Archive for September, 2009
GCL Yanks see season come to an abrupt end
Posted by: | CommentsShelley Duncan was named MVP of the Triple-A International League, while Austin Jackson took home Rookie of the Year honors. Kevin Russo was named the second baseman on the postseason All Star Team. Congrats to all three guys, it’s well deserved.
Lane Meyer at NoMaas checked in with Slade Heathcott, who said he’s not playing because the Yanks want to take it slow with him. This is nothing knew, the Yanks do this with their top guys every year, and in fact I’m surprised JR Murphy has gotten into as many games as he has. Arodys Vizcaino, meanwhile, was placed on the 7-day DL. I’m sure the team is just being careful with his back issue.
And last but certainly not least, it turns out that Dellin Betances did not have Tommy John surgery. He just had a “ligament reinforcement” procedure, which is the same thing Mariano Rivera had back in the day. It’s still a major surgery, but not as severe as TJ.
Triple-A Scranton (11-4 win over Syracuse)
Kevin Russo & Freddy Guzman: both 2 for 4 – Russo drove in two, scored twice, drew a walk & K’ed twice … Guzman walked twice, stole a base, scored a run & K’ed
Austin freaking Jackson: 4 for 6, 1 R, 1 2B, 5 RBI – damn kid
Shelley Duncan & Reegie Corona: both 2 for 5, 1 R – Shelley doubled, drew a walk & K’ed twice … Corona drove in two & K’ed
Juan Miranda: 0 for 5, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Cody Ransom: 0 for 2, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 K – believe it or not, he was actually walked intentionally
John Rodriguez: 0 for 4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Chris Stewart: 2 for 2, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 HBP - picked off second
Romulo Sanchez: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 3 WP, 1 HB, 11-0 GB/FB – 60 of 96 pitches were strikes (62.5%) … you gotta love the groundballs
Humberto Sanchez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1-1 GB/FB – 23 of 40 pitches were strikes (57.5%) … and three years late, he finally makes it back to AAA
Amaury Sanit: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB,1 K, 1 WP, 1-1 GB/FB – 17 of 34 pitches were strikes (50%)
Game 132 Spillover Thread II
Posted by: | CommentsThis team relies way too much on teh homerz.
Game 132: No, not that David Hernandez
Posted by: | CommentsThe Yankees will face Orioles rookie RHP David Hernandez for the second time tonight. The first time around I mentioned that he “looks like the prototype of the kind of pitcher the Yanks struggle with.” Wordiness aside, that proved true. Hernandez pitched six innings of one-run ball. Andy Pettitte pitched even better, though, allowing just one run over 7.1 innings. Hideki Matsui ended the affair with a one-out walk-off home run.
Hernandez pitched even better his next time out against Boston, pitching seven innings of one-run ball. He picked up a win this time, though he struck out just two during the game. That closed out his July, and it was a memorable one for the rookie. He threw at least six innings in each of his four starts, adn allowed no more than three runs in a single start. His ERA went from 4.19 entering the month to 3.20 exiting it. Orioles fans had a reason to be excited.
August, though, has not been as kind. He’s tossed 29.1 innings and has allowed 19 runs for a 5.83 ERA. His 20:17 K/BB ratio is nothing special, and his 10 home runs allowed has really hurt the team. Unsurprisingly, the Orioles were 1-5 in his August starts, and he reached six innings only twice. Worst of all, opponents had a 1.048 OPS against him. He essentially turned all the hitters he faced into Joe Mauer.
In case you were wondering, no, it’s not that David Hernandez.
A.J. Burnett takes the bump for the Bombers. Minus an Ian Kinsler three-run bomb, Burnett was pretty damn good last time out. It all came apart when he walked a guy, which is disheartening, but I have faith that A.J. can pick it up tonight against the Orioles.
We know that the Yankees called up four players today. Jon Alabaladejo should follow soon. He was hit in the eye (ouch) and is day to day. We could see more call-ups once Scranton finishes its playoff run. Also, Chad Gaudin will start on Thursday in place of Sergio Mitre.
Note to A.J.: Keep the ball on the ground tonight. Please.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, DH
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jorge Posada, C
6. Robinson Cano, 2B
7. Nick Swisher, LF
8. Eric Hinske, RF
9. Melky Cabrera, CF
And on the mound, number thirty-four, A.J. Burnett.
