Yankees place Brian McCann on 7-day DL, recall Austin Romine

by 78 Comments

Game 116: Paul O'Neill Day
Yankees have no answer for Kluber and various relievers, fall 3-0 to Indians

The Yankees have placed Brian McCann on the 7-day concussion disabled list, the team announced. He took a foul tip to the face mask last night. Austin Romine has been recalled from Triple-A Scranton and will presumably back up Francisco Cervelli. With Mark Teixeira (finger) banged up and McCann out, Carlos Beltran is the team’s only consistent power threat.

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Game 116: Paul O'Neill Day
Yankees have no answer for Kluber and various relievers, fall 3-0 to Indians
  • RetroRob

    I’m guessing it was Romine over JRM based on Romine’s recent hitting.

    • RBIBaseball

      I think it’s based on giving JRM more ABs in the minors rather than calling him up and have having him play twice a week.

    • Billy

      I think it’s based on the premise that Cervelli will be playing full time while Mac is out so why have JRM sit on bench five of the next seven days?

    • YakaTanaka

      Could really be either or both… but I think there’s more validity to what you’re saying than other people seem to.

      You don’t call up a significantly inferior option in the middle of a playoff race to get a prospect an extra weeks worth of reps, so they at least think Romine is close to as good over the next week. Which makes sense, at least definitely in the short-term… as Murphy hasn’t played much this season and has struggled a bit when he had played.

      • LazerTown

        If it’s only 7 days, then it’s maybe 2 games. For a short term you are looking at a very marginal difference.

      • RetroRob

        I don’t buy the other argument. While neither Romine or JRM have torn up AAA, Romine has been come on strong after knocking off quite a bit of rust. While Yankee fans have decided that Murphy is clearly the prospect and Romine is not, I have to say that’s not entirely clear. JRM’s is in his second full season at AAA and his hitting has regressed. He’s still a prospect, but this season has to be viewed as a disappointment. If the Yankees are going to call up a player, they might as well go with the hotter hand.

        • YakaTanaka

          I don’t know that Murphy’s hitting has regressed. It’s a 65 PA sample (and if memory serves he’s been picking it up a little lately). That does play into your argument that Romine is more capable for the next week. Overall… don’t know if his 2013 was his true talent level, but I think he’s at least a league average hitter in AAA in the long-run.

          I agree with you. My point was that I agree that the biggest factor in the decision is who can help the MLB team more. I think getting Murphy reps could play into it a little, though, even if it’s as much because he’s barely played as because he’s a prospect who needs more reps.

          • RetroRob

            Right. Collectively, we’ve probably written too many words trying to figure why Romine vs. Murphy. In the end, it’s probably both reasons and it is as it appears. Romine is called up because he’s playing better than JRM right now, and it is better for Murphy to play every day to try and get on track. If JRM was playing well, he would have been called up. He’s not. Last, it is to the Yankees advantage to try and rebuild some of Romine’s luster. Something has to give this offseason with Cervelli, JRM, Romine, and Sanchez pushing up to AAA next year. They won’t all be back next season.

  • Get Phelps Up

    “With Mark Teixeira (finger) banged up and McCann out, Carlos Beltran is the team’s only consistent power threat.”

    GGBG does not approve of this sentence.

  • MThreeRozansky

    Hopefully McCann comes back once his DL time is up. One week of seeing that scrub Cervelli start everyday will give me a major headache. Hopefully this week will shut up the McCann haters and show them how much of a downgrade it is when Cervelli starts.

    • http://www.google.com Tanuki Tanaka

      And if your memory go back further, Stewart playing should have kept you from hating Cervelli.

      • MThreeRozansky

        Cervelli is worse than Stewart. Stewart was at least a quality defensive catcher and now an clown while doing so.

        • YakaTanaka

          Questionable analysis.

        • http://www.google.com Tanuki Tanaka

          Lifetime OPS+ of 95 for Cervelli, 65 for Stewart. By defensive WAR Stewart is not bad a defense but Cervelli is at least somewhat average. If bWAR is not your piece of cake, fWAR lists Cervelli have accumulated a higher WAR than Stewart in his career. But please, do continue on how Cervelli is a horrible catcher despite having passable defense and being a okay-hitting catcher.

