Archive for Asides
Former Yanks second rounder Sam Stafford to miss season
Posted by: | CommentsVia Aaron Fitt, Texas left-hander Sam Stafford will miss the 2012 season due to shoulder surgery. The Yankees selected Stafford with their second round pick last year, but they did not sign him after a physical revealed a small tear in his shoulder. They’ll receive the 89th overall pick in this year’s draft as compensation. The injury is really unfortunate for Stafford, who was poised to climb up the draft rankings this year as a hard-throwing lefty in a class generally considered short on college pitching.
Report: Yanks, Pirates have framework for Burnett trade in place
Posted by: | Comments12:59pm ET: Via Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees would pay $19-23M of the $33M left on Burnett’s deal and receive multiple non-40-man roster minor leaguers from the Pirates. The two sides are still talking and it doesn’t appear that a trade is imminent.
12:00pm ET: Via Buster Olney, the Yankees and Pirates have a framework in place for an A.J. Burnett trade. The deal is not done because they still have to agree on the final players and dollar amount, but the two sides are now on common ground. Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman say the Yankees don’t love the two (!) minor leaguers Pittsburgh is offering and will shop around a bit just to make sure there’s not a better deal to be made. All indications are that A.J. will be moved in the coming days. The money they save may then go to Eric Chavez and a left-handed DH.
Joba, Nova, Hughes and Wade all throwing in Tampa already
Posted by: | CommentsPitchers and catchers aren’t due to report for another eight days, but many of the Yankees’ hurlers are already in Tampa preparing for the season according to the AP. Joba Chamberlain threw 15 pitches in his second half-mound session yesterday, saying he’s “happy with the progress and feeling good.” Unlike the other guys in camp, he’s rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
Ivan Nova threw off a mound yesterday, which is only notable because he ended last season with a strained flexor tendon. The team says he’s fully healed and healthy, but there’s always that little bit of concern until you hear that he got back on a mound and didn’t report any problems. Phil Hughes and Cory Wade also threw off a mound, and Derek Jeter is scheduled to hit on the field for the first time on Monday.
Rosenthal: Pirates one of four teams in on Burnett
Posted by: | CommentsVia Ken Rosenthal, the Pirates are just one of four teams with interest in trading for A.J. Burnett. One of those four teams is on his no-trade list, and the Yankees feel Pittsburgh makes the “most sense” as a trade partner. It might have something to do with them being in the NL, or a non-contender, or both. Yesterday we heard that the Pirates are willing to take on $10M of the $33M left on his deal, but the Yankees are holding out for a 50-50 split.
Austin, Gamel among Keith Law’s sleeper prospects
Posted by: | CommentsAfter posting his top 100 prospects list on Thursday, Keith Law followed up yesterday with a list of sleeper prospects for each team (Insider req’d). “Third baseman Tyler Austin has turned himself into a pretty good defender over there, defying earlier predictions he’d have to move to first,” said KLaw of his sleeper pick for the Yankees. “[He] has a whole-field approach to hitting with pull power right now, and runs well for his size with a perfect stolen-base record in the pros.” Austin hit a combined .354/.418/.579 between the two short season leagues last summer after being drafted as a catcher in 2010.
“Also watch right fielder Ben Gamel, younger brother of Mat,” added Law. “Ben shows a lot of promise with the bat, with good ability to square up the baseball and plenty of hip rotation for future power.” I’ve always been a bit of a Gamel homer, so I’m glad that’s been validated some.
Update: Yanks, Pirates continue to talk about Burnett
Posted by: | CommentsFriday: Via Jon Heyman, the two sides continue to discuss a Burnett trade, and the Pirates are said to be willing to eat $10M of his contract. The Yankees are pushing for a 50-50 split, however. Heyman says there is hope for a deal. Joel Sherman adds that the ten clubs on A.J.’s no-trade list are all West Coast teams simply because his wife doesn’t like to fly. I get the sense that this is just a stare-down; each side is waiting for the other one to blink and take on more money. If the Yanks manage to unload half of A.J.’s deal and get something more than a non-prospect in return, it’ll be a minor miracle.
