(Getty Images/Jim Mcisaac)

Last Friday I was invited down to the MLB Network studios in Secaucus to look at their operation, and while I was there I had a chance to speak one-on-one with two-time former Yankee and current YES Network/MLB Network broadcaster Al Leiter. We talked for nearly 20 minutes and mostly discussed his career, but we also touched on Andy Pettitte‘s comeback, Michael Pineda‘s missing velocity*, and the 2012 Yankees in general.

* The interview took place before Pineda’s shoulder tendinitis was diagnosed.

Leiter is every bit as entertaining in real life as he appears on television, so needless to say it was a pretty awesome experience. Here’s the full interview, beginning with a question straight out of left field…

Mike Axisa: In Game Seven of the 1997 World Series, you threw a first pitch curveball to Omar Vizquel (to start the game). What was the thinking behind that?

Al Leiter: “Because I got peppered in Game Three, in Cleveland, I knew I had to throw a curveball. I went back and looked at two left-handers,  and it was the Yankees series against Cleveland. David Wells did well — Boomer was fastball-curve — and I watched every pitch. And then I looked at Andy Pettitte’s game; Andy Pettitte got peppered a little bit. Andy was more fastball, curve, cutter, slider, and I said forget it. You know what? It’s gonna be a [bad] game if I don’t use [my curve].

“So my side day with (then-Marlins pitching coach) Larry Rothschild was like ‘I gotta use my curveball.’ I throw it 15% of the time, maybe 20, I said I gotta throw it more or it’s gonna be a bad game. So the whole time I’m working on it, and then prior to Game Seven — packed house, warming up — (catcher) Charlie Johnson comes down (to the bullpen), and I’m throwing like … of my 75 (warm-up pitches), 35 of them are curveballs. And I’m bouncing it, I’m casting it, balls everywhere. I already told him first pitch of the game, it’s gonna be a curveball.

“Sure enough, (umpire) Eddie Montague was behind the plate … play ball … curveball. Now Omar Vizquel, first of all he’s going to take the pitch, and he’s not a guy who’s going to hit the ball very far. Boom, called strike. And I said … it was so weird, I was like ‘okay, this is going to be good.’

“That was a concerted effort on my part to realize — looking at what I did, watching David Wells, watching Pettitte — I have to throw him a curveball.”

MA: So that was the biggest game of your life?

AL: “Um (four second pause) yeah. Yeah.”

MA: What about your debut? Your first ever game as a big leaguer?

AL: “It’s funny you say that because whenever I talk to my mom — or family members growing up — my mom will go back to my debut. I went against the Brewers, I went like six innings I think, whatever it was a good game. But the fact of all the work us players do to get to the big leagues — I grew up in New Jersey, grew up a Mets fan, signing with the Yankees (out of the draft), three and a half years out of high school I’m teammates with (Ron) Guidry, Tommy John, and (Don) Mattingly and Dave Winfield — it was really cool.

“But with that said, everybody has a debut. Not too many people get to [start] Game Seven of the World Series. So yeah, that was … that was a good game. The 163rd game with the Mets (in 1999), I think of that. Anytime there’s a moment in which, you know, there’s going to be somebody crying, there’s going to be somebody pouring champagne … those are great games. That’s why, one-game playoff, everybody likes it.”

MA: Do you like the new (playoff) system?

AL: “No.”

MA: No? I feel like … I like the idea of rewarding the division winners, but I feel like they went a little bit too far.

AL: “My problem is with a one-game playoff — and everybody says ‘well tough, you should win the division’ — we will see, and it might happen this year, the second-best record during the marathon season — that we are all very proud of and talk about that it’s the unique sport, that no other sport can compare to 162 games, they play everyday, they got an off day once every 17 days — that we will have a team that wins 104 games this year or whatever, the division winner won 106, they play a one-game playoff against whomever in some other division that was the fifth best record, who had at 86 wins, and they face some hot pitcher with a great split that day, and they go home.

“So then you could say ‘well big deal.’ But then you say no, we’re not saying the second best record in the league, we’re saying the second best record in baseball, and it’s a one-game playoff. You know what? On a given night, a Major League club facing University of Florida with some stud on the mound, could beat that club. You’re trying to telling me the University of Florida Gators are better than a Major League team? For that one night, they had some kid who was throwing 95, he had a great slider. They won one game.”

MA: As a baseball fan, I think [the drama and excitement] will be great.

AL: “I get that. Television, you know everybody involved … that’s what you want. You want that compelling moment. That Super Bowl. And that’s Game Seven.”

MA: Early in your career with the Yankees — when you were a young pitcher coming up — the Yankees traded all of their young pitchers in the 80s. When you were down in Triple-A or whatever, before you made your debut, were you thinking “that could be me … the Yankees might not have a spot for me and I could end up in say, Toronto?”

AL: (nodding) “Sure, sure. It was a volatile time for the Yankees. Mr. Steinbrenner felt the competition with what was going on over in Flushing, the fact that the Mets had won the World Series in ’86, they were very competitive and playoff team in ’87, ’88, ’89, making the NLCS in ’88, and I got to the big leagues in ’87, right in the middle of that. So I think part of that and George always tried to put together a winning team — whether it was the best signings or not, that’s debatable — by going out and trying to get the Jack Clarks  and the Steve Saxes, Andy Hawkins or whoever the latest best free agent was. He always did that, and part of that process was we weren’t winning enough and being a young player in the minor leagues with knee-jerk reaction decisions — which happened often — your top prospects were not untouchable.

“I was in that window with Roberto Kelly, Hensley Meulens, Jay Buhner and myself, it was kinda that ’86-’87 window to where we all got traded. And then luckily for what took place after that — luckily I say for Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, (Jorge) Posada, that next wave — they allowed Buck Showalter to develop, they allowed Stick Michael to do his thing, and it became more of ‘let’s do player development.”

MA: That’s when George was suspended.

AL: “Right.”

MA: So then fast-forward a whole bunch of years, you came back to the Yankees in 2005. After the regular season you went to the bullpen in the playoffs. What was that like after starting your entire career?

AL: “It was actually a good experience. Being a starter my whole career — other than when I first got back to the big leagues and I was a Major League pitcher but the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t have a spot, so I was kind of a swingman/reliever/starter and it was just a matter of time, they were buying until I could eventually get back into the rotation — so the majority of my games in the big leagues were as a starter as you just said.

“First of all … back up. When I was playing with the Marlins — I left the Mets went to the Marlins (in 2005) — I was awful. I just never got it going. I was asked to go down there and kinda be a mentor to Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett and Dontrelle (Willis) and then ‘you’ll be our fifth starter and all you have to do is win ten games.’ I stunk. Right after the All-Star break I get traded to the Yankees which was a godsend and a thrill because I got back to New York and back to where it all started. I had the one, my first game…”

MA (rudely interrupting): Fenway.

AL: “In Fenway. I was really oblivious — I had my own problems — I was oblivious to what was going on with the Yankees but at that time I didn’t realize the significance of that four-game series. The first game they lose, I think (Mike) Mussina pitched, and then the second game they had a couple guys who just flew in from Triple-A, they lost. And then they were going into Saturday … I forgot what it was, they were either three or four games back. Randy Johnson pitches Saturday, they win, and then the Sunday night ESPN game we win and it was a swing of like, either four to three or three to two games back, whatever it was, but there was some momentum turn. I didn’t know any of that. All I knew is that I was sucking. I had to turn my season around.

“And … wow, what a thrill. For that moment — and your first game back — the reason why it was so thrilling, when the trade was made (Brian) Cashman called me on the phone, I said ‘look Cash, I’m fine, my arm’s fine.’ I said ‘I’m off, I need some work.’ There was a guy — at the time he was the Triple-A pitching coach who was also my first pitching coach when I signed professionally, Gil Paterson — Gil was the pitching coach in Oneonta, he was the Triple-A pitching coach, I tell Cash you know what? After the All-Star break, I’ll fly to Columbus. Let me work with Gil for a week or whatever, just to get it right because I’m there, I’m just … off. You know, it’ll be great. Yeah yeah yeah, it sounds like a good idea. So you’re gonna fly to … Friday you’re going to fly to Columbus.

“I have my flights. Friday before I get on the plane, my agent calls and says ‘hey look, they really want you in Boston.’ I don’t know really what’s going on, but [I figure] I’ll fly in Saturday sometime. Okay, fine. Cash calls back and says ‘get up there before game time (today). We want you to be with the team, get with the pitching coach and all that cause you’re pitching Sunday night. Sorry.’

“I just went from going to Triple-A for a week or two to yeah just come on up, they’re not sure what they’re going to do with you. Just fly in whenever. You gotta get up there before the game on Saturday because you’re starting on Sunday. So it made the moment even much more special because now I’m the starter, winning the game, then realizing what it meant.

