and may well equal or outproduce the vet this year… but we have to give deference to the vet because there’s only so many spots for so many players and we can’t (and shouldn’t) just stash Molina and Wang in Scranton while we ride the kids’ hotstreaks.
        
        It’s a good problem to have. 2010 isn’t that far away.
        
        http://mantisfists.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/julius-carry-aka-shonuff.jpg The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
        
        Oh, totally. If Cervelli has a decent, healthy season, whether in MLB or AAA, I like him as an option to be the full-time backup in 2010. When Molina comes back, though, the job is his in 2009.
        
        I was just pointing out that, at least in a very small sample this season before his injury, I actually didn’t think Molina looked very good behind the plate. His game-calling was fine, I felt the mechanical side of his game took a step back though. He didn’t look like he was doing so well blocking pitches (he was allowing passed balls at a higher rate than last year, and I remember a couple of wild pitches that I thought should have been scored passed balls as well) and he wasn’t controlling the running game like he did last year (2008: 44% caught stealing, 2009: 24% caught stealing). Again, I know it was a VERY small sample.
    - http://bronxbaseballdaily.com Matt ACTY/BBD
      
      I think they’ll just want Frankie C to get some more development at Scranton before making him the full time back up (oxymoron) next season.
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
        
        Yeah. Between the two of them, it’s probably a wash, but Frankie’s young and still has an option. Molina’s on the big league club for another year.
        
        Frankie’s definitely earned the backup job and eliminated the need to resign Molina, though. That’ll save us a cool million and shave 10 years off the age of our backup catcher. Nothing wrong with that.
        
        (I still want to sign Jose’s brother to be the primary catcher for 2010 and 2011, though.)
        
        Steve O.
        
        Eh, he’s never had an OBS of .800 and this year if he can maintain it, it would be his first. He just doesn’t get on base a lot with a career .310 OBP.
        
        But if he were brought in to be a stopgap of some sorts and hit in the bottom of the order with a cheap contract, I’m all for it.
        
        He’s pretty overrated to say the least.
        
        http://www.teamnerdrage.com leokitty
        
        I think if you saw Bengie start every day for the Yankees you’d wind up punching yourself in the head out of frustration (well, I guess I shouldn’t speak for others but I would). He’s First Half 2008 Robinson Cano in catcher form.
  - http://www.riveraveblues.com Benjamin Kabak
    
    We already added Bruney. /nitpick
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
      
      Good point. You can take his name off the list and put Cody Ransom’s name on it.
      
      Naw, screw it, leave Ransom’s name off the list. He’s superfluous.
http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside

Congrats to David Ortiz for getting off the homer schneid. Maybe now he can inch his WAR Dollars production valuation from a net worth of -2.9M up to, say, -2.5M.

If he could, he’d be less of a financial wasteland than Angel Berroa and Kevin Cash, who are currently worth a collective -2.6M. So, huzzah.

Oh, and, reason #4,080 that Texas is a cultural wasteland: The Astros have sold advertising space on their foul poles.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/221/449163353_03b56d5fa6.jpg?v=0

That’s disgusting. Almost as disgusting as the Red Sox paying David Ortiz buttloads of money to hit one home run for every 140 plate appearances.
- http://www.puristbleedspinstripes.com Rebecca-Optimist Prime
  
  And they batted out of order tonight.
- http://bronxbaseballdaily.com Matt ACTY/BBD
  
  You just noticed that about the ‘Stros? I thought they had that a while ago.
- http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/ The Artist
  
  Wow, what an eyesore.
  
  BTW-I love the new Yankee Stadium, but the wrap around messageboard is just too much. It’s too long, too distracting and lessens the experience for me. Its just a matter of knowing when to say ‘stop’ and Lonn Trost waited a bit too long.
- radnom
  
  Brett Gardner has mroe homeruns than ortiz, about 1/4 of the way through the season.
  
  Holy crap, 1/4? This shit is flying by.
Reggie C.

On the Angellini demotion: that’s $1 million dollars down the drain.

I like the Garcia to the ‘pen idea. Garcia can then focus on keeping a couple pitches solid. At this point in his career, the org should really alleviate any pains from Garcia’s plate. Give this kid a break and simplify his comeback.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
  
  Yup.
  
