NY Yankees News, Information & Community

Game 64: Bartday

June 11, 2013 by Mike 376 Comments

On this date in 2011, Bartolo Colon was sitting on a 3.10 ERA and 3.37 FIP while averaging nearly seven innings per start for the Yankees. He had brought his career back from the dead and was looking like the number two starter the Yankees craved behind CC Sabathia. His starts were must-watch television thanks to the mid-90s fastballs on the corners and front door two-seamers for called strike three to lefties.

Also on this date in 2011, Colon hobbled off the field after straining his hamstring covering first base in the seventh inning of a rainy start against the Indians. He missed a month and was pretty much never the same for the Yankees after that, pitching to a 4.81 ERA and 4.14 FIP in his final 16 starts and 86 innings of the year. Instead of being number two behind Sabathia, he was left off the playoff roster entirely. Colon hooked on with the Athletics after that season and has been in Oakland every since, and tonight he’ll face his former team for the second time this year. Here’s the lineup Joe Girardi is running out there against Bart:

CF Brett Gardner
2B Robinson Cano
1B Mark Teixeira
DH Travis Hafner
3B Kevin Youkilis
RF Lyle Overbay
LF Ichiro Suzuki
SS Jayson Nix
C Chris Stewart

And on the mound for the Yankees is the 20th overall pick in 1998 draft, left-hander CC Sabathia. I wonder how many teams passed on him that year because of his weight.

There’s a very tiny chance of rain tonight in Oakland, but nothing that should cause any kind of delay. The game is scheduled to start at 10:05pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Aaron Judge Update: Judge, the team’s second first round pick in last week’s draft, is with the Yankees in Oakland according to Ken Davidoff. He’s taking batting practice and working out with the team, stuff like that. Pretty common for high draft picks, and he’s only a few hours away in Fresno. Hopefully they show some clips during the game.

Robinson Cano named captain of AL Homerun Derby team (again)

June 11, 2013 by Mike 14 Comments

For the second straight year, Robinson Cano will captain the AL Homerun Derby squad, MLB announced. He won the event back in 2011, as you surely remember. David Wright will do the honors for the NL. He was the runner-up to Ryan Howard back in 2006. The All-Star Game is in CitiField this year, so good job by MLB of picking the two New York guys.

Tuesday Night Open Thread

June 11, 2013 by Mike 47 Comments

The Yankees don’t open their three-game series in Oakland until later tonight, so here’s an open thread to hold you over until the regular game thread comes along. The Mets are playing the Cardinals (Hefner vs. Wacha) and for those of you in the Tri-State Area, MLB Network will show the Giants vs. Pirates. Former Yankees first rounder Gerrit Cole will be making his big league debut for Pittsburgh. You could also tune into the MLB.tv Free Game of the Day to watch Chien-Ming Wang to return to the big leagues with the Blue Jays. Game Three of the NBA Finals is on as well, so talk about those games or anything else here. Go nuts.

Draft Signing Updates: Jagielo, Clarkin, Katoh

June 11, 2013 by Mike 18 Comments

Today’s collection of draft-related links (draft round in parenthesis):

Notre Dame 3B Eric Jagielo (1) indicated he is on his way to Tampa via his Twitter feed. That doesn’t mean a deal is imminent, however. He could just be heading down for his physical since teams like to get those out of the way early in case there’s a Ty Hensley situation or negotiations go down to the wire. Jagielo is slotted for just under $1.84M and will probably sign for something close to that, if not more.
California HS LHP Ian Clarkin (1s) can’t take his physical until he graduates later this week. “We feel very strongly that we will get it done … We need to clean up a couple of things and for him to pass a physical,” said scouting director Damon Oppenheimer to George King. Clarkin is slotted for a touch more than $1.65M and I have to think he winds up with more than that. Maybe even $2M.
California HS 2B Gosuke Katoh (2) told Michael Bower that if “everything works out like it should with no road bumps, then I should be a Yankee by next week.” He’s slotted for a little less than $846k and I think he winds up quite a bit with less than that.
Howard JuCo RHP David Palladino (5) has agreed to terms and will officially sign his contract tomorrow, reports Mark Czerwinski. The 6-foot-9, 255-pounder out of New Jersey is slotted for a bit more than $278k.
Grayson County JuCo SS Kevin Cornelius (31) has agreed to terms pending a physical, according to K. Levine-Flandrup. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the Yankees drafted him out of a Texas HS in the 42nd round of the 2011 draft. Every pick after the tenth round is slotted for $100k.

All of the team’s draft selections can be seen at Baseball America, and you can keep track of the draft pool situation with our 2013 Draft Pool page.

6/11-6/13 Series Preview: Oakland Athletics

June 11, 2013 by Mike 29 Comments

I think we’re all still smartin’ a bit from that four-game, two-walk-off loss sweep in Oakland last season. That was as bad a series as I can remember. Thankfully, that’s in the past and the Yankees will only spend three games in the O.co Coliseum in 2013.

