Open Thread: Triple-A All Star Game
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Photo Credit: Flickr user tjperr
All 30 big league teams are off today, with the Yankees even getting to enjoy one extra day off before returning to work on Friday. That doesn’t mean we’ll have to go without real live baseball though, because the Triple-A All Star Game is being played this evening in b-e-a-utiful Allentown, PA.
Three Yankee farmhands made the International League squad: Jesus Montero (right), Eduardo Nunez, and Jon Albaladejo. Nunez was voted in as a starter by the fans, Montero was selected as a reserve. The Yanks’ top prospect is hitting .312/.380/.550 in his last 30 games, helping erase any concerns about his slow start to the season. It just took the 20-year-old Montero a little time to adjust to Triple-A pitching, that’s all.
Albaladejo has been nothing short of fantastic this season, but I’m willing to bet he’ll handle the all important 8th inning tonight while Scott Mathieson of the hometown Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs gets the 9th inning glory. The game doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a matter of deferring to the hometown guy. I’m actually looking forward to seeing Albie again, just to see how much he’s changed since we last saw him. Supposedly he’s scrapped the sinker/slider approach and has gone with a four-seam fastball/curveball approach. Curious about how true that is.
Here is the rest of the roster, and here’s the team the Pacific Coast League is sending. The game starts at 7pm ET and can be seen on the MLB Network. You can talk about it here, or anything else you want in tonight’s open thread. You guys know what to do, so have at it.
140 Comments»
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The Mason Williams Watch
I just read on the Espn scroll that the family has no intention of selling the team….ever.
Obviously, things can change. But that’s great news for the immediate future. Hal and Cash make a great team.
The King is dead. Long live the King.
You forgot about Hank…
Hopefully that’s true, though ESPNs headlines can get a bit shaky at times.
Having lived through all of the Stienbrenner years, for better and worse, I have enormous confidence in Hal’s stewardship. I think he’ll make 7 WS and 10 pennants in 37 years look like the lean years by the time he’s done.
37 years from now, we’ll have 45 more titles and 58 more pennants. Book it.
I’m probably the only Yankees fan in the world who is glad that the Yankees don’t play again until Friday. No more midnight start times!
Nunez isn’t a big time prospect. Why does everyone keep saying this?
The Yankees hung up on Seattle when they offered Lee for Nunez, straight up.
/Axisa’d
//butstilltrue
Jesus has some bigass thighs.
Figures you’d notice.
ALL THE BETTER TO CRUSH FASTBALLS WITH
That the (major league) All-Star Game counts is still silly.
/dead horse beating’d
Tyler Austin was hit by another pitch today.
/Biggio’d
Stop. Calling. Him. Jeter’s. Heir. Apparent.
Oh. Now I can see why he might be.
/GIDP’d
At least Nunez has Jeter’s GIDP stroke down.
Beat you.
Nunez is definitely the heir apparent to Jeter. He just GIDP.
Cue Captain DP jokes
I think they’ve been cued (sorry had to.)
My comment was tailor made for that response. SWIDT?
ZZ’s got jokes!
Awwww snap!
isnt the AA all star game playing too?
Yes. Gameday: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.....x_elsaax_1
Romine and Laird both started.
So who won the 4th of July RAB contest?
Independent Ball, eh? BRIDGEPORT BLUEFISH REPRESENT!
So, Jon Lester is not a fan of Hanley eh?
I was shocked by those remarks. Like I’ve said many a time, I love Lester. But he came off like a doucheweed. There wasn’t any need to be that dismissive or whatever.
And the one article I read from boston.com or whatever that was like JON LESTER IS A TRULY BRAVE HERO OF PITCHING LIKE BOB GIBSON WHO WAS ALSO AN ASSHAT, BUT THIS IS A GREAT TRAIT TO HAVE was laaaaaaame.
Should’ve known you’d reply to your own comment and ruin mine!
this really is the dumbest thing ive heard. him not dismissing a silly question somehow becomes him sharing a trait with an all time great. Boston guys really reaching there
And really? You have to be an asshat to a guy on a team that you play like three games every three years against? That makes you a good competitor? Something tells me if A-Rod were to say negative things about Eric Hinske, we wouldn’t hear too many comparisons to Brooks Robinson.
That selfish jerk ARod, always mentioning his personal grievances with other players in a seemingly offhand and random fashion to make us wonder what happened and put himself at the center of attention.
Jon Lester would never do that, he’d just say some bland non-statement and never let us know who he doesn’t like, and we’d thank him for blending in with the rest of the mute, boring crowd.
Sincerely,
AOL Fanhouse
Naturally it somehow invited a comparison to Bob Gibson from Steve Buckley.
(jerk off motion)
ha ha jiiiiinx =P
Maybe Hanley did something really dumb?
He probably did. But I don’t see what Lester gains by making those comments.
Ditto. I thought of Lester as mostly a cipher to me who was probably a decent guy. Now I’ll think of him as a super asshat. Sadface (but not really, because he’s a Red Sock.).