  Are you listening, mainstream media? Phil Coke, George Kontos, Chris Garcia, and Humberto Sanchez are examples of the kinds of young pitchers who lack the elite stuff, diversity of pitches, ability to turn a lineup over 3-4 times, or long term health track record that would cause you to move them to the bullpen.
  
  You don’t turn Joba or Hughes (or Brackman or Betances) into 8th inning pitchers. You turn Coke, Kontos, Garcia, and Sanchez into 8th inning pitchers.
  - Steve O.
    
    So you’re saying Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes are good starters? Imagine how good they would be out of the bullpen. It’s been the relief pitching and NOT the starting pitching that’s been the problem.
    
    ESPN’d.
- Steve O.
  
  Let’s not overreact to the Angellini situation, he’s 20 and he’ll get another few chances before he can be called a million dollars down the drain. Atleast let’s see how he does in Staten Island (I assume).
http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/ The Artist

http://www.prosportsdaily.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365077

I just love message boards.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
  
  “The guy has insane ability in the field and his offense is progressing every year. He’s struggled at times, sure, but who hasnt? Damon was hitting under the Mendoza line in ’04 when he single handedly saved Boston’s post season. Jeter was under the mendoza line for a while a few years back and he came back with a vengeance.”
  
  Yes, because Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, and El Lechero all have the same lengthy track records of success that would lead you to believe that they’re not really as bad as their worst slumps would indicate, right? What’s that, you say? Jeter and Damon had been great hitting professionals for a full decade when those slumps happened, and Melky had three straight years of ugly declines when his detractors (myself included) hastily wrote his obituaries last fall? Yeah, that’s right, my bad.
  
  [ facepalm ]
  
  “Buy out his arb. years for 3 years/15 million (3,5,7) and give him an extension for 2 years/20 million (9, 11) with a 1 mil buy out and club options for 3 years/48 million (14, 16, 18) for a potential contract of 8 years/84 million. This contract would average 10.5 million a year, which would be a bargain 8 years down the road.”
  
  Look, bro. I’m super happy I’ve been wrong on Melky so far. SUPER HAPPY. He looks like he’s got a new leash on life. That said, giving Melky a Canó like extension at this point would still be batshit insane. You don’t give out extensions to Melky Cabreras. You give extensions to Canós, Longorias, Pedroias, Brauns. You don’t give extensions to Melky Cabreras. You make Melky show multiple solid years of production and keep him year to year until you’re forced to make decision.
  
  Some Yankee fans were criticizing the team for not locking up CMW. In retrospect, does not giving CMW an extension seem prudent? Yeah, it does.
  - steve (different one)
    
    Buy out his arb. years for 3 years/15 million (3,5,7) and give him an extension for 2 years/20 million (9, 11) with a 1 mil buy out and club options for 3 years/48 million (14, 16, 18) for a potential contract of 8 years/84 million. This contract would average 10.5 million a year, which would be a bargain 8 years down the road.
    
    this is a joke, right?
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
      
      No. That’s what he actually said. His justification?
      
      I’m going by these new era long-term contracts for good rookies/players who don’t have much service time. Pedroia, Longoria, etc. Now obviously my proposed contract is way larger than any of those, but I’m basing this on the fact that it’s the Yankees we’re talking about.
- Drew
  
  This dude might even love Melky more than me. I guess there’s a new president of the Melky fan club.. Or, maybe he’s just insane.
  - I Remember Celerino Sanchez
    
    “Or, maybe he’s just insane.”
    
    becomes
    
    “Or, he is just insane.”
    
    Fixed.
- http://mantisfists.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/julius-carry-aka-shonuff.jpg The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
  
  I kind of loathe you for making me read that. Good grief, that’s brutal.
  - http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/ The Artist
    
    Posts like that are why guys like you and me come here to talk Baseball.
    
    I still check the boards, because people find news items from more sources than I can follow. They’re good for one stop shopping, and usually not much else.
    - emac2
      
      Posts like that simply show that this site doesn’t have the worlds dumbest Yankee fans.
      
      It sort of falls under the topic “things could always be worse”
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  That’s all a moot point for now because he’s raking. If he stays consistent, he’ll probably end up with a line looking something like .320/.375/.505 which is just fine by me.
  
  That’s the best part, never mind the proposed 8 year, $84M extension. Grady Sizemore is a career .276-.366-.485 hitter. Carlos Beltran is a career .283-.359-.498 hitter. Eddie Matthews hit .271-.376-.509 in his Hall of Fame career.
  
