River Avenue Blues

Stadium hits: bowl games, lawsuits and bikes

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Ever the popular topic, new Yankee Stadium has been much in the news lately. I have three stories to highlight today. So let’s just jump in.

Stadium could host bowl games
As anyone who has been subjected to the endlessly boring mid-inning interviews of college football coaches and athletic directors on YES broadcasts of recent Yankee games knows, new Yankee Stadium will be hosting a slate of college football games over the next few seasons. Today, the Daily News reports on something far bigger than just the compelling Rutgers/Army match-up. Yankee Stadium may host a bowl game.

According to Bill Madden, Yankee officials — including Hal Steinbrenner — have been talking with the higher-ups at the NCAA about reviving New York-based bowl games. The two sides are targeting a December 2011 date as the inaugural match-up. As Madden notes, old Yankee Stadium hosted the Gotham Bowl in 1962. While I’m frankly tired of hearing about Army’s sub-par football program coming to Yankee Stadium, a bowl game in New York, BCS or otherwise, would be exciting.

Meanwhile, Fack Youk offers up a dissenting opinion. While Yanks COO Lonn Trost continues to proclaim Yankee Stadium “not just a stadium for baseball,” the dimensions and design are such that a football field can’t really fit properly. Baseball stadiums just aren’t meant to host football games, Jay writes.

Yanks face stadium construction lawsuits
During the course of any major construction project, injuries — and subsequent lawsuits — are sure to mount, and new Yankee Stadium is no exception. As Dorian Block details today, a 28-year-old worker who lost the use of his hand in a handsaw accident last July is suing the team and Turner Construction. Marc Kemprowski alleges that the powersaw was missing a $1.50 safety guard. His suit is one of many the Yanks and Turner face over accidents during the construction of the new park.

Biking options few around new Stadium
As many of you know, I’m a big transit buff. My other blog focuses entirely around mass transit in New York City, and every now and then, transportation issues and baseball intersect. Late yesterday, Streetsblog’s Ben Fried explored biking to Yankee Stadium. Playing off a recent article in Sports Illustrated for Kids, Fried notes that bike parking around the new stadium is severely limited.

According to Sarah Braunstein’s piece for SI Kids, the nearest bike parking for Yankee Stadium is four blocks away in front of the Bronx County Supreme Court building. For comparison, Citi Field has ten bike parking racks right outside, and Wrigley Field and AT&T Park in San Francisco both offer secure indoor parking for bikes.

As a few Streetsblog commenters noted, Yankee Stadium isn’t exactly isolated. Three subway lines service the park during games, and a new Metro-North station sees three commuter rail lines pass through it. The stadium is also serviced by a ferry. Still, for those brave enough to bike to and park in the South Bronx, the Yankees probably should have found a way to host a bike rack or two. After all, the Yanks have been pushing the fact that Yankee Stadium is environmentally friendly. With Heritage Field set to open across the street in a few years, there is still plenty of time to make Yankee Stadium even more access-friendly.

Keeping up in the arms race

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Jarrod WashburnBefore we get into this post, let’s make something very clear: The Yankees are not moving Phil Hughes back into the rotation this year. It’s just not happening, no matter how much we want it to. They’ve expressed zero desire to take him out of the bullpen thus far, and there’s no reason to expect that to change. I don’t like it and you probably don’t like it either, but it’s just the way it is. And because of this, the Yankees are in need of another starting pitcher.

Oh sure, Sergio Mitre might do a splendid job filling in for the injured Chien-Ming Wang, and I sure hope he does. The problem is that at some point Joba Chamberlain is going to hit his innings limit (he’s at 95.2 IP right now), and of course there’s always the threat of an injury or two. The Yanks pitching depth is as stretched as stretched can be now that Ian Kennedy is recovering from an aneurysm while Hughes and Al Aceves have become bullpen staples. The team needs another arm to help take the load off the other guys, just because it’s better to be safe than sorry (plus we all hate Sidney Ponson). It doesn’t have to be a Roy Halladay-type (though it would be nice); someone like Jarrod Washburn would be just fine.

