ByWith the dog days of the season upon, now is as a good a time as any to join our Facebook fan page. Spread the RAB love. · (1) ·
Carrying three catchers: Day 21
By · CommentsJorge Posada was activated from the disabled list 21 days ago. For each of those days, the Yankees have carried three catchers, in case they needed an emergency appearance. Three weeks is enough, though, to determine that Jorge is OK, and that the team need not continue wasting a roster spot on a third catcher.
We probably won’t see Moeller off the roster until the doubleheader on Friday — when, incidentally, he’d actually be of some use. A spot needs to be cleared for Sir Sidney, so I can’t imagine the Yankees making a move now just to make another one on Friday.
What about Saturday, though? Do the Yankees continue to carry Ponson? Do they demote one of the relievers and move him to the pen? Do they DFA him and tell him thanks for the effort? Whatever the case may be, there will be, or at least should be, a roster move on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. There is no need to carry 13 pitchers with no doubleheader in sight — though that didn’t stop the Yanks from doing just that earlier this year.
I think you know what I’m getting at here. Could Brett Gardner get the nod once the pitching/catching situation is sorted out? I’d like to think so. Like Melky or hate him, the dude has been ice cold for nearly two months now. Since May 1, he’s hitting .231/.280/.308. I know he doesn’t have to be a superstar, but come on. He hasn’t helped his stock much in June, either, hitting .227/.293/.293 in the first 23 days of the month. We could use another option in center field.
Then again, Jason Lane still has that out in his contract, and he hits right handed, so he’s likely to get the nod first. Which is a shame, because Gardner seems to be pulling out all the stops in order to get his shot in the Bronx.
ByShould the Babe’s number be retired throughout baseball? That’s the cause Ruth’s granddaughter, Linda Ruth Tosetti, has been pushing for a while. This weekend, Rick Maese sat down and grilled Tosetti on the issue. In short, she feels that the Babe’s feel-good popularity saved baseball after the 1919 Black Sox scandal, and for that, his number should be retired throughout the game. While MLB is not on board with the issue, Tosetti continues to maintain an active website dedicated to the cause, and she plans to push her ideas hard during 2008, the 60th anniversary of Ruth’s death. · (17) ·
The Karstens/Ponson debate
By · CommentsIt’s pretty hard to believe that, with their abundant Minor League talent, the Yankees are going to turn to Sidney Ponson to start a game this weekend against their crosstown rivals. But as numerous reports have noted, the Yankees have Ponson lined up to start against the Mets, and all signs — including a recent demotion to AA to clear an AAA for J.B. Cox — are pointing toward a Ponson sighting this Friday.
Now, before we get into the clear-cut alternative, let’s look at Ponson’s 2008 campaign. Before landing with the Yanks, Ponson had been pitching in Texas. He was DFA’d after serious questions arose about his attitude. On the season, Ponson’s numbers look good, right? He’s 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA. He has more wins than Joba!
But — and, as this is Ponson, we’ve got ourselves a big but — every important number of his is terrible. In 55.2 innings, he’s allowed 71 hits and 16 walks while striking out a whopping 25 batters. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s 11.5 hits per 9 innings, 4.04 K/9 IP and a 1.56 K/BB ratio. Opponents are hitting .307/.353/.429 off of Sir Sidney. That’s the equivalent of facing Placido Polanco nine times.
In other words, Ponson has been extremely lucky this year. He’s allowed 1.56 runners per inning, and opponents are teeing off of Ponson. The fact that his ERA is only 3.88 is a testament to luck. He won’t be this good at all for the rest of the season.
So what’s our alternative? Why, Jeff Karstens, of course. As Mike noted, Karstens just pulled down IL Pitcher of the Week honors, and his Sunday outing lines him up to pitch the Friday game against the Mets. Mike Ashmore encourages the Yanks to catch lightening in a bottle by tossing a hot Karstens out there on Friday instead of Ponson.
I have to agree. Karstens can’t do any worse than Ponson, and the potential for him to do better is there. The only thing the Yanks have to lose is a Ponson start, and that is something I would gladly give up.
The longest DotF ever
By · CommentsAll six affiliates in action with two doubleheaders AND an IPK rehab appearance AND a College World Series update? Are you kidding me?!?
Anywho, Jeff Karstens was named the International League Pitcher of the Week, The Mexican Gangster was promoted to Scranton, and 15th rounder Matt Richardson signed. He was an all-glove, no-hit shortstop coming into the draft, but the Yanks are going to groom him as a pitcher. On to the updates!
Triple-A Scranton (6-0 win over Columbus)
Brett Gardner: 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 BB, 1 K – Chad Jennings said he scored from second on a groundout & threw a runner out at home from CF … 7 hits, 7 walks, 6 runs scored, 4 stolen bases, 2 strikeouts in his last 4 games
Cody Ransom: 0 for 1 – left the game after flying out in the first
Chris Basak: 1 for 2, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
Shelley Duncan: 0 for 4, 1 RBI
Juan Miranda: 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI – 14 hits (4 doubles) in his last 5 games
Jason Lane: 0 for 3, 1 BB
Eric Duncan: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
Matt Carson: 0 for 4 – had been 13 of his 36
JD Closser: 3 for 3, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 BB
The Ghost of Kei Igawa: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 6-7 GB/FB – 61 of 105 pitches were strikes (58.1%)
David Robertson: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 2-0 GB/FB – 12 of 17 pitches were strikes (70.6%)
Scott Patterson: 1 IP, zeroes, 0-3 GB/FB
Open Thread: Joba the All Star
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When the All Stars take the field at Yankee Stadium three weeks from tomorrow night, we’ll be able to count more than a few Yankees among them. Deservedly or not, Derek Jeter finds himself the top AL vote-getter; A-Rod has a lock on his position; David Ortiz’s injury should push Hideki Matsui into the lineup.