MA: Yeah…

AL: “I’m sorry. So getting into the relief stuff. When eventually I realize — Chien-Ming Wang came back, I was kinda holding spots for I forgot whoever was not doing well or what hurt — and Joe (Torre) put me in the ‘pen. I kinda saw the writing on the wall, I was deserving of it. I was very hot and cold, couple good games, a bad game, good game … and he started using me, kinda fifth inning kinda thing…”

MA: I remember (during the ALDS), it was like you were the Darin Erstad specialist. It felt like every game you were facing Darin Erstad.

AL: “I got the last win in 2005. Darin Erstad, double play ball in the seventh inning, in Game Four of the Division Series.

“So I started digging it. You know your role in the bullpen, cause you know, the phone rings in the fifth inning, you and Al, get up. You throw a scoreless, I throw a scoreless, and now all of a sudden, sixth inning. Phone rings and get up. And then seventh inning and then eighth inning, and it turned out where he was getting me and I guess it was either Tanyon Sturtze, I forgot who was doing kinda the eighth inning stuff, and depending upon who was coming up the next inning, I was pitching eighth innings, and I was kinda getting into it.”

MA: Did you start to think, I could maybe stick around a little longer doing this?

AL: “No. You know what … I just, I didn’t wanna … I lost it in my heart. I trained in the winter time to hopefully get on that first [World Baseball Classic] team in 2006. I think Billy Wagner got hurt, and CC (Sabathia) didn’t go, and whoever. There were like, six lefties that eventually said no, and I said ‘I’ll go!’ So I went, which was cool. That was kinda my whole intention, was to go to camp, go to the WBC, and come back and retire. Which is what I did.”

MA: So it’s…

AL: “But, but … that moment. So I come back, and Joe never did this cause I went into Torre’s office and was like ‘Joe, thank you for the opportunity, but I’m retiring.’ He said you sure? Everyone’s like, you sure? Cause I was actually throwing the ball well, and my curveball was back. So I asked him ‘how do we do this?’ He goes ‘I dunno honestly Al, (when) someone’s coming in I’m either trading them or sending them down or releasing them. They never come in and say I’m retiring. That’s like an offseason thing.’

“So I said let me go out and pitch an inning. Randy Johnson hit his pitch count … he gave me an out, and it was Eduardo Perez. Eduardo Perez in my career actually hit me well. With the Indians, he was a young kid, he was all over the place. And I faced Eduardo, threw it and got a ground ball to A-Rod, over to first. Guidry was the pitching coach, my teammate, comes out … and if there was ever a moment where it was like, just sad. I was walking off — I already knew I was retiring — I was in Tampa, Florida. I was like man, not that I’m a Hall of Famer or anything, but yeah oh [wow], this is it. And there was a moment like ‘oh wait a minute no, I change my mind!’

“So everyone came over and hugged. Gil Paterson was there because he was the Triple-A pitching coach, he was my first pitching coach, talk about synergy. Guidry comes over, Guidry hugs me. He was my teammate when I first got to the big leagues. It was like … oh my God, I’m really doing this?”

MA: After going through all that and seeing Andy Pettitte coming back — he said the same thing, he said it wasn’t in his heart — what do you think that’s going to be like after the year off?

AL: “You know what? I’m very curious to watch closely because one, Andy’s … 38?

MA: He’ll be 40 in June … May or June.

AL: “I was 40 when I retired, so that would be like … take a year off and come back, I couldn’t have done it. You know depending on Andy and what he’s feeling, it’s not that easy — for one just to get big league hitters out — so I think this is going to be a great story to watch. I hope he does great. I love Andy, I think he’s a great guy. Obviously a great Yankee, a pitching great, one of the greatest they’ve ever had. I don’t know. I don’t know, I just … you know you still gotta have zip on the ball, your slider’s gotta break, you gotta pitch.”

MA: He said his arm is fine, just that his legs are are a little sluggish.

AL: “Yeah but that’s every year. What he’s saying right there, every pitcher leading into every Spring Training, you know you try to get your legs. The only way … you can get in the weight room, you can do all the squats, you can do all the leg lifts, you gotta pitch.”

MA: Just taking to some people, maybe the year off did him some good because 2010, he got hurt. He missed two months with a groin strain, had to push him back in the playoffs because his back was killing him. Maybe this will work, but I’m not … I think there’s reason to be skeptical of how well he’ll actually do, but I feel like the Yankees aren’t in a position where they need him.

AL: “Well right now … they got six for five.”

MA: I don’t know if you’ve been following the whole Michael Pineda thing. The velocity is not — he’s 90-94 now and was 90-97 last year — and I feel like it’s a concern but at the same time it’s overblown. Having been through Spring Training a whole bunch of times, do you think there’s anything to it? That there might be something wrong there?

AL: “I would say this, this is from my own experience knowing how I trained, how I got to be ready for day one of Spring Training, throwing my sides to eventually get into my first innings and eventually get to a 100-pitch count. My routine varied based on where I was as a Major Leaguer — meaning was I rookie trying to make a team, was I an established guy under a multi-year contract, was I an older veteran guy looking to hang on? — so there’s that element. You have a young kid who’s talented who has a terrific arm. Is he green, is he raw? Absolutely. There’s an element to say wow to his 97, but he still has to pitch.

“So he came into camp and the velocity was off as much as it was, absolutely a red flag goes up. And I say that because of my own history of … if I was a guy that settled in at — during the season — at 93 miles an hour, that was my number. You know, I wasn’t coming into camp throwing what I thought was my best effort, 83 miles an hour. I was pretty close to my 93. The percentage difference of 85% effort to 100% effort is not 7-8 miles an hour. It’s a couple miles.

“So that would be the concern — I assume, I’m not there everyday — that they would look at and say hey, he was throwing 97 last year and he’s throwing 90? What’s going on? What was your routine? What was your workout? Did he gain weight? Did he not gain weight? Did he lose weight? Does he have more muscle? Does he have less muscle? Is he heavier? All that … is there a legitimate problem? That fact that you just said he’s touching 94. Supposedly Michael, this is kinda like his M.O., he builds up velocity. I think they’re less concerned now that he’s getting closer to that 95, but if he settles at 90 the entire spring, I’d be concerned.”

MA: The Yankees had almost the same thing with Phil Hughes last year, and I feel like that was a little more obvious. He physically didn’t look right, fastball just wasn’t there, the curveball was garbage.

AL: “I think it’s kinda moderate. A moderate big deal right now that he is at the end of Spring Training … he has hit velocities close to what he hit at his best. If we were looking at his last game and he didn’t throw a ball over 90 miles an hour, I’m concerned. The fact that he hit 94 enough, that’s…

MA: And he did come to camp overweight. He’s a big guy, he’s 6-foot-7, 23 years old, he said he was 10-20 pounds overweight. That is a small percent of his body weight, but it’s a concern especially after Hughes last year. Now what do you think about the Yankees in general? Are you going to be doing many games on YES?

AL: “Yeah, I’m flying down tomorrow to do the Marlins game with Michael Kay, then we go up to St. Lucie on Tuesday.

“Um, what do I think. The Yankees are going to be there, I have them as a playoff team. I think there are going to be stories to watch, there’s going to be an age issue, there’s going to be a health issue, the average age of guys getting a little older … we’ve seen it in the past couple of years, watch it closely.

“With the assumption that they stay healthy, with the assumption that Mariano (Rivera) is Mariano, Derek stays healthy, A-Rod gets back to being A-Rod … I love (Robinson) Cano, I think Brett Gardner to me is a huge under-the-radar guy. I think he continues to improve and he brings an element to that offense that has been missed, a legitimate running game. (Curtis) Granderson, you can’t expect 40 homeruns, I wouldn’t even though Yankee Stadium. I like (Mark) Teixeira doing what he’s been doing with (hitting coach) Kevin Long.

“There are so many components to this team. The fact that Cash went out and got additional guys that can start, that now the problem is that he can potentially send Pineda down to the minor leagues, (Ivan) Nova — who won 16 games — down to the minor leagues, and Phil Hughes. That’s great, you talk about adding depth … and then you have Andy Pettitte waiting in the wings. It’s pretty good. (David) Robertson emerged as the best setup guy in the game. There are so many elements to that team … if they weren’t a playoff team (this year), there were serious problems that went wrong.”

MA: Just real quick to wrap-up, do you think Mariano is going to retire (after the season)? He kinda hinted at it, he said he knows what he’s going to do but he’s not going to tell anybody.

AL: “Does my opinion matter? I dunno. You know what, I’ll be honest. I thought initially when he came to camp and he said the quote was what it was — I know and I’ll let you guys know — to me that was absolutely, I’m retiring.”

MA: That’s what I thought.

AL: “But now … I dunno man. With Pettitte coming back … you know every time in the winter time you miss your wife, you know what the grind is, you hug your kids, you’re going to miss (their) ballgames, you’re going to miss the recitals, like … I’m done. But I’ve got the most saves in [history], I’ve been in World Series, I’ve had a Hall of Fame career, what else is there? Hopefully I win another World Series.

