River Avenue Blues

2009 Futures Game Thread

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Jesus Montero at the Futures GameMajor League Baseball’s best prospects will all be on display today at the annual Futures Game, a showcase of the stars of tomorrow.  Wunderkinds Jesus Montero and Manny Banuelos will be on hand in St. Louis to represent the Yankees. Montero was also in the game last year, so this will be his last go around since players can only participate twice.

The former Yankee great Alfonso Soriano was the MVP of the very first Futures Game in 1999, going 2 for 3 with two jacks and five RBI in Fenway Park. Current Bomber AJ Burnett took the mound in that same game. Robbie Cano, Dioner Navarro, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Ramiro Pena, Jose Tabata, and Chien-Ming Wang are just some of the players who have represented the Yankees over the years.

On paper, it always seems like a mismatch in favor of the USA squad, but the World Team has actually won the game three of the last four years. I suppose that’s because of the megahyped amateur draft. Teams are limited to two participants, though some will only get one representative. Jason Churchill and Keith Law tell you everything you need to know about this year’s crop of players.

Here’s your starting lineups:

Team USA
1. Eric Young Jr., 2B, Rockies
2. Desmond Jennings, CF, Rays
3. Brett Wallace, 3B, Cardinals
4. Chris Carter, 1B, A’s
5. Pedro Alvarez, DH, Pirates
6. Chris Heisey, LF, Reds
7. Tyler Flowers, C, White Sox
8. Jason Heyward, RF, Braves
9. Danny Espinosa, SS, Pirates
– Chris Tillman, RGP, Orioles

World Team
1. Alcides Escobar, SS, Brewers
2. Tyson Gillies, RF, Mariners
3. Alex Liddi, 3B, Mariners
4. Barbaro Canizares, 1B, Braves
5. Jesus Montero, C, Yankees
6. Nick Weglarz, LF, Indians
7. Brett Lawrie, DH, Brewers
8. Wilmer Flores, 2B, Mets
9. Luis Durango, CF, Padres
– Junichi Tazawa, RHPP, Red Sox

Among non-Yanks, I’m most looking forward to seeing Jennings, Heyward, and Weglarz. Everyone selected for the game will play today, and no pitcher will work more than one inning. Here are the full rosters. The fun starts at 2pm and will air on ESPN2. Enjoy the game, the regular game thread for the Yanks will be along not long before first pitch.

Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

The interchangeable bullpen

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One point we harped on for much of the spring and then through April is that the Yankees had and still have a decently flexible bullpen. When the likes of Edwar, Albaladejo, and to an extent Jose Veras dropped the ball, the Yanks had options to pick them back up. That worked out smashingly as the team worked through May and June. Recently, though, they’ve run into another wall.

Part of the solution could be getting Aceves back into the pen, depending on how the team decides to use Chien-Ming Wang’s rotation spot. There are other spots that might need a replacement as well. The Yankees continue to hold Brett Tomko, who is decent in mop-up duty and little else. We’ve also seen David Robertson’s flaws exposed. He’s had some good stretches for the team, but his recent penchant for allowing inherited runners won’t help his case to stay in the majors.

To whom could the Yankees turn in the second half to take these spots? Here are just a few names.

Mark Melancon: Yes, he’s up with the team already, but he’s technically in Wang’s spot. The Yanks could opt to keep the more promising Melancon over Robertson or Tomko. Chances are, though, that he’ll have to provide a few good innings before the Yanks decide to keep him.

Jon Alabaladejo: After starting the season in the bigs, Albaladejo faltered a bit and the Yanks optioned him to AAA. He flourished there, pitching to an ERA under 2. He did pitch well in his brief stint back, but the Yankees had to option him to get another relief arm up.

Sergio Mitre: Whether as a starter or reliever, chances are Mitre will see the Bronx this year.

Ivan Nova: After years of scouts raving about his potential, he appears to be putting it together. It’s been just a few starts in AAA, so they’ll let him incubate a bit longer. Still, the Yanks could bring him up for starting or relief duty in August.

Zach Kroenke: A 1.17 ERA at AAA will get you noticed. Throwing with your left arm will probably get you a call-up at some point. Then again, the Marlins did return him after selecting him in the Rule 5 draft.

Anthony Claggett: Unfortunately, we all remember the Claggett experiment. He’s pitched well at AAA, but the walks are a bit high for a bullpen arm.

Mike Dunn: 76 strikeouts in 53.1 AA innings. He’s on the 40-man, making things easier. But his walks are way, way too high to bring him up right now.

Wilkin De La Rosa: Another guy on the 40-man. He’s pitched well in 10 AA starts this year, but again the walks are just a bit too high.

Kanekoa Texeira: Has recovered well after a rough start, but again walks too many guys.

Those are the most likely guys for promotion. It’s not a totally promising group of guys, but there could be a few winners in there. Just for fun, I listed them in rank — as in, who has the best chance of making the bullpen. We can keep this one open for thought while we wait for the game to start.

The Pettitte problem

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No matter what happens today, the Yankees will head into the All Star Break with the third-highest win total in the Major Leagues. They are holding down a playoff position and have played some of the best baseball I’ve seen this team play in a few seasons.

