Archive for August, 2009
Kennedy to pitch in fall league
Posted by: | CommentsIan Kennedy, rehabbing his way back from an arm aneurysm, spoke to reporters about his rehab plans today. The Yankees’ right-hander said that he probably won’t pitch in a Minor League game this season but will return to competitive action next month in one of the fall instructional leagues. Kennedy has been throwing his fastball and changeup during recent mound sessions, and while the AP says he will pitch in the Arizona Fall League this year, based on the eligibility requirements, Kennedy shouldn’t be able to play there. While he fits the service time requirement, he will not be off the Minor League DL 45 days prior to the end of the season. Rosters for the AzFL teams will be released soon.
Maybe Jorge could use a day off or two
Posted by: | CommentsThe Yankees play the final game of their West Coast trip later this evening, and will then enjoy a day off before beginning a series at Fenway. While a win would be nice, especially because it’s the Yanks (arguably) worst starter against one, if not the, A’s best, it would be nice to see Joe Girardi set up his team for the weekend series. This doesn’t mean resting all the starters — not by a long shot. Rather, it means giving the slumping Jorge Posada a day off, which will translate into two straight.
Why give Jorge a break? Quite simply because he’s mired in one hell of a slump. How bad? The last time Jorge drew a walk was August 7 against Boston. He’s drawn just two free passes the entire month of August. You know who else has walked twice this month? Robinson Cano. That should be the first indicator that something is wrong with Jorge.
Since the four-game sweep of Boston, Posada has come to the plate 34 times, registering 33 at bats. The only one which didn’t count was last night’s sac fly. In that span Jorge has hit .182/.176/.364 — a mere 6 for 33. His slugging percentage is propped up by his homer against Toronto which just cleared the short porch, and a few doubles. It’s nice to see him hitting with some power — it’s a sign that it’s just a bad slump — but boy, is it ever hurting the team.
Perhaps the strangest, and perhaps the worst, stat of Jorge’s post-Boston slump: 13 strikeouts in 34 plate appearances. That’s a strikeout almost 40 percent of the time he’s come to the plate. It’s also a 13:0 K/BB ratio in that span.
The slump extends a bit further back than that. Since the beginning of the Rays series in late July, Posada is hitting .230/.247/.392 with a 21:2 K/BB ratio. That covers 33 plate appearances, about as big as the post-Boston sample, and in that he also hit three doubles and one homer. While the Yanks have been rolling post-break, Jorge most definitely has not.
Jorge could certainly use the two days off. He’s had just one day off since August 8, missing only the first game of the Seattle series. True, he’s DHed in two of those games, but he’s 37 years old. Given his lack of rest and his stats in that span, it certainly stands to reason that he could use a bit of a break. The Yankees have an opportunity to get him a couple of days off heading into a big series with Boston, and they should certainly take advantage. Having a productive Jorge greatly enhances the already powerful Yankees lineup.
2009 Post-Draft Top 30 Prospects
Posted by: | CommentsNow that the draft signing deadline has come and gone, we can take a second to step back and try to figure out where all the new guys fit in. I’ve always believed that if you draft & sign a guy and he instantly becomes your top prospect, you either a) landed an absolute stud, or b) have a bad system. More often then not, it’s the latter. Thankfully the Yanks aren’t in that position, although first rounder Slade Heathcott still slides comfortably into the team’s top five prospects.
