Sanchez shows off the arm in Charleston win

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Tyler Austin‘s insanely great week landed him in the third spot on this week’s Prospect Hot Sheet. He currently ranks third in the minors in AVG (.432), first in SLG (.932), and first in OPS (1.411). That’ll do.

Remember that 6-3-2-5 triple play Low-A Charleston turned in last night’s game? Danny Wild explained how exactly it happened. As you’d expect, there was some hilarity involved.

Zoilo Almonte has been placed on the DL with a hamstring issue. Yadil Mujica took his spot on the roster.

Triple-A Empire State (6-4 win over Norfolk)
CF Colin Curtis: 1-5, 1 RBI
C Frankie Cervelli: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 PB
RF Dewayne Wise: 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K — not gonna get a call-up unless he keeps ripping extra-base hits!
1B Steve Pearce: 3-4, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 CS — ten for his last 24 (.417)
DH Jack Cust: 2-4, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 2 K — still no homers 15 games into the season
3B Brandon Laird: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
LF Kevin Russo & SS Ramiro Pena: both 2-4 — Russo struck out … Pena drove in a run and scored another
2B Doug Bernier: 0-4, 1 K
RHP Ramon Ortiz: 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 10/2 GB/FB — 49 of 79 pitches were strikes (62.0%)
SwP Pat Venditte: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 2/1 GB/FB — 11 of 19 pitches were strikes (57.9%), though the walk was intentional … no word if he threw left-handed exclusive like his last outing
LHP Juan Cedeno: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/0 GB/FB — six of 11 pitches were strikes

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Pettitte goes five in latest minor league outing

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Andy Pettitte threw five innings and 66 pitches in an Extended Spring Training game today rather than travel across the state with High-A Tampa. He allowed two runs on four hits and no walks, striking out five. A whopping 58 (!) of those 66 pitches were strikes. That’s almost hard to believe. The Associated Press says that Andy will make his next start with Double-A Trenton, but the team hasn’t confirmed the report. Pettitte has been sharp each time out so far, which is obviously great news. Gotta think he’s still three or four starts away, however.

Open Thread: Throwbacks

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(REUTERS/Gretchen Ertl)

I gotta say, those were some pretty sweet uniforms on the Yankees today. I was skeptical when I first heard they were going to wear the 1912 throwbacks to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park, but I’m glad they did. Don’t get me wrong, the regular uniforms are great, but I was definitely diggin’ the throwbacks. Beating the Red Sox is always fun, but doing so in style is even better.

Anyway, here is tonight’s open thread. The Knicks and Mets are playing, and MLB Network is going to air a game as well. There’s also the NHL playoffs. Talk about whatever you like here, enjoy.

Pineda scheduled for two innings in minor league game tomorrow

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Via Erik Boland, manager Joe Girardi said before today’s game that right-hander Michael Pineda is scheduled to throw two innings in an Extended Spring Training game tomorrow. It will be his first game action since landing on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. Pineda threw a series of bullpen sessions over the last week, and apparently now he’s ready to get back on the mound and into game action. He’ll need a handful of minor league rehab starts before we see him in the big leagues, obviously.

Game 14: Fenway

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Hope the Yankees score 100 runs today to celebrate. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

It’s just another game for the Yankees, but it’s a historic day for the Red Sox. Fenway Park, home to so many memorable Yankees moments, turns 100 years old today. The Sox will have basically every living Red Sox player in the ballpark and on the field for a pre-game ceremony, though apparently Theo Epstein didn’t get an invite. The guy only delivered their first two World Championships in a lifetime, I’m sure the Fenway faithful didn’t want to give him a hand anyway. Seriously, the Sox have never really been great at public relations.

Anyway, the Yankees will lend a hand in the festivities by wearing 1912 throwback uniforms, the same get-ups they wore when the place opened. There are no numbers on the back, so you better know your Yankees by their mannerisms. Here’s the starting lineup…

SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
DH Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
1B Mark Teixeira
RF Nick Swisher
LF Raul Ibanez — would have preferred Andruw Jones in left with the wall
3B Eric Chavez
C  Russell Martin

RHP Ivan Nova

Looking for a big outing out of Nova today, quality innings and lots of ’em. The game is tentatively scheduled to start at 3:15pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. We’re going to chat during the game, so join the fun after the jump.

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The RAB Radio Show: April 20, 2012

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With another week of baseball in the books we have plenty to talk about. We basically covered all of the Yanks flaws and strengths in this episode, going from the shaky starting pitching to the lights-out bullpen, to the consistent, if frustrating, offense. It’s been quite a few weeks, and things will only get better from here.

Podcast run time 46:58

Here’s how you can listen to podcast:

[audio:http://riveraveblues.com/podcasts/TheRABRadioShow042012.mp3]

Intro music: “Die Hard” courtesy of reader Alex Kresovich. Thanks to Tyler Wilkinson for the graphic.

For Fenway’s 100th, Yanks throwback to 1912

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The Yanks will sport throwback 1912 hats today to honor the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park.

While watching the Twins and Yankees play on Wednesday night, I took stock of the field and shook my head at the Twins’ uniforms. Minnesota sometimes sports these alternate road jerseys with grey pants, and the team looked as though they were more prepared for a Spring Training game than a regular season affair.

The Twins though aren’t the only team with solid color tops. All across baseball, either as part of a marketing effort or to vary up the styles, clubs have added alternate uniforms. The Angels were sporting solid red tops over the weekend; the Blue Jays wear something that’s, well, very blue; and the Red Sox too have solid red or blue tops for home or away games, respectively. Call me old fashioned — or a Yankee fan — but I much prefer the solid look.

The Yankees, meanwhile, have not broken with tradition. Except for one game during which MLB honored the Negro Leagues, the Bombers have steadfastly refused to discard their now-famous home pinstripes or road greys. The uniform may have looked a little different in the earlier decades of the 20th Century but for over 50 years, since the Yanks ditched the alternate road jersey in 1943, the club has adhered to tradition through thick, thin and whatever MLB marketing gimmick crossed its path.

That is, they’ve adhered to this tradition until today. When the Yankees and Red Sox take the field in a few hours at Fenway Park, they will be dressed in modern garb updated to resemble the 1912 team. It’s Throwback Day for the Yanks for the first time in franchise history. It’s finally okay to tinker with obdurate tradition as long as the club is honoring that tradition, and I like it.

For the game today, the Yanks will sport the cap atop this post. It’s an updated look on the 1912 original. This one, from New Era, is a bit different from the 1910-1911 Cooperstown Cap. The interlocking NY is the modern version and not the compressed version from the past. The colors though — a grey cap with a navy blue bill — are sleek.

The jersey, above, are similar yet different. Gone is the New York in block letters across the front, and the interlocking logo looks a bit more historic. The serifs on the letters are more pronounced and wider, and there will be no names or numbers on the back. It’s a look straight of the time when the AL ball club had yet to settle on an identity. They weren’t quite the Highlanders as many believe today, but they weren’t yet fully embraced as the Yankees yet. (The club will also be sporting appropriate stir-ups with the high-sock look.)

I enjoy this nod toward tradition. It’s not garish; it’s not ruining the Yankee brand or the Yankee legacy. It’s a glimpse of history in 2012. And at least the Yankees of 1912 had that identifiable logo and branding. The Red Sox throwback hat is, on the other hand, such a hilarious beauty that you’ll just have to see it for yourself.