“And then you get to camp and you’re around it, and then your kids come down for two weeks in Spring Training like ‘dad this cool!’ I can see hanging around. Initially, absolutely. Now? I don’t know.”

MA: I feel like he could pitch until he’s 50. He’s in such great shape.

AL: “Maybe!” (laughs)

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

RAB Q&A: Al Leiter

Since retiring, Pags has worked in scouting and consulting. He founded the Baseline Group which seeks to provide business solutions for baseball and recently started the non-profit start-up Baseball Institute of Development.. He agreed to answer some questions from Matt Bouffard of Fack Youk. What follows are some highlights of the conversation. The full interview will run at Fack Youk in the near future.

Matt Bouffard: What’s it like being a former Yankee living outside Boston these days? Do you get any flack for that? Didn’t you grow up as a Yankee fan, and if so, how did that come about, and what was it like to be a Yankee fan in Medford during the 1970s?

Mike Pagliarulo: My dad was the biggest Billy Martin fan ever. We grew up in Boston and everyone was a Red Sox fan except him. When I was a kid I always thought my father was right except when it came to the Yankees. Well, after my first big league spring training where I met the big league guys for the first time; I said, “Dad you were right again!” The Yankee organization was built on class and respect and everyone I met there was the same way. Back in Boston I still caught heat, but nobody gives out that much crap without being scared!

MB: After coming up in mid-1984, you’re first full season with the Yanks was 1985. That was a tumultuous year: Yogi Berra was fired just 16 games into the season and Billy Martin returned for his fourth stint as Yankee manager. You guys spent all summer chasing Toronto, clawed back into the race, and went north of the border for the season’s final weekend needing a three game sweep to force a playoff. What was that pennant race like for you and what was the let down like getting eliminated that Saturday?

MP: Tumultuous is a word associated with New York. And it’s not a bad word. I’d like to refer to playing under certain scrutiny and pressure as the way it is supposed to be! We aren’t babies and people pay lots of money to see you play. I hate it when tabloids side with the poor player who’s under so much pressure while making 10 million dollars. That doesn’t appear to match.

1985 was the year in which I learned more about Mr. Steinbrenner than any other. I never realized how much he wanted to win until the last month of the season. One example was during September when we returned from a night game in Milwaukee. The game was late and the flight was delayed. We’d got into Newark airport about 6 AM and the Boss has limos waiting for everyone to take them home. We had a game that night. I couldn’t believe that such a cool and generous thing could be done without being in the press.

MB: Those years probably weren’t quite as wild as the Bronx Zoo years of the late 70s, but they were by no means calm. What was it like playing for George Steinbrenner in his heyday? Any thoughts on him stepping to the background now and allowing his sons to take over?

MP: The Boss was the best, no question. He was the best at taking care of his investment. He was the best at checks and balances, and he always knew what he had in the system. And that’s a much different scenario than today. Back then, we had the most players in the Major Leagues (coming from the Yankees’ system) and we had the best player development system in the world. Facts that are indisputable even with the abundance of players, fields, training methods in the industry today.

I believe the family will do just as good a job because they are all incredibly intelligent and driven; that’s kind of in the blood. I truly wish them the best of luck. Funny thing is, I feel so grateful that the Boss gave me the opportunity to put my kids through college. If he were to ask me to do anything in the world, I’d do it, and wouldn’t ask for compensation. The Steinbrenner family has no idea what it means to me that I can provide for my children and I’m so fortunate and forever grateful. That’s what the Boss means to me.

MB: In your Yankee career you played for three of the most interesting and well-liked men in Yankee history: Yogi, Billy, and Lou Piniella. What was it like playing for them? Were Billy and Lou as temperamental as they seemed? Lou was just getting his start as a manager then, how much of his style did he borrow from his mentor Billy?

MP: Billy and Lou were very much alike. I loved playing for both of them. Tremendous offensive managers and they could see the field so well. Both Lou and Billy had game plans and it was pretty difficult to outsmart them. Yogi was different in that he didn’t scream and holler as much. But to me, they were all in the same category of baseball knowledge and gamesmanship. I was lucky to have played for such great men.

MB: Is it true that Billy tried to get you to bat right handed at some point? I can’t seem to find any record of that happening in a game.

MP: Yes, I batted right handed once against Detroit. In 1985, we played a simulated game at Yankee Stadium for one of our pitchers, Marty Bystrom, who was on the DL. Simulated games normally take place at 3 PM, prior to batting practices. On this day Scott Bradley (now the Princeton baseball coach) was the left handed hitter and we needed a right handed hitter. So I volunteered. Simulated games, if done properly, are helpful and the coaching staff at the time, which included Billy, didn’t want me to do it. They wanted the game to be very serious. After I reassured them I was serious and that I’d switch hit in high school, college, and my first year as a pro, they let me hit right handed off of Bystrom. Well, I got something like four hits with a ball off the right field wall.

The coaches couldn’t believe it and Billy was pissed at me. He said I should stay right handed and continue switch hitting. The real reason for that was Billy liked me in there every day as he felt our team defense was much better with me at third base. The next road trip was to Detroit and in a tie game in the sixth inning, he handed me a helmet for a right handed hitter. I honestly didn’t want to do it because I didn’t feel I was prepared but I didn’t want to get taken out of the game either. I ended up doing it and struck out. Billy caught a ton of crap for that, but I know what he was thinking. It wasn’t a bad move if I’d have been prepared and actually, it was quite ingenious.

MB: Didn’t you once break your nose on an HBP and return to the line-up the next day? Tell us a little about that.

MP: On a Friday night in Oakland I was hit in the face by a Curt Young fastball. Actually the ball glanced off my wrist first as I tried to block it. It wasn’t Young’s fault; it was mine. A good lesson for young kids is knowing how to turn on the ball coming from the pitcher. I turned the wrong way when I opened up attempting to hit an inside fastball, but the ball just chased me and knocked my nose from one side to the next. It was pretty ugly actually.

I remember Lou Piniella was the manager and he was the first person I saw when they took the towel from my face. After about 10-15 minutes on the ground, they stood me up and took the towel away from my face. I first saw Lou and he said “Oh my God” then turned away. Young had a three run lead and got sick to his stomach, he had to be taken out of the game. Then they took me in a stretcher to the training room and then the hospital until 2 AM.

Saturday was a day game and I was still bleeding from my mouth and nose. I couldn’t stay on the bench; I guess I was too much of a distraction. On Sunday I was very anxious and requested to play. I didn’t care how I did, my goal was to simply get back in the flow. Lou put me in the lineup and they pasted these bandages on my face for the game. Well, the bandages helped because it actually fixed my alignment at the plate and improved my swing. After that, I went on a pretty good tear.

MB: Any favorite story or memory from your Yankee years that you’d like to share?

MP: Sure, I’ll give you the one that’s the best. A few years ago they asked all the former Yankees, “What was your best day as a Yankee?” Players were reminiscing about their 5 for 5 days and near no-hitters. But, mine was easier than that. It was my first Old Timers’ Game when I was a player on the team. Joe DiMaggio was in my locker and Whitey Ford was right near him. Yogi, Hank Bauer, Moose Skowron, etc, etc. DiMaggio was talking to me but I couldn’t say a word. It was Joe DiMaggio for God’s sake.

Then there was a quiet in the locker room as Billy Martin and Mickey Mantle came walking through the middle of the place. All of a sudden, all everyone could hear was Mickey’s voice as he lifted his arm and pointed his finger at me, Hey Billy, is that the guy?” Well, I wasn’t sure what I did wrong but I was ready to apologize for anything. When the god of New York says something to you, you shut up and listen.

Then they walked towards me and I felt a feeling of panic set in and I didn’t know what to do. Mickey Mantle reaches his arm around my neck and gets me in a headlock. He was wrestling me to the ground! Then he pulled me into the trainers’ room which was across the locker room and began to hit me with light punches in my sides. Just then, he and Billy began laughing as Mickey said, “Hey kid what’s up? How are you? Love the way you play and glad to have you on board.”

Mickey Mantle had just wrestled me to the ground and pulled me out ofJoe DiMaggio’s locker (which was mine) to tell me he liked the way Iplayed baseball. Can there ever be a better day than that?

MB: In July of 1989 you were traded to San Diego. What was that experience like for you after having been in the Yankees organization since being drafted in 1981?

MP: I did not like leaving New York. I felt it was my home, and the place that gave me a professional baseball life through an opportunity. I’ll never forget that, and I’ll always be grateful to the Steinbrenner family and the personnel working for the Yankees. I would not have wanted to start my career any other way.

MB: Some Yankee fans have been critical of your group’s role in the Kei Igawa signing. What’s your side of the story on this issue? Do you think Kei Igawa could succeed as a Major League pitcher, perhaps outside of the AL East?