For the sake of comparison, you can find my predraft list here and my preseason list here. Phil Coke and David Robertson have since graduated to the majors, hence their exclusion. So without further ado …
- Jesus Montero, C – out for the year with a broken finger, but a .406 wOBP and a .222 IsoP in AA as a 19-yr is as good as it gets
- Austin Jackson, CF – hard to believe he’s still only 22, but more power and/or fewer strikeouts would be nice
- Austin Romine, C – constant improvement in every aspect of the game, there’s a whole lot to like here
- Slade Heathcott, CF – toolsy outfielder has enormous upside, but for now he’s behind Romine because he hasn’t done anything yet
- Zach McAllister, RHP – rock solid, doesn’t wow you … should contribute next year, but also doubles as Grade-B trade bait
- Arodys Vizcaino, RHP – top notch stuff but slowed by a recent back injury … big upside
- Mark Melancon, RHP – everything is there, just needs an extended chance
- Manny Banuelos, LHP – Futures Gamer relies on polish and command rather than sheer stuff
- Ivan Nova, RHP – after what seems like an eternity of waiting, it finally clicked this year
- Andrew Brackman, RHP – well, he made every start and stayed healthy all year … that’s a positive
- Jeremy Bleich, LHP – not performing in AA yet, but polished lefty should be a cheap back-end option sometime next year
- Dellin Betances, RHP – more injuries, more walks … still dreaming on upside here
- Mike Dunn, LHP – super high strikeout lefty just needs to limit his walks … a nastier version of Phil Coke
- Graham Stoneburner, RHP – pounds the zone with three average or better pitches & is allergic to homers
- Kelvin DeLeon, OF – gobs of talent and gobs of strikeouts, but has big time power potential
- JR Murphy, C – raw hitting ability and defensive skills are there; needs experience and refinement, though
- Frankie Cervelli, C – big league ready backup catcher … all that needs to be said
- Jairo Heredia, RHP – missed most of the season with some kind of arm injury, but has rebounded well
- Adam Warren, RHP - polished, pounds the zone, sits low-90′s and has touched 96 with SI … pleasant surprise
- Bradley Suttle, 3B – out all year with a shoulder problem, but he can flat out rake when healthy
- Wilkins DeLaRosa, LHP – similar to Dunn, but less breaking ball
- DJ Mitchell, RHP – annihilates RHB but gets crushed by LHB, needs to improve that changeup to avoid ROOGY status … Gaudin 2.0?
- David Adams, 2B – bat control guy with gap power & good on-base skills … I’m a fan
- Brett Marshall, RHP – out with TJ surgery, but a big arm that was holding his own as a teenager in full season ball
- Dan Brewer, RF – he’s a hitting savant … mashes lefties, righties, fastballs, breaking balls, pitches down, pitches up, you name it
- George Kontos, RHP – out with TJ surgery, but was doing well in AAA prior to the injury and on the cusp of the big leagues
- Kyle Higashioka, C – impressive all-around package behind the plate, but a million miles away
- Kevin Russo, IF – super high OBP guy can play a ton of positions, he’ll be the backup infielder’s backup next year
- Gavin Brooks, LHP – huge arm from the left side could move fast as a reliever, but might get another crack at starting
- Corban Joseph, 2B – he can hit, but he can’t do much more than that
Damon Sublett, Matt Richardson, and Nik Turley were pushed out when Heathcott, Murphy, and Stoneburner signed. I’m generally hard on international signees (I want to see them do something, anything, in the States before I buy into the hype), so Gary Sanchez fell well short of the list. I’m a big Graham Stoneburner fan, but I’ll admit I was aggressive in ranking him. Hopefully it doesn’t come back to haunt me like Carmen Angelini did back in 2007.
Obviously major injuries to George Kontos, Chris Garcia, Bradley Suttle, and Brett Marshall affected their rankings greatly. Ivan Nova always had the stuff and projection, but never the polish to earn a high ranking. His breakout with Double-A Trenton vaults him up the list. Remember that the middle of the list is very fungible, I could have easily had someone like DJ Mitchell sitting just outside the top ten. It’s just preference, and this is how it shook out given my mood at the time.
So go ahead, file your complaints in the comments.
ESPN E:60 feature on Pat Venditte
Posted by: | CommentsI really hope the kid makes it to the big leagues. It would be so awesome.
Overlooking the obvious in the hunt for a starter
Posted by: | CommentsFor four out of five days, the Yankees’ starters have been among the best in the game. CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Joba Chamberlain and Andy Pettitte have combined to go 41-22 this season with a collective 3.81 ERA. In 606.1 innings, the quartet has allowed 564 hits and 238 walks while striking out 497. The WHIP of 1.32 is a little on the high side, but the K/9 of 7.38 is stellar. This Big Four are primed for an October run.