Misc. Linkage: Oppenheimer, A-Rod, Pitching
Posted by: | CommentsLots of great stuff around the interwebs today, but there’s only so many hours in the day. Here’s some items we didn’t get a chance to post about…
- Mike Ashmore posted part one of his interview with scouting director Damon Oppenheimer. There’s a very interesting quote in there about the team preferring to see their prospects deal with failure in Double-A rather than the bigs, which obviously makes sense. I do wonder how that applied to Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain though, because those guys didn’t experience an iota of failure until they got to the Bronx. Also, I really hope we one day get coverage of High-A Tampa and Low-A Charleston like we have with Triple-A Scranton, Double-A Trenton, and Short Season Staten Island. Ashmore, Chad Jennings, and Robert Pimpsner have spoiled me rotten.
- So as it turns out, Alex Rodriguez has been working with Kevin Long to “widen his stance and generate more power to help him center the ball and make better contact.” Considering how he’s been hitting, I’d say it’s working.
- Tyler Kepner looks ahead to a possible Yanks-Tigers ALDS matchup, and notes that this year’s club is in a better position for October than the 2006 team that fell to Detroit. The biggest difference for me? A strikeout staff. Pitching to contact doesn’t work so well when you’re in a two on, none out jam against a good team.
- RAB regular leokitty took a look at how the Yanks’ ERA and FIP have matched up throughout the season. You can see that once the bullpen stabilized in June, everything just fell into place.
- Fack Youk examined the Pitch FX date for Andy Pettitte‘s start last night, and it turns out the lefty was working with a rather favorable strikezone.
- I like WAR. I like pie. Therefore, I like WAR pie.
- We all love prospects, and some of us actually like hockey. So for us Ranger fans out there, here’s the club’s top prospects for the 2009-2010 seasons.
Yanks add five as rosters expand
Posted by: | CommentsWith the Major League rosters expanding today, the Yankees have opted to add five players in their initial round of call-ups. While four are familiar faces, one — Michael Dunn — will be making his Bronx debut this month.
Chad Jennings first brought us word of these call-ups this afternoon. As expected, Ramiro Pena, Francisco Cervelli, Mark Melancon and Edwar Ramirez will rejoin this team as well. Jonathan Albaladejo remains the odd man out.
Dunn is an interesting case simply because he has been largely off the Yanks’ radar this year. The other four call-ups have all spent significant time in the Bronx this year, but Dunn has not. Dunn, a lefty, is a 24-year-old pitcher who spent time at AA and AAA this year. On the season, he has thrown 73.1 innings in relief and has 99 strike outs. While he has walked 46, opponents are hitting just .216 against him. He’ll see some low-leverage innings out of the pen and should provide Phil Coke with a few days off. I’ll be curious to see how his K/BB ratio plays among selective hitters in the American League.
For now, these five players will be the only ones summoned to the big leagues for the Yankees. The team is, after all, still involved in a pennant chase and won’t be resting its regulars until much later in the month. Meanwhile, Scranton too is involved in its own pennant chase. The AAA farm club has a 3.5-game lead in its division, and the Yanks won’t strip it of too many regulars before the season is out.
With these five men up, the only remaining members of the 40-man roster eligible for call-ups are as follows:
Jonathan Albaladejo
Andrew Brackman
Anthony Claggett
Wilkin De La Rosa
Christian Garcia
Ian Kennedy
Kevin Cash
Juan Miranda
Shelley Duncan
Brett Gardner
We’ll see Gardner back as soon as his thumb is healed, and we’ll probably see Shelley, Miranda, Claggett and De La Rosa at some point this month too. The rest are injured or not quite ready for the Show.
Update: Feinsand notes that both Shelley Duncan and Austin Jackson could join the team once Scranton is done with its playoff run.
Yanks pitching a big part of second half success
Posted by: | CommentsAt the tail end of last night’s discussion regarding Andy Pettitte’s brilliant start, I marveled at the Yankees second half record, 32-11. That’s 3.5 games better than the next-best AL team, the Anaheim Angels at 29-15. The next closest team after that is Texas at 24-19. The Yanks are, as the saying goes, firing on all cylinders. But perhaps no cylinder is no more important than the pitching one.