While a few Yankees — Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi come to mind — are so far getting the shaft on the popular vote front, those two should find themselves selected by the players and coaches. Meanwhile, the Yanks will see some All Star representation on the mound as well. I can’t say enough about Mariano Rivera‘s incredible season. His numbers are just off the charts this year, and Mo deserves what will be the ninth All Star game appearance of his career. I believe Mike Mussina, 10-5 with a 3.93 ERA, will find himself aboard the All Star squad as well.
There’s one more Yankee pitcher who could get All Star consideration too. A loyal reader Nick tipped me off to this idea: Joba Chamberlain, All Star. Joba right now suffers because he doesn’t have the wins; his lone victory came in relief. But it’s hard to argue with his numbers otherwise.
As a reliever, he threw 23.2 innings to the tune of a 2.28 ERA. He struck out 30 while walking 11 and opponents hit .190/.284/.274 off Joba the reliever. As a starter, he’s thrown 18.1 innings while making his transition, and his ERA stands at 2.45. He’s struck out 19, and while the 12 walks are too many, opponents are batting just .239/.354/.328 off Joba the starter. Not too shabby, eh?
So here’s my question for us to debate while the Yankees enjoy their off day tonight: It’s hard to believe that there are too many hurlers in the AL who would be better choices than Joba considering the nature of the game, and it’s pretty easy to argue that he deserves to make it on his merits. The only knock — and it’s a weak one — is his win total, but if he has a few more stellar starts as he has the last few weeks, the case for Joba becomes even more compelling. So if you were in charge of the All Star Game, would pick Joba Chamberlain as one of your pitchers?
ByDerek Jeter is the American League’s leading All Star vote-getter right now. In the latest voting results, Jeter’s tally comes in at 1,988,251 votes, a few thousand more than David Ortiz. Imagine how Jeter would be doing if he weren’t hitting .279/.336/.379 with 9 double plays.
In other All Star news, Joe Mauer has rightfully moved past Jason Varitek, and Ian Kinsler now finds himself just 160,000 votes behind Dustin Pedroia. I really think Yankee fans should stop voting for Robinson Cano and start supporting Kinsler. It’s the only way to unseat Pedroia. Youkilis leads at first with Giambi in third, 600,000 votes behind. · (14) ·
MLB starts initiative to help Veterans
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While this isn’t Yankee-centric, I find this to be a nice story about some of the good things MLB, as one of the country’s most popular sports, can accomplish. This morning, Major League Baseball announced a new fundraising initiative supporting Veterans returning from service.
MLB along with its Website arm and the McCormick Foundation are hoping to raise $100 million for services that support Veterans and 100,000 jobs for Veterans as well. To mark the start of this effort and honor our veterans, teams will wear new Stars & Stripes hats, shown above, over the July 4th weekend and on September 11. Money from the sales of those caps (available online) go toward the initiative termed Welcome Back Veterans.
While Paul Lukas at the Uni Watch blog finds them to be “ridiculous,” I think that assessment misses the mark a bit. No matter what your views on America’s overseas involvements are, many returning veterans, scarred emotionally and physically by the wars the U.S. is fighting, have not received the care they need and deserve. The hats — a token gesture — and the much-needed fiscal support that comes from the fundraising aren’t about the politics behind the war; they are about aiding people who desperately need help. While Major League Baseball has long been facing an uphill battle over its perceived response to drug testing and various other issues surrounding the game, those organizing this effort should be applauded.
Charting Hughes’s truncated season
By · CommentsJosh Kalk, proprietor of the PITCHf/x blog from small ball to the long ball, has authored a piece on The Hardball Times about our one and only Phil Hughes. Kalk talks about a number of things regarding our favorite former prospect, leading off with the velocity issue. Spoiler: He doesn’t have an answer.
What’s more interesting is Kalk’s look at Phil’s release points from 2007 and 2008. Many people believe that Hughes needs to go more over the top to enjoy success in the majors. It appears he’s gone the other way, at least relative to last year. It’s not a big move, but if you look at the graphs in the piece, his arm angle has moved to the right, from his view, meaning he’s coming from more of a side angle.
Despite this change in arm angle, Phil has been remarkably consistent with his release point this year, with all of his pitches. He tends to release his fastball a bit higher than the curve, but for the most part, according to Dan Fox, his release point is “about the size of a postcard.” Kalk wonders if this consistency is actually problematic; that is, does Phil allow for the hitter to concentrate on one area and pick up the ball better because of it?
I’m not so sure about that. Clearly, there were plenty of things going wrong with Hughes earlier this season that had nothing to do with his release point. He wasn’t getting nearly as many swings and misses as last year, and he wasn’t throwing as many strikes. Perhaps his new arm angle had something to do with that — not necessarily that it isn’t working, but that he was still adjusting to it. Maybe it was because of the injury. Or maybe he’s a headcase in disguise who can’t handle guys getting hits off him. Some might say he plain sucks, but I think that’s a premature diagnosis.
With Wang out and Rasner falling back to earth, the return of Hughes could play an integral role in the latter months of the season. He and his pal IPK certainly haven’t performed even close to expectations. But they’ll certainly get another shot in the coming weeks and months.
Thanks to Glen for sending in the article!
ByAfter last week’s hullabaloo over Pat Venditte’s debut, every writer around wanted to find out more about the Yanks’ ambi-pitcher. One of the better profiles I read came from Mike Ashmore, beat writer from the Hunterdon County Democrat and editor of the Thunder Thoughts blog. Ashmore spoke Eric Wordekemper, former college teammate of Venditte, and offers up some insight and a scouting report of the Yanks’ unique pitcher. · (8) ·