MP: Let me correct you on that. Yankee fans know exactly what they’re looking at because they love researching the players. I suggest they weren’t real Yankee fans. Because in this instance, those same people don’t know how Matsui was acquired and they probably think I had nothing to do with Matsui either! I did the work and got all the information on Matsui and advised on all the other Japan negotiations. That’s a fact. It saved the Yankees about $8 million and helped developed the relationships they currently have there too. When the front office wanted little Matsui (Kaz Matsui) I was the only one who said no, and with good reason. I’ve got a good reason for all my decisions.

Then they changed the process for signing Pacific Rim players when Igawa was available: no more conference calls and no more collaborative meetings. Kei Igawa could succeed as a Major League pitcher. Keep in mind my business is consulting and players have roles determined by the various MLB teams. Igawa could play, but not for the New York Yankees. Igawa could play for a second-division type club and on the back end of the rotation. His success would not be good either. But, if you look at the talent out there and you’ve got pitchers in their forties getting extensions because the talent development isn’t like it once was, he (Igawa) can most definitely play.

The rest is history. My group has projected more than $350 million of player contract value and has never been wrong. We are the foremost leader in projecting risk of injury and talent for championship roles. I’ve got data to back all research findings for risk of injury and skill value. Assigning a player to a role is a piece of cake. Do you actually think I’d still be working if I was wrong about a player when millions of dollars are on the line? Our prediction models and research far exceeds most MLB teams because it’s all we focus on. We have to be right, so we don’t scout. We use a unique system capable of measuring performance and projecting risk. I’m really not sure with all those millions why other teams aren’t doing the same.

MB: What’s going on with the Baseline Group these days? What are your plans for the future of the organization?

MP: The plan is to help support the foundation of baseball. That is done by understanding the core elements of how the game was built, and then protecting those interests: Ownership, fans, players. Leadership provides the environment. Players compete at a high level of skill to provide unique value. Fans justify that value. The focus is those areas and they’re all connected. They are the most significant part of the game; to think otherwise would be a mistake.

The future looks very bright, and with a little help we’ll be able to purchase a minor league team and implement development as owners so that other ownership groups can benefit. The main benefit would be to create transparency for owners. I believe things are the way they are because the metrics associated with measuring value stinks. Baseball is the only industry that is unable to value the core assets of its businesses; that is a shame. The owners, fans, and players deserve more and it doesn’t start with money because everyone doesn’t have money. It begins with respect.

MB: At the ceremonies prior to the final game at Yankee Stadium, you were featured in the montage of former Yankee third basemen. Were you watching that night? What was that honor like for you?

MP: I missed the ceremonies last year, I’m sorry to say. But I have fond memories always. That day might have been the greatest but it comes second to the people I was able to share baseball and friendship with all around the Stadium. Honestly, I can see that batting cage as clear as a bell, and feel the fans along the third base line, and picture The Boss pacing around his suite, pacing because he always wanted to win so very badly. Those memories will never fade, because the fans won’t let it. I thank them for the great honor of recognizing me and keeping those thoughts in the front of my mind. I’m reminded today everywhere I travel by New York Yankee fans. It’s the greatest feeling.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

An interview with international scout (and former Yank) Mike Pagliarulo

In case you don’t know, July 2nd is when teams can begin to sign international players who aren’t draft eligible as free agents. Most players come from Latin America, but in recent years we’ve seen teams scour Australia, Asia and even parts of Europe for talent. The players must be at least 16-yrs old to sign but, as always, there are some loopholes that could be exploited. Jesus Montero is the Yanks best international signing of late, and big leaguers Melky Cabrera, Robbie Cano, Chien-Ming Wang and Mariano Rivera were all acquired this way in the past.

You can read Ben’s stuff at BA’s site, and you could also follow him on Twitter for more prospect info than you can handle. I think I speak for all of the RABiverse when I say that I greatly appreciate Ben taking time from his hectic schedule to drop some knowledge on us. Here we go…

Mike: The worst kept secret on the international market this year is the Yankees’ interest in catcher Gary Sanchez, and in fact it seems like he’s all but signed on the dotted line. What can you tell us about him, and what kind of bonus is he looking at?

Ben: Sanchez is the top catching prospect this year from Latin America. Anyone I talked to about Sanchez leading up to July 2 figured he would sign with the Yankees, and now it looks like he’s going to sign with them for a bonus of around $3 million (the exact number isn’t clear), which will probably be the third-highest bonus for a Latin American player this year after Miguel Sano and Wagner Mateo. There is another Dominican catcher who is looking at a considerable bonus by the name of Jacob Beltre, but most scouts with whom I have spoken think Sanchez is the better all-around prospect. Some scouts I have talked to aren’t quite as impressed as the Yankees apparently are; he’s got the arm strength, the quick release and he can crush the ball in BP, but some of them aren’t sold on him hitting in games. But the Yankees have seen him more than anyone, and if they’re going to give him approximately $3 million, I’m sure they’re comfortable with his ability to hit in games, either presently or in the future.

How does Sanchez compare to the patron saint of Latin American catching prospects, Jesus Montero?

It’s not a given that Sanchez will stay at catcher, but I think he has a better chance to stay behind the plate than Montero because of his tools and athleticism, although there has been some concern from scouts in recent months about Sanchez’s body, so I think he’s going to have to stay on top of his conditioning. Still, his arm is stronger than Montero’s and his pop times are quicker as well. The problem is that his receiving skills and his footwork still need to improve, so making progress in those areas is going to be vital for Gary. Sanchez has considerable offensive potential, but his bat isn’t in Montero’s class. Then again, there are few players who can hit like Montero.

We’ve also seen the Yanks loosely connected to outfielder Guillermo Pimentel, although last month you reported that the Rangers were the favorites to land him. How does he compare to last year’s Latin American darlings, Rafael & Yorman Rodriguez?

Well, now it looks like the Mariners are the favorites to sign Pimentel. I heard in spring training that the Mariners liked him, but by the time I wrote my first July 2 preview in May, everyone I talked to about Pimentel said he was going to sign with the Rangers. Rafael Rodriguez and Yorman Rodriguez were solid players, but the scouts I spoke with last year never understood what all the fuss was about them. Rafael Rodriguez is a big guy with raw power, but he never showed much feel for hitting in game situations. Yorman Rodriguez–and I saw him once this year as well–is a great athlete with plus-plus speed and a great body to project on, but scouts say his bat also needs a lot of work. Pimentel sounds like a more advanced hitter than either of those guys, as do several of this year’s top July 2 hitters. Pimentel’s swing is short and direct to the ball, and he has very good power for a 16-year-old kid.

Any other hitters connected to the Yanks that we should know about?

Man, I hope you guys don’t hate this answer. Mike, you sent me these questions at least a week ago, and I tried to hold out as long as I could until I got some reliable information on who the Yankees had atop their wish list after Sanchez. If you asked me this question at this time last year, I would have had more information. But this year’s July 2 market has been slow to develop (probably because of the economy, MLB’s stricter investigations, new teams getting involved in Latin America, among other variables), and it seems especially so for what the Yankees plan to do. They should sign Sanchez, but other than him, it’s really not clear which hitters they are going to target. The talk I’ve heard within the industry is that the Yankees are expected to make some of their moves between Monday and Thursday (same with many other teams), but there is also talk that some teams might hold back until after July 2 for some of these players’ prices to drop. There are rumors out there, but I’m always cautious to believe anything I hear, and I’d be skeptical of anything I read as well.

There’s no Michael Ynoa this year, no pitcher who stands head and shoulders above his peers both literally and figuratively. Who are some of this year’s notable arms?

Scouts say it’s a down year for pitching in Latin America, but frankly, there are always going to be good arms that will seemingly come out of nowhere. For me, the two that stand out are Venezuelan lefthander Juan Urbina and Dominican righthander Johendi Jiminian. Yes, Urbina is Ugueth’s son, and it shows in his advanced mechanics and feel for pitching. He’ll probably sign with the Mets. Jiminian is another guy with advanced mechanics and feel for pitching, and he’ll throw 88-90 mph with a better curveball than most 16-year-olds have to offer. There will be some other players who have a chance to get comparable or even more money, but reports from the scouts I have spoken with are generally positive on those two players.

The Yanks have done a nice job landing less heralded pitchers like Jairo Heredia and Arodys Vizcaino the last few years. Have you heard them being in on any intriguing arms?

The Yankees’ recent history has been to get their pitching in the draft and use Latin America to go for the bats, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they landed one of the big-name arms out there. Again, I wish I had more information, but most people I talk to say the Yankees are taking longer than usual to make their moves, so I don’t have any firm information to pass along. I’m extremely hesitant to link a player to a team because there is so much misinformation that gets spread about July 2 prospects, and I would prefer to not be part of the problem. I’m a big Vizcaino fan, by the way, and I’m expecting a breakout performance at some point in the near future.

How good is Miguel Sano really? His agent Rob Plummer described him as “a Hanley Ramirez body and the possible upside of an Albert Pujols-type bat,” but that can’t possibly be true, can it?

