SWB beats in old friend as Soriano rehabs

July 24, 2011 by Mike Axisa 115 Comments

Commenter mbonzo was kind enough to put together a makeshift DotF in my absence last night, so check that out for last night’s update. Dante Bichette Jr.’s on some kind of tear, 4-for-4 with two walks and two doubles yesterday has him up to .500/.569/.786 in his last ten games and .305/.448/.484 on the season. As for Dellin Betances, he left last night’s game with the trainer, but apparently it was just heat related. He labored that inning (30+ pitches) and just ran out of gas covering first. If there’s any definitive update, we’ll obviously keep you updated.

Triple-A Scranton (7-2 win over Syracuse)
Rafael Soriano, RHP: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2-0 GB/FB – gave up a leadoff homer to this guy and then refused to talk to the media after the game, so he’s in midseason form … he didn’t start, this was the first time during his rehab that he warmed up and came out of the bullpen … apparently there’s a chance he’ll pitch again tomorrow, and after that he might rejoin the big league team … nothing confirmed yet though
Kevin Russo, 3B: 1 for 4, 2 K, 1 SB
Greg Golson, LF: 0 for 3, 1 R, 2 K, 1 HBP – threw a runner out at the plate
Jesus Montero, DH: 2 for 4, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI – one of the doubles was off the top of the wall, almost a homer … he’s ruining the narrative by raising his OPS, that jerk
Mike Lamb, 1B, Gus Molina, C, Luis Nunez, 2B & Doug Bernier, SS: all 1 for 4 – Gus hit a three-run homer and whiffed … Nunez doubled and drove in a run
Jordan Parraz, RF: 2 for 3, 1 R, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 K – threw a runner out at second
Austin Krum, CF: 1 for 3, 2 R, 1 BB
Andrew Brackman, RHP: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 0 K, 5-1 GB/FB – just 35 of 73 pitches were strikes (47.9%) … he was the starter, but yawn, another bad outing in a terrible year
Josh Schmidt, RHP: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1-1 GB/FB – 16 of 23 pitches were strikes (69.6%)
Randy Flores, LHP: 1 IP, zeroes, 0-3 GB/FB – nine of 12 pitches were strikes
Eric Wordekemper, RHP: 1 IP, zeroes, 2 K – 11 of 15 pitches were strikes (73.3%)

For Old Time’s Sake
Chien-Ming Wang, RHP: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 WP, 5-4 GB/FB – 63 of 96 pitches were strikes (56.6%) … gave up Molina’s homer and Montero’s almost homer … that’s it for him, the team announced that he’ll start against the Mets on Friday … I do wish him the best because it’s been a long, long road back (he hasn’t been an effective pitcher since June of 2008), so good luck Wanger

Double-A Trenton (6-4 win over Bowie)
Ray Kruml, DH: 2 for 4, 1 BB, 1 K – six for his last 18 (.333)
Corban Joseph, 2B: 0 for 4, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
Zoilo Almonte, RF: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K – 12 for his last 33 (.364) with one double and two jacks … good to see him doing so well after the promotion
Rob Lyerly, 1B & Jose Pirela, SS: both 0 for 4 – Lyerly walked, scored a run, and whiffed three times … Pirela struck out once
Melky Mesa, CF, Damon Sublett, LF & Jose Gil, C: all 1 for 4, 1 R – Mesa struck out … Sublett doubled and whiffed
Addison Maruszak, 3B: 3 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 E (fielding) – 11 for his last 22
Shaeffer Hall, RHP: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 11-5 GB/FB
Brad Halsey, LHP: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 Balk, 0-2 GB/FB – 48 baserunners in 20.2 IP
Ryan Pope, RHP: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 0-2 GB/FB