What Have They Done Lately?
Even though they’re coming off two straight losses to the White Sox, the Athletics are the hottest team in baseball. They’ve won 18 of their last 23 games and are 38-27 with a +41 run differential overall, and they’ve spent the last week or so trading first place in the AL West with the Rangers.

Offense
The A’s were one of baseball’s most potent offenses earlier in the season, but they’ve cooled off a bit and currently own a team 102 wRC+ with an average of 4.7 runs per game. Those rates are still pretty damn good, but not elite like they were a few weeks ago. Oakland’s only injured position player is IF Scott Sizemore, who got all of six plate appearances before re-tearing a knee ligament. He’s done for the year.

Manager Bob Melvin employees one of baseball’s best leadoff hitters in CF Coco Crisp (139 wRC+), best number two hitters in 2B Jed Lowrie (125 wRC+), better number three hitters in LF Yoenis Cespedes (115 wRC+), and best cleanup hitters in 3B Josh Donaldson (152 wRC+). Donaldson, who was always expected hit, has really broken out this year now that he’s no longer catching full-time. Dude can mash.

The rest of Oakland’s lineup is a hodgepodge of platoon setups. Brandon Moss (117 wRC+ vs. RHP) and Nate Freiman (146 wRC+ vs. LHP) share first base duties while John Jaso (108 wRC+ vs. RHP) and Derek Norris (98 wRC+ vs. LHP) split time behind the plate. Both OF Chris Young (64 wRC+) and Josh Reddick (66 wRC+) have been awful, but OF/DH Seth Smith (114 wRC+) has been very good. IF Adam Rosales (91 wRC+) has been playing shortstop regularly of late while IF Eric Sogard (81 wRC+) comes off the bench. The A’s can score some runs.

Starting Pitching Matchups

Tuesday: LHP CC Sabathia vs. RHP Bartolo Colon
I have to admit, I didn’t think Colon would still be hanging around the league in 2013 even after returning to the league the Yankees in 2011. The 40-year-old has been very good this year, pitching to a 3.14 ERA (3.29 FIP) in 77.1 innings spread across a dozen starts. He doesn’t strike anyone out anymore (5.35 K/9 and 15.2 K%), but his ground ball rate (45.2%) is strong and his walk rate (0.70 BB/9 and 2.0 BB%) is outrageous. Bart has walked six batters all year. Six! As you probably remember, Colon is all about the fastball. He uses his low-90s four-seamer and upper-80s two-seamer a combined 85% of the time, mixing in the occasional low-80s slider and low-80s changeup. It’s worth noting he has a rather large platoon split: righties have been held to a .240 wOBA, but lefties have gotten him for a .336 wOBA. Bart held the Yankees to three runs in 5.1 innings a few weeks ago.

Wednesday: RHP Phil Hughes vs. RHP Dan Straily
Straily, 24, has replaced the perpetually injured Brett Anderson in the rotation and has managed a 4.67 ERA (3.16 FIP) in nine starts. That’s the fifth largest ERA-FIP gap in baseball (min. 50 IP). He’s a fly ball pitcher (35.5% grounders) with a decent strikeout rate (7.62 K/9 and 20.6 K%), though he does limit the walks (2.60 BB/9 and 7.0 BB%). Straily relies primarily on a low-90s four-seamer to setup his mid-80s slider and low-80s changeup, though he’ll also mix in the very rare low-80s two-seamer and mid-70s curveball. The slider is his go-to offspeed pitch. The Yankees saw Straily a few weeks ago and like Colon, he held them to three runs in 5.1 innings.

Thursday: RHP Hiroki Kuroda vs. RHP Jarrod Parker
The 24-year-old Parker had a dynamite first full season in the show last year, but he’s taken a step back in 2013: 4.68 ERA and 5.04 FIP in 13 starts. He’s been way better of late, rattling off six consecutive quality starts coming into this series. Parker’s core peripheral stats — 6.6 K/9 (17.1 K%), 3.60 BB/9 (9.4 BB%), and 44.3% ground balls — are nearly identical to last season, but he’s suddenly turned into a homer machine (1.44 HR/9 and 13.5% HR/FB). I have to think those numbers will come back to Earth a bit playing in the Coliseum. Parker is a true four-pitch pitcher, using low-to-mid-90s two- and four-seamers to setup his low-80s slider and changeup, so it’s no surprise he has no platoon split. The Yankees did not see the young right-hander when the two teams met a few weeks ago, though he held them to one run in eight innings on two separate occasions last year.

Bullpen Status
Like the Yankees, the Athletics were off on Monday, so their bullpen is as fresh as can be. Melvin’s end-game trio of closer RHP Grant Balfour (3.75 FIP) and setup men RHP Ryan Cook (1.92 FIP) and LHP Sean Doolittle (3.14 FIP) have been as good as any in baseball. RHP Pat Neshek (3.58 FIP) and LHP Jerry Blevins (3.00 FIP) do the matchup thing while LHP Hideki Okajima (6.89 FIP in very limited time) and RHP Jesse Chavez (3.07 FIP) do everything else. Yes, Okajima is back in the league.