The Yanks were reportedly close to completing a deal for Washburn before last year’s deadline, but Seattle got greedy and overplayed their hand. Then-GM Bill Bavasi was fired over the winter and his replacement – former Brewers scouting director Jack Zduriencik – appears to have his head screwed on straight. The Mariners are just four games back in the division and five back for the Wild Card with the league’s third most favorable schedule ahead of them, so there’s a chance Washburn might not even be available at all. However if they tank between now and the deadline, expect the former Angels hurler to be shopped around a bit. A waiver wire deal could also be pulled off after July 31st should the M’s stay in contention passed next Friday.

As for Washburn, the deal makes more sense now than it did last season because he’s actually pitching, you know, effectively. Through his first 18 games last year he had a 4.83 ERA, a 4.37 FIP and a .817 OPS against, but those numbers have dropped to 2.87, 3.77 and .632 in ’09. And while that improvement is nice, it’s even nicer that there’s actual tangible evidence to support it, rather than the usual “maybe he just figured it out” shtick. Washburn’s added about a mile an hour to his heater and two miles an hour to his changeup this year, but the biggest adjustment is the incorporation of a two-seamer into his arsenal.

While he has done a swell job against southpaws in his career, righthanders have hit Washburn up for a .265-.323-.758 batting line. Those problems against righties were exacerbated last year when they pounded him to the tune of .299-.361-.504. The two-seamer has allowed Washburn to neutralize righties better than he has in some time (.252-.307-.382 this year), and he’s been death to lefties (.175-.211-.278). It’s a new pitch hitters haven’t seen before, and they’ve yet to adjust to it. His strikeout rate is up a tick, his walk rate is down nearly a full walk per nine innings, and his BABIP is touch low but not outrageous. The big difference between Washburn’s ERA and FIP can be explained by Seattle’s insanely good defense, particularly in the outfield since he’s a flyball pitcher.

Washburn will be a free agent in the offseason and is making $10.35M this year, so if Zduriencik decides to move him at the deadline he stands to save about $3.5M. Given how the Yanks had the Pirates pay half of Eric Hinke’s measly salary when they picked him up late last month, I don’t think it’s safe to assume the Bombers will just absorb that money. Regardless, I can’t imagine the M’s would expect a significant return since we’re still talking about a soon-to-be 35-yr old pitcher who hasn’t been above league average in four years. Think two low-level minor leaguers, neither of them significant prospects, and salary relief. Something along those lines. Probably the biggest obstacle in any deal for Washburn is his full no-trade clause. That’s just something you worry about when the time comes, but if he wants an extension, then forget it. Obviously.

What do you guys think? Should the Yanks make a move for Washburn to shore up the rotation, or hold off and go with what they have? Any other starters out there you’d like to see them kick the tires on (non-Halladay and Cliff Lee division)?

Photo Credit: Flickr user Saltimbanco

It’s almost too quiet out there

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During my wanderings around Baseball Reference Wednesday afternoon, I found myself on the page for the 2003 Yankees. As I read over the team roster, I was surprised at the number of moves the team made in June. To gear up for their epic postseason series against the Red Sox, Brian Cashman was a trading fiend.

The party really started in early June when the Yankees traded March Thames to the Rangers for Ruben Sierra. A few weeks later, they added Karim Garcia and Dan Miceli. Armando Benitez made his way from Queens to the Bronx in mid-July, and Jesse Orosco joined him six days later.

As the deadline neared, the pace picked up. Dan Miceli was out on July 29 and so was Raul Mondesi. In were Dave Dellucci and Bret Prinz. On the 31st, Brian Cashman landed himself Aaron Boone, Bubba Crosby, Scott Proctor and Gabe White. He wasn’t yet done though.

As the waiver deadline didn’t arrive until the end of August, Cashman kept working. Benitez, thankfully, was gone by August 6, and the Yanks netted themselves Jeff Nelson in return. On August 25, the Yanks received Felix Heredia off of waivers from the Reds, and they traded Jesse Orosco six days later. And then, Cashman was spent.

Six years later, we find ourselves once again on the brink of the trade deadline, and while the rumors are swirling, the Yankees have added, well, just Eric Hinske. All is quiet on the Yankee front. While the Red Sox were adding Adam LaRoche and Chris Duncan — good luck with them — the Yankees warrant nary a word in Ken Rosenthal’s latest.