High-A Tampa (2-1 loss to Bradenton, walk-off style)
Abe Almonte, CF, Cody Johnson, DH & Kelvin Castro, SS; all 1 for 4 – Almonte hit a solo jack … Johnson struck out twice
Eric Chavez, 3B: 0 for 4
David Adams, 2B: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 1 K – he must be thrilled to get out of the GCL
Kyle Roller, 1B: 1 for 3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
Ronnier Mustelier, LF: 0 for 4, 1 K – threw a runner out at second … five for his last 23 (.217), so he’s in a little rut
Rob Segedin, RF: 1 for 2, 1 R, 1 HBP
Hector Rabago, C: 0 for 3, 1 RBI, 1 K – picked a runner off second with a snap throw
Graham Stoneburner, RHP: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 8-5 GB/FB – vintage Stoneburner, good to see him do deep in the game
Dan Burawa, RHP: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 2-0 GB/FB

Low-A Charleston (14-0 beatdown of West Virginia)
Anderson Feliz, 2B: 2 for 5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 HBP – ten for his last 18 (.556) with three doubles and a triple
Shane Brown, LF: 2 for 6, 1 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
Kevin Mahoney, 1B: 1 for 2, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB – ten for his last 32 (.313) with three doubles, a homer, nine walks, and six strikeouts
Gary Sanchez, C: 2 for 5, 2 R, 1 2B – had been in a 1-for-15 slump with nine strikeouts
Ramon Flores, CF: 2 for 4, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB – eight for his last 24 (.333) with two doubles, a triple, and a homer
Kelvin DeLeon, RF: 3 for 4, 2 R, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB – four homers in his last ten games, raising his ISO to .181
Taylor Grote, DH: 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Jose Mojica, SS: 0 for 4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Garrison Lassiter, 3B: 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K – 12 for his last 32 (.375)
Shane Greene, RHP: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 5-5 GB/FB – first game off the DL, so he was probably on a pitch count
Michael Recchia, RHP: 1.2 IP, zeroes, 2 K, 2-0 GB/FB
Tommy Kahnle, RHP: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 1-2 GB/FB – 77 K in 58 IP, but 41 BB

Short Season Staten Island (2-0 loss to Tri-City)
Mason Williams, CF, Zach Wilson, DH, Reymond Nunez, 1B & Ben Gamel, RF: all 1 for 4 – Gamel struck out once, Nunez and Wilson twice each … Nunez also doubled while Williams and Gamel stole one base each
Everyone Else: combined 0 for 15, 3 BB, 5 K – Cito Culver, Angelo Gumbs, and Jhorge Liccien each drew a walk … Gumbs also swiped a bag
Bryan Mitchell, RHP: 5 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 8-2 GB/FB – picked a runner off first … 32 K in 30.2 IP, but also 21 BB
Vidal Nuno, LHP: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1-2 GB/FB – 22-3 K/BB in 20.2 IP
Phil Wetherell, RHP: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K

Rookie GCL Yanks had their regularly scheduled Sunday off day.

Zach

Does Montero’s ability to hit for power to RF factor into his potential in Yankee stadium?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Oh yes. He’s built for the short porch.
- David, Jr.
  
  Doesn’t matter. Can’t beat out Cervelli, who is a great fielder and hitter.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    Cashman: If the backup catcher sucks, the backup catcher sucks, man. If Cervelli blows, Cervelli blows. I mean … simple as that. It aint about that… I mean, it’s… It’s not about that… At all. You know what I’m saying? I mean…
    
    But it’s…it’s easy … to, to talk about… It’s easy to sum it up when you’re just talking about the backup catcher. We’re sitting in here, and I’m supposed to be the GM, and we in here talking about the backup catcher. I mean, listen, we’re talking about the backup catcher, not the starter, not the starter, not the starter; we talking about the backup catcher. Not the starter. Not, not … Not the starting catcher that goes out there and dies for us and plays every game for us like it’s his last. Not the starter, but we’re talking about the backup catcher, man. I mean, how silly is that?
    
