Miranda, Curtis sent to Triple-A

July 31, 2010 by Mike Axisa 87 Comments

In a pair of unsurprising moves, Juan Miranda and Colin Curtis were sent back to Triple-A Scranton this afternoon to make room on the roster for Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns. They both did an admirable job plugging holes during the summer, particularly Curtis, who never seemed to have a bad at-bat, but the Yanks simply needed to get better players and more production out of the designated hitter and fourth outfielder spots. They’ll be back in September; don’t worry.

For the number junkies among us, Lance Berkman will don 17, and Austin Kearns will carry 26 on his back. I guess John Flaherty and El Duque won’t live to see their pinstriped numbers retired.

Total Dominication

Juan Miranda, we hardly knew ye.
forensicnucchem

So glad the totally useless Marcus Thames is still on the roster…
- ZZ
  
  Being able to mash LHP on a team that has a few players susceptible to LHP while having significant experience as a pinch hitter/bench player seems like uses to me.
- Total Dominication
  
  season.287 .391 .426
  lefties300 400 440
  
  not useless
  - forensicnucchem
    
    Did some research today. Since April, Thames has hit .184/.295/.184 against lefties. Yes, that’s ZERO extra base hits in 3 months.
    
    And yes folks, that’s worse than Granderson.
    
    Lefty mashing again???
    - ZZ
      
      How many at bats has he had vs LHP over that time span?
      - forensicnucchem
        
        Only 38. But, if that’s supposedly his only value, then it doesn’t matter. He’s on this team to do one thing, which he hasn’t done well in 3 months and because of that hasn’t gotten many chances for it.
        
        Somebody who can run and/or play OF defense isn’t worth more than that???
        
        Total Dominication
        
        If they can’t hit for shit, then no, they’re not.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        That.
        
        ZZ
        
        You are using 3 months to try to make your point that over a significant period of time Thames has not hit LHP.
        
        That is extremely misleading in this argument.
        
        The only thing that matters is 38 at bats which is nothing and is extremely susceptible to fluctuation with a hit or two.
        
        Also and of course, 38 at bats certainly does not override 674 career at bats vs LHP in which he has a .509 SLG.
        
        The question I should ask you is, what purpose does Colin Curtis serve on this team with Austin Kearns on the roster and his ability to play the OF competently?
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        Curtis has defensive ability. Kearns has only been considered slightly above average in RF. Below average in LF. Are they going to move Swisher to LF just to satisfy Kearns past ability? Curtis also at least has some speed, whereas Thames has none of the above.
        
        I just think it’s quite a waste of a roster spot.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        You are entitled to think that.
        
        You’re wrong, though.
        
        JLew
        
        There are 3 kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.
        
        I Voted for Kodos
        
        Only 38. But, if that’s supposedly his only value, then it doesn’t matter
        
        But, see, it does matter. His performance over 38 ABs does not mean that he’s worthless. He’s hit lefties very well in his career, and 38 bad ABs do not mean he’s lost that ability. They also don’t mean that he’ll continue to hit them poorly in the future.
    - Total Dominication
      
      obp by month
      
      April-17 pa 650
      May 45 pa-375
      June (14 pa’s)-130
      July15 pa- 380
      
      Much better than Curtis or Miranda!
    - http://twitter.com/dpatrickg Dirty Pena
      
      I did some research just now.
      
      Since his career started .261/.335/.509. Yes, that’s EIGHTY TWO extra base hits in 674 at bats.
      - forensicnucchem
        
        What do the career numbers have to do with where his career is right now?
        
        Ken Griffey has pretty good career numbers, maybe they should’ve traded for him.
- http://twitter.com/j_yankees2213 j_Yankees
  
  Useless? wow really?
  
  i have a DH, a CF and now a 4th OF that aren’t hitting LHP. and Thames who MASHES LHP is useless?
  
  things like this make me laugh.
  - forensicnucchem
    
    Sorry, Thames isn’t hitting lefties either, read the reasoning before criticizing.
    - I Voted for Kodos
      
      Your reasoning is flawed though.
      
      A bad SSS stretch does not mean that his ability is gone, it means he’s had a bad stretch of time.
      - forensicnucchem
        
        It doesn’t mean it’s not gone though. One fluky good 2 week stretch doesn’t mean he should be kept all season hoping he’ll have another fluky 2 week stretch.
        