Sano will get a lot of money, and the latest rumblings from Latin America is that his bonus could be comparable to or possibly surpass the $4.25 million the A’s gave Michael Ynoa last year. With any 16-year-old player from Latin America, you’re going to get divergent opinions from scouts because of how young the players are and because of the context in which they have to be scouted. But I’ve had several international scouting directors tell me that Sano is one of the best prospects they have ever seen from Latin America. If the economy was better, he’d break Ynoa’s bonus record easily. There are teams that would sign him for $2 million, $2.5 million, but since the bidding is going to be much higher than that, they’ve just dropped out of the race and reallocated their resources to scouting other players. His body, his swing, his power, his athleticism and his arm are all highly advanced for his age, so he has monster upside. There are teams that have scouted Sano since he was 14 years old, but there’s risk involved with any 16-year-old prospect, especially one from Latin America.

If he was draft eligible this year, where would he have been drafted?

With this year’s draft, it’s hard to say. Our draft gurus here at Baseball America ranked BC catcher Tony Sanchez as the No. 32 prospect in the draft, yet the Pirates took him fourth overall. After Stephen Strasburg and Dustin Ackley, teams’ draft boards were all over the place. Who knows? I’ll bet there are people in the Pirates organization that like Sano more than Sanchez, so maybe he goes fourth overall, but there is an elevated level of risk involved in any 16-year-old player. I can’t imagine he’d last beyond the middle to the end of the first round, though.

What in the world ever happened to Edward Salcedo? He was supposedly the best thing since sliced bread, but now he’s seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth. If he was as good as advertised, someone would have signed him by now, right?

I have never received a definitive answer on Salcedo. He was one of the top prospects in the Dominican Republic a couple years ago after emerging as a late pop-up guy (which is usually bad news), but there were all sorts of questions about him, and he’s still unsigned. I’m not aware of any teams who are interested in signing him right now and he’s not a player I’ve heard anyone in Latin America talking about recently.

Last question, but it’s only half serious. A few years back the Yanks signed a young Dominican southpaw named Melvin Croussett, who has done nothing but crush the competition in the Dominican Summer League for the last three years. He’s a cult hero at RAB. Can you tell us anything about him?

I have never spoken to a scout about Croussett, so I couldn’t tell you.

For shame. Thanks again for taking the time to chat with us.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

July 2nd Signing Period Q&A with Ben Badler

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

ESPN’s Sunday Conversation with Mariano Rivera

1) Is the Nate McLouth acquisition enough, or the Braves have to swing a move for another outfielder? Any chance Jordan Schafer makes a return appearance later on?

The McLouth trade was a great start, and a surprising one in which we didn’t give up anything that we needed from our minor league system for at least the next two years. But no, it doesn’t seem to be enough. The question we keep asking ourselves is, “do we wait for the guys currently on the team to start hitting, or do we jettison some of them for more of a sure thing.” Just about everyone in Atlanta has had enough of Jeff Francoeur, and just about any mediocre replacement player would be better than him. I don’t think Frenchy is in an Atlanta uniform next season, one way or another.

Another problem with adding another bat, is that we can’t really add that much more salary. This is why the McLouth deal was a good move (he’s signed affordably), and this is also why we will probably see Schafer again (he’s currently out with a hand injury that he actually suffered pretty early in the season),

2) What’s the general feel for Kelly Johnson? His OPS is down over 100 points from last year and 150 points from 2007. Is he just suffering from some bad luck (.250 BABIP way down from the past two years)? It seems like his Iso-D and Iso-P are right in line with 08 and 07…

Like I said in the previous answer, he’s one of the guys we keep waiting on to start hitting. If Omar Infante were not on the DL right now, there’s little doubt that Johnson would not be starting, and that might happen when Omar returns next month. So Kelly’s got a few weeks to put it together, but he seems to have gotten the Jeff Francoeur disease. I’m not sure advanced stats can measure what’s wrong with KJ, it’s more about watching him every day and seeing him pop up or ground out when last year he would have hit a line drive somewhere. Kelly’s a guy who, once he figures it out (if he does), can go on an absolute tear and carry the team for a week or two (and again, we’re still waiting on that to happen).

3) As the Braves blog of record, what is your recommended course of action regarding Jeff Francoeur?

DFA.

But seriously, I offered the Red Sox blogger last week to trade him Francoeur for a pair of Monster seats. I guess I should offer you guys the same deal, Francoeur for a pair of reasonably priced Yankees tickets (do reasonably priced Yankees tickets exist?).

But seriously, seriously, the Braves are trying everything they can to trade him and the sooner the better. In the end, I think we’ll end up releasing him this off-season, and every team knows that so they’re not going to give us anything for him.

4) A.J. Burnett at five years, $80 million, or Derek Lowe at four years, $60 million?

With the injury problems we’ve had the last few years in our starting rotation, I’ll take Lowe and his streak of 7-straight years making 32 starts over Burnett and his streak of only performing well in contract years.

5) To follow up one of your questions, what do you think a fair price, from the Braves’ standpoint, would be for Xavier Nady?

How about Jeff Francoeur? I kid, I kid. If Nady proves he’s healthy and can hit, I would say a guy like Jo-Jo Reyes straight-up or Brandon Jones straight-up — sort of a B prospect who’s major league ready or almost there. Nady’s a free agent at the end of the year, so he’d be purely a rental, and I wouldn’t think you’d get too much for him, unless a team was just desperate.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Braves series preview with Talking Chop

As I poked around the site on Saturday, I dropped a link to it on Twitter via both the River Ave. Blues account and my personal feed. It was re-Tweeted all over the place, and one RAB reader wanted to know if prints of the graphics were available.

I inhaled the site. The combination of interesting graphics and baseball made for a good amount of high-quality wasted time over the weekend. Take a look, for example, at the height of the Green Monster as compared to some well-known landmarks, the directional orientation of home plate at every stadium and the amount of travel the Royals have to do this season. The rest are equally as entertaining.

After looking at a few graphics and poking around the site, I realized that Craig Robinson, the man behind Flip Flop Fly Ball was a Yankee fan and a River Ave. Blues reader. In fact, he sent us the ticket prices infographic a few months ago. I e-mailed Craig yesterday, and he answered a few questions about himself and the infographics. The interview follows. Be sure to visit the site as well.

What inspired you to develop the infographics at Flip Flop Fly Ball?

The main reason is that I’m relatively new to the game (I’ve never known a World Series-winning Yankees team), and I was finding it difficult to retain so much information about the Yankees and the sport in general. For whatever reason, I found it easier to remember team relocations and stuff if I made charts and graphs. It spiraled out of that.

I saw you recently added an amusing new one on the felonious side of stolen bases. How often do you plan to produce new sports infographics? From where do you derive ideas for the new graphics?

Hopefully, I’ll be doing a new one every week. That may not be the case in the next month or so, unfortunately, as my wife and I just split up and, without a green card, I’ll be leaving the country soon. Ideas tend to pop up just from little things I see watching games. Just seeing Chief Wahoo; one day it just seemed an obvious question: How many native Americans live in the Cleveland area?

As a big fan of Bruce Springsteen, I loved the one entitled Really Fantasy Baseball in which the Wu Tang Clan, behind a complete game by RZA, tops the E Street Band for Eastern Division champions. What’s your personal favorite? Which ones were the most fun to make?

I’d agree that the Wu vs. E Street one is definitely one of my favourites. Mostly because I enjoyed spending a day working out how each half-inning was played out. The Cleveland Indians one is probably my favourite, though; it just seems to sum up the ridiculousness of their name quite nicely.

Tell me a little about your background. I understand from your website that you are a UK native who spent some time in Bellingham, Washington but you are a Yankee fan. How did you find your way to both baseball and the Yanks?

Yeh, I was born in the UK, lived most of the last decade in Berlin, Germany. Until last weekend, I lived in Bellingham and went to see Mariners games. I’m returning to Berlin shortly, but hopefully, I’ll be breaking the piggy bank to try to get a ticket to see my first game at the new Yankee Stadium, ironically, against the Mariners. I’d always been primarily a soccer fan, but I was on a business trip, and one of the people I was working with was an NY-based lifelong Yankees fan. His colleague was a Mets fan. When I expressed an interest in going to see a baseball game, I left it up to them to fight it out whether I’d be going to the Bronx or Shea. The Yankees fan was on it right away, and I went to a fairly pedestrian defeat at the hands of the Twins, but, I know it’s a cliche, I fell in love straight away. The sport just seems so perfectly beautiful. The next day, I watched a Yankeeography of Mickey Mantle on YES in my hotel room, and, well, the rest is a history of very late nights watching live streaming games on MLB.com, and more recently, having people in Washington continually reminding me that the “Yankees suck!”

Can you preview any upcoming FFFB infographics? And at the request of some readers, do you plan to offer prints of the infographics for sale?

Once I get my life sorted out again, I’d love to do some prints. I’m working on a few new ones at the moment. Once this current round of Interleague play is done with, I’ve got one about how each league’s teams fared in the history of Interleague play; a Venn diagram about the origins of team nicknames; a history of Japanese teams in a style like the history of the NL and AL teams; and a more research-intensive one, looking at how much of each team’s opening day roster were homegrown/traded/free agents.