    And we talking about the backup catcher. I know I’m supposed to work on the whole roster. I know Jesus needs to be promoted soon. I know that… And I’m not.. I’m not shoving it aside, you know, like it don’t mean anything. I know it’s important, I do. I honestly do…
    
    But we’re talking about the backup catcher man. What are we talking about? The backup catcher? We’re talking about the backup catcher, man. (laughter from the media crowd) We’re talking about the backup catcher. We’re talking about the backup catcher. We aint talking about the starter. (more laughter) We’re talking about the backup catcher, man. When you come to the ballpark, and you see Martin play, you see Martin play, don’t you? You’ve seen Martin give everything he’s got, right? But we’re talking about the backup catcher right now.
    
    We taking about the backup catcher.
    - YankeesJunkie
      
      +1
    - Operation Slade
      
      Brilliance, sheer brilliance
    - NC Saint
      
      Beautiful.
    - Oscar Gamble’s Fro
      
      Brian Cashman is a Franchise GM.
      
      Brilliant post, man. Brilliant. The best stuff I seen on the Internet Machine in quite some time. I literally started lauging out loud on the train and people started looking at me like I was crazy.
  - CP
    
    Not sure if you’re serious, but I don’t think Cashman believes that Cervelli is better than Montero:
    
    http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/18248/cashman-montero-is-better-than-cervelli-but
    
    His quote isn’t quite clear, so I’m sort of reading between the lines, but I believe he thinks Montero is better than Cervelli.
- YankeesJunkie
  
  His power to all fields helped make him a top 10 prospect in general and not just at Yankee Stadium which obviously won’t hurt.
- Addison
  
  I disagree..for two reasons.
  
  First, Montero’s RF hitting ability isn’t a strength, it’s a weakness. If he was capable of pulling the ball and using the whole field, then, yes, having RF power would be something opposing pitchers would have to consider.
  
  But Montero is a righthanded batter who hits like a lefty. There is a much higher quality of pitchers in the majors with a much higher quality of pitches. The mistakes he hits in AAA he won’t in the majors.
  
  Second, as someone whose days in the organization are quickly approaching an end, any success Montero may have in Yankee Stadium will be in an opposing uniform, so I hope he continues on his trend of sucking.
  - New guy
    
    So Gonzo’s LF power is a weakness as well since he’s a lefty in Fenway? I mean his swing is tailor made for that park. How about Jeter’s former ability to hit to hit line drives to right field?
    
    Pulling the ball is such an overrated skill, because so many players become so pull happy that they become easy to predict and fall victim to a shift.
    - Cuso
      
      .
  - pat
    
    Lol, wtf are you talking about? Montero can’t pull the ball? Since when? Didn’t he hit a HR to left that was like 460+ feet the other day? Your post is puzzling.
  - Short Porch
    
    Before you go any further, check out the home / road splits for Montero. SWB is a great pitchers park, and a lousy hitters park. Please always refer to this lens when making statements about prospects. Trenton, Tampa, are similar, so we have tended to overrate our pitching prospects and underrate the hitters. You can start naming names if you want.
    
    Home: AVG .245 OPS .624 1 HR
    Away: AVG .303 OPS .831 7 HR
    
    Oh, he kills lefties too. .871 OPS, even factoring in the SWB park.
    
    Bring him up.
pat

I wonder if Vidal Nuno picked something up in indy ball. He’s had a great year. 7.33 k/bb on the year.
- Zach
  
  He’s 16 months older than Quintana, but if he preforms at A+/AA people will notice.
  Jose Quintana:
  http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=500779
  Vidal Nuno:
  http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=573064
  - CMP
    
    You gotta love a young lefthander who misses bats and gets ground balls. Quintana has had a nice season so far.
The Fallen Phoenix

Tug Hulett? What?
- Brian S.
  
  I hope that guy makes the majors. I really do.
  - Brooklyn Ed
    
    dont know if you serious or not… but he already did a few years ago. he just bounced around teams alot.
YankeesJunkie

Really excited to see Stoneburner and Adams continue to do well even after their injuries. Both of these guys could make an impact on the MLB team later in the 2012 season.