        Park has had good stretches, should he have been kept? I’m sure even Randy Winn had good stretches, well, maybe not, but you get the point.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Finding out whether or not Marcus Thames can still hit lefties like his career line says he can >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Anything Colin Curtis is going to give you, ever.
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        At the beginning of the season, maybe. Not at this point though. That ship has sailed and he doesn’t get the time to really hit them in a groove anyway.
        
        I know it’s only one more month till rosters expand anyway, but leaving him with a roster spot based on going 10-16 in April is pointless.
        
        Look, I’m against Granderson facing lefties as much as anyone, but clearly Thames is showing that he’s not the solution. Sorry if my 38 AB’s don’t mean as much as the 16 AB’s in April. It’s not like it’s more than twice as many or anything.
        
        Chan Ho Park has ok numbers as a reliever in his career, they should’ve kept him to keep seeing if that comes back…
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        I know it’s only one more month till rosters expand anyway,
        
        Do you?
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        You’re right, questioning this means I have zero baseball knowledge, especially since it doesn’t agree with your viewpoint.
        
        And also, sure, in a division with the 2 best teams in baseball (and another of top couple after that) with a 1 game lead, one month won’t have any affect on the outcome of the season.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        I’m not saying you have zero knowledge. I’m saying, if you acknowledge the fact that rosters expand in a month, doesn’t the possession of that knowledge compel you to consider the shortsightedness of DFAing a guy like Thames just to keep Curtis in the bigs when one month later, BOTH OF THEM could be on the team, contributing equally?
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Chan Ho Park has ok numbers as a reliever in his career, they should’ve kept him to keep seeing if that comes back…
        
        You know what? If we would have traded for Kerry Wood and the options were either to DFA Park or demote some fringy, AAAA kid in the pen who would have been the pitching equivalent of Colin Curtis (like, say, Romulo Sanchez), I would have fully endorsed demoting Sanchez and giving Park another two months to see if he can turn it around.
        
        Because having both Park and Sanchez is better than having only Sanchez. Having both Thames and Curtis is better than having only Curtis.
        
        Assets should be hoarded and kept until the last possible moment. You don’t DFA a veteran with a track record of success just to keep some scrub non-elite kid in the majors when that kid still has minor league options, allowing you to keep both the vet AND the kid as emergency fallbacks.
        
        Shit, even Randy Winn turned it around post DFA and has been a valuable contributor to the Cardinals.
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        Randy Winn has also hit under .200 in his last month and a half. A couple good games doesn’t/shouldn’t save a whole season roster spot.
    - http://twitter.com/j_yankees2213 j_Yankees
      
      piggy backing on what others have said. 38 ABs isn’t enough to completely ignore what he has done until that point and say he is worthless.
      
      if 38 ABs is enough to call someone worthless then we have lots of worthless folks in baseball.
      - forensicnucchem
        
        It’s funny though, I’m getting bitched at because I’m using 38 AB’s to say he’s not doing well, and yet you’re all using the ONLY 16 AB’s from before that to say he has done well.
        
        http://twitter.com/dpatrickg Dirty Pena
        
        Personally, I don’t think he has done good or bad. However, his career numbers should override either his bad SSS or his good SSS stretch when judging him. The Griffey comparison is/was ridiculous and you know it. Are you suggesting 33 year old Marcus Thames is washed up?
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        How do you know he’s not? It’s not like he was ever some world beater, all star player. Sometimes they just flame out.
        
        Rather than giving him another 30-40 AB’s this season, I think it’d be more valuable to have a speed guy or an OF guy.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Rather than giving him another 30-40 AB’s this season, I think it’d be more valuable to have a speed guy or an OF guy.
        
        Or, you can be patient and have both, one month from now. And then come October, you can choose either one to fill out your roster, with a full year’s worth of data at the ready.
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        One month in a race with the other best team in baseball and several other good ones could be the difference.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        For Derek Jeter or ARod or Posada, maybe.
        
        For the 25th man on the team, who plays maybe once a week, tops? Not fucking remotely.
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        So you admit he’s not going to play but you aren’t willing to try replacing him with someone who has more versatile abilities to help in more different ways? That just doesn’t make sense.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        I admit that neither of them are going to play, so it doesn’t make enough of a difference to justify whacking a veteran when rosters expand in a month and the playoffs are two months away.
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        Yeah, wouldn’t want to touch an almighty veteran. Much better than having someone to run for Berkman, Posada, Tex late in a game down by one. Or having someone to go in defensively if an OFer is banged up or if Grandy is PH for.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Much better than having someone to run for Berkman, Posada, Tex late in a game down by one.
        