Since the All-Star Break, Yankees pitchers have posted a 3.88 ERA, best in the American League. It’s 0.23 better than the next lowest, Texas, though Texas’ number got decimated last night when they wouldn’t let the Blue Jays stop scoring. Then again, the Yanks number is skewed itself. It contains two absolute stinkers by A.J. Burnett, a rough series opener against the Sox last time out in which they allowed 11 runs in a win, and all of Sergio Mitre‘s starts. Despite this they’ve been able to keep their team ERA under 4.00, which is a remarkable feat in this year’s American League. In fact, no other team currently has a sub-4.00 ERA in the second half.
How is the staff doing it? Part of it is keeping people off the basepaths — they have a .245 BAA, best in the AL — but a lot of that is preventing balls from entering the field of play — their 364 team strikeouts leads the AL by 35. At the same time, they’re keeping their walks in check relative to those strikeouts. While three teams have walked fewer batters (Rays, Indians, Twins — and the Jays have the same total), none of those come close to the Yanks in K/BB. The Rays are at 2.6, the Indians are at 1.9, and the Jays and Twins are at 2.3. The Yanks are up at 2.8.
(Also note that while the Indians and Rays have considerably fewer walks than the Yanks, they’ve pitched about 20 fewer innings in the second half, so there’s plenty of time for them to make up those numbers.)
They say pitching wins championships, and to that end the Yankees are obviously doing great. Even better, their two biggest playoff rivals, the Angels and the Red Sox, have been pitching horribly in the second half. The Sox rank 10th in the AL with a 4.71 ERA, and the Angels are 11th with a 4.84 ERA. With those types of numbers and the Yankees offense, how can anyone be afraid to face them in a playoff series?
Speaking of that offense, it’s contributed just as much as the pitching to this incredible run. They’re far off the top mark in second-half runs — that mark goes solidly to the Angels. But still, the numbers don’t bear out such a large difference, 34 runs. The Yanks are second in the league in batting average, .291 to Anaheim’s .302. They’re second in OBP to the Angels, but this time it’s a gap of one-thousandth of a point (.363 to .362). The next closest team, the Indians, is at .347. The Yanks lead the league with a .500 SLG in the second half, and that’s not particularly close. The Angels, second highest, are at .476. So while the Angels are out in front by a lot in runs, I wouldn’t expect that to last for long.
We’re used to the offense. Over the past few years, save for 2008, the Yankees have had one of the top offenses in the league. It’s the pitching that’s making the difference this year. The offense is back on top, and expectedly so. The pitching, though, has greatly improved from the past few years, and the Yankees are noticing it in the wins column. They’ve set themselves a nice cushion, allowing them to give their stellar staff ample rest heading into the playoffs. At this point, is there any team that should really scare the Yanks? I’d say not.
An interview with international scout (and former Yank) Mike Pagliarulo
Posted by: | CommentsMike Pagliarulo was selected by the Yankees out of the University of Miami in the sixth round of the 1981 Amateur Draft. Recalled in July of 1984, Pags served as the Yankee third baseman for the next five years before being traded to the San Diego Padres. He won a World Series with the Minnesota Twins in 1991, and played for the Baltimore Orioles, Seibu Lions in Japan, and the Texas Rangers before retiring at the conclusion of the 1995 season. A fan favorite during his time with the Yanks, Pags has been a frequent guest at Old Timers’ Day since his retirement.
Since retiring, Pags has worked in scouting and consulting. He founded the Baseline Group which seeks to provide business solutions for baseball and recently started the non-profit start-up Baseball Institute of Development.. He agreed to answer some questions from Matt Bouffard of Fack Youk. What follows are some highlights of the conversation. The full interview will run at Fack Youk in the near future.
Matt Bouffard: What’s it like being a former Yankee living outside Boston these days? Do you get any flack for that? Didn’t you grow up as a Yankee fan, and if so, how did that come about, and what was it like to be a Yankee fan in Medford during the 1970s?
Mike Pagliarulo: My dad was the biggest Billy Martin fan ever. We grew up in Boston and everyone was a Red Sox fan except him. When I was a kid I always thought my father was right except when it came to the Yankees. Well, after my first big league spring training where I met the big league guys for the first time; I said, “Dad you were right again!” The Yankee organization was built on class and respect and everyone I met there was the same way. Back in Boston I still caught heat, but nobody gives out that much crap without being scared!