Also, does anyone who know more than I do expect to see either if not both of these guys in the AFL or other type of winter league?
Dennis

I expected so much more from Mitchell. Oh well at least Deluca is having a great year.
- Chip
  
  Mitchell is the type of prospect that can click at any second and suddenly become a world beater
Skip

Does GCL and High A play in the same stadium (Steinbrenner Field?)

Also – would like to see Adams move up, but would not be surprised if he were back with GCL tomorrow when they play again.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  No, the GCL team plays on one of the back fields.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    THAT’S RACIST!!!
    - Oscar Gamble’s Fro
      
      Rumor has it they will soon be named The Rosa Parks fields.
  - John
    
    GCL plays at the spring training complex down the road, there’s like 2-3 fields there. Buccaneers also train/practice there as well since its down the road from raymond james stadium.
    
    So while they’re in the same city and same street, they’re not in the same building.
    
    that’s why if you ever heard games on tv/radio for spring training, they talk about “bringing him over from down the street” or “he was sent back down the street” or along those lines. It’s cuz steinbrenner field/tampa yankees is the major league spring training camp, while that gcl place down the street accommodates ALL the minor league teams.
    - Skip
      
      Cool, thanks. I want to make my way down to Tampa one of these years to check it out for myself.
- YankeesJunkie
  
  Why do you say he will get demoted back. They are most likely going to work Adams back to AA.
  - Skip
    
    Oh, I have zero basis whatsoever. I’d rather see him back up to AA where he did so well last year. I’m just saying at how slowly they’ve worked him back in this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if the team did something so unusual as that.
KenC

GOOD LUCK WANG! YANKEE FANS STILL LOVE YOU FOR THOSE 2 GREAT YEARS
- MikeD
  
  2 1/2!
- NC Saint
  
  APPARENTLY THEY ALSO LIKE CAPS LOCK
http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Steve S.

Andrew Brackman, RHP: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 0 K, 5-1 GB/FB – just 35 of 73 pitches were strikes (47.9%) … he was the starter, but yawn, another bad outing in another terrible year

Fixed that for ya.

Mike, how long do you think they keep running him out there? Obviously he gets to finish this year, but what’s the next move? Minor league teams want to win games, too. Frankly, he’s not even worth the 40 man roster spot given how he’s performed for most of his career. At what point do they simply part ways with the Brackmonster?
- mbonzo
  
  Statistically, Brackman has looked terrible this year, but watching him pitch has been a different story. When he loses control of his fastball, he’s a bizarre case, he’s hitting people and throwing pitches 10 feet over the plate, but most of the time its only a single inning where this happens and the damage occurs. At times, this year, he can look incredible. When he’s locked in he’s as good as any major leaguer I’ve seen pitch. His stuff is just unbelievable in this case, and if he could throw it with any consistency he’d be the Yankees top pitching prospect. I think this is where the Yankees are too, its hard to demote a guy to a lower level when you know he’s capable of making AAA hitters look silly.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    No need to cut loose a prospect with great upside until absolutely necessary.
  - http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Steve S.
    
    Hitters know his control issues. Their approach at the plate is going to be patient, waiting for him to hand out the freebies. So when he gets ahead and they actually have to swing the bat, they can look silly. But that doesn’t make him a good MLB pitcher. Hideo Nomo had consistently low H/9 numbers throughout his career, but was a poor performer due to his lack of control.
    
    I liked the idea of sending him to the bullpen, where you could at least limit the damage he could cause. But that didn’t seem to work, either. At this point, I don’t see what they can do with him short of cutting him or a Roy Halladay-esque sending him down to instructs and starting all over again.
    - http://twitter.com/SteveH_MandAura Steve H
      
      Nomo was a poor performer? He wasn’t an all-time great, but he was far from a bad pitcher.
      - CP
        
        20.6 WAR over 12 seasons. That’s pretty darn good. If Brackman could do that, he would be the 6th best player to ever be drafted 30th overall.
        
        http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Steve S.
        