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I’m looking forward to the new graphics. In the meantime, the current ones provide enough of a distraction. A big RAB thanks to Craig as he gets everything straightened out.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Baseball, explored infographically

As sports fans in New York, we pretend not to know much about Philadelphia and their teams. There is, of course, a bitter rivalry between Eagles and Giants fans, between Northern Jersey residents and Philadelphians, between Santa Claus and batteries. We know that cheese steaks are delicious — provolone is the way to go — and Philadelphia could become a surrogate sixth borough if this whole high-speed rail thing happens. But what about the Phillies?

To prepare for the weekend, Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley e-mailed me about doing previews on each other’s sites. My Yankees preview went live on his site last night, and you can find it here. Below are Bill’s answers to my questions. Bring on the Phillies, I say. We can handle ‘em.

1. I know that New York and Philadelphia sports fans have a rather uneasy relationship. There’s no love lost between fans of the Giants and fans of the Eagles. But considering the esteem in which Yankee fans generally hold the Mets, shouldn’t Yankee fans also root for the Phillies?

Crashburn Alley: For some reason, I had a feeling you were going to ask this question. I’ve been thinking about it since I first e-mailed you, and I still don’t have a great answer. Personally, I don’t really buy into the whole “you have to hate these guys, no matter what” credo, so to me, it doesn’t matter who you root for as long as you’re not a Mets fan. Apply that to a Yankees fan… yadda yadda, as long as you’re not a Mets fan. So, with my convoluted logic, Yankees fans should hope for the Mets’ demise, even if it comes at the hands of the Phillies.

The Phillies and Yankees don’t play each other much aside from this thing they call interleague play, so the Phillies’ success doesn’t hamper the Yankees’ playoff hopes any aside from the three games every three years.

2. When Ruben Amaro let Pat Burrell walk and then signed Raul Ibanez to a three-year deal, most baseball fans considered this a bad sign. Who’s laughing now and how long will Ibanez keep this up?

CA: No one doubted Raul’s ability to hit, but the signing was ill-advised for a number of reasons:

• His age: He’s owed $31.5 million from 2009-11, his age 37-39 seasons. He might be hitting great so far, but there’s no guarantee that 38- or 39-year-old Raul will.
• His handedness: Another lefty in the Phillies lineup? Lefty overload! Ibanez’s presence in the lineup gives manager Charlie Manuel less flexibility, and necessitates that Jayson Werth (the only feared right-handed batter in the lineup) break up the trio of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Ibanez.
• The contract, at the time, set the market value for all-hit, bad-fielding corner outfielders like Burrell and Adam Dunn. By signing Ibanez that early, they guaranteed that they’d be paying nearly top-dollar.
• Of the slugging, poor-fielding corner outfielders available in free agency, Ibanez was arguably out of the top three. Despite what the numbers from the first 40 games of the season might tell you, signing Burrell or Dunn, even at the deal Ibanez got, would have been a better bang for the buck.

As I wrote at Baseball Daily Digest:

There’s little Ibanez can do in his first season to justify the contract. Sure, he could OPS+ 170 and perhaps save a couple babies from a burning building, but other than that, the contract was illogical and we’ll have to wait out at least two of the three seasons before passing judgment. Certainly, we’ll have to wait more than the first five weeks.

3. The Phillies recently DFA’d Miguel Cairo, a one-time favorite of Joe Torre. After getting around 16 ABs over the first six weeks of the season, the Phillies brain trust decided enough was enough. How do you feel about the Phillies’ roster this year?

CA: Like every other Phillies fan, I have my own idea as to what Amaro should have done with the roster. However, I give Amaro a lot of credit for how he handled the off-season: making small, but effective trades as well as handling eight tough arbitration cases.

What I would have done, though, was allow John Mayberry — a slugging right-handed corner outfielder — to start the season on the 25-man roster instead of wasting that spot with Cairo, who presented absolutely no value to the team.

The Phillies still need a right-handed bat. Any time they notice that, Mayberry is down there in AAA Lehigh Valley. He’s just a phone call away.

Regarding Jack Taschner, I realize that the Phillies needed a lefty out of the pen and Taschner was a last-ditch effort to fill that void, but they could have done better. Will Ohman took decades to sign with a team, and was even rumored to be interested in joining the Phillies. When that never came to fruition, Amaro claimed the payroll was maxed out. Well, Ohman only signed for $1.55 million for one year with the Dodgers. Cairo is slated to make a half-million this season. The World Champions didn’t have a cool million to spare?

Even if they didn’t, they could have paid all but $1 million of Geoff Jenkins’ or Adam Eaton’s contract and attached a mediocre Minor Leaguer so that some team would see the warm bodies and have no problem helping the Phillies clear $1 million of payroll space.

Joe Beimel is another name I was hoping would be in the Phillies’ red pinstripes, but alas, like Dunn, he is a National.

4. The Phillie Phanatic: Great mascot or the greatest mascot?

CA: The Phanatic shoots hot dogs out of a gun. That’s a big plus in my book, even if you’re not a mascot.

5. When the Phillies won the World Series in October, they did so under controversial circumstances. The team tied Game 5 amidst a torrential downpour and then had to wait nearly 48 hours to complete the suspended game. Bud Selig didn’t know what to do, but Phillies fans didn’t care. After 28 years, the World Championship was theirs. How does it feel to win a title after such a long drought? What are your expectations for this season’s title defense?

CA: At the time, I thought Bud Selig botched it horribly, and I still think that. It’s not that hard to hop on “teh interwebs” and type in “weather in philadelphia tonight” and see that the forecasts called for rain, rain, rain. Oh, and rain as well.

Regardless, Selig A) decided to allow the game to begin, and B) when it did begin to rain, he did nothing to halt play, instead waiting for the game to be tied before leaving his seat.

If the Phillies had lost that game, I would have gone Jack Nicholson in The Shining on him.

6. Bonus: Predict this weekend’s series. The Sunday Sabathia-Hamels match-up should be a good one indeed.

CA: Game 1, Myers vs. Burnett: Myers has been pitching well lately, and Burnett has not. Still, it’ll probably be a slugfest given the lefty-heavy lineups and the lefty-friendly ballpark. 9-7 Phillies.

Game 2, Happ vs. Pettitte: Happ has been pitching long relief so far this season, so he may not have the durability to go more than four or five innings. And he’s no Cole Hamels, either, so he’s going to get a few balls tagged. A more moderate affair than the Myers/Burnett game, so I’ll put the Yankees down as the victors here… 6-3. Quality start from Andy.

Game 3, Hamels vs. Sabathia: Both have been pitching much better after shaky beginnings. When I was on Pro Baseball Central a few weeks ago, they laughed at me when I said that Cole Hamels was in the same conversation as pitchers like Sabathia, Johan Santana and Tim Lincecum. Perhaps you’re laughing along with Steve Keane and Joe McDonald. But I’ll be the one laughing on Sunday! Cole wins a close one, 3-1 and goes eight strong innings.

(Predictions extracted directly from my crystal ball. Forward all litigation to my lawyer.)

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So there you go. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed rooting for the Phillies. I developed a fondness for the team after four years of college just a few miles from the ballpark. This weekend, though, my loyalties lie firmly with the Yankees and their current nine-game winning streak.

Thanks to Bill for answering my questions, and be sure to check out Crashburn Alley for all of your Phillies needs.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Previewing the weekend with Crashburn Alley

Head over to read the whole thing — I can’t possibly do it justice without completely reprinting it. However, there were a couple of parts I found particularly interesting. The first of which is Giambi’s reply to the question of how he views himself as a defensive first baseman. I didn’t know what to expect after reading the question, but it certainly wasn’t this: “I view myself as great.” Yeah, right. Tyler’s talking about playing first base, Jason, not about chugging Jack. Jay at Fack Youk takes a closer look at this statement.

Most interesting, though, is the revelation that Giambi very well might not have been a Yankee had ownership not intervened. The A’s and Giambi apparently had a place in deal before the 2001 season which would have paid Big G around $90 million over six years.

Trust me, I wanted to stay in Oakland. We had a deal done. You can ask Billy Beane. It was my free agent year before the season started. And ownership at the time pulled the deal off the table. I had flown my parents out, my agent, everybody. A lot of people don’t know that.

That creates one massive what-if scenario. Looking at the list of free agents that year, there was really only one superstar bat available: Barry Bonds. Would the Yanks have pursued him to fill their left field void? He was, after all, fresh off a record-breaking season. The Giants ended up signing him for four years and $72 million with a $18 million club option, but without another blue-chip slugger on the market perhaps the Yankees would have put their resources towards Bonds.

Barring that, they could have gone forward with a Johnny Damon signing, putting him in left field. Considering the money they would have saved on Giambi, they could have as easily signed Rondell White, too, to play right field.