The other guy — that much-maligned fifth starter — hasn’t been nearly as good. The Yankees have tried Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre in the role. Chad Gaudin will make his fifth starter debut later today. As a group, the Yanks’ fifth starters are 6-9 with a 7.79 ERA. In just over 100 innings — that’s 4.1 IP per start — these pitchers have given up 143 hits, and their WHIP clocks in at 1.83. It has been a constant struggle to find a fifth starter, to say the least.
Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal dropped a bullet point on the Yanks’ hunt for a fifth starter. He wrote:
The Yankees inquired about Reds right-handers Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo, but backed off when the Reds said they would not include any money in a deal. While the Yankees remain active in their pursuit of a starter, they likely will stand pat and await the benefit of the roster expansions on Sept. 1.
We’ve assessed both Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo when the Yanks nearly acquired him prior to the July 31st trade deadline. There is no need to get into their pluses and overwhelming minuses right now.
Instead, I’d like to ask yet again why the Yankees are continuing to overlook the most obvious answer to their fifth starter problems: Phil Hughes.
Earlier this year, the Yankees tried Phil Hughes in the rotation. He went 3-2 with a 5.45 ERA. In 34.6 innings, he allowed 37 hits and struck out 31. He had one awful start against the Orioles and one very good start. His other five starts were inconsistent, exactly what you would expect from a young starter with great stuff but not enough Major League experience. Prior to Chien-Ming Wang’s comeback, Hughes had seemed to turn a corner, and the Yankees kept him around.
At first, Hughes shadowed Wang, and he really seemed to excel out of the pen. He was throwing harder and was attacking the zone more than he had as a starter. With the Bridge to Mariano unsettled, the Yankees fell in love with Phil Hughes in the 8th inning. He was as lights out as Joba was in 2007, and all of a sudden, Phil Hughes the starter morphed into Phil Hughes the lockdown reliever.
Since the move to the bullpen, Hughes’ innings totals have been meager. He threw just 13 innings in June and 14 innings in July. This month — 18 days through August — Hughes has thrown just 5.2 innings. For comparison’s sake, Sergio Mitre has thrown 14.2 unspectacular innings this month. The 8th inning does not matter more.
On the season, between the Majors and Minors, Hughes has thrown just 87.1 innings, and at this rate with his current usage patterns, he won’t reach more than 105-110 in the regular season. Next year, as a starter, Hughes will be limited to around 150-160 innings. If this sounds like Joba Chamberlain, well, that’s because it is.
With their win last night, the Yankees are 75-45. They have a seven-game lead with 42 left to play, and while it ain’t over ’til it’s over, it’s getting awfully close. The Yanks could stretch Phil Hughes out, give him a few starts, build up his innings and then move him back into the bullpen for the playoffs. The future would thank them, and it would give the Yankees a better solution to the fifth — and fourth — starter issue than Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin will.
Yanks back to normal in 7-2 win
Posted by: | Comments
Last night we saw from the Yankees what we’ve seen from them, for the most part, since the All-Star Break: solid pitching and a hit barrage. They slipped for a couple of days, but over a 162-game season, what team won’t? Seemingly unfazed by two straight losses, the Yanks came up with a big inning to complement CC Sabathia‘s mostly dominant start and took the second game of the series, 7-2.
After said two straight losses, the first inning was not a welcome sight. After Vin Mazzaro beaned A-Rod and issued a five-pitch walk to Hideki Matsui, the Yanks had the bases loaded with two outs. Jorge Posada worked a 2-2 count, but struck out on a ball way out of the zone. It was another opportunity wasted, the second such by Posada in two nights — Monday night he went down looking with runners on first and second with two outs.
Still, the Yanks had to feel good with their ace on the hill. Things looked great through the first two batters: a strike out and a pop out. But when CC threw behind Kurt Suzuki — and considering CC’s command last night, it was pretty clearly in retaliation for the A-Rod beaning — the catcher responded like any hitters wants to, by homering. Same thing happened in the second, minus the purpose pitch. After striking out the first two batters of the inning, CC gave up a homer to Tommy Everidge. Of course, he then came back to strike out Ryan Sweeney to end the frame.
The A’s wouldn’t get anything off Sabathia the rest of the night. There was some trouble in the fourth when the A’s put runners on second and third with one out, but CC kept them off the board. Scott Hairston probably could have scored on Mark Ellis’s liner to Nick Swisher, but Swisher was charging, and a good throw would have nailed him. The actual throw was up the line, but unfortunately for Hairston human beings do not possess clairvoyant foresight.
