River Avenue Blues

A Russ Canzler reunion makes sense for the Yankees

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The Orioles designated 27-year-old utility man Russ Canzler for assignment yesterday, meaning he should hit the waiver wire relatively soon. Probably within a day or two. The Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Indians over the winter only to lose him to Baltimore when they signed Travis Hafner. At this point a reunion makes sense for New York.

Canzler, 27, is a career .271/.304/.396 (91 wRC+) hitter in 102 big league plate appearances, which isn’t enough to tell us anything. He has hit .276/.369/.430 (119 wRC+) in 374 Triple-A plate appearances this year, including a .415/.531/.815 (!) line in 82 plate appearances against southpaws. The right-handed hitter has hit .321/.404/.559 against southpaws at the Triple-A level over the last three years. That platoon aspect is the key for the Yankees given their overall inability to hit lefties.

Since he can play both first base and left field — and fill in at third in a pinch — Canzler would give the Yankees someone to platoon with Lyle Overbay at first while providing outfield depth whenever Vernon Wells fills in at DH. There’s no point carrying both Luis Cruz and Alberto Gonzalez on the bench with Eduardo Nunez back, so Canzler would fill a need on the bench. If the Yankees can grab him off waivers (again) or after he elects free agency, they should definitely pull the trigger. Canzler fits even if he is just okay against big league lefties.

Rehab Updates: Jeter, A-Rod, Pineda

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(Newsday)
(Newsday)

There will be no regular minor league update tonight — all of the box scores are here (3B Eric Jagielo hit his first pro homer) — but here are the all-important rehab updates:

  • Derek Jeter (ankle) went 0-for-2 with a walk for Triple-A Scranton. He grounded out to third and hit a line drive at the second baseman. The Cap’n played five innings at shortstop and only had to field one ground ball, which was hit right at him. He said his ankle felt fine afterwards, and the plan is to DH tomorrow then re-evaluate.
  • Alex Rodriguez (hip) went 1-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch and a run scored for High-A Tampa. He singled back up the middle and played six innings at third base, fielding two ground balls and one line drive. I assume A-Rod will remain with Tampa and just continue getting at-bats and innings in the field.
  • Michael Pineda (shoulder) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in five innings for Triple-A Scranton. He struck out seven and threw 56 of 78 pitches for strikes (72%) while sitting right in that 92-93 mph range with his fastball. Pineda’s minor league rehab window expires on Monday, so the Yankees have to activate him off the DL and either add him to the big league roster or option him to the minors. Hard to believe he won’t remain with the Triple-A squad for another few weeks, especially after never throwing more than 80 pitches during the rehab assignment.

Robinson Cano and Mariano Rivera elected to All-Star Game

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Unsurprisingly, Robinson Cano and Mariano Rivera were the only two Yankees elected to this year’s All-Star Game. Cano was voted the AL starter at second base by the fans and will also captain the AL Homerun Derby team. Manager Jim Leyland already confirmed Mo will be the AL’s closer. The full rosters are right here.

Cano, 30, is hitting .293/.372/.527 (137 wRC+) with 20 homers this year. This will be his fourth consecutive All-Star appearance — third as a starter — and fifth overall. The 43-year-old Rivera owns a 1.39 ERA (2.27 FIP) in 32.1 innings while going 29-for-30 in save chances. He missed last year’s All-Star game due to the knee injury, but he made the squad every year from 2008-2011. This is his 13th career All-Star appearance, the 21st most all-time and second most by a pitcher. Only Warren Spahn (14) went to more Midsummer Classics as a hurler.

David Robertson is one of five relievers included in the Final Vote. The team’s setup man has a 2.29 ERA (2.82 FIP) in 35.1 innings this year. Robertson, 28, was an All-Star in 2011, when he replaced David Price on the roster. You can vote for him right here. Polls close at 4pm ET this coming Thursday.

Saturday Night Open Thread

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(Elsa/Getty)
(Elsa/Getty)

Hard to believe it’s already that time of the year, but the AL and NL All-Star teams will be announced this evening (6:30pm ET on FOX). Robinson Cano and Mariano Rivera are shoo-ins for the Midsummer Classic, the Yankees’ only other serious candidates are Brett Gardner, David Robertson, and Hiroki Kuroda. My official guess (and it’s just a guess) is that none of those three get in but Gardner is one of the five guys on the Final Vote ballot. We’ll find out soon enough.

Anyway, here is your open thread for the night. After the All-Star Selection Show, those of you in the Tri-State area will get the Mets and Brewers (Marcum vs. Gallardo) as the FOX Saturday night game. Those of you who live elsewhere will see one of four other games. MLB Network will air a game later tonight as well. Talk about any of that stuff and more right here.