Joe Girardi’s bullpen is in good shape, though both David Robertson and Mariano Rivera pitched in the final two games of the Mariners series. Even with yesterday’s off-day, I can’t imagine Girardi would use them both for all three games against the A’s if needed. Check out our Bullpen Workload page for the latest of the relievers, then check out Athletics Nation and Beane Ball for the latest and greatest on the Athletics.

Stark: Yankees “already have interest” in Ricky Nolasco

June 11, 2013 by Mike 80 Comments

Via Jayson Stark: The Yankees are one of the teams that “already have interest” in Marlins right-hander Ricky Nolasco. “I think he’d be a great addition for somebody, as a No. 3 or 4 [starter],” said a scout to Stark. “He’s very similar to what Anibal Sanchez was last year. He’s not a 1 or a 2. But he’s a veteran guy who can go out and spin seven innings, and do it, I think, for a contending team.”

Nolasco, 30, has a 3.61 ERA (3.54 FIP) in 82.1 innings across 12 starts this year. His strikeout rate (7.32 K/9 and 19.9 K%) is his best in years while his walk (2.19 BB/9 and 6.0 BB%) and ground ball (42.1%) numbers are right in line with his career norms. Nolasco will earn $11.5M this year and become a free agent after the season. The Yankees had interest in acquiring him over the winter, before re-signing Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte. The pitching staff is fine right now, though I guess they could add Nolasco and flip Phil Hughes or David Phelps for a bat. That’s kind of a roundabout way of improving the team though.

Scouting The Waiver Market: John Baker

June 11, 2013 by Mike 27 Comments

Although the Yankees need a corner outfield bat more than anything right now, looking for an upgrade behind the plate shouldn’t be on the back burner. Chris Stewart (91 wRC+) has produced to the best-case scenario since being pressed into everyday duty, but Austin Romine (-14 wRC+) has been a disaster as the seldom used backup. Frankie Cervelli (140 wRC+) has yet to resume baseball activities and is still several weeks away from returning from his broken hand.

Quality catching help is hard to find any time of the year, but especially at the trade deadline. Part of the problem is that the second wildcard spot creates more contenders and fewer sellers. Another part of the problem is that there just aren’t many decent catchers out there to start with. Teams that have one tend to hold on for dear life. The best the Yankees can realistically hope for behind the plate is a warm body who unexpectedly puts up a few big weeks.

A warm catching body hit the waiver wire yesterday as the Padres designated the 32-year-old John Baker for assignment. Actually … he probably isn’t on waivers yet, but that could come in a few days. Does Baker make sense for New York? I don’t know, but like every other catcher these days, he has to be considered an option. Let’s break down his game.

The Pros

Baker, a rare left-handed hitter catcher, is a career .269/.349/.377 (95 wRC+) hitter against right-handers in 865 plate appearances. He doesn’t have much power obviously, but his walk rate (10.8%) is strong and his strikeout rate (19.0%) is manageable.
The various catcher defense rankings have rated him as about average behind the plate in three of the last four years, including 2013. They said he was below-average last year, however (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013).
Baker will earn $930k this season — owed roughly $555k from now through the end of the season — and remains under control as an arbitration-eligible player through 2015.
He has an option remaining for this season, so any team who acquired him would be able to stash him in Triple-A as depth through the end of the year. Baker will be out of options next season.

The Cons

Baker can’t hit lefties, so much so that he almost never plays against them: .198/.301/.282 (63 wRC+) line against them in 155 big league plate appearances. The Triple-A numbers are actually worse.
Despite the favorable-ish defense rankings, Baker has thrown out just 48 of 246 attempted base-stealers in his career (19.5%). He had Tommy John surgery in 2010, but his throw-out rate is the same before and after surgery.
Baker is, obviously, unfamiliar with the pitching staff. That was a pretty big deal when Romine was originally called up and would presumably be a concern for any new catcher brought in.

The Yankees currently have an open 40-man roster spot, so that’s not an issue. Acquiring Baker would allow them to send Romine to Triple-A for regular at-bats first and foremost, but it might also give them a little extra production against right-handed pitchers. Joe Girardi loves Stewart and would presumably continue to catch him everyday, giving Baker some time to learn the staff during bullpen sessions and side work.

We’re talking about a backup catcher upgrade, not replacing Stewart as the starter. It’ll take a minor miracle for that to happen at this point. Romine has been completely overmatched though, and I think the Yankees should pounce on Baker if they get a chance to acquire him. If he makes it to them on waivers in a few days, great. I think they should look into swinging a minor trade — based on similar deals, it’ll take a player to be named later or cash, something like small that — before Baker is placed on waivers just to make sure they actually get him. The Yankees have already shown the willingness to make marginal upgrades (Reid Brignac over Chris Nelson, etc.), and although we’re only talking about the backup catcher here, going from Romine to Baker is a move worth making.