MB: After coming up in mid-1984, you’re first full season with the Yanks was 1985. That was a tumultuous year: Yogi Berra was fired just 16 games into the season and Billy Martin returned for his fourth stint as Yankee manager. You guys spent all summer chasing Toronto, clawed back into the race, and went north of the border for the season’s final weekend needing a three game sweep to force a playoff. What was that pennant race like for you and what was the let down like getting eliminated that Saturday?
MP: Tumultuous is a word associated with New York. And it’s not a bad word. I’d like to refer to playing under certain scrutiny and pressure as the way it is supposed to be! We aren’t babies and people pay lots of money to see you play. I hate it when tabloids side with the poor player who’s under so much pressure while making 10 million dollars. That doesn’t appear to match.
1985 was the year in which I learned more about Mr. Steinbrenner than any other. I never realized how much he wanted to win until the last month of the season. One example was during September when we returned from a night game in Milwaukee. The game was late and the flight was delayed. We’d got into Newark airport about 6 AM and the Boss has limos waiting for everyone to take them home. We had a game that night. I couldn’t believe that such a cool and generous thing could be done without being in the press.
Yanks set post-season ticket prices, policies
Posted by: | CommentsOnce upon a time, I went to a few classic post-season baseball games in the Bronx. I saw the first home game of the 2001 World Series, Game Six of the 2000 ALCS, Game 1 of the 2000 World Series and that fateful Game Two of the 1998 ALCS. I had tickets to Game Five of the 1999 World Series and Game Seven of the 2003 World Series. Those both proved to be unnecessary for vastly different reasons.
Yesterday, with the Yanks’ Magic Number at 27 before their Monday night win over the Orioles, the team announced their potential post-season ticket pricing plans, and once we wade through the licensing fee language, tickets for post-season games wind up being cheaper than those for the regular season. As the Yankees note in a press release detailing the pricing schemes, “prices for the vast majority of postseason tickets are less than those that were charged by the Yankees for equivalent seating in the 2007 postseason at the original Yankee Stadium.”
The details please:
Regular season ticket prices for full-season ticket licensees (non-Suites) will be replicated for the 2009 American League Division Series (i.e., a Main Level ticket that costs a full-season ticket licensee $60 in the 2009 regular season will cost the same licensee $60 for the ALDS), however, full-season ticket licensees (non-Suites) of $325 Field Level seats may purchase their seats for the ALDS at the lower price of $275 each.
For full-season ticket licensees (non-Suite), prices will range from $5-$275 per ticket for the ALDS, $10-$350 per ticket for the ALCS, and $50-$425 per ticket for the World Series.
Full-season Suite licensees in the Legends Suite, Delta Sky360° Suite and Jim Beam Suite, have all already paid their Suite license fees. Accordingly, they will only be required to purchase their Suite tickets, which will range from $65-$275 per Suite ticket for the ALDS, $115-$350 per Suite ticket for the ALCS, and $150-$425 per Suite ticket for the World Series. As with the regular season, Legends Suite licensees will also be required to pay a per-game food and beverage fee, but not a Suite license fee.
There is, however, a rub: Those of us without post-season options in our season ticket packages — or those of us without season ticket packages at all — will be at the mercy of the secondary ticketing market. The Yankees are going to give season-ticket holders first crack at the post-season apple, and the team also made sure to blame Major League Baseball when many fans are faced with the sold out reality of October baseball in the Bronx.
Please note that the quantity of postseason tickets available to those who are not 2009 season ticket licensees will be limited and vary for each postseason round. Yankee Stadium has a seating capacity of 50,235, excluding standing room. For each postseason game, the first opportunity to purchase tickets is provided to current season-ticket licensees, which represent in excess of 37,000 full-season equivalent ticket licenses. Major League Baseball directs clubs to dedicate approximately 3,000 tickets per game for players of the participating clubs and to accommodate the media. In addition, Major League Baseball requires approximately 5,500 tickets per ALDS game, 7,000 tickets per ALCS game and 9,500 tickets per World Series game.
Considering that the Yanks have yet to hit that 50,325 barrier, the team is playing a bit fast and loose with their attendance figures. Still, for the early rounds of the playoffs, the team will make at most 5000 per game available to those who do not hold a ticket license. Such are the economics and costs of success.
What the Yankees should do before the post-season, though, is work out this standing room aspect of the stadium. The team continues to mention it in official attendance figures and ticket-related press releases. I have yet to see, however, a single standing-room only ticket. What better way to inaugurate this new aspect of the new stadium than with some October baseball.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