        Without looking it up, I’ll bet half of that WAR was his first few seasons, before everyone figured him out. Especially his 1st year, when he was a sensation.
        
        http://twitter.com/SteveH_MandAura Steve H
        
        He was worth 7.3 fWAR in his last 3 full seasons in the league. He was pretty good.
        
        CP
        
        Year WAR
        1995 4.9
        1996 4.4
        1997 1.7
        1998 0.2
        1998 0.3
        1999 2.2
        2000 2.5
        2001 2.9
        2002 2.6
        2003 3.9
        2004 -3.2
        2005 -1.3
        
        He was basically a league average pitcher for 10 years (with 2 bad seasons in 1998 and 1999). His two best years were his first two, but he remained effective for a while after that.
  - YankeesJunkie
    
    I would make the point that there is a difference between bad control (aka Banuelos and Betances) and terrible control such as Brackman. It is probably better if the Yankees sent Brackman back down to Tampa or New York or where ever to revamp the mechanics because he right now he is very far from a AAA pitcher.
  - MikeD
    
    The upside is still there. There’s a mechanical issue going on here no doubt coupled with a confidence issue. He could snap it back together as he did last year. He might need to go down to Tampa and work on his mechanics. He certainly doesn’t need to be cut. The Yankees have another year to control him and they should use every month to see if they can get him on track.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Minor league teams want to win games, too.
  
  On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being “super-duper important” and 1 being “not important at all”, developing prospects for the big league club is a 10 and winning games is a -1,000.
  
  Minor league teams want to win games, but if the choice is winning games or helping Brackman possibly regain some of his effectiveness to either contribute to the big league team or provide trade value, winning games is going out the window every day of the week and twice on doubleheaders.
  
  Frankly, he’s not even worth the 40 man roster spot given how he’s performed for most of his career.
  
  There’s still several guys we’d DFA before getting to Brackman, guys who have less potential/prospect/trade/contributory value than he does (i.e. the Golson/Dickerson/Parraz troika). And for that matter, there’s not multiple guys who all need 40-man spots ASAP that would necessitate clearing the brush from the 40-man roster in the first place.
  - http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Steve S.
    
    Point taken on the 40-man, but you’re too dismissive of minor league clubs. They’re a business like any other sports franchise, and they want to put a good product out on the field for their fans. It’s not all about developing players for the MLB club, its a balancing act between the two interests.
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      Yes, it’s a balancing act.
      
      90% of it is developing players, 10% of it is putting a good product on the field for its fans.
      
      All of this is a false dichotomy anyway; one or two or even three prospects like Brackman totally shitting the bed isn’t going to drag a minor league team down to sub .400 ball status where fans start staying away in droves and other prospects develop bad, losing habits. (And plenty of fans come to the park to see future Yankees on their path to the majors; Brackman is a draw, even when he’s shitty.)
      
      Andrew Brackman sucks balls right now; the Scranton Yankees are still 53-47 and in the playoff hunt. I’m sure they’re doing fine attendancewise.
      - CP
        
        one or two or even three prospects like Brackman totally shitting the bed isn’t going to drag a minor league team down
        
        Particularly when they’re a reliever.
        
        Or is he a starter now?
      - Plank
        
        I’m sure they’re doing fine attendancewise.
        
        Agree with everything else, but this is way off.
        
        http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=l_att&lid=117&sid=l117
        
        A lot of people say they stay away because they are phillies fans and don’t want to see a team called the Yankees. The Yankees I’m sure insist it’s because their new taxpayer stadium hasn’t been built yet. Either way, attendance has been abysmal during the past few years.
    - CP
      
      The Yankees own the Tampa Yankees and the Staten Island Yankees. If they get pushback from the owners in SWB (which I think is unlikely), they can just send him to one of those.
      - Plank
        
        The Yankees co-own the Scranton team too. I’m guessing in a few years, they will own their other affiliates too.
    - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
      
      The Yankees have contracts with these minor league teams called “player development contracts.” If the Scranton franchise buries Brackman in the bullpen for the sake of winning games or does something else to stunt a prospect’s development, the Yankees will drop them as an affiliate. Losing the Yankee brand is far worse than losing the games Brackman pitches.
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Losing the Yankee brand is far worse than losing the games Brackman pitches.
        