This below-the-radar turn for the Yanks is rare. Generally, the Yankees are in on everyone and make a deadline splash. This year, though, the holes are less obvious. They could use a starter — we’ll tackle that question in the morning — and they could use a bullpen arm. If the right outfielder were available for the right price, the Yanks would probably be mentioned there too. They have, for what it’s worth, been scouting Oakland, but they’re also about to begin a four-game set against Matt Holliday and the A’s. I wouldn’t read too much into that.

A few days ago, Brian Cashman, while staying a bit coy, expressed his pleasure with the state of the Yankees. “I’m very comfortable with the decision we made back with the Santana situation,” he said to Tyler Kepner. “Right now, we’ve got Sabathia where the Santana money is, I’ve got a center fielder in Melky, I’ve got Phil Hughes performing for us, and I’ve got Swisher in right, which Jeffrey Marquez was in the deal to help me get.”

In other words, Cashman isn’t about to sell the farm and pay out of the ear for another pitcher. Roy Halladay won’t be arriving in New York.

Cashman also noted that the July 31st deadline is largely a pointless one. “The waiver stuff is not going to prevent deals in August,” the Yanks’ GM said to Kepner. “Guys are going to get through because people will be afraid to claim and get stuck with the money they can’t afford. The July 31 deadline is more of a fictitious one now, anyway. It’s not like it was when Steve Phillips and I were going haywire, taking everybody off the wire. Those days are dead and buried, because no one can live with a mistake like they used to. The economy’s changed, and it’s affected everybody.”

There will be no more Jose Canseco waiver grabs, but there could be some moves. So for now, the Yankees remain on the sidelines and silent, enjoying their two-game lead over Boston. But the deadline is still eight days away, and there’s much dealing to be done. It won’t stay this quiet forever.

Jews for Jesus (Montero)

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Jews for Jesus (Montero)

That gem of a sign comes from reader Dave Soberman, who was raising hell with his buddies at Saturday’s Double-A Trenton game. Here’s the email he sent us, which tells the story. Here’s a few more pics: Dave with the sign, the sign at field level, the sign with Bolt, Montero signing said sign, and Dave heckling poor Jorge Jimenez. How awesome is that?

Meanwhile, Baseball America’s John Manuel called Montero an untouchable prospect.

Triple-A Scranton was rained out, and Chad Jennings says they’re not going to even going to bother to make it up.

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Yanks topple Os for sixth straight

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For the Yankees, life is good. They’ve gotten contributions from all ends in the six games since the break, and have taken all six contests. The latest came earlier this afternoon in the series finale against the Orioles. The Yankees sent out A.J. Burnett, hoping he’d replicate the success he’d had leading up to the break. They were not disappointed.

Burnett scattered six hits and three walks over seven innings of work, tossing 104 pitches and getting 68 over for strikes. That’s a bit more than we’re used to seeing from Burnett. He ran into trouble a couple of times, both on out of the ordinary plays. In the third Nick Swisher dropped a fly ball led to a first and third, none out situation, and then a second and third, one out situation. Swisher got his redemption, though, running down a line drive by Ty Wiggington to end the frame.

The jam in the seventh didn’t end so painlessly. Robert Andino, the Orioles No. 9 hitter, bounced one sky high in front of the plate. By the time it came down neither Posada nor Burnett had a chance to make a play. Adam Jones later doubled, and Nick Markakis knocked in the Os first run with a sac fly. The Yanks were out of the inning when Aubrey Huff hacked at strike three in the dirt, but it bounced away from Posada and Jones scored. That’s quite a painful way to surrender two runs.

The action picked up again in the ninth. Phil Hughes had pitched the eighth, but the Yankees tacked on a run in the bottom, so Brian Bruney came in to close things out. It was his first appearance since July 10, and we’re all familiar with his struggles of late. Things looked good, as he struck out Andino, on three pitches, and Roberts, on a two-two count.

Then Adam Jones homered on the first pitch he saw. Okay. Forgivable. Adam Jones is good, and that was probably a poorly placed pitch. But when Nick Markakis followed two pitches later, that was enough. Girardi made the slow walk to the mound, summoning Rivera for the one-out save. Rivera completed striking out the side, and the Yanks picked up another victory.

