NY Yankees News, Information & Community

Game 56: Multiple Runs?

June 2, 2013 by Mike 327 Comments

The Yankees have lost six of their last seven games, which is very bad. Just as bad is the utter lack of offense. They’ve scored exactly one run in four of their last six games, and in the other two games they scored four runs. In fact, the Yankees haven’t scored more than four runs in eight games now, and they’ve only done it once in their last eleven games. It doesn’t matter how good your pitching staff is, you can’t win like that. Not in a small ballpark in the AL East. The offense needs to get its act together and quick. Here’s the lineup that will face right-hander Clay Buchholz…

CF Brett Gardner
2B Robinson Cano
1B Mark Teixeira
DH Travis Hafner
LF Vernon Wells
3B Kevin Youkilis
RF Ichiro Suzuki
SS Jayson Nix
~~C Chris Stewart~~ C Austin Romine

And on the mound is the former Senshu University reliever in the Tohto University Baseball League, right-hander Hiroki Kuroda.

It was crazy hot in New York today, but there’s actually some showers in the forecast tonight. The heaviest stuff is supposed to start sometime around 10-11pm ET and continue into the earlier morning, so who knows how that will impact the game. First pitch is scheduled for a little after 8pm ET and can be seen on ESPN. Try to enjoy.

Update (7:45pm): The game will officially start in a delay, and no tentative start time has been announced. Also, Stewart was a late scratch with similar dehydration symptoms as last night. He’s being checked out by the doctor.

Update (8:18pm): First pitch is tentatively scheduled for 8:50pm ET.

Angelini has huge day as Tampa wins a pair

June 2, 2013 by Mike 14 Comments

VP of Baseball Ops Mark Newman told Josh Norris that Gary Sanchez has a bruised finger and will miss a few days. #catcherlife

Triple-A Scranton (7-4 loss to Durham)

RF Thomas Neal: 0-4, 1 K
CF Melky Mesa: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K — six walks, 85 strikeouts
LF Zoilo Almonte: 2-4
3B Ronnie Mustelier: 1-4, 1 2B
RHP Brett Marshall: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 5/4 GB/FB — 46 of 76 pitches were strikes (61%) … allowed four homers and is up to eight dingers in 12 innings since being sent down

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2013 Draft: Phil Bickford

June 2, 2013 by Mike

The 2013 amateur draft is less than one week away, so between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Phil Bickford | RHP

Background
A Southern California kid out of Oaks Christian High School, Bickford improved his stock this spring by showing livelier stuff. He’s strongly committed to Cal State Fullerton.

Scouting Report
Bickford’s calling card is his premium fastball. He uses a clean and quick arm action to generate 90-94 mph fastballs from his 6-foot-4 and 185 lb. frame. The pitch runs in on right-handed batters and has touched 96 mph on occasion this spring. His delivery and size suggest he could flirt with the upper-90s as he matures. Bickford lacks a defined breaking ball even though he throws both a slider and curveball. They’re both very rough and fringy pitches at best, so that is a huge concern. He’s a one-pitch guy. Bickford draws rave reviews for his makeup and work ethic. There are plenty more videos on YouTube.

Miscellany
Baseball America and Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked Bickford as the 20th and 55th best prospect in the draft in their latest rankings, respectively. For what it’s worth, Law says Bickford is part of the crop of prep pitchers the Yankees have had their eye on in recent weeks in his latest mock draft. The Bombers have three first round picks (26th, 32nd, 33rd) and are in a position to gamble on risky arms, but Bickford’s lack of a second pitch really scares me. He could come out of college as a top ten pick in a few years, but dropping seven figures and first rounder on a kid with no breaking ball is a big roll of the dice. The Yankees have had some success teaching curveballs over the years, but they definitely can’t teach this kind of hard, riding fastball.

ESPN’s Sunday Conversation with Brian Cashman

June 2, 2013 by Mike 6 Comments

Brian Cashman sat down for a chat with Buster Olney for ESPN’s Sunday Conversation recently, and the two discussed a number of topics including the idea of buying World Series titles, Alex Rodriguez’s contract, and Robinson Cano’s inevitable contract. Part of the interview can be seen above, but the entire thing will air later tonight, so check it out.