        • Deep Thoughts

          And now you’re officially a troll.

          • MThreeRozansky

            How am I troll? Just because I don’t overrated Cervelli like majority of people here I am suddenly considered a troll.

            • YakaTanaka

              I don’t know if “troll” is the right word… but the fact that you are letting your personal feelings about a stranger dictate your analysis of that player’s ability to the point of calling him worse than a less productive player is a bit weird…

              And… if everyone in the world disagrees with you… chances are better than you’re wrong than they are that you’re a genius. If you could provide some stronger analysis to support your claims it would go a long way in trying to prove you know more than everyone about baseball. Break down some tape or some stats… something other than “I hate Cervelli and he is bad!!!”

              • MThreeRozansky

                I don’t care about stats, I judge players by what I see on T.V. or when I’m at the stadium. This is the problem with baseball these day, sabermetrics and the so-called advanced numbers are ruining the game. People just want to judge player based on a spread sheet instead of actually watch the games and having an intelligent opinion. Crap like this make subpar players like Cervelli look better than they really are and lead to than being overrated.

                • Barry Negative

                  Unless you’re a scout or former professional player your observation doesnt weigh much

                • Deep Thoughts
                • http://shhhorsie.com Cheval Anonyme

                  So, totally subjective. Very well. You are entitled to your opinion, and there is no rule on this site against posting your opinions about players, whatever they may be. But everyone else is equally entitled to judge your objectivity, judgement and intelligence. It’s not a personal attack to say that these postings make you seem like a fool. Which is your right.

                • YakaTanaka

                  The spreadsheets you speak of are only there to record various things people saw while they actually watched the game. Instead of trying to remember every single thing you saw by memory, it’s just a matter of writing it down.

            • Deep Thoughts

              Confrontational? Check.
              Wrong on the facts? Check.
              Finely honed sense of vicarious moral outrage? Check.
              Long on generalized gibberish and short on reason?

              Yep. Why am I even responding again?

    • Veteran presents

      That scrub has an OPS of .823, McCann .677. He’s not that much of a downgrade overall. Plus, who doesn’t like fist pumps?

    • blake

      Cervelli is pretty darn good for a back up…..

    • YakaTanaka

      Huh? Are you a Yankee fan? As a Yankee fan, my feelings are more… hopefully Cervelli and Romine will play great this week to help the Yankees win all of their games, sweep the O’s, and either close the gap or take the division lead.

      Hoping that a player fails miserably in the middle of a playoff race with a series coming up against your primary competition seems like an odd way to root for your team.

      • MThreeRozansky

        I am a Yankee fan and I want to win everyday. I just can’t stand Cervelli. He is a tool and gets overrated by a lot

        • YakaTanaka

          That you would make such negative personal judgements about a guy you don’t know and have probably never spoken to is a little questionable…

          Solid D and league average offense from your BUC is a minor miracle in the post-PEDs era. He’s been unable to stay healthy, but if anything I would say his healthy production is generally underrated.

          • MThreeRozansky

            You do realize they he was a PED guy as well? Why do people alway just rip stars caught on PEDs and not the scrubs? Talk about selective memory.

            • http://www.google.com Tanuki Tanaka

              By your logic you must dislike some guy named Pettitte too?

              • MThreeRozansky

                Pettitte apologied and didn’t make up any excuses when his name came up. Cervelli lied and said that Tony Boesch never gave him anything.

                • YakaTanaka

                  This whole line of thinking is so arbitrary and petty.

            • YakaTanaka

              I don’t rip anyone for being caught on PEDs. You’re lumping me in with other people randomly.

              I sort of assume most guys in baseball were on PEDs at one time and a good portion probably still are. So, I’m not going to rip the guys who happened to get caught and give a pass to all the guys who used but didn’t get caught.

              I also can’t really fault guys for risking their long-term health a bit for the ability to give their family financial security for generations to come. Honestly have no idea what I would do in that situation.