We often hear about the Yankees struggling against rookie pitchers they’ve yet to see — in fact, I think it’s brought up in some capacity every time, win or lose. Today they not only got to Jason Berken, but they got to him early. It helped that Brian Roberts bobbled a Robinson Cano bouncer with the bases loaded, but when the frame was over the Yanks had jumped out to a 4-0 lead. That would be enough for Burnett to cruise through the rest of the game.

It’s tough coming up with new things to say after all these wins. The Yankees played well. They hit with runners in scoring position: 7 for 15. They got some timely pitching and made some good defensive plays (even if they were making up for previous blunders). It was an all-around great effort, as it has been since the break (and before). Teams that play like this will win ball games. That’s what they tell me.

It’s back to work tomorrow. A’s are in town for a four-game set. CC Sabathia gets to open things up. Until then, treat this as your open thread. But treat it gently.

Kennedy, on the mend, eyes winter ball

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When Ian Kennedy went down with an aneurysm in late April, he had put together a very fine string of four AAA starts. Over 22.2 innings, he had a 1.59 ERA and had allowed just 18 hits and seven walks while striking out 25. Considering the state of the Yanks’ fifth starter, odds are good Kennedy would have gotten another shot at the Bronx. Today, Ken Davidoff checks in on Kennedy, and the right-hander is progressing nicely. He is already throwing on flat ground and seems to be ahead of schedule. While Brian Cashman does not expect Kennedy to be ready to pitch in New York this year, he told Davidoff: “It’s possible he’ll see minor league action though, and he’s a definite winter-ball candidate.”

Catching up with the exes: Tomko, Pavano, Small

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To while away the afternoon now that the Yanks and Orioles have wrapped up their series, let’s check in on some ex-Yankees in the news these days. We start with the disgruntleds:

Brett Tomko
To make room for Sergio Mitre yesterday, the Yankees designated Brett Tomko for assignment. They have ten days to trade him or they can release him or ship him down to the minors. Tomko is not a happy camper about his tenure on the Yankees. “I don’t think I got a fair shot,” he said to reporters as he packed up his locker. “I pitched great in spring training and didn’t make the team. I pitched great in the minors, got called up and didn’t get much of a chance. I understand other guys are pitching great. But it could have been different. I can’t see the point in coming back.”

This is a clear example of the Yankees’ expectations not lining up with Tomko’s. At 36, Brett Tomko is a journeyman with a career ERA+ of 92. He isn’t the future of anything, and he’s not getting better. During his time on the Yanks, he allowed runs in seven of his 15 appearances and just wasn’t a trustworthy or impressive reliever.

“It’s hard when you throw once every 10 days. Your stuff can’t be the same,” he added later. “I never felt like I got a chance to show them anything. I wasn’t pitching much. As much as I want to be here and be with a winning team, I want to pitch. It would be great if they traded me in the next 10 days to help me out. But if not, I’m sure something will come up. Plenty of teams need pitching.”

Tomko won’t accept a Minor League assignment once the ten days are up, and the Yanks probably won’t find a team that needs a mediocre, ineffective and touchy pitcher. So much for him.

Carl Pavano
Try as we might, we just can’t ignore Carl Pavano. Today’s Pavano story though is something of an oddity. In what can only be described as an attempt by a reporter to create the news, Ken Rosenthal asked a Yankee official if the team would be interested in reacquiring Carl Pavano from the Indians.

The reply? A resounding no. “We’ve seen that movie,” Rosenthal’s source said. “Our players would go crazy if we did that.”

Pavano, for what it’s worth, isn’t having a terrible season. He’s 8-7 with a 5.13 ERA, but he’s managed to make 18 starts — one more than his single-season high with the Yanks. He also hasn’t been walking many batters. Yet, the Yankees hate him. The players hate him. The Front Office hates him. The fans hate him. He won’t — and shouldn’t — be back.

Aaron Small
Aaron Small was an odd addition to the Old Timer’s Day roster this year. While he went 10-0 for the Yanks in 2005, he was out of baseball a few months later after going 0-3 with an 8.46 ERA in 2006. Now, we learn that Small made his way to Yankee Stadium just six weeks after a bad bout of encephalitis. Small was in a medically-induced coma for eight days as doctors combated the virus that led to a life-threatening swelling of the former pitcher’s brain.

Small recovered from this ordeal and is slowly rebuilding his strength. This scary story makes his appearance at the stadium this past weekend all the more meaningful.