Archive for December, 2010
Open Thread: Jimmy Key
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(AP Photo/Bill Sikes)
Yesterday it was Mike Mussina, today we’ll go with Jimmy Key. No particular reason, the Ben Shpigel link in today’s link dump made me think of him. I remember Key as being solid but unspectacular, though his numbers suggest he was a lot better than a realized, with a 5.2 WAR season in 1993 and a 4.1 WAR season in 1994. Of course, I think everyone remembers Key for Game Six of the 1996 World Series, when he outdueled Greg Maddux en route to New York’s 23rd World Championship. Good times, good times.
Anyway, here is tonight’s open thread. The late NFL game features the Eagles at the Cowboys (doesn’t it seem like these two play every Sunday or Monday?), plus the Rangers Knicks, and Nets are in action. You all know what to do, so have at it.
New faces in winter ball
Posted by: | CommentsI know I’ve been slacking on the winter ball updates since the Arizona Fall League season ended, but let’s catch up on all the action now, starting with the two newest Yankees…
Arizona Fall League
Robert Fish: 11 G, 10.1 IP, 17 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 5 BB, 11 K, 2 HB, 1 WP (10.45 ERA, 2.13 WHIP) – the Yanks’ first Rule 5 Draft pick
Daniel Turpen: 10 G, 11.2 IP, 15 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 6 BB, 10 K, 1 WP, 2 HB (5.40 ERA, 1.80 WHIP) – and their second
Australian Baseball League
Nathan Aron: 8 G, 4 for 15, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 6 K, 1 HBP (.267/.294/.333)
Kyle Perkins: 2 G, 0 for 2, 2 K
Dominican Winter League
Colin Curtis: 12 G, 10 for 43, 8 R, 3 2B, 7 RBI, 8 BB, 6 K (.233/.353/.302)
Eduardo Nunez: 6 G, 8 for 23, 4 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K, 1 CS (.348/.333/.391) – only Nunez could manage an AVG > OBP
Francisco Santana: 10 G, 4 for 14, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 K (.286/.286/.286)
Wilkins Arias: 16 G, 13.1 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 16 K (2.03 ERA, 0.90 WHIP) – kinda surprised he didn’t get selected in the Rule 5 Draft, but then again not really
Mexican Pacific League
Walt Ibarra: 41 G, 33 for 113, 27 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 10 BB, 31 K, 4 SB, 2 CS, 1 HBP (.292/.349/.381)
Ramiro Pena: 21 G, 18 for 80, 9 R, 5 2B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 9 BB, 17 K, 1 CS (.225/.300/.325)
Jorge Vazquez: 27 G, 29 for 97, 14 G, 7 2B, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 10 BB, 31 K, 1 CS (.299/.361/.557)
Francisco Gil: 4 G, 6 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 WP (10.50 ERA, 2.17 WHIP)
Andy Sisco: 12 G, 12 GS, 60.2 IP, 52 H, 31 R, 27 ER, 32 BB, 67 K, 1 HB, 6 WP (4.01 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) - signed as a minor league free agent recently, definitely in the mix for the second LOOGY job
Eric Wordekemper: 21 G, 19.1 IP, 21 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 11 BB, 19 K, 1 HB, 1 WP (6.05 ERA, 1.66 WHIP)
Venezuelan Winter League
Luis Nunez: 8 G, 3 for 13, 1 R, 1 BB (.231/.286/.231)
Jose Pirela: 16 G, 17 for 55, 11 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 CS (.309/.333/.473) – this is after his hideous AzFL stint
Romulo Sanchez: 14 G, 11.2 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 8 BB, 13 K, 1 WP (6.17 ERA, 1.89 WHIP)
Amaury Sanit: 2 G, 2 GS, 7.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP (4.70 ERA, 1.30 WHIP)
Josh Schmidt: 10 H, 9 ER, 50.2 IP, 31 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 22 BB, 48 K, 4 HB (2.13 ERA, 1.05 WHIP)
Cashman: Yanks will not increase offer to Lee
Posted by: | CommentsBrian Cashman told George King that the Yankees will not increase their offer to free agent lefty Cliff Lee. Although Cashman indicated that he has spoken to agent Darek Braunecker since the winter meetings, he simply said “no” when asked if he’d increase his offer in terms of dollars and/or years. First of all, Cashman’s not going to state publicly that he’s willing to up the offer, keep that in mind. Secondly, you can’t blame the Yanks GM here, they already offered Lee a menu of huge dollar deals that are more than fair. The ball is in Lee’s court now, everyone’s made their best offer. Time to decide, Cliff.
