Archive for May, 2009
Could Trost, Levine be on their ways out?
Posted by: | CommentsNew Stadium Insider points us to a story on the 1050 ESPN Radio site regarding Yankees executives Lonn Trost and Randy Levine. According to a “major league executive,” one or both could be on the chopping block. Many Yankees fans would like to see this, I’m sure, but consider the source. One major league executive has speculated as to the jobs of two executives from another organization. I wouldn’t expect much to come from this. Still, it’s not like Trost and Levine are above criticism.
RAB Live Chat
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Coke ready for action tonight
Posted by: | CommentsApparently, Phil Coke’s balky back had been worse than we realized. While Coke first said he was unavailable to prior to this week’s series against the Blue Jays, not until today has the Yanks’ lone remaining lefty reliever felt well enough to pitch. Coke told Marc Carig of The Star Ledger that he expects to be available out of the pen tonight. Coke says he back was so tight on Tuesday that he couldn’t stand up straight. He had a catcher yesterday though and should be ready to go if he’s called upon to face Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in a tight spot this weekend.
BA’s Mock Draft V1.0
Posted by: | CommentsBaseball America posted the first of several Mock Drafts yesterday, though it’s hidden behind the subscriber wall. I will tell you this much: with the 29th overall pick they have the Yanks taking Cal center fielder Brett Jackson, who’s a supreme athlete but has questions about his bat. Surprisingly, they have both Matt Davidson and Jiovanni Mier dropping out of the first round. I’d much prefer either of those two to Jackson.
Yanks still facing heat over DL use
Posted by: | CommentsOh, to be Jayson Stark. To have unfettered discretion to reprint anonymous quotes from league officials without any repercussions. To use those anonymous quotes as a smoke screen for personal opinions about other teams.
Today’s Jayson Stark/anonymous column concerns questionable uses of the DL by certain teams throughout the Majors. It features “disgruntled American League execs” slamming the Yankees and Red Sox for their liberal uses of the DL.
“The day before he” — meaning Chien-Ming Wang — “went on the DL,” the said disgruntled American League exec told Stark, “he said, ‘I’m healthy. I want to start tomorrow.’ And the next day, he was placed on the disabled list. It’s a little strange, don’t you think?”
In response, Stark gets Brian Cashman on the record to explain the Yanks’ thoughts on Wang. The Yanks had A-Rod‘s hip doctor look at Wang, and that hip doctor determined that Wang’s hip was not up to snuff. “I don’t really care what anybody on the outside thinks,” Cashman said. “If I have a doctor who tells me a player has to do physical therapy and it could take him up to six weeks to do it, that’s not ‘convenient.’ The fact is, we need our No. 2 starter, but we need to get him right.”
Stark questions the Mets’ placing Oliver Perez on the DL with a knee issue and the Tigers’ decision to put Dontrelle Willis on the DL with psychological problems. In each case, the critique is the same: What exactly is wrong with these players that warrants a trip to the DL?
Stark ends his piece by asking some other anonymous officials if this is actually cheating. The answer appears to be a resounding not. “What the hell are the Yankees supposed to with a guy like Wang?” a GM said to Stark. “He’s 0-3 and giving up 15 [runs] a game. What are the Tigers supposed to do with Dontrelle? They know he can’t make the team, so what are you gonna do? They’ve got millions of dollars invested in the guy. So you put him on the DL, and if the commissioner’s office doesn’t like it, they can call you a no-good liar.”
Another General Manager echoed those sentiments. “I know they’re not all legit,” one GM said. “But I’ll be honest. I don’t find that to be hard-core cheating — because the player’s got to be willing to do it. If the player’s willing to go on there, it means the player knows he’s not right. Whether it’s physical, mental or mechanical, something’s wrong — and there’s no other way around the rules.”
All in all, this has been one long much ado about nothing. Chien-Ming Wang is not right. Oliver Perez is not right. Dontrelle Willis is not right. These players have to go somewhere, and they have been, at various point this season, disabled. When they are right and healthy, they will be activated. That’s the bottom line.
Phelps shines for Charleston
Posted by: | CommentsMike’s out tonight. Thankfully, with two rainouts, it was an easy one.
Triple-A Scranton was postponed by rain. They’ll play two tomorrow starting at 5:30. Kei Igawa and George Kontos go for the good guys.
Double-A Trenton (8-7 loss to Binghamton, walk-off style)
Eduardo Nunez: 3 for 4, 1 BB, 1 HR
Seth Fortenberry: 1 for 4, 1 3B, 1 BB — 1 for 4 night brings his average UP to .137
Colin Curtis: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 1BB
Jorge Vazquez: 1 for 5, 1 K — surprisingly did not get in on the seven-run action
Marcos Vechionacci: 1 for 5, 1 K
Edwar Gonzalez: 1 for 4, 1 BB, 1 K — first game since April 24
Justin Snyder: 0 for 3, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 E — the error allowed the winning run to score
Wilkins De La Rosa: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3ER, 3 BB, 7 K — not terrible, not great, but encouraging considering it’s his second AA start. He’s racked up 16 strikeouts in 11 innings so far.