2013 Draft: Teddy Stankiewicz

June 2, 2013 by Mike 7 Comments

The 2013 amateur draft is less than one week away, so between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Teddy Stankiewicz | RHP

Background
Teddy, who is not related to former Yankee Andy Stankiewicz, turned down the Mets out of a Texas high school as the 75th overall pick in last summer’s draft. He backed out of his commitment to Arkansas and instead attended Seminole State College in Oklahoma, a two-year junior college that makes him draft-eligible again this spring. Stankiewicz pitched to a 2.52 ERA with a 70/10 K/BB in 60 2/3 innings this year, starting very strong before fading a bit down the stretch. He is recommitted to attend Arkansas next year.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 215 lbs., Stankiewicz is a true four-pitch pitcher with a 90-94 mph fastball that has touched 96. A hard mid-80s slider is his top secondary pitch, and he’ll also throw a soft low-70s curveball and a low-80s changeup. Neither the curve nor change is above-average, but they are usable pitches. Stankiewicz has a high leg kick and a traditional drop-and-drive delivery, so he doesn’t really use his height to his advantage. He needs to gain consistency with both his mechanics and command. There are a ton of videos on YouTube.

Miscellany
Keith Law (subs. req’d) and Baseball America ranked Stankiewicz as the 60th and 77th best prospect in the draft class in their latest rankings, respectively. Jim Callis listed the right-hander as one of several young arms the Yankees have monitored in recent weeks in his latest mock draft. New York has three first round picks (26th, 32nd, 33rd), but Stankiewicz seems like a more appropriate target for their second round selection (66th). The Yankees haven’t been all that active in the JuCo ranks in recent drafts, but that doesn’t mean they’re opposed to the idea.

2013 Draft: Shadowing the Minor League Ball Mock Draft

June 2, 2013 by Mike 21 Comments

Every year over at Minor League Ball, John Sickels hosts a community mock draft where readers serve as the scouting director for each team and make picks for the first four rounds. It was five rounds once upon a time, but they’ve since knocked it down to four to save time and sanity. I served as the Yankees mock scouting director back in 2007 and landed two big leaguers with my five picks: RHP Andrew Brackman and RHP Barry Enright. Hardly impact players, but at least they got to the show I guess.

The 2013 mock draft was held yesterday, and you can see all the picks right here: First Round, Competitive Balance Round A, Second Round, Competitive Balance Round B, Third Round, and Fourth Round. As I’ve done the last five years, here are the players I would have taken in those slots had I been calling the shots for the Yankees. Click the linked names below for my individual player write-ups, and here are past shadowed mock drafts: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012. Apparently I never did one in 2010. Not sure what happened there.

First Round (#26 overall)
Mock Draft: C Jon Denney, Oklahoma HS
My Pick: LHP Marco Gonzales, Gonzaga

I love Fresno State OF Aaron Judge, but I love Gonzales more. The southpaw doesn’t offer the same pure upside of Judge, who is a true physical freak with big power and speed and center field defense, but he’s incredibly polished with a pair of put-away offspeed offerings. Gonzales could be ready to pitch in the big leagues as soon as the second half of 2014, which is an added bonus. I tend to prefer high school arms and big upside, so this is definitely against the grain for me. I’m a big fan though.

Denney is a very good pick here and a bit more Yankees-esque in the profile as an up-the-middle athlete who can mash.

First Round (#32 overall, for Nick Swisher)
Mock Draft: SS Riley Unroe, Arizona HS
My Pick: RHP Kyle Serrano, Tennessee HS

I definitely would have grabbed Judge here if he was still on the board, but he went 27th to the Reds. Serrano gets the call instead and I’m more than happy to have him. If he was a few inches taller than his listed 6-foot-1, there’s a pretty good chance he would have gone in the top 15 picks. A high schooler with easy 90-94 mph velocity, one of the draft’s best curveballs, and a super advanced changeup? Gimme gimme gimme. It will take a huge bite out of my $7.96M draft pool to buy him away from his father Dave, the head coach at Tennessee, but I’m willing to get it done.

Unroe is a sneaky great pick here. He’s a switch-hitter with elite bat speed and a good chance to remain at shortstop long-term. If he can’t, second base or center field are viable alternatives. Unroe’s drawn rave reviews for his makeup and work ethic, and his father Tim played professionally for a decade. Definitely sounds like someone the Yankees would target.

First Round (#33 overall, for Rafael Soriano)
Mock Draft: RHP Aaron Blair, Marshall
My Pick: OF Billy McKinney, Texas HS

With the second of the back-to-back picks, I’m grabbing my first position player. McKinney is arguably the best pure hitter in the high school ranks this year, with an advanced approach and a sweet left-handed swing geared for hard contact. It’s unclear if he’ll stay in center field or wind up in a corner spot down the road, but I’m buying the bat here. Anything more is a bonus.

Blair’s a solid pick at this slot, but I already took one “safe” college arm and sure as hell wasn’t taking a second this high in the draft.