Link Dump: Maddux, Romine, Farm System
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s raining cats and dogs in the Tri-State Area, but at least it’s better than what’s going on in Minnesota. Here are a few links to check out before the Jets kick off…
The Last Time The Yankees Didn’t Get Their Man
As the Cliff Lee circus continues to play out, it’s tough for many young fans to remember the last time the Yankees failed to sign a free agent they coveted. Ben Shpigel recapped the courtship of Greg Maddux, in which then-GM Gene Michael went above and beyond the normal call of duty only to be left in the dark. It’s also easy to forget that the Yanks were turned down by David Cone, Doug Drabek, and Barry Bonds that offseason, instead settling for Jimmy Key and Wade Boggs. Given how the late-90′s played out (especially against Maddux’s Braves), I’d say things worked out in the end.
Romine Trying To Keep The Family Business Alive
The Romine family is a baseball family, with father Kevin playing for the Red Sox back in the day and son Andrew suiting up for the Angels this past September. Austin is still trying to work his way up the minor league ladder, but Anthony McCarron caught up with the Yankee catching prospect about his upbringing. It’s a really interesting read, little did we know that Austin’s first steps came wearing a Red Sox shirt on the field in Fenway Park. Make sure you check it out.
Farm System Discussion
John Sickels at Minor League Ball is hosting a discussion thread about the Yankees farm system, part of his annual look at each team’s top twenty prospects. The comments can be both informative and borderline insane, but it’s worth a scroll through.
Oh, and Nick Swisher got married yesterday. Congrats, Swish.
Still no word from Pettitte
Posted by: | CommentsWhile the entire world waits for Cliff Lee to decide where he’ll spend (presumably) the rest of his career, another free agent lefty has a decision of his own to make. Brian Cashman told Marc Carig that he hasn’t spoken to Andy Pettitte since the winter meetings, which I guess is just three days. Feels like a lot longer though. I get the feeling that Andy’s decision will depend on Lee. If the Yanks land the former Cy Young Award winner, Pettitte will come back and try to win one more title. If not, he’ll hang them up and chill with the kids. That’s just my two cents though, don’t take it as gospel.
Open Thread: Moose
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(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
I dunno why, but I felt like posting a Mike Mussina picture today. Moose is easily one of my all-time favorite Yankees, and I can’t think of a long-term pitching contract that worked out better. I figured this was appropriate given all the Cliff Lee madness. Sometimes these things go according to plan, if not better.
Anyway, this is your open thread for the night. All three of the hockey locals are in action, plus there’s a ton of college football on. Pitchers and catcher report in 65 days, you know. Enjoy.
Wilkin De La Rosa joins the Dodgers
Posted by: | CommentsVia Baseball America’s Matt Eddy, the Dodgers have signed free agent lefty Wilkin De La Rosa, formerly of the Yankees. WDLR was designated for assignment over the summer and allowed to leave as a minor league free agent. Once one of New York’s better relief prospects, the former outfielder simply stalled out in Double-A over the last two years, walking too many guys and not doing enough to earn a promotion to Triple-A. It’s no big loss, De La Rosa was nothing more than dead weight on the 40-man roster since 2009.
Yankees offer Martin one-year deal
Posted by: | CommentsVia Mark Feinsand, the Yankees have offered Russell Martin a one-year contract, though the money is unknown. Any team that signs the free agent backstop will be able to retain his services in 2012 as an arbitration-eligible player, so just about every team interested will offer him that one year. Yesterday we heard that they were taking an “aggressive approach” in these talks, so the Yanks are clearly looking for a little insurance should Jesus Montero have a difficult time adjusting to the big leagues.
I’m really interested in seeing what happens here, because signing Martin would create quite a few options for the Yankees as far as trades go. Not necessarily Montero either, it could be Frankie Cervelli or Austin Romine as well.
Open Thread: Waiting on Lee
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Joe Girardi talks to Vicki Santo, wife of Cubs great Ron Santo, during the visitation at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. Ranto passed away from complication of bladder cancer. He was 70. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, Pool)
One of these days Cliff Lee will pick a team, I promise. Apparently it just won’t be today. In fact, it was a pretty boring baseball day in general, as teams recoup from the hellacious winter meetings. Get used to it, things are going to die down in about three weeks, then we’ll have nothing to do but countdown the days until Spring Training.
Additionally, we have a brief update on yesterday’s site outage. We were offline on Thursday for five and a half hours due to a DDoS attack. We’ve seen ensured that our firewall is up to date and do not anticipate any problems of that nature going forward. Thanks for your patience during the evening and thanks for reading during the Winter Meetings.
Here’s the night’s open thread. The Devils and Knicks are both in action, but it’s Friday night and you just spent the last five days hitting F5 on RAB and MLBTR nonstop, go out and do something.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