            • Deep Thoughts

              Actually, “people” don’t always do that. You shouldn’t feel obliged either.

        • http://www.google.com Tanuki Tanaka

          A lot of teams would love to have a headache of a BUC having lifetime OPS+ of 95 and defensive WAR over 0. Don’t you hate it when your BUC cannot get an OPS+ of 130? Of all catchers with 50 at bats this season, Cervelli ranks 8th in terms of OPS. Only McKenry of the Rockies hits better than Cervelli while being a BUC.

    • Angelo

      Well, in limited time Cervelli has played very well. His performance might not even be a downgrade from McCann, especially if we’re only talking about a week worth of games.

    • http://shhhorsie.com Cheval Anonyme

      Cervelli’s only weakness is that he is injury-prone, which is a big drawback in a catcher. But when he’s healthy, he is a quality major-league catcher.

    • Deep Thoughts

      If you insist on posting here, show enough respect to the rest of the community to use more descriptive words than “scrub,” “tool,” and “headache” in every other post.

      • MThreeRozansky

        I don’t have to show people like you any respect. I never harass anyone or make personally attacks at others. I’ll write what ever I want and if you don’t like it then that your problem.

        Cervelli is an annoying scrub and I will continue to say that until he is no longer a Yankee. Hopefully that day comes soon.

        • YakaTanaka

          It’s hard to say that you “don’t make personal attacks at others” in a comment where you literally are making a personal attack on Cervelli…

          • Jorge Steinbrenner

            Just curious, who were you before the Disqus change? Have to say I’m enjoying both your presence and aggression on here.

            • Deep Thoughts

              With YT’s commenting style, s/he really deserves forensic’s handle.

              • forensic

                Hey, I haven’t even commented in this thread. How did I get pulled into this? I have no clue who that guy is, so please don’t try to compare me to someone like that.

                • Deep Thoughts

                  Sorry man, nothing personal, just saying YT sounds like a cross between a scout and an assistant district attorney.

          • MThreeRozansky

            Calling a player a scrub isn’t a personal attack. He is a subpar player who wish wasn’t on our team.

            • Deep Thoughts

              Subpar! New vocab. All right, we’re getting somewhere. Subpar compared to what? What are you trying to express? Use your words.

              • MThreeRozansky

                Screw you, I don’t need to impress you or anyone else with what I write.

                • Barry Negative

                  Tell us how you really feel.

                • Deep Thoughts

                  Great job! When you said “Screw you,” I knew exactly what you meant. I appreciate the effort.

            • Deep Thoughts

              I wish we had a team of scrubs at every position that had 130 wRC+ and between 0.6 and 0.9 WAR in fewer than 100 plate appearances.

              EDIT: subpar scrubs.

            • YakaTanaka

              Calling him “annoying” is a personal attack.

              And calling him a scrub is just factually incorrect. What exactly do you think is par for a BUC?

              • Barry Negative

                2013 Evan Gaettis

        • Jorge Steinbrenner

          You just harassed and personally attacked Frankie Cervelli, a player on the team we all supposedly root for. Other than former Yankee Esteban Loaiza, insulting players like that isn’t cool.

          • Barry Negative

            American Idle and Ryan Braun.

            • Jorge Steinbrenner

              Loaiza and Pavano…..but that’s it.

          • MThreeRozansky

            Nothing I said is a personal attack on him. All that was my judgement based on actually seeing him play the last few years.

            So I am suppose to like every player on who on the team? Hell no. I got a list of guys who played here over the years that I couldn’t stand. There were even some who were good players but I didn’t like because they were a**holes.

            • Jorge Steinbrenner

              You don’t have to like every player on the team. Except for Esteban Loaiza and Carl Pavano, who i’ll just assume not even Jesus likes, do you really need to know who I personally like and don’t like on this team? And, even if I let you know of that, what would be the purpose of being inflammatory about that? What kind of conversation is that supposed to promote?

            • Barry Negative

              Because “annoying scrub” is a standard term used to describe a player’s talent level. Your own moral judgement is spotty at best too. While I personally think that you can dislike the player as a person, you shouldnt ever want your own players to suck, unless its Pavano.

