Ross Ohlendorf was assigned to the taxi squad, which means he’s only eligible to play on Wednesdays and Saturdays. He probably wasn’t going to pitch more than two days a week, so the taxi squad is really a non issue. What it does mean is that Eric Wordekemper will most likely stay with the AFL team rather than giving his roster spot back to Ohlendorf. The taxi squad is used when a team assigns more than 7 players to the AFL.

AFL Javelinas (2-0 loss to Surprise Rafters)

Brett Gardner: 0-4, 2 K’s – In true Johnny Damon fashion, Gardner was the DH and hit lead off. It was his first game without a hit.
Juan Miranda: 0-4, 1 K – Has batted Cleanup in every game he’s played.
Reegie Corona: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 K – Still looking for his first hit from the right side.

It’s amazing what a little wind can do in a hitters league like the AFL. There was a 25mph wind blowing in from RF and the Javelinas were held to just two hits and no runs. One of the hits came from Corona and it was a ball that a cheap pair of sunglasses should have caught without a problem. They have a strange rule in the AFL – if the fielder looses the ball in the sun and he doesn’t touch it – it’s ruled a hit (or a double in the case of Corona). For what it’s worth, Gardner hit the deepest fly out of the day. He hit the ball straight into the wind and the right fielder caught it on the edge of the warning track. The game photo’s are on the other side. Read More→

AFL Peoria Javelinas (7-5 loss to Phoenix Desert Dogs)
Juan Miranda: 2-5, 1 RBI, 2 K’s
Brett Gardner: 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 R

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen as many lefties as I’ve seen in the AFL over the last two weeks. It’s becoming very clear that both Miranda and Corona are having a tough time with the adjustment. Their AFL splits are after the jump. Read More→

The Peoria Javelinas defeated the Scottsdale Scorpions 8-5

Brett Gardner: 2-5, 1 R – one of the outs was a line drive to LF. He also turned a routine grounder into a very close play at first.
Juan Miranda: 1-4, 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R.
Eric Wordekemper: 1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER

The Javelinas batted around in the first inning by scoring 6 runs and never looked back. Brett Gardner started in LF and and it’s a good thing he did because the center fielder was taken off the field on a cart during the 6th inning after crashing hard into the center field wall. They’re calling it a concussion but it looked a lot worse. Gardner took over in CF for Schafer.

Update: Ross Ohlendorf will report to the AFL soon, as mentioned by Fred in the comments. The official report can be found here.

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The Javelinas beat the Saguaros 8-3

Brett Gardner: 1-3, 1 Triple, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 R
Reegie Corona: 1-3, 1 Double, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 R

The Javelinas are now 3-1 on the season after another convincing victory. They’re batting .328 as a team and are led by the top two hitters in the league, coming into today’s game. After today’s results, Gardner is hitting a cool .500 through the first four games of the season.

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The Javelinas beat the Saguaros 14-2
Juan Miranda: 4-5, 1 HR, 4 RBI’s, 4 Runs, HBP
Kevin Whelan: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K, 0 Runs
The rest of the Yankees had the day off

The picture says it all. Juan Miranda hit his first home run and did it with authority. The HR landed just right of the 385ft marker and at the top of the the hill/seating area. The hill is at least 40ft long so the rough projection makes it a 425ft HR that went as high as it did far. It even got a rise out of a couple scouts that were sitting nearby. He managed to hit the ball hard in every at bat today and it seems like his early season slump is behind him. Read More→

The Javelinas lost to the Rafters 11-14

The Yankee pitchers had a rough time today but they didn’t get much help from their defense at times. The Javelinas commited three errors, two of them on routine fly outs to RF & LF, when Steven White was pitching in the first inning. Brett Gardner had another good day at the plate and the only thing that could limit his SB’s were the aggressive hitters behind him. Read More→

The AFL has become the “graduate school” for many of the best players in baseball today. During the 2007 season alone, there were 83 players that were called up after refining there tools in the AFL during the previous winter. Some of the big names from the ‘06 AFL season include J. Saltalamacchia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Hunter Pence, as well as the likely NL rookie of the year Troy Tulowitzki. Your very own 2007 Yankees had 10 players from this years 40 man roster that came up after playing in the AFL at some point in there careers. Their names after the jump…
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Javelinas (Yanks AFL) 3-2 Win over Rafters

Brett Gardner: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB
Juan Miranda: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K
Reegie-don’t call me beer man-Corona: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
None of the Yankee pitchers entered the game.

Reegie Corona walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th to win the game. He played solid defense at shortstop and made nice play on a groundball up the middle. Brett Gardner was a force on bases again. The guy never stays in one spot on the bases. Miranda was better than expected at first base but didn’t have much range on a hard hit to his right. Photos after the jump.
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