I love how one little interview sparks so many questions. We’ll never know how Yankee history would have unfolded had Giambi re-upped with the A’s in 2001. But it’s fun to think about for sure.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

Athletics Nation interviews Giambi

I asked Chad a bunch of questions about the Yanks’ minor league system, and he was kind enough to reply, in record time no less. Let’s get to it…

Prior to the Yanks coming to town, the Phillies occupied the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre market. With all due respect to the Phillies organization, they aren’t the Yankees and the buzz just isn’t the same. How different were things around the team this year with the Yanks compared to years past with the Phightin’s?

CJ: Even last winter, in the months after the affiliation swap and the months before the first pitch, this area was already buzzing. People were buying hats and shirts and tickets faster than anyone expected. When the season rolled around, the buzz didn’t stop. The team set a franchise record for paid attendance, but the actual attendance had to be a record as well. The place was pretty full every night, and the crowd was into every pitch. Add in the new grass and a few other improvements around the stadium and it really was a whole new atmosphere.

What was it like when Roger Clemens came through SWB during his “Spring Training” stint? I’m sure it was an absolute circus.

CJ: It was a zoo, but it wasn’t chaos. The place was big enough to handle all the media — and there was a LOT of media — and Clemens did his postgame press conference in the Yankees indoor batting cage. It all ran pretty smoothly. As for the crowd, it was outstanding, predictably the best of the year. Standing room only fans lined the wall above the lower level, and those fans got to see Clemens pitch well, got to see the Yankees win, and got to see it all in a little more than two hours. Couldn’t have asked for much more.

A baseball game that didn’t last four hours; what a novel idea. While we’re on the subject of big leaguers, how did Ron Villone and Andy Phillips take their early season demotion? What about Kei Igawa and Brian Bruney later in the year?

CJ: Villone and Phillips were outstanding. I always worry about those big league guys who barely miss 25-man cut, but those two could not have handled it any better. Villone is, honestly, one of the nicest guys I’ve met in this game. He never seemed upset, always seemed optimistic, and mixed well with the younger pitchers. You’ve probably heard all about what a nice guy Phillips is, so let me be one more person to say it’s true. He probably had the most reason to be upset but he never showed it. Every time I asked about it, he found a positive spin on being back in Triple-A. Good guys, both of them.

Igawa and Bruney, it was harder to tell with them. Igawa obviously has the language barrier, but he seemed generally upbeat and he never shied away from questions. Bruney wasn’t around for very long. I got the feeling he was mad about the demotion, but for the most part he seemed to just go about his business. I can’t really complain about any of those four. As for the rehab guys, all of them were accommodating. Giambi was outstanding and Mientkiewicz was quiet but easy to talk to. There really weren’t any bad guys in that clubhouse.

You got to see some of the Yanks’ great young pitchers this season, albeit briefly. What were your impressions of Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy, both on the field and in the clubhouse?

CJ: On the field, all three lived up to expectations. I know Hughes had some down moments in the big leagues, but in Triple-A he was pretty dominant. Chamberlain blew people away and Kennedy looked like a big league veteran the way he mixed pitches and hit his spots. All three were a lot of fun to watch.

Off the field, all three were pretty different from one another, but I found each to be easy to get along with. Hughes is kind of quiet and seems to shy away from all the attention. That said, even one his less-than-terrific days he was willing to answer every question. Good guy, just not an attention seeker. I actually wonder if he’ll do better with Chamberlain to take some of that prospect buzz off his shoulders.

As for Chamberlain, he’s easily the loudest of the three. He has an over-the-top personality that seems to fit with the stereotype of a closer’s mentality. Go figure. As for Kennedy, he just strikes me as a nice guy. I’m not sure how else to describe him. I talked to him a lot pregame, postgame and a few times away from the stadium and he was always the same. He’s smart, well-spoken and humble. His personality seems very different from Chamberlain, but those two seemed to be great friends. I think Kennedy could fit in anywhere with anyone.

Speaking of young pitchers, what was Chase Wright like in the aftermath of his 4-HR episode at Fenway? Did he seem shell-shocked or anything like that?

CJ: I’m not sure Chase Wright has ever been shell-shocked. He’s too laid back for something like that. When Wright came to Triple-A, fans would show up at the stadium and ask him to sign the Sports Illustrated picture of him giving up the fourth homer, and Wright never seemed bothered by it. I remember one night, Steven White was joking with Wright about never getting out of the record books, and Wright just kept laughing. I’m sure the home runs bothered him, but he moved on. He even wore No. 4 when he got back to the minors. He said it was because his brother wore No. 4, but he laughed at the irony of the number. I don’t think the episode in Boston is going to have any longterm impact on Wright’s career. He just needs to stop walking people. Once he gets over that, he’ll be fine.

Everyone seems to be really down on Eric Duncan nowadays, but he did tie for the team lead in doubles (26) and HR (11), and was second in walks (48). Does he seems to be down on himself at all? How has he looked overall?

CJ: We’ve heard Eric Duncan’s name for so long now, it’s easy to forget that he’s not yet 23 years old. True, the numbers have been disappointing, but there are those moments when Duncan drives a ball the other way or comes up with a big hit in a big moment and you see everything the Yankees saw when they drafted him. It seems to me that he was moved too quickly. Expectations were sky high and unless he got to New York by the time he was 22, he was never going to meet them. Duncan is a standup guy. He takes the blame on the bad nights, but he never seems down on himself. I still peg him as one of the better prospects in the system, not necessarily top 10, but certainly top 25.

You’re just about to wrap up your Prospect Watch series, where you rank the top 8 Yankee prospects at each position. Which players are you most looking forward to seeing come through SWB in the near future?

CJ:I want to see the relief guys. Cox. Melancon. Sanchez, who I think needs to move to the pen. Whelan. Those guys are all really interesting to me. This idea of developing relievers and not just converting starters is sort of new. It’s nice to see legit prospects working out of the pen.

Obviously Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata are worth seeing, and I want to see if Alan Horne can keep moving forward. I want to see the same thing from Steven White, who I’m really high on. Lower in the system, I want to see some of these infielders the Yankees are starting to stockpile. Snyder. Sublett. Suttle. Laird. Pruitt. Hilligoss. It should be interesting to see how that shakes out.

We all know the book on Brett Gardner: he gets on base a ton, runs really really fast, plays a good CF, but can’t drive the ball to save his life. Is he a slap hitter, or is it just a case of being unlucky or not strong enough? Did you notice a change in the team’s offense once he started hitting leadoff? Is his head really this big?

CJ: I’ll be honest, I never really noticed anything about the size of Brett’s head. I’ll be sure to check that out next year. As for his bat, he’s a lead-off guy. He does what lead-off guys are supposed to do. I’m not sure that hitting for power is something he tries to do. He gets on base and changes the game once he gets there. His speed really is outstanding, and he runs the bases well. On base, that’s probably his biggest advantage over Justin Christian. I’m not sure which one is faster, but Gardner strikes me as a better base runner.

As for Gardner’s ceiling, the way baseball is these days, it’s hard for a guy who shows no power to get much of a chance. Look at the terrific numbers for Michael Bourn, who couldn’t get off the bench in Philadelphia and was seen as a marginal player in the Brad Lidge trade. The trick for Gardner will be to get to New York as a reserve, then do enough things that the Yankees can’t take him out of the lineup. He makes an offense better — he certainly did that here, even though his numbers weren’t all that great — and he could surprise a lot of people. Even if he does settle in as a reserve, he’s a hell of a reserve to have around.

Let’s go from one guy who may have to settle for being a reserve to another. All we heard about Alberto Gonzalez after the Randy Johnson trade was how great he is defensively. Is he really that good? Is there any one play of his that really stands out to you?

CJ: He is absolutely that good. My eyes were opened in spring training when a hard-hit grounder bounced off the third baseman (Baldiris) and shot into the air. Gonzalez grabbed it out of the air with his bare hand and fired to first for an out. One of the best plays I’ve ever seen. During the year, he went behind second base one time, all the way to the first base side of the bag, to make an outstanding play. I also remember him charging a ball behind the pitcher for an impossible out. He’s just outstanding. And his bat was much improved after his demotion to Double-A. He makes all the routine plays — I believe he only had nine or 10 errors — and he makes the dazzling, did-you-see-that plays. If he can hit, at all, he’ll be a nice player, at least in a utility role.

Let’s do a lightning round; how about I throw out a name, and you tell me a little about the guy. Let’s start with Ross Ohlendorf.

CJ: Smart and engaging. That’s the first thing I think of when I think of Ross. You asked who I’m excited to see, and I’m excited to see Ohlendorf continue to develop out of the pen. When he started hitting 97 on the gun, I thought it was a mistake. Thing is, you don’t want him to lose that natural sink in favor of a few mph of velocity. If it’s a matter of adjustment, Ohlendorf seems better equipped to adjust than most pitchers.

Bronson Sardinha?

