ByBen was digging through some stats earlier and noticed that the pundits over at Sons of Sam Horn have managed to grab the Baseball-Reference.com sponsorship for Phil Hughes’ player page. It reads:
Will be cubically transformed soon. Sincerely, The Fans of Phil Hughes’s favorite baseball team; the Red Sox and their fans at SoSH.
Ouch, that kinda stings. We all think of Phil as our own; we’ve watched him grow from a little-known high schooler to a soon-to-be frontline pitcher, but the fact is that Hughes was a Red Sox fan before stepping over to the Dark Side, thanks to his family roots in Rhode Island. Sawx phenom Clay Buchholz might be getting the call to pitch one end of Boston’s doubleheader Friday, and we could do something underhanded like sponsor his page with a message like “He stole 29 laptops from his high school and tried to sell them,” but nah, we won’t stoop to that level. Reminding us of Phil’s Red Sox allegiance stings, but not as bad as potentially blowing a 14.5 game division lead. · (11) ·
Giambi raking his way back into the lineup
By · Comments
Back when Jason Giambi was placed on the DL in early June, many Yankees fans turned on him. That they started winning some games at that point only made things worse. People were even saying ridiculous things, like Miguel Cairo being better for the team than Giambi. He hadn’t done a whole lot lately — of course, because of his injury — so people began to write him off, as Yankees fans are wont to do.
In 10 plate appearances since returning, Giambi has four hits, two of which were freakin’ crushed. On one of the six outs he’s made, he hustled his fat ass down the line and beat out a double play ball — one that he certainly wouldn’t have beat out last season.
The only question now is how to get him into the lineup regularly. Damon has been hitting .291/.395/.398 over the past month, which is just fine for a leadoff hitter — actually, it’s almost ideal. The power comes from other outlets, making Damon’s only job getting on base and swiping the occasional bag.
If you want both Damon and Giambi in the lineup, you have to sacrifice. You could put Giambi at DH and Damon in the outfield, but that means sitting Matsui (.350/.390/.667 in the past month), Melky (.361/.392/.597) or Abreu (.336/.395/.586). Another solution would be to play Giambi at first over Andy Phillips (.270/.303/.342). That would provide a significant offensive upgrade, but you’d be punting some valuable defense.
So we have the question: Do you play Giambi less, thereby reducing his potential impact? Or do you play him at first and hope his offense outweighs his defense?
ByIn the 24th round of the amateur draft this year, the Yanks made a Hail Mary selection when they announced their pick of Greg Peavey. Considered one of the top young arms in the nation, Peavey was impressive this summer while pitching in a summer league near Oregon State’s campus in Corvallis, and he says that he was impressed with the Yanks’ offer. However, Peavey has opted for college over the pros for now. In two years, when Peavey is draft-eligible again, expect him to go higher than he did this year. · (7) ·
BySo Eric Gagne blew two games this weekend against the Orioles. Meanwhile, the Yanks took the season series from a very passive Cleveland Indians team. The Yanks find themselves just four games out (and with a better Pythogorean record than the Red Sox). So the Yanks are arguably a better team right now. I think they can find a way to overcome a four-game deficit before the end of September. Time for a great pennant race. · (9) ·
The Attorney General has a career day
By · CommentsAnd 2 weeks later, they’re calling him “Eric Gag-me” in Beantown.
Triple-A Scranton (9-4 loss to Buffalo)
Brett Gardner: 2 for 5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K – 6 hits in his last 4 games
Alberto Gonzalez: 4 for 4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB – I see hitting in the 3-hole agrees with him…it’s even more impressive when you conisder that the opposing starter was this guy
Erubiel Durazo: 0 for 5, 1 K – 3 for his last 21
Eric Duncan: 0 for 4, 1 R, 1 K
Bronson Sardinha: 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 K
Ben Kozlowski: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 Balk – he’s having such a good year, it’d be a shame if he didn’t get a Sept. call-up
Colter Bean: 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 WP – guess he cleared waivers…
TJ Beam: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Jose Veras: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP
No use for a title
By · CommentsUpdate: We have a former Yankee sighting. I’m chillin’ out watching the Little League World Series on ESPN, and guess who’s the head coach for the squad from Chandler, Arizona? None other than Clay Bellinger. Awesome, just awesome.
There’s a rumor floating around that the Yanks and first round pick Andrew Brackman have either agreed to, or are close to agreeing to a deal worth $3M, which would be $2.1M over slot. Again, this is just a rumor.
Triple-A Scranton (4-1 loss to Rochester)
Brett Gardner: 1 for 3, 1 BB, 1 K – picked off second
The Kevin’s: combined 0 for 7, 1 RBI, 3 K – Thompson drove in the run
Angel Chavez, Erubiel Durazo & Alberto Gonzalez: all 1 for 4
Eric Duncan: 2 for 4, 1 R – too little, too late my friend
The Ghost of Kei Igawa’s Ghost: 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 8-3 GB/FB – well, at least he’s smiling in his SWB mugshot
Brian Bruney: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 WP – king of the 3-ball count
Chris Britton: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K – in other news, Kyle Farnsworth has a 1.59 WHIP
Padres working on deal for Igawa
By · CommentsKei Igawa, the most disappointing Yankee pitcher since Carl Pavano, may be donning the San Diego fatigues soon. According to numerous reports such as this one on ESPN.com, the Padres, who tried to acquire Igawa in July, have put a waiver claim on the lefty. The Yanks hope to acquire relief pitching for Igawa who is just 2-3 with an ERA a tad under 7.00. Let’s hope the Yanks can make this happen.
Update by Mike: I was just thinking…the Pads recently DFA’ed old friend Boomer Wells, would anyone be down with an Igawa-for-Boomer deal? If nothing else, it gives us a starter to cover Clemens’ start on Tuesday without having to finagle the 40-man roster or throw Jeff Karstens out there. Maybe he could even suck it up and serve as a lefty out of the ‘pen for the rest of the year. Random musings on my part…
Update by Ben: Joe and I were talking about Mike’s suggestion late last week when the Padres DFA’d Wells. Wells, we noted, is persona non grata in the Bronx following the 2003 World Series and comments Boomer made upon leaving New York. He’s not coming back. But he also wouldn’t be a bad influence on Hughes or Chamberlain as someone noted in the comments. If anything, Wells is a bit of a buffoon off the field but on the field, he’s always been a top competitor.
Move over Edwar, here comes Steven Artz
By · CommentsSix strong from Hughes…2 perfect from Joba…Mo for the 9th…could you script it any better?
Oh, and Eric Gagne coughed up a 4 run lead tonight. He’s now allowed 11 baserunners in 3.1 innings for the Sawx.
Triple-A Scranton (7-6 loss to Rochester)
Brett Gardner: 0 for 4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Bronson Sardinha: 0 for 5, 1 K – 3 for 19 since returning to Scranton
Kevin Reese: 2 for 3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB – threw a runner out at 3rd
Alberto Gonzalez & Chris Basak: both 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 RBI – the Attorney General doubled
Eric Duncan: 0 for 3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 E (missed catch)
Matty D: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 12-5 GB/FB
Sean Henn: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Edwar: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K – what, no Ks?