After that point the A’s managed just one more baserunner off Sabathia. For some reason, he threw Ryan Sweeney a belt high fastball around the middle of the plate. The slider had been working so well against Sweeney, especially when combined with fastballs out of the zone. Still, if that’s the biggest complaint among his final four innings, well, then there’s nothing to complain about at all. CC turned in a mighty fine start, just what the Yanks needed to stop this mini skid.
One final line on Sabathia. He threw 94 pitches, 66 for strikes, but four balls were intentional. So, in terms of him actually squaring off with a batter, he threw 90 pitches, 66 strikes. That’s pretty insane.
On the offensive side, the Yanks chipped away. Down 1-0 in the second, Melky Cabrera doubled with two outs, and then scored when a Derek Jeter grounder scooted through Adam Kennedy’s legs. In the third A-Rod led off with a single, took second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a grounder to third, and scored on Jorge’s ground rule double. Things were starting to look up after two games of general offensive futility.
Then, shades of Monday in the fourth. With the bases juiced and one out, Mark Teixeira stepped to the plate. Monday night it was Teixeira who walked on five pitches to load the bases with one out. Last night it was Damon. Monday night it was A-Rod who swung at the first pitch. Last night it was Teixeira. Same result: double play. It doesn’t get more frustrating for that.
Thankfully, their luck changed in the sixth when Vin Mazzaro left the game due to a high pitch count. It was old school Yankees. They don’t necessarily rack up the score against the starter, but they have good at bats and wear him down. Through five Mazzaro had thrown 103 pitches. The bullpen would have to pick him up, and it was apparent from the beginning that they would not.
It’s too bad that Robinson Cano swung at the first pitch he saw from Jay Marshall, because he ended up being quite wild. He threw 13 pitches, just six for strikes, and four of those strikes were balls in play. Damon knocked him out with a run-scoring double, leaving him with a line of 0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 HBP. Santiago Casilla didn’t help matters, walking Mark Teixeira on four pitches, and then the same to A-Rod, which scored a run.
The Yanks tacked on a couple more after that, all but sealing their victory. David Robertson made things a little interesting in the ninth, walking the first two batters on eight pitches. If only he’d done the same to Mark Ellis, we would have had a Harry Doyle moment. Instead he struck out the next two batters and got a fly out to end the game.
Rubber game tomorrow, Chad Gaudin against Brett Anderson. WIth Burnett and CC going eight innings on back to back nights, the pen is pretty well rested. They’ll have a day off on Thursday before a series in Boston, so I’d expect to see Hughes, Bruney, and Aceves get an inning tomorrow, regardless of score. Thankfully it’s the last 10:00 start for a few weeks.
Photo credit: Ben Margot/Associated Press
Paredes leads AL to All Star win
Posted by: | CommentsTwo years ago today on DotF, Matt Carson homered for the second consecutive day to give Double-A Trenton it’s second consecutive 1-0 win.
Fifth rounder Caleb Cotham will join short Season Staten Island tomorrow, according to Robert Pimpsner. Also, make sure you scroll down for tonight’s game thread.
Triple-A Scranton (10-5 win over Lehigh Valley)
Kevin Russo & John Rodriguez: both 1 for 3 – Russo walked twice & scored a run … J-Rod walked & K’ed
Colin Curtis: 2 for 5, 2 R, 1 RBI
Austin Jackson: 1 for 5, 1 R, 2 K
Shelley Duncan: 3 for 5, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI - SHELLEY SMASH!!!
Juan Miranda: 1 for 4 R, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Yurendell DeCaster: 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Reegie Corona: 2 for 2, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 E (throwing)
Jason Hirsh: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 5-4 GB/FB – 58 of 88 pitches were strikes (65.9%)
Zach Kroenke: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 4-0 GB/FB – 16 of 22 pitches were strikes (72.7%)
Anthony Claggett: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 5-2 GB/FB – 21 of 37 pitches were strikes (56.8%)
Amaury Sanit: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1-1 GB/FB – 8 of 9 pitches were strikes (88.9%)
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