              • Jorge Steinbrenner

                KLaw uses it all the time.

            • Robert Lucarelli

              You realize cervelli has one of the best batting averages with RISP over the past 5 years and had a plus .800 ops last year before his injury

              Tool I think is a proper word to describe yourself

            • YakaTanaka

              Calling someone annoying is not a personal attack on them?

              I’m not sure how you have so much insight into the off-field personalities of the players… but whatever floats your boat. If you like to root for Yankee players to fail, good for you.

        • Deep Thoughts

          Again, with the not saying anything meaningful. “People like me?” “Headache?” “Scrub?” So little of what you say has any meaning. Most of your comments literally are meaningless.

          I guess, technically, you’re entitled to post just about any old meaningless gibberish you want, and it is my problem. You’re not wrong about that, M3.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQl5aYhkF3E

  • http://www.google.com Tanuki Tanaka

    People don’t realize that McCann might need longer than 7 days to rest so might as well call up the lesser prospect so Murphy can still play every day in the mean time.

  • YakaTanaka

    Why are you always isolating power? Not asking why you think power is important… but rather why you always seem to talk about it in isolation.

    • Angelo

      Gardner also has a .177 ISO. Which is 31 points higher than McCann’s .146 ISO.

      However, history suggests McCann should be a better power hitter going forward…maybe. Crossing my fingers.

      • YakaTanaka

        I agree that slighting Gardner as a consistent power threat is a little odd, but it doesn’t really go to my point.

        My point is that power is one of several aspects of offensive production. Mark Reynolds, for example, has prodigious power but is an overall mediocre offensive player and pretty bad at his position because he doesn’t do the other things well.

    • yclept

      Look at the ballpark they play in for one answer. Yankee Stadium is the second friendliest ballpark for home runs in the majors this year. It is also the 25th best park for doubles and 24th for triples. In other words, their home park allows a lot of home runs but suppresses everything else. To me, it is reasonable for Mike, or anyone, to speak about the power in their everyday lineup. This is not a park meant for players who slap singles the other way.

      • YakaTanaka

        I never said anything about speaking about the power in the lineup. I asked about consistently isolating it from everything else.

  • Hankflorida

    Pitching, speed and defense has never been the Yankee way, but until Text and McCaan get back, it will have to be the way.

    • YakaTanaka

      There’s a lot more to offense than just power and speed. There are the whole contact and patience parts, which combined are worth a lot more than power and speed. (Power and speed without contact is pretty useless… though they both do make whatever contact you make play up.)

      The Yankees are pretty close to having an MLB caliber hitter at every spot in the line-up for the first time in almost two years even without Tex and McCann. Especially since Cervelli is a pretty darn good BUC (Tex to Ichiro hurts more). There offense should not be lost without Tex and McCann. Could easily be better than it was earlier in the season with both but without the new faces.

      • Hankflorida

        You must realize that I cut my teeth with an outfield of DiMaggio, Heinrich and Keller and have always seen power players in the outfield. I am trying to get used to a team of contact hitters and if they can hit with RISP, an old dog like me will learn new tricks.

        • YakaTanaka

          My main point is just that your list didn’t include two of the most important aspects of baseball.

          Part of what I’m saying is that those guys weren’t just power hitters. Some were, but the best were great hitters who hit for power.

          I also think that in this offensive environment, Brett Gardner is probably as much of a power hitter now as, say, Paul O’Neill was from 96 on. For the Yankees it is more pronounced compared to their team history and recent history, but power is down across baseball.

  • Thunder Road

    prefer murphy

  • Billy Martin’s Left Nut

    Are any of these new stats punishing a pussy like Tex who latches onto any reason not to play?

    • forensic

      Obviously the rate stats aren’t affected while the counting stats are.

  • Farewell Mo

    Hard to believe that we’re a 3rd through August and McCann has a .296 OBP, .303 wOBA and an 88 wRC+. I have little doubt Cervelli could have given you that for $16 million less this year.