        Austin Kearns can do that.
        
        Or having someone to go in defensively if an OFer is banged up or if Grandy is PH for.
        
        Austin Kearns can do that too.
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        Kearns doesn’t have the kind of speed differential you’d be looking for and Kearns has been a below average OFer in LF and CF. You going to move all the outfielders around just to account for what Kearns may be able to do?
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        .257/.347/.457: There’s 124 PA’s from last year where he hit lefties well.
        
        124: More than both 16 and 38.
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        Which is a year ago, things happen over the course of a year, especially to not the most talented or athletically gifted of athletes. Look at Jeter this year…
        
        And two, that means he had more consistent playing time to possibly be able to get in a groove, which he has not and will not get here.
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        Jeter was for the way things change over a year, not putting him in the not talented or athletically gifted category, before any freaks out about that too…
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Oh, I see. That’s totally different because it’s a year ago.
        
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_scotsman
        
        http://mystiqueandaura.com/ JMK’s Mystique and Aura
        
        Are you by any chance related to a guy named alexgonzalez (Jose)?
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        I have no idea where you’re going with this…
        
        http://twitter.com/j_yankees2213 j_Yankees
        
        no…we are all bringing up his career numbers which should be valued more then just his last 38 ABs.
        
        Total Dominication
        
        See my stats above.
  - B-Rando
    
    Yes, 38 ABs is a short sample size. However, continuously stating that Thames “MASHES” LHP doesn’t seem to be as valid as an argument after that stretch. Everytime Thames comes up in conversation that seems to be the go to response, he “MASHES” LHP. He doesn’t play everyday, he’s not racking up ABs. 38 ABs occupies a relatively long time for a player like Thames.
    
    Now I would by no means state Thames is useless. I would say the correct move was made and Thames should be given his shot to show what he’s done throughout his career. However, if this trend continues, there may be more value in someone like Curtis occupying that bench spot.
    - http://twitter.com/dpatrickg Dirty Pena
      
      I agree with the 2nd part. I don’t think we should have undying loyalty to Thames, but today is also not the day to cut him.
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        I don’t think we should have undying loyalty to Thames, but today is also not the day to cut him.
        
        That. If Colin Curtis was a worldbeater and a part of our future, I’d absolutely endorse DFAing Marcus Thames for him.
        
        He’s not. He’s Colin Curtis. No need to pull the ripcord on Thames just to keep Colin Curtis around.
    - http://twitter.com/j_yankees2213 j_Yankees
      
      Marcus Thames has a .844 OPS vs LHP in his career. That includes the last 38 ABs.
      
      i will continue to say he mashes LHP because in his career he has.
Brian

Why is Thames still around? What purpose can he possibly serve? Is there a requirement that every MLB team needs one really bad player on the roster?
- Total Dominication
  
  See above.
- http://twitter.com/dpatrickg Dirty Pena
  
  Yes, Rule 72.5b.
  - Paul
    
    Maybe a web redemption will work wonders.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Because everything Colin Curtis can possibly give you is duplicated by Austin Kearns, but Marcus Thames does things that Kearns does not.
  
  Thus, when Kearns was added, Curtis became more superfluous than Thames did.
  
  Also, demoting Curtis lets us keep both Curtis and Thames under team control for the rest of the season. We can’t demote Thames, we’d have to cut him.
  
  Having both Thames and Curtis in our org >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Having only one of Thames or Curtis in our org.
  
  I don’t get why people don’t get that concept. Don’t DFA potentially useful pieces until absolutely necessary. It’s not necessary to dump Thames yet.
GermanYankee

btw: Chad Tracy opted out of his minor league contract.
- Total Dominication
  
  Fuck, there goes the Pennant, good luck next year boys.
  - http://www.thechuckknoblog.com/ JobaWockeeZ
    
    Next year? Buddy, we’re never going to be contenders again.
    - Meat Loaf
      
      I’m not your friend, Buddy
- http://twitter.com/dpatrickg Dirty Pena
  
  I knew the people who were suggesting we had a bad deadline had a point.
bronxbrain

forensicnucchem: I suspect that Kearns’s arrival leaves Curtis without a role on the team, while Thames’s career of mashing lefties preserves his value as a PH/ocassional DH. But I salute you for sticking to your guns while nearly everyone on this list dismisses your opinion as simply wrong. RAB is not the easiest place to dissent.
- Carlosologist
  
  Use the reply button, it keeps the conversations in line.
  