Yankees win sixth straight game, beat O’s 5-4

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Source: FanGraphs

For the first time this season, the Yankees have won six consecutive games. They rallied back from two multiple-run deficits to beats the Orioles by the score of 5-4 on a hot and sticky Saturday afternoon in the Bronx. Let’s recap the latest victory:

  • Two Shortstops: With Eduardo Nunez off the DL and Luis Cruz manning third, the Yankees had two natural shortstops in the lineup. The duo came through when the team had the bases loaded with no outs in the second, driving in two runs on a bloop single (Cruz) and a sacrifice fly (Nunez). It could have been an even bigger inning had Lyle Overbay not foolishly gotten thrown out at third trying to advance on the sac fly, but two runs are two runs. I’ll take it.
  • Not So Dandy: For the sixth time in seven starts off the DL, Andy Pettitte allowed at least four runs. Chris Davis hit a two-run homer in the first that just carried and carried and carried … I thought it was a routine fly ball off the bat and so did he based on his reaction. The ball carries on hot days though, even to dead center. Alexi Casilla doubled in a run in the second, then Taylor Teagarden singled in another in the fourth. Those last two are harder to swallow than the Davis homer. Pettitte managed throw 6.2 innings on 100 pitches — he looked done after five — despite allowing the four runs on nine hits. Kinda weird that Andy is the weak link in the rotation right now.
  • Small Ball: The Yankees have made a habit of playing small ball lately, and it led to the walk-off win on Friday night (thanks to two botched bunt defenses). On Saturday they took advantage of bunts not once, but twice. Brett Gardner moved two runs up in the fifth, then both came around to score on Ichiro Suzuki’s infield single and Robinson Cano’s flare to left. In the sixth, Cruz moved a runner up so Nunez could drive him in for the game-winning run with a ten-hopper back through the middle. I guess they’re just going to bunt their way back into contention.
  • Leftovers: New York had ten hits and all ten were singles. Overbay had three and Nunez had two in his return to the lineup … Chris Stewart drew a pair of walks while Cano and Travis Hafner had one apiece … the Yankees went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position overall, which is what you need to do when you can’t hit the ball out of the park … Shawn Kelley struck out the only man he faced to escape Pettitte’s jam in the seventh, then David Robertson and Mariano Rivera nailed it down late.

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs some other stats, and ESPN the updated standings. With the win, the Yankees move passed the Orioles and have sole possession of the second wildcard spot. Their run differential on the year is up to … +1. How about that. Hiroki Kuroda, not Phil Hughes, will be on the bump Sunday afternoon when the Bombers go for the sweep. RAB Tickets is the place to go for last minute deals.

Game 87: Make It Six

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(Al Bello/Getty)
(Al Bello/Getty)

The Yankees have won five straight, and during that time they’ve picked up exactly zero games on the Red Sox in the AL East race. They have moved into a tie with the Orioles for the second wildcard spot though, and this afternoon they have a chance to leap over them to claim that spot outright. It’s not much in early-July, but hey, sitting in a playoff spot feels better than being on the outside looking in. Here’s the lineup Joe Girardi is running out there against right-hander Chris Tillman:

  1. CF Brett Gardner
  2. RF Ichiro Suzuki
  3. 1B Robinson Cano
  4. DH Travis Hafner
  5. LF Zoilo Almonte
  6. 1B Lyle Overbay
  7. 3B Luis Cruz
  8. SS Eduardo Nunez
  9. C Chris Stewart

And on the mound is 1996 AL Cy Young Award runner-up, left-hander Andy Pettitte. I remember being outraged Pettitte (21-8) finished behind Pat Hentgen (20-10) at the time, but nowadays I’m surprised to see the vote was so close. Hentgen was way better than year.

It is crazy hot and humid in New York right now, and the temperatures are supposed to reach the mid-90s before it is all said and done this afternoon. I love live baseball as much as the next guy, but this is one game I’ll happily watch in my air-conditioned home. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm ET and can be seen on both YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy.

Rotation Update: Hiroki Kuroda (hip) came through yesterday’s bullpen session just fine, so he will start tomorrow’s game instead of Phil Hughes. Hughes now goes Monday with CC Sabathia to follow on Tuesday and Ivan Nova on Wednesday. David Phelps (forearm) was placed on the DL earlier today. Pitching, eh? Just when you think you have too much of it…

Update: Yankees activate Eduardo Nunez; place David Phelps on DL

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11:21am: Teixeira was transferred over to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man spot for Eduardo Nunez, in case you were wondering.

11:04am: Phelps has been placed on the 15-day DL with a slight forearm strain, the team announced. He had an MRI yesterday and won’t throw for ten days. I would have preferred an option to an injury, arm trouble is never good no matter how minor it appears.

10:41am: The Yankees have activated Eduardo Nunez off the 60-day DL. He is with the team and in this afternoon’s lineup at shortstop. New York already had an open 40-man roster spot, so no problems there has to clear a 40-man roster spot for Nunez, but Mark Teixeira or Kevin Youkilis can be transferred to the 60-day DL without a problem.

No official word on the corresponding roster move yet, but David Phelps is no longer listed on the lineup card and the Tuesday starter for Triple-A Scranton is listed as TBA. That is Phelps’ day. Sure sounds like he was sent down after posting a 6.25 ERA (~3.95 FIP) in his last eight starts, but again, no official word just yet.