Second Round (#66 overall)
Mock Draft: LHP A.J. Puk, Iowa HS
My Pick: OF Jordan Paroubeck, California HS

Absolutely thrilled to land Paroubeck here. The Barry Bonds-trained switch-hitter shows power from both sides of the plate as well as better-than-average speed on the bases, plus he’s a legitimate center field athlete and defender. Thrilled.

Puk has looked like a potential first rounder at times this spring, but he’s sat more in the high-80s in recent weeks while pitching through some real sloppy weather in the heartland. An okay curveball and changeup round out his developing repertoire. He’s huge, listed at 6-foot-7 and 220 lbs., and he’s shown he can run his fastball up to 93 in the past. Solid pick here after the down spring.

Third Round (#103)
Mock Draft: OF Terry McClure, Georgia HS
My Pick: 2B L.J. Mazzilli, UConn

It’s going to take big bucks to sign those top four players, so it’s time to work in a cheap college senior to save some draft pool money. The son of former Yankees player and coach Lee Mazzilli, L.J. is a legitimate prospect who is a high-contact, advanced approach offensive second baseman. He hits right-handed and is a very instinctual player, which serves him well on the bases and in the field. Obviously there are big league bloodlines as well, but this isn’t just a nepotism pick. Mazzilli can play.

McClure is a toolsy center fielder who may or may not hit enough in pro ball, and he’s been ripped constantly for being nonchalant and having bad body language. His love for the game has been questioned, that kind of stuff. There’s upside but also a ton of risk.

Fourth Round (#134 overall)
Mock Draft: 3B Drew Dosch, Youngstown State
My Pick: RHP Tony Rizzotti, Tulane

Rizzotti has attended three colleges in three years — TCU, Grayson Junior College (Texas), and Tulane — in an effort to find more innings. Although he starts for the Green Wave, he projects as a reliever long-term thanks a power mid-to-high-90s fastball and wipeout mid-80s slider. He doesn’t have a third pitch. Rizzotti has missed time with knee trouble (including two surgeries) and back spasms over the last few years, but at this point in the draft, I’m just looking at the power stuff and hoping to get a lockdown reliever for a few years.

Dosch is one of the best pure hitters in the college crop, with an easy left-handed swing and gap power. It’s unclear if he’ll be able to crack double-digit homers with wood bats or stick at third base, however.

* * *

I feel like I got four first round-caliber talents in Gonzales, Serrano, McKinney, and Paroubeck. Those latter three all have a chance to become impact big leaguers while Gonzales figures to settle in as a solid contributor more than a true star. Rizzotti could contribute plenty in relief if he stays healthy as well. It’ll take a ton of cash to sign those top four players, so I’d have to take college seniors from rounds five through ten to make the draft pool work. Such is life.

Red Sox pummel Yankees, win 11-1

June 1, 2013 by Mike 75 Comments

Source: FanGraphs

When the Yankees get anything less than a strong pitching performance, they have very little chance of winning this year. Let’s recap Saturday’s 11-1 loss to the Red Sox…

Phlopped: The Red Sox are a bad matchup for Phil Hughes and it showed. They pounded him for five runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings, with four of those runs coming on Mike Napoli’s third inning grand slam. Intentionally walking David Ortiz to load the bases with one out immediately prior to that was madness, but the bottom line is Hughes jumped ahead in the count 0-2 on Napoli and couldn’t put him away. In fact, Boston hitters fouled off 29 of his 100 pitches on the night. Phil did strike out seven in those 4.1 innings, but whoop-dee-do. His roller coaster season continues — he’s either very good or very bad. No middle ground.
Cy Doubront: As he did four times last year, the eminently beatable Felix Doubront shut the Yankees down on Saturday. New York actually worked him very hard early, forcing him to throw 49 pitches in the first two innings. Then they put their tail between their legs and let him coast through the next four innings on 54 pitches. Doubront walked three and allowed six hits (all singles), but he gave up just one run in those six innings. Par for the course for this offense.
Leftovers: Adam Warren fell off the regression tree and hit every branch on the way down. He allowed six runs in three innings on Saturday, and is up to 18 base-runners (three homers) and nine runs in his last nine innings … the top five hitters in the lineup went a combined 2-for-19 with a walk and eight strikeouts … seemed like Vernon Wells was pulling a trailor in the outfield all night, his range is kaput … the last ten and 18 of the last 19 Yankees to bat made outs … the Bombers have lost six of their last seven and eight of their last eleven games.

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs the advanced stats, and ESPN the updated standings. The loss moves the Red Sox back into sole possession of first place in the AL East by one game in the loss column. The Orioles and Rays both lost on Saturday afternoon, so they remain one back in the loss column. Hiroki Kuroda and Clay Buchholz is your pitching matchup for Sunday night’s rubber game. RAB Tickets is the place to go for last minute tickets.