CJ: Make or break. I asked Butch Wynegar [Triple-A Scranton's hitting coach] about player’s swings once and he kept coming back to Sardinha. Such a sweet, natural stroke — and he hits the ball hard quite a bit — but he has to do more with it. He has a very laid back attitude and he might need to get more aggressive, but that’s just speculating. Bronson’s another stand-up guy, the Yankees seem to have a lot of those in the minors, but he need to get some results in the upper levels. No longer a top 30 prospect.

It still amazes me that Sardinha made the postseason roster. Jose Veras?

CJ: Forgotten. Even by me and I saw the man pitch quite a bit. Veras wasn’t that great when he came to Scranton this year, but he has that mid-90s fastball and the Yankees obviously like him. Why else would he get one of the first September call-ups? Thing is, if he’s no more than a back-of-the-bullpen pitcher, then he would be better off in another organization because the Yankees are loaded with guys who can fill that role. He has to prove he can pitch the seventh or the eighth.

You can never have enough relievers though. What about TJ Beam?

CJ: Also forgotten, but this time I’ll say not by me. I actually thought Beam would get a September call-up ahead of Veras last year, but his wife was having a baby so Beam went home. He was awfully good after he came back from that strained lat, and I think there’s still a lot to like about him. Last year, though, was a bad time to get hurt. He was right on the verge of the big leagues, now he’s just one of several legitimate upper-level relievers.

Justin Christian?

CJ: Overshadowed. Not only is he trying to work past being an undrafted guy signed out of independent ball, but he’s also trying to work past Brett Gardner, who is a very similar but younger player. Christian was terrific in Triple-A and made a huge impact at the top of the Yankees lineup, but next year he’s got to outshine Gardner (who’s a similar player) and Sardinha (who already has a spot on the 40-man). Not easy to do.

Matt DeSalvo?

CJ:I don’t have a one or two-word answer for DeSalvo. He’s an interesting guy — all the stories of him being a deep thinker and heavy reader are true — and on the mound he is what he is. He doesn’t overpower anyone, but he hits his spots and mixes his pitches and he gets results. He was terrific this season, and anyone who’s that good at Triple-A can never be counted out of the big league picture. Like Christian, though, DeSalvo has some bigger names ahead of him in the pecking order.

What about everyone’s favorite lefty, Sean Henn?

CJ: I have no clue what to make of Sean Henn, and I’m not sure the Yankees do either. I still think he can be a viable big league lefty, but he can’t be jerked around. What was he last year? Was he a lefty specialist, a long reliever, a spot starter, a middle reliever, a Triple-A starter? He did all of those things and I think being jerked from one role to the next hurt him.

Juan Francia?

CJ: Lightning in a bottle. After that red-hot start in Triple-A — he was unbelievable during that stretch — Francia came back to Earth in a big way. I just looked up his stats: He hit .167 in August and .250 in September. Granted, he wasn’t getting many at-bats, but still. Even without many middle infield options, I’m not sure Francia is a solution.

Let’s wrap this up with Angel Chavez, a guy who’s been with four organizations in the last three years.

CJ: Should bring him back [he's a free agent]. His defense is well above average at second, third and short and his bat has some pop. I’m not sure he can ever be an every day player in the big leagues, but I don’t doubt that he could eventually play a utility role. Aside from Alberto Gonzalez, the Yankees have no reliable middle infielders in the upper levels of the system. Guys like Angel Chavez are exactly what they need.

A big thanks goes out to Chad for taking the time to answer my questions. I enjoyed it, hope you all did too.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

RAB Exclusive: Interview with Chad Jennings

Prior to his gig at the Worldwide Leader, Law spent 4+ years in the Jays’ front office, serving as a Special Assistant to the General Manager. He’s also written at Baseball Prospectus. So yeah, not only are we honored to have him, I think it’s safe to say that he’s most qualified person to ever talk baseball here at RAB.

You can check out Keith’s baseball thoughts in a variety of ways at ESPN, including his blog, chats, and frequent television spots. You can also head over to his personal site to find his non-baseball musings.

I…ahem…sat down with Keith and asked him some questions about the upcoming First Year Player Draft, which is now barely a week away.

Who has been the most impressive draft-eligible player you’ve seen this spring? Why?

Jarrod Parker was the guy who really made me say “wow.” I had heard he was throwing hard, but what I hadn’t heard was how good his delivery was, or how advanced his slider is. If he can keep the ball down – or if he’s drafted by a team in a big park – he should be excellent.

Conversely, who’s been the least impressive big name player you’ve seen?

Matt Harvey wasn’t bad, but he was a lot less than advertised.

It’s probably worth mentioning that when I go to the ballpark, I *want* to be impressed. I like good players, and I like seeing kids who show ability. It’s exciting to stand behind the plate at a game and think, “I’m watching a future big leaguer.” But there is a lot of hype and hyperbole in amateur scouting, which leads to situations like my look at Harvey – he’s a talented kid, but he didn’t live up to the billing.

In one of your recent columns you mentioned prep catcher Devin Mesoraco; could you tell us a little more about him? How is his game compared to those of Yasmani Grandal and Travis d’Arnaud? Do any of them have a chance to stay behind the plate in the bigs? Would any be an overdraft for the Yanks at #30?Â

I think Mesoraco is the top prep catcher in the country, and he wouldn’t be an overdraft at #30. The thing about Mesoraco is that he’s far less polished than Grandal (who can really catch and throw, but some teams don’t think he’ll hit – I do) or d’Arnaud. Mesoraco is a good athlete who has some natural feel for the game, but who’s cut his teeth playing Little Sisters of the Poor and Back Country Prep. One name to remember also is Mike Moustakas, a California shortstop/pitcher whom a lot of folks (myself included) think is an ideal guy to convert to catcher. He shouldn’t be there at 30, but he’s a Boras client and may fall on signability.Â
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What do you think of Jack McGeary? Will he be worth the huge bonus that’ll be needed to buy him out of his Stanford commitment?

I just wrote him up, so I’ll just refer you to the blog. I know the rumored bonus demands, but I would love to verify it with the kid or his advisor.

There doesn’t seem to be much consensus on Kellen Kulbacki – he’s putting up monster numbers for the second straight year (.398-.538-.785, 19 HR, 49 RBI, 56 BB, 29 K, 9 for 11 in SB attempts this year), but scouts are quick to discredit his performance because of Madison’s ballpark. What are you’re thoughts on him and where do you see him being drafted?

It’s not just his park – he’s a bat-only guy who doesn’t have great bat speed and who struggles against breaking stuff. He didn’t hit well on the Cape at all, which I think is a huge test for guys who put up huge numbers with a metal bat in a bad conference. I think in all likelihood, he’s a bench guy in the big leagues, or maybe an up-and-down guy. In an ordinary college draft, he’d be a 5th- or 6th-rounder, but he could go in the 3rd/4th because of the lack of college bats.

Mike Moustakas is really picking up some helium of late, how does he compare to Josh Vitters? Is there much of a difference between the two?

Very different guys. Vitters is the one high school bat in this class whom I think could move very, very quickly, and he doesn’t need a position switch. Moustakas isn’t a shortstop, and I don’t know that he has the HR power of Vitters – he’s more of a line-drive guy.

Justin Jackson and JP Arencibia went from possible top 15 picks to sandwich round hopefuls this spring. Have you seen either, and what did they do to hurt their stock?

Arencibia was hurt, and a few people I know said he hasn’t played with much energy since returning, even defensively, which means he’s probably not 100% physically. That said, I wasn’t blown away by him last summer when he mostly played 1b/dh for Team USA (at least during the week I saw them) – he’s got to catch and throw to be worth a top 30 pick.

I think Jackson ended up a little overhyped after the showcases last summer. He’s a good defensive shortstop who can run, but he doesn’t have a first-round bat. I had him WAY too high on early rankings, but that was before my scout in the Carolinas had seen him.

Given Jorge Posada‘s age, many of my fellow Yankee fans are holding out hope that OSU’s Mitch Canham is still available when they pick at #30 – is he worthy of a first round pick, or is he just riding the wave of position scarcity?

He’s an offensive catcher who has had some “minor” shoulder issues. #30 wouldn’t be an overdraft, but the Yankees should be aiming higher than Canham – he’s not a star-caliber player, and they should be using their financial resources to go after star-caliber guys, in my opinion.

Have you picked up on any sleepers during your travels? Went to go see Player A, but it ended up being Player B that grabbed your attention, etc?

That really doesn’t happen at the amateur level, at least not for the type of players we’re covering at ESPN (top 5 rounds/top 150-200 players). When you go to see a high school game, you’re almost always going to see one player, and often, everyone else on the field is overshadowed.

The one guy this spring whom I put a good number on even though I hadn’t had his name going in was Arizona State 2b Eric Sogard. That kid is a ballplayer – he can hit, can really play his position, has surprising pop, and has a great feel for the game. He reminds me of Aaron Hill in a lot of ways, not quite the hitter for average that I think Hill could be, but otherwise very similar.

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

RAB Exclusive: Interview with Keith Law