  I’m glad it’s “just fine” by this guy that Melky Cabrera would be the best fucking center fielder we’ve seen since Junior in the mid-90’s.
http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/ The Artist

Hungry Hungry Humberto update:

ON HUMBERTO SANCHEZ: “Sanchez was supposed to go two innings today, but it got rained out. He was supposed to go two innings yesterday, but it got rained out. So what we did today was we did a simulated game. So he should have pitched two innings in our cage. Then he’ll have two days off, then he’s going to pitch another two innings, and then it’s evaluation. Yesterday and today, the rain kind of screwed things up, so he did his throwing in the bullpen, in the cage. There’s no hitters, so it’s not like the real thing. I wanted to get him out there twice with hitters, in a game situation, so he’ll probably be out there Friday again and then Monday, and then we’ll evaluate and see if he’s ready to go somewhere. But he’s got to be able to pitch there and show that he’s healthy before we can make a move.”

http://thunderbaseball.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/nardi-part-one-with-rehabbing-pitcher-info/
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
  
  I really hope they assign him to Scranton when he’s ready to go.
  
  I’d love to see 26 year old 6’6″ 270 power righty Humberto Sanchez and 25 year old 6’5″ 250 Romulo Sanchez as the back end of the Scranton bullpen.
  
  Maybe we can bring Chris Britton back and have him change his name to Britton Sanchez.
  - http://www.puristbleedspinstripes.com Rebecca-Optimist Prime
    
    Humberto Sanchez is three years older than Felix Hernandez?
    
    Why do I think this is so fucked up?
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
      
      Because Felix Hernandez is so awesome, he makes all other men seem less masculine in comparison.
      
      Except for me, of course.
      - http://statspeak.net dan
        
        Just picture Felix in the bullpen
        
        ClayBuchholzLovesLaptops
        
        Head explodes.
  - http://bronxbaseballdaily.com Matt ACTY/BBD
    
    I just traded Brett Gardner for Chris Britton in MLB ’09.
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
      
      You’re an idiot. Chris Britton could never possibly hit an inside the park home run or steal home base.
      
      Horrible move.
- Accent Shallow
  
  I’m definitely glad that we occasionally get such updates from Nardi via the great work of Mike Ashmore and Chad Jennings. Really helps us see what the organization is thinking, and how the pitchers are doing. Much better to get that info straight from the source, rather than as a one-line note at the end of a column: “Humberto Sanchez threw indoors today. He felt no pain.”
  - http://www.eporro.com Eric SanInocencio
    
    I couldn’t agree more. The great information provided by Mike and Chad shows why there is still a need for the beat writer types in certain situations. The access they have is invaluable to learning more about the future players of this organiation. Kudos to them both for the great work.
    - Mike Ashmore
      
      Thanks guys…yes, I do read the comments here from time to time.
      - http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/ The Artist
        
        Thanks for all the info you give us!
    - http://statspeak.net dan
      
      +1
Ramiro Mendoza

This guy Aceves reminds me of myself, only he throws harder
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
  
  OAKTAG
- steve (different one)
  
  why, b/c he’s a longman?
  
  stuff-wise, they have nothing in common.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
    
    Ramiro Mendoza had a six year stretch from 1997-2002 where he had an ERA+ of 118 and a WHIP of 1.285. He made 46 starts and 219 relief appearances during that run.
    
    He may be the most underrated guy from that dynasty, which is ironic, because the bullpen guys from that dynasty are generally pretty overrated historically (in relative comparison to the starting pitching and the offensive stars).
    - radnom
      
      Really?
      I agree with you about the middle relief being somewhat overrated when looking at those days; but in my hazy recollection Mendoza received about the same amount of credit as Stanton and Nelson – maybe a bit less I guess.
      
      I think the reason people tended to overrate that group was because they were on winning teams, and the guys who immediately replaced them were not nearly as reliable. Coke is the first lefty I actually trust out of the pen since Stanton.
http://statspeak.net dan

I have to say I’m completely shocked at the horrible season Vechionacci is having. I thought he’d have a big breakout year and to be honest he’s done the exact opposite of that. His strikezone control has regressed and he’s hitting .202/.268/.279 on the year. It’s hard to be more wrong, haha.
Eric

Is Garrison Lassiter hurt? Have not seen anything on him since he was pulled from a game a while back.