Jason Stephens: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Mike Dunn: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K — after a couple tough outings, again pitching like a guy who wants a promotion
Jon Hovis: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB — single and a homer to lead off the 9th tied it, a two-out double, walk, and error ended it
Yanks relax stadium access policies
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’re looking for the game thread, you can find it here. Please refrain from discussing tonight’s game in this thread.
On Tuesday, Lonn Trost earned the ire of Yankee fans with some ill-conceived comments about stadium access. Talking about the Yanks’ decision to bar fans from watching batting practice from the field level, Trost laid bare the Yanks’ policies.
“There’s an area by the Legends Suite which is not an area that fans can get into,” he said. “If you purchase a suite, do you want somebody in your suite? If you purchase a home, do you want somebody in your home?”
While Trost rebuffed reporters who asked if the team was going to change policies, the Yankees are singing a different tune today. Beginning with their next homestand this weekend, the Yankees will allow fans into certain areas for batting practice. While the expensive Legends Suite seats will still be inaccessible to those without tickets, other field level and bleacher sections will be open. The new policies put the stadium in line with access during batting practice as it was across the street last year.
Bryan Hoch has more:
The Yankees have amended some of their Yankee Stadium operational policies, including permitting fans to access certain areas of the field level two hours before games.
Yankee Stadium gates on Babe Ruth Plaza, located between Gate 4 and Gate 6, will continue to open three hours to the start time of every home game.
Fans will be now permitted to watch batting practice and infield workouts during the first hour gates are open — for example, between 4-5 p.m. for a 7:05 p.m. game — from Sections 103-110 (right-field corner), 129-136 (left-field corner) and all of the Bleachers, provided the seat is vacant.
All seats between Sections 111-129, including areas near the dugouts, will remain off-limits unless fans hold a ticket for those sections.
The same Yankee spokesperson who earlier this week grew tired with reporters peppering her with questions explained the philosophy behind the new policies. “We liberalized the policy even more,” she told Ken Belson of The Times. “This is part of living in a new home and making adjustments. It’s only been a month.”
The new policies can be found here under the “Batting Practice” section. Fans can stay in those sections until the players leave the field or until one hour and 15 minutes before the game is scheduled to start.
I’ve harped on this for the last few weeks, and today we saw what can happen if enough people raise their voices to protest unfair arrangements. This is a victory for fans.
Game 34 Spillover Thread
Posted by: | CommentsYou’d think after that first inning they’d have scored a few more by now.
Game 34: Let’s take two out of three
Posted by: | CommentsSince the inception of baseball blogs sometime in 2001 or 2002, perhaps no recording artist has been quoted as frequently as Meatloaf. Writers and bloggers invoke his second hit single, “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad,” before nearly every rubber match. Hey, two out of three is a .667 winning percentage, which extrapolates to a 108-win season. We haven’t seen one of those in quite a while.
The cliche could be no more true than for the Yanks today. Not only can they take two out of three from the Jays, and thereby their second straight series, but they can do it in the most acceptable of ways. Hey, if you face Roy Halladay in the series opener and can come back to win the next two, that’s all right in anybody’s book. The Yanks get their chance against reliever-turned-starter Brian Tallet.
Yanks fans will recognize Tallet’s name because he’s been with the Jays since 2006, pitching mostly in relief. This will be his sixth start of the season, and his seventh since becoming a Blue Jay. He entered the Jays’ rotation amid injuries to most of their starters: Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum, Rickey Romero, and Jesse Litsch are all on the DL. Tallet has filled in admirably, allowing 16 runs, 15 earned, in 29 innings so far as a starter. He’s having a bit of trouble with the walks, which the Yanks will surely try to exploit tonight.
As a reliever, Tallet has given the Yanks some trouble. He’s faced them 20 times in his career, spanning 28.1 innings, in which he has allowed 9 runs. The walks are still an issue, as he’s issued 12 through those 29 innings — almost the exact rate he’s showing as a starter so far. Hopefully the Yanks can catch up to Tallet in an extended viewing.
The Yanks send their guy to the mound tonight, the behemoth that is CC Sabathia. He was masterful his last time out, pitching like the guy the Yanks signed to a $161 million contract this winter. As Pettitte did last night, he’ll face a righty-heavy Blue Jays lineup tonight. It’s even more extreme tonight, with John McDonald entering the lineup. That makes it righties or switch hitters one through nine. Something tells me this will not bother Sabathia one bit.
Both Jeter and Matsui make their return to the lineup tonight. Jeter is a bit more concerning at this point. Obliques are tricky muscles, and the last thing the Yanks want is for Jeter to try to play through a small strain and turn it into a considerable tear. Missing 15 days now is obviously better than missing two months. We just have to put our faith in the Yanks training staff at this point.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Nick Swisher, RF
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Brett Gardner, CF
9. Francisco Cervelli, C
And on the mound, number fifty-two, CC Sabathia.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
