One more thread for good luck.
I’ll take eight innings of three run ball from Burnett every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
by Mike 58 Comments
One more thread for good luck.
I’ll take eight innings of three run ball from Burnett every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
by Mike
ZOMG teh season is ova.
by Mike 4 Comments
I’m super busy over at MLBTR with the signing deadline and all, so I’m going to cop out and leave you with a bullet pointer for tonight. DotF kinda sucks without Jesus Montero anyway.
In case you missed it, Russ Ortiz opted out of his contract and became a free agent. Big whoop, no big loss. Sean Black was named NY-Penn League Pitcher of the Week.
Double-A Trenton had a scheduled off day, and Short Season Staten Island is off until Wednesday for the All Star break. Regular DotF comes back tomorrow.
by Mike
The Yanks are making their second trip to California this season, yet somehow they still have one more to make after this. This time, they’re in the East Bay playing the A’s, but this isn’t the same team the Yanks faced earlier in the year – Orlando Cabrera is gone, Matt Holliday is gone, Jason Giambi is gone, and Russ Springer is gone.They’ve been replaced by guys named Everidge and Cunningham and Gray, among others.
The Yanks hopefully got their clunker out of the way yesterday and will start another winning streak tonight. They’ll be faced by ex-mate Brett Tomko, whom the A’s are starting out of desperation. Tomko had his moments in pinstripes, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to keep his job. He had been working in relief with Oakland’s Triple-A club, and I don’t think he’s stretched out. Hopefully they put this one to bed early.
Here’s the starting nine:
Jeter, DH
Damon, LF
Teixeira, 1B
A-Rod, 3B
Posada, C
Cano, 2B
Swisher, RF
Melky, CF
Pena, SS
And on the mound, AJ Burnett.
Oh, and make sure you vote in this week’s Fan Confidence Poll. It kind of got buried underneath all of our draft coverage this morning, so you might have missed it.
One concern for the Yankees offense heading into the season was the condition of Hideki Matsui’s knees. He had an operation his right knee following the 2007 season, and then missed significant time in 2008 with left knee problems, which led to another surgery in September. This relegated Matsui to DH-only status, as the Yanks fear that playing him in the field could further aggravate his fragile joints. After Matsui had his left knee drained in April, it appears those fears were well-founded.
The latest news is that Matsui has again had his knee drained and will miss the series opener in Oakland. For Hideki to miss any time at this point is a bummer. He’s been on fire since the All-Star Break, hitting .267/.344/.488 with four doubles and five homers in 96 plate appearances (counting Saturday’s 0 for 4, when his knee was clearly bothering him). But considering the timing, it might not be that big an issue.
What’s worked most in Matsui’s favor this year is his ability to hit lefties well. He’s posted a .258/.336/.619 line against them in 110 plate appearances, and has his 10 of his 19 home runs against pitchers of the same handedness. His BABIP is a mere .211, which explains away the low average, but his power against lefties is undeniable. It would appear that there aren’t many lefty starters on the horizon for the Yanks.
Oakland will feature righties Brett Tomko and Vin Mazzaro Monday and Tuesday, so the wise move would be to hold Hideki out of both of these contests, opting to use Eric Hinske in the DH spot instead. While his splits also favor lefties this year, it’s in a small 40 PA sample against them. Over his career Hinske has hit righties far better than lefties, a .804 OPS vs. a .673 mark. Might as well let him face the righties in Oakland’s rotation.
Then on Wednesday, if he’s able, Matsui can enter the lineup against Brett Anderson and the A’s. The day off will help, as the Yanks travel to Boston on Thursday. They will then have a three-game series, in which none of the Sox starters will be lefties — Jon Lester will start Thursday against Toronto. This gives the Yanks flexibility to give Matsui another two straight days off. Or perhaps they’ll opt to give Matsui the entire A’s series off, in hopes that five idle days will clear up all issues with the knee.
In any case, the Yanks have the flexibility to deal with Matsui’s current malady. They can give him as much time off as he needs, because they have a bench deep enough to mask his absence. That they’re playing the last-place A’s helps even further. Losing Matsui’s bat would be a detriment to this offense. Thankfully, it appears that they’ll be able to get him back in the lineup in due time.
by Mike 42 Comments
Via Jim Callis, the Yankees have signed 16th rounder Bryan Mitchell to an $800,000 bonus. It’s the third largest bonus given out by the Yankees so far this year (that I know of). Callis says the North Carolina high schooler “throws a lively 90-91 mph fastball and a hard slider.”
Baseball Fever, the official booster club of the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees, will be hosting two fundraisers this Sunday to raise money for the Cody Miley Memorial Art Scholarship Fund. Cody is the son of Triple-A Scranton manager Dave Miley, and was killed last August in a car accident just a few days short of his 18th birthday. The first fundraiser will be a silent auction held during Scranton’s 1:05 game against Buffalo, and the second will be a picnic with the players after the game.
You can find more information about the fundraiser as well as contact info here. If you’re going to be in the Scranton area this Sunday, stop by the ballpark to help out a good cause.