Thursday: Via Buster Olney, the Yankees want Garrett Jones from the Pirates in any deal involving A.J. Burnett. They know they’ll have to eat most of the $33M left on Burnett’s contract, but the problem is that Pittsburgh has no interest in dealing Jones and talks haven’t progressed at all. Jones, 30, is a late-blooming left-handed DH candidate who’s tagged righties for a .360 wOBA and a .208 ISO in his three seasons. He’s spent most of his defensive time at first and right field. Larry looked at him more in-depth a few weeks ago.
Report: Bob Lorenz arrest for DUI
Posted by: | CommentsVia Westport Now, Bob Lorenz of the YES Network was arrested in Connecticut yesterday for driving under the influence. Police found him asleep at the wheel — with the car still in drive — while stopped at an intersection. Thankfully no one was hurt. Lorenz does mostly studio work for YES, but also handles in-game play-by-play on occasion. I’ve enjoyed his work, but DUI is pretty much the worst thing ever, and there’s a chance he’ll lose his job over it.
Suprise: Yankees still trying to move A.J. Burnett
Posted by: | CommentsVia Joel Sherman, the Yankees are still diligently working to trade A.J. Burnett for some level of salary relief before the season. We first heard they were shopping him at the winter meetings, but so far interested teams have asked the Yankees to pay pretty much all $33M left on his contract. The Pirates are one of those interested teams, and Ken Rosenthal says they are not one of the ten clubs A.J. can block a trade to with his limited no-trade clause. After losing out on Edwin Jackson despite a substantial three-year offer, Rosenthal opines that the Bucs might reignite talks about Burnett. I don’t expect him to be traded, but you never know.
Yanks rank tenth in Keith Law’s organizational rankings
Posted by: | CommentsKeith Law posted his organizational (a.k.a. farm system) rankings today (Insider req’d), with the Yankees coming in at number ten. That’s down one spot from last year, which isn’t surprising given the Jesus Montero trade. His departure obviously took a big bite out of the system, though I’m glad to see them still in the top ten.
“I might be jumping the gun here, but I see a lot of star potential on their bottom few affiliates, including new acquisition Jose Campos from Seattle, to go with the two power arms from their Scranton club (Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances),” said KLaw with his obvious anti-Yankees bias. “The flaw in the system is the lack of near-in talent, especially position players, who could either help the big club soon or provide more fodder for trades.”
The Padres, Rays, and Blue Jays occupy the top three spots while the Marlins, Indians, and White Sox are the bottom three. The Orioles are 17th and the Red Sox are 18th, so five of the top 18 systems in the game (27.8%) are in the AL East. The Mariners, by the way, are right behind the Yankees at eleven following the addition of Montero.
Biz Hits: The Yanks stink; Madonna and soccer in the Bronx
Posted by: | CommentsA few non-baseball related items for your overnight enjoyment: The Yankees have announced that Madonna will perform in the stadium in the Bronx on Thursday, September 6. This is the rumored “big announcement” the club teased when they sent out the release on Roger Waters’ a few weeks ago. I had guessed, and hoped for, Bruce Springsteen, but music fans will just have to settle for Madonna instead. The pre-sale starts Monday at 10 a.m. right here. The top tickets — on-field seats right in front of the center field stage — will go for $359.50 each.
Madonna, though, isn’t the only person taking her talents to Yankee Stadium this summer. According to a report on Big Apple Soccer, the House that George Built could host a July or August soccer friendly between Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Based on the Euro Cup slate and the Yanks’ schedule, Big Apple Soccer believes the most likely dates for a game are July 25 or August 11 or 12, but the various parties are still hammering out the details. The last Yankee Stadium soccer match pitted the New York Cosmos against the Miami Toros way back on August 10, 1976.
Finally, the Yanks are proving what their haters already claim: that they stink. Few details exist about this news, but according to reports, the Yanks will be releasing two fragrances at a cocktail party on February 21. One will be called simply “New York Yankees” and the other “New York Yankees For Her.” If you’ve ever wanted to smell like Francisco Cervelli, now you can. Or something like that.
Just 6 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