        All types of that.
      - CP
        
        Are the managers paid by the affiliate, or by the Yankees directly?
        
        http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
        
        All paid by the Yankees. The Yankees put the staff on the field, not the affiliates.
- El Anonimo
  
  That cannot happen, not with that contract if they release him.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  They’ve got one more option for next year. Use it then decide.
Name (required)

Brackman in 2011:

55 K
60 BB
- Name (required)
  
  Sorry…he has 56 Ks. Don’t want to shortchange him.
  - CP
    
    That 56th K makes all the difference…
    - http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Steve S.
      
      Is it possible to have a negative SO/BB rate? What’s his?
      - Accent Shallow
        
        No, unless you have negative strikeouts or negative walks. Both negative strikeouts and negative walks would result in a positive rate.
        
        Anyway, his K/BB ratio is 0.933, which is really really bad.
Jedile

Golson can throw!
- KenC
  
  hell yea! I still remember that last out against the Rays so clearly. one of the most beautiful throws i ever saw
Midland TX

Does anyone have numbers or first-hand accounts about Soriano’s velo or command?
Brooklyn Ed

ETA D-Bich’s arrival to Staten Island? next year?
- YankeesJunkie
  
  Considering how well he has done he might get a couple week in August. Hopefully he goes to Charleston sometime next year instead of spending another year in rookie ball (SI and GCL). However I know much less about what should be done with prospects than the people that get paid for it.
- MikeD
  
  They gave Culver some ABs at Staten Island last year, so wouldn’t be surprised to see them do the same with Bichette as long as he keeps progressing.
- SDM
  
  man i despise that Nickname, “d-bich” is what you call the guy who drops the soap in prison not a kid trying to become an mlb player.
  
  We have really fallen as a sports viewing society when we can’t give guys a decent nickname. What happened to the awesome nicknames like “Magic” “Yogi” “Doc”
  
  almost anything could be better even these awful nicknames
  
  chette
  Fonzi (his first name is Alphonse)
  ferno (short for inferno, as in Dante’s inferno)
  
  anything at all except d(or a) + bich
  
  (rant over)
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    Suzannte Plechette.
    - SDM
      
      still better than this current nickname
  - NC Saint
    
    He’s DBJ.
BklynJT

Ubaldo had a terrible game today, giving up 5 runs in 5 innings. If he continues to pitch like this, I suspect that he does not get traded mid season. I didn’t see the game but how was his stuff?

Either way, I am glad Montero is doing better… despite his off year, I don’t want to give him up in a trade for Ubaldo, who for some reason I just don’t trust.

Ironically, Ubaldo’s FIP probably went down since he had a 4 k/bb ratio and didn’t give up any hrs.. FIP ftw
- SDM
  
  ubaldo struck out 8, so if you take out the fact he got hit like a pinata; his stuff was pretty good
  - CP
    
    if you take out the fact he got hit like a pinata; his stuff was pretty good
    
    The stuff in a pinata is pretty good…
    - Avi
      
      Ubaldo = Burnett 2.0
      - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
        
        Still haven’t seen anyone provide any basis for this comparison. Ubaldo actually has more than two pitches and doesn’t have anything close to the injury history. There’s more to life than walk rates.
        
        Avi
        
        I compare them in terms of being more talented than their effectiveness. Ubaldo is still young and can take the next step forward but it’s no sure thing that he does.
CMP

I don’t know why Mike is down on Brackman’s performance today.