  /friendlyhelpout’d
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  suspect that Kearns’s arrival leaves Curtis without a role on the team, while Thames’s career of mashing lefties preserves his value as a PH/ocassional DH.
  
  That.
  
  RAB is not the easiest place to dissent.
  
  Eh, whether you agree with the board mainstream or disagree with the board mainstream, you still have to defend your point. RAB regulars will argue against their own general set of beliefs when someone says something too extreme in either direction.
  
  Some points don’t get defended as vigorously because they’re fairly settled terrain, having been debated in prior months/years of RAB’s existence, that’s all.
  - bronxbrain
    
    I thought that forensicnucchem defended his point well, even if it didn’t convince me.
    
    RAB undoubtedly features the most insightful contributors among all the baseball discussion boards. Without question, it features the wittiest and most stylized conversation. I lurk here regularly. But I don’t post often, mostly because my opinions rest on gut perception–which is largely dismissed here as insubstantial, too subjective–rather than on sabermetric analysis. In short, I wouldn’t excel by the rules of the game played at RAB.
    
    Again, I think that this board is the smartest one going. It just doesn’t leave room for intuitive argument.
  - http://mystiqueandaura.com/ JMK’s Mystique and Aura
    
    And most of us regulars are more than ok with admitting when they were wrong.
    
    For instance, I was wrong about Brett Gardner.
    
    But as TSJC said, bronxbrain, having an unpopular opinion is fine, even encouraged. When you have no basis or saying it is where the problem develops. Back up your point with statistics, reason, logic, realism and folks here reasonable.
    
    Say something hyperbolic, stupid, inflammatory and you’ll get chided, and justifiably so.
    - forensicnucchem
      
      Back up your point with statistics, reason, logic, realism and folks here reasonable.
      
      And when you do, you’re told you’re entitled to your opinion, even though it’s wrong. Not that people just don’t agree with it, just that you’re wrong. Or you’re compared to Alex Gonzalez or something (still not sure what that was).
      
      Sorry if the bolding didn’t work.
      - forensicnucchem
        
        Of course not, damn…
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        What HTML tags did you use?
        
        Try <b></b>
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        Yeah, left out the slash.
        
        I wish the explanation under the commenting box was a little clearer (hint, hint RABbi’s :-)).
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Another tip:
        
        Don’t use the <s></s> tags, they don’t work. Use the <strike></strike> ones instead.
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        That’s like HTML 201, I haven’t even passed HTML 101 yet apparently, so that’s a little much. ;-)
        
        Thanks though.
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        how about now?
        
        forensicnucchem
        
        k, at least it worked that time.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Well done.
  - laughingatritards
    
    That is like voting against your own interest in order to preserve an ideology, even when that ideology is clearly flawed. Kind of stupid.
- forensicnucchem
  
  Well, thank you at least for that.
http://fmylife.com Bryan

Molina actually wore 26.

/Justsaying’d.
Januz

These trades show why Cashman will one day be in the builders wing of the Hall Of Fame (HOF). He is already GM for 4 Titles (Watson was GM in 96), and one more should secure his place in the HOF. Adding Berkman, Kearns & Wood is nothing short of brilliant, and is exactly what is needed to beat out the Rays (And I think without those trades, Tampa would have won the division, and been the favorite to win the Series). A Grade of A+.
- http://mystiqueandaura.com/ JMK’s Mystique and Aura
  
  (But how does) this affect our( prospects, Januz)?
  
  (An oldie but goodie.)
  - Januz
    
    It affects our prospects by filling major holes. Winning the Division is important. I would not have felt comfortable being the Wild Card looking at Cliff Lee in a 5 Game Texas Series (Let Tampa deal with that headache.
laughingatritards

forensicnucchem – this is RAB, there is no place for dissent. However, the bandwagon of ass kissing is always recruiting.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Sensitive RAB Guy, is that you?
  - theyankeewarrior
    
    Haha it could very well be!
- Slappy White
  
  That was the old days. This is the new Deeper, Thicker RAB
  - Rab
    
    TWSS