Word.
He just doesn’t like pizza.
He hates Dominicans AND Italians.
ESPN needs to run with this story.
ESPN needs to run with this story.
We both know there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of that happening.
I’ll ask Wally Matthews in his chat on Friday. We’re buddies, maybe I can get it in.
Get into an Edes/other Boston homer beatwriter chat. Do it.
Hope to see you there alex.
link?
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/0.....y-ramirez/
Thank you good sir.
Also, wow Hanley must have done something to Lester in the minors for Lester to hate like that.
http://www.bostonherald.com/sp.....id=1267829
the quote:
“I’d have a better chance of being struck by lightning than me and him getting a pizza together,” he said. “You can take that for what it’s worth. But there was no chance on God’s green earth that I was getting a pizza with him.”
Jeez.
I only read the title of the article, but I can tell you the only logical conclusion from all this is that Jon Lester is racist.
Racists and Boston go together like lamb and tuna fish.
PEAS AND CARROTS
FRANK AND BEANS!!!
PAT AND ROOFIES!!!!
Bwaha
TOMMIE AND GREED!!!!
Well played.
I do epitomize the worst in Yankee fans, after all.
Albert Pujols hit .327/.443/.658 with 47 HR last season. He did it all with a .299 BABIP.
He did it all with a .299 BABIP.
Due in large part to the 47 HRs. They bring the BABIP down.
Just a quick heads up, I received a call from Joe & Evan producer Pete Bilotti this afternoon, and the segment has been rescheduled for 2:00 on Thursday. So tune in if you can, it should be fun.
Who are we looking out for?
I always have the Fan on at that time.
http://www.theyankeeu.com/2010.....wfan-19607
I’m glad it was rescheduled. I completely forgot about it and I was looking forward to it.
Has ARod batted in tonight’s AAA All Star Game yet? If he doesn’t get in and the International League loses, I’m gonna be pissed.
This time, it counts.
A-Rod would hit a 12 run homer at AAA.
Lefthanded.
While playing Center Field.
If not every level of the Yankee organization wins a championship the season will have been all for nought.
Me fail English? Unpossible!
Who are you, nsalem?
“Greg Maddux had zero ability to blow people away”
uhhhhhhhhh wow. WOW.
Best games of the first half, Yankee and non-Yankee.
Aaaand go.
Here are the Yankee games I can think of:
- walkoff against Papelbon
- the third game of the year with Granderson’s HR off Papelbon
- Tex’s late HR against Cleveland
- that game against Minnesota in Minnesota where Pettitte got Mauer to GIDP with runners on the corners in the bottom of the eighth in a tie game, and then Swisher hit the tiebreaking HR in the top of the ninth
- the Sunday night game against the Dodgers with the huge comeback.
That crazy Mets-Cardinals game
Non-Yankee favorite game: The one where Cliff Lee pitched for some team that he was traded to and it wasn’t the Yankees
Winner
-Galarraga’s perfect game that was saved by AJax’s catch
-The one where the Jays hit six home runs and still lost
-Tex’s three homer game in Boston
-A-Rod’s grand slams
-Tex’s monster shot that almost went into the third deck
-CC’s near no-hitter
-The one where Halladay got whupped by the Yanks at the Stadium
That’s all I’ve got.
If someone doesn’t mention the first perfect game this year, y’all is getting the 2 OH 9 TREATMENT!
GET OFF MY MOUND, BIZNITCH!!!!
I’LL GET MY GRANDMA ON YOU!!!
How has no one mentioned the previous Phils-Reds series?
Oh hell yes.
There was also a crazy Twins/Phillies game where the Twins trailed by five or six going into the bottom of the ninth, then tied it up. It went extras and it just, like, kept going. Twins eventually won.
There was also a great Marlins/Rays game the same day, I think. Rays won, but it took tons of extras and a lot of crazy comebacks from both sides in the game. Shields got the win… out of the bullpen.
The 1-0 dual-no-hitters-through-seven (I think) White Sox/Cubs game between Floyd (I think??) and Lilly. It was on Sunday Night Baseball.
Jesus is playing now in the AAA All-Star game, if you were waiting to tune in and see him.
Jesus is catching. His defense looks fine. Doesn’t hurt that the pitcher (Mets prospect, I think) is hitting his spots nearly flawlessly.
Why he (Misch) isn’t in the majors is beyond me. The Mets are a dumb baseball franchise.
Misch has been in the majors several times for several teams. He’s also been DFA’d several times. He stinks, AAAA-er.
My comment was contextual. Misch should be in the Mets bullpen. The Mets bullpen is atrocious.
Adding Misch to the Mets bullpen wouldn’t make it any less atrocious.
It’s akin to saying that we should DFA Chad Gaudin so we can promote Zack Segovia. At best, it’s a lateral move.
Pat Misch =/= not a prospect.
I didn’t notice he was 29, hahaha.