Only 1 earned run in 4 innings. I’d say he get a +1 in the all important “kept his team in the game” column.
- mbonzo
  
  5 walks, no strikeouts. The ground outs are nice, but we need to see him figure out his command issues.
- NC Saint
  
  I suspect this is just trolling for outraged stat heads, not a genuine endorsement of Brackman’s outing.
  - CMP
    
    No trolling. Just poking some fun at those who look at 1 run n 4 innngs and conclude it was a good performance while disregarding important peripheral stats.
    - first time lawng time
      
      Well, I personally believe that earned runs allowed is the most important thing for a pitcher.
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Non-Fun Fact: Burnett’s 61 earned runs allowed this year puts him 84th out of 104 qualifiers.
        
        CMP
        
        Yeah but he’s kept the Yankees in the game about 80% of the time which supersedes ERA and earned runs allowed. Come on man, you should know this stuff.
Jedile

Man I had a dream last night that the Yankees traded Austin Romine, Gary Sheffield and PTBNL to Phillies for Cole Hamels. A bit sad when I woke up.
jeremy

how nice would it be if next season in charleston mason williams, anjelo gumbs, cito culver AND dante bichette are all on the same team? that would be the most exciting group of prospects all on the same team in a long time for yankees fans!
- mbonzo
  
  C- Gary Sanchez
  1B/3B- Dante Bichette
  1B/3B- Tyler Austin
  2B- Angelo Gumbs
  SS- Cito Culver
  OF- Mason Williams
  OF- Justin James
  OF- Jake Cave
  OF- Ben Gamel
  
  /salivates
  - YankeeGrunt
    
    Hopefully Gary Sanchez will be ready for High A by then.
  - Monteroisdinero
    
    Don’t forget the veteran leader/the Captain
    
    Jesus Montero..
    
    DH
  - jeremy
    
    there would be some very high scoring games! WOW.
- NC Saint
  
  I dunno, the ’08 Riverdogs and ’09 Tampa Yankees were both pretty exciting.
  - CMP
    
    What about Trenton this year with ManBan, Betances, Stoneburner, Romine, CoJo and Mesa.
    - jeremy
      
      it would have been more exciting if they had performed closer to last years output. ManBan and Betances are great but havent been as dominant as last year which is fine, gives a better reason for them to actually develop so they arent forced into the bullpen.
      Romine has been terrific.
      Mesa has reverted back to what he had been and has been a huge dissapointment.
      And finally Stoneburner hasnt been healthy and playing.
      At the start of the season, yeah it had a lot of potential based on all of their performances of last year but it may have been a bit of a let down in some peoples minds, including mine.
Cuso

I’m curious as to how Soriano thinks he’s going to be able to fly with this “mute” act.

Maybe in Tampa Bay or Atlanta you can get away with not speaking to the media. And I’ll grant that maybe he doesn’t want to talk to minor-league beat writers.

But he pulled this crap in April in NY also.

He accepted Yankee dollars. His ass needs to sack-up and accept the inherent responsibilities with it.

The team always rotates who is available to speak after the games, and thats policed by the players, not the management.

He’s going to alienate himself pretty quickly with his teammates if they have to cover for him because he refuses to interview.

If he comes back this week and is a model teammate – terrific.

But he’s on an extremely short leash, like it or not. If he pulls this Silent Bob bullshit upon his return, he deserves every bit of vitriol he receives the first time he falters on the mound.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Soriano doesn’t want to talk to the NYC media?
  
  (thinks)
  
  Fuck the media, good for him.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrOH-KHxXg0
- The Fallen Phoenix
  
  I was not aware that Yankees employees had clauses in their contracts mandating they make the media’s job any easier.
  - Cuso
    
    Were you also not aware that not a single player has a clause in their contract to actually throw a strike? Or swing a bat?
    
    Your attempt at making a point is hollow.
    
    It’s part and parcel of accepting a professional, multi-million dollar MLB contract.
    
    Join us in 2011, won’t you?
- first time lawng time
  
  I don’t understand what the big deal is if he doesn’t want to talk to the media. His job is to pitch. All I care about is how he pitches. The way I see it is everyone in the media is stupid and I can’t stand them*, I wouldn’t talk to them either. Go Sori.
  
  *Especially Wallace Matthews and Ian O’Connor…assholes
  - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
    
    He has to talk to the media, it’s part of the job. Guys have been doing it since before MLB was MLB. The bottom line is that baseball is entertainment, and the media is how the fans get information and access to these guys.
    - Oscar Gamble’s Fro
      
      This.
      
      I’m pretty sure guys get fined in the NBA, NFL and I believe tennis for refusing to speak to the media. I haven’t heard of it in the NHL, because being a me-first temperamental vaginal d-bag doesn’t fly in NHL locker rooms.
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Both teams played hard, my man.
      - first time lawng time
        
        They just do interviews John Tortorella style.
        
        All honesty, all the time.
        
        As a fan, that’s what I’d like to see. Instead of the old “Tip your hat to the other pitcher” I’d like to see some “You know, I worked my ass off on that mound and the offense couldn’t do a goddamn thing against that scrub for Cleveland. They averge 5 runs a game and they get fucking shut out? Puh-lease. I give up one run in seven innings. ONE. And how do they repay me? They choke! Fucking chokers. Now my win loss record is fucked up and I’m gonna have to read from Ian O’Connor what a fucking unreliable jackass I am. Next time, I’m going to shit the bed. I’m going to let them score then cough it right back up. Bastards. CC ALWAYS gets 9+ runs. Always. Fucking bullshit.”
        –Allan James Burnett 6/14/11
        
        Oscar Gamble’s Fro
        
        Ian O’Connor = Larry Brooks?
        
        first time lawng time
        
        Yup.
  - Cuso
    
    And as I stated above, if he wanted to go to some other market that shit might fly.
    
    Sorry, but you don’t come to NY & make $10M/year and make yourself unavailable for comment.
    
    You want to go to Pittsburgh and make $500k? Ok, you get a pass.
    
    You’re in NY making bookoo bucks? You’ve got accountability son. That’s the way it is. This isn’t 1940. Media and cameras are as much a part of the gaame as the Wild Card is.
    
    Suck it up or opt out & go to San Diego.
    - Ted Nelson
      
      Chill out with the NY bias… it makes you look like an ass.
      - Cuso
        
        Really? “Chill out” with jumping to conclusions.
        
        There’s no New York bias. It’s called a reality check. If Soriano thought he was going to accept the largest paycheck from a media hub and be able to hide in his locker, he’s dumber than Ted Nelson.
        
        I’m sorry if you’re a small-market apologist, or perhaps a communist?
        
        But accepting responsibilities that are inherent with cashing large paychecks is part of being a big boy.
        
        If you’re too sensitive to deal with that theory and need to deflect harsh realities by claiming others have a “big-city bias,” then yes. You, too, should probably stay close to the sticks.
A-ROD fan

Rafael Soriano cannot pitch a perfect inning.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Fun Fact: Soriano’s first inning in pinstripes was a perfect 1-2-3 inning, starting with a strikeout of Miguel Cabrera.
  
  http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA201103310.shtml
  - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
    
    Hasn’t had one since, not even in rehab.
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      Oh, sure, I was just saying.
      
      (You could also say that March 31st, 2011 is the exception that proves the rule, and you’d be right.)
Ted Nelson

“he’s ruining the narrative by raising his OPS, that jerk”

It doesn’t come across well to act like you don’t realize that if Montero was absolutely tearing up AAA pitching he’d have a stronger case for getting called up. OPS or wOBA or whatever else people are citing are just proxies for his overall offensive performance.

It’s not Brackman’s ERA that’s necessarily keeping him from getting called up, it’s just his overall performance. However, if someone were to says “Brackman’s not getting called up because his ERA is 999999.99” I think you’d understand what that person meant. Jesus is a different degree of the same thing.

Again, it’s disingenuous to act ignorant on such a blatantly obvious issue.