I think much ado is made about his defense because A) you can’t say shit about the bat and B) compared to how advanced the bat is the glove looks bad. I said it the other night, I don’t think he’s any worse than some of the worst guys playing now, Vmart, McCann, Napoli etc.
Varitek, Cervelli, Posada
That was a pretty cool moment for Erik Kratz. I wish him well.
I thought that was really cool, too. I had to laugh when he (Kratz) was trying not to cry and Mitch asks, “so how do you feel?” Ummm, isn’t it obvious?
Aw, come on, Jesus! Longer at bat, please!
Bust.
Jesus hit already? I looked down, looked up, assumed it was a pitching change!
For those watching the game, did Nuñez or Albaladejo sport the high socks like HeyZeus does?
Anthony Slama has the best name for a closer ever.
And he has nice movement on his fastball, too.
Holy crap, if there was ever any doubt what PED’s do to a guy look a jay gibbons he looks like a 12 year old now.
Kila is up! And by the way, everything has been clicking for a while, announcer dude not named Mitch Williams. The Royals are just permanently loitering in ‘Tardation Station.
Does Mitch William realize the things he says are offensive? Why do they let him speak?
I didn’t catch it. What did he say?
I didn’t catch it either, but I can tell you it was stupid
Well it is Mitch Williams…
These are two pitchers’ numbers since the All-Star Break last year. Guess whoooooo.
A. 17-5, 2.97 ERA, 200.1 IP, 165 K, 2.46 K/BB, 1.168 WHIP, .640 OPSA
B. 23-4, 2.94 ERA, 232.2 IP, 206 K, 2.94 K/BB, 1.139 WHIP, .650 OPSA
Andy Pettitte.
One of these days I’m gonna do a trivia thing and none of the answers are gonna be Andy Pettitte and THEN I shall have the last laugh. (Today is not that day.)
Pettitte and CC?
Yep.
I knew they’d been good, but looking at the “past 365 days” thing on BB-Ref was pretty awesome. I didn’t know they’d been that good.
When you factor in their numbers from the postseason it is even more impressive, especially in CC’s case.
A lot of Yankee fans have been wondering if Pettitte is going to be able to keep his performance up from this season, but he has been dealing for a full season now.
C. 14-9, 2.94 ERA, 214.1 IP, 243 K, 2.96 K/BB, 1.171 WHIP, .607 OPSA
I don’t know but I’ll guess Greinke, just because of the insane stats matched up with the relatively eh W/L record
Lincecum. Pitching for a bad offense sucks.
Greinke is 17-14, 2.76 ERA, 323 IP (can that be right?), 327 K, 3.99 K/BB, 1.10 WHIP, .627 OPSA
No, it’s not right. That’s what it said for last 365 days though on B-R.
Greinke: 12-16, 3.01 ERA, 221 IP, 214 K, 3.75 K/BB, 1.12 WHIP.
His peripherals combined with his W-L make me
Poor Zack.
Kila Ka’aihue is being blocked by Royals FO stupidity. I wonder what it would take to pry him away. He could be that lefty bat with thump we need for the second half and could spell Tex when he needs a rest.
Why would they sell him, though? They’d sell guys blocking him who make more than he does first.
They’re dumb, but not stupid.
I think he showed he was ready to come up in 2008.
That is one of the major problems with trying to judge catchers ability to throw out baserunners at the minor league level.
Most of the pitchers have no clue how to hold on baserunners.
there is a lot in the bigs that can’t do it either
“That is one of the major problems with trying to judge catchers ability to throw out baserunners
at the minor league level.Most of the pitchers have no clue how to hold on baserunners.”
Fixed. It doesn’t really change at the big boy level either.
Good point. It is more pronounced at the minor league level, but it definitely is a problem in the majors as well. You don’t have to look any further than the Yankee staff.
The Red Sox are the worst. They don’t teach their pitchers at all how to do it.
I was thinking that as Montero was catching, he doesn’t seem as bad as everyone makes him out to be behind the plate. He looks fine catching wise and if its based on throwing runners out, his CS % can’t be much worse than Cervelli’s.
Wow, seriously how do you make that mistake
Soo…apparently the Jays stole the Yanks future SS just incase Jeter left, Yunel Escobar. Seriously, Escobar for Alex Gonzalez? seriously… We could had given the Braves Kei Igawa.
/talking nonsense.
Albaladejo’s on. Three straight four seamers…
Albaladejo in to close…
Yeah Mitch, he’s going to be up because Joba’s struggling. It’ll have nothing to do with Park, Gaudin, etc…
Albie to deh 8eighth8!1!!11!!!!1!!!
/seriously’d
Hey does anybody thinks that Danilo Gallinari can be an All-Star this coming season.
That would seem rather soon. Doubt it. It’ll happen eventually if he keeps it up. Sooner than later.
what radio station is WFAN? I want to be sure to tune into Steve at 2, as it is right after my lunch break.
660 AM in new york. or you can go to wfan.com and “listen live”