All however is not wine and roses. While we looked at Joba’s recent struggles yesterday, today we are faced with the reality of Andy Pettitte. He may have eight wins, but they haven’t been pretty. Lately, he’s barely been keeping the Yanks in the game. Handed a 4-0 lead yesterday afternoon, Pettitte gave it all back and more before the 5th inning was out. Similar to Joba on Friday, Pettitte was showered by the end of the 5th.

This start caps off a bad end to the first half for Pettitte. After going 5-1 with a 4.10 ERA through the end of May, Pettitte has tanked. He’s 3-4 with a 5.93 ERA. He has allowed 51 hits over his last 44 innings while walking 21 and striking out 36. That’s a 1.66 WHIP for those keeping score at home. Opponents have an OPS against Pettitte well over .800 now.

More alarming, in a way though, are his innings totals. Those 44 innings span eight starts. He’s averaging just 5.5 innings per game. When the season started, Pettitte was billed as a solid back-end guy. He’d throw to a mid-4 ERA but would give the Yanks some length. He’s not really doing that anymore.

Overall, Pettitte heads into the break with an 8-5 record and a 4.85 ERA. Since the 2008 All Star break, Pettitte is 12-12 with a 5.06 ERA. He just turned 37 last month, and we’re unlikely to see Pettitte improve.

When I saw the results of the game yesterday, I sent Joe and Mike an e-mail. “The Yanks have a bit of a pitching problem on their hands,” I said, and my two co-writers agreed. What we’re seeing is what we’re going to get from Pettitte right now. He throws 88 or 89 with flashes of 90 but can’t push a ball by too many hitters anymore. He hasn’t yet reinvented himself a la Mike Mussina 2008 but is showing why I was reluctant to bring him back this past winter.

The Yankees can feel good about themselves after today’s game, and we should too. They’re a very good team right now, but they have some holes. For better or worse, Andy Pettitte is one of those holes, and with Wang out and Joba struggling as a youngster breaking into the Bigs, the Yanks should be pondering how to address this Andy Pettitte problem.

Yanks pitching implodes again in 14-8 loss

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For the second straight night, the Yankees starter could not get through the fifth inning. Friday night it was inexperienced starter Joba Chamberlain. Saturday it was well-experienced starter Andy Pettitte. His short start exposed the weaknesses in the bullpen. It was more than the powerhouse Yankees offense could overcome.

Pettitte allowed six runs, all earned, and all in the fourth and fifth innings. A double and a single to lead of the inning accounted for the sole run in the fourth, but Pettitte recovered to get the next three and keep the game at 4-1. In the fifth, it would all come undone.

Even with the shaky start to the fourth, Pettitte had still allowed just two hits through four. In the fifth it was amazing that he managed even one out. That was on a Chone Figgins grounder into a fielder’s choice. Everyone else Pettitte faced in the inning either singled or homered.

David Robertson didn’t help matters, coming into the middle of an inning and again let those inherited runners score. He added a run of his own, and in the end was bailed out when Howie Kendrick slid past second base on what would have been a successful steal attempt.

He actually recorded three outs in the sixth, but he buried a curve for strike three so deep to Reggie Willits that it went all the way to the backstop. That led to a run when Eric Aybar, who had a .325 OBP and .374 SLG heading into the series, tripled, his third hit of the day. It took Brett Tomko to finish off the side.

Another dropped third strike allowed the Angels to cushion their lead in the bottom of the eighth. With Reggie Willits on second — due to a sloppy throw over to first by Phil Coke — Chone Figgins swung and missed at a ball in the dirt. Jorge didn’t get all the way down, and the ball bounced through his legs and to the backstop, putting runners on first and third.

This set the stage for Bobby Abreu to drive in an insurance run with a sac fly to deep center. That made it 11-8 Angels, but it would end there. The umps blew yet another call when Chone Figgins slid in safely to second. The replay showed Cano tagging Figgins on the helmet before he touched the bag, but that apparently doesn’t matter any more. That would have been the third out, but the blown call led to three more Angels runs.

As an aside, these blown calls are getting a bit ridiculous. They’re not the reason the Yankees are losing games, but they’re sure not helping. While it’s unlikely they’d overcome an 11-8 deficit in the ninth, it’s almost impossible to come back from 14-8. The only thing keeping them in the game at that point is the old Yogi saying that it ain’t over ’til it’s over.

A big — nay, astronomical — part of the problem is that the bullpen has been overexposed lately. Bullpens, as we all know, are volatile, and to give them four, five innings per game is going to hurt you. Here are the starters and their innings over the past three games:

7/9: Aceves 3.1 IP
7/10: Joba 4.1 IP
7/11: Pettitte 4.1 IP

The Yankees bullpen had been great in June and the start of July, but there are few, if any, bullpens in the league which could withstand such a toll. The key to the bullpen before this stretch has been riding the hot hand. The more they have to pitch, the less able the manager is to do that.

It’s sad, really, that poor pitching overshadowed the Yanks jumping out to an early lead. Not only that, but they put up some runs even when the game got out of hand — started to get it back in hand, even, until the eighth. The offense did more than enough, even though Teixeira, Posada, and Damon went hitless.

There is no silver lining to this game. The Yankees lost and they lost bad. The only saving grace is that they have their ace taking the hill heading into the break. That, and they’re still in good position, even if they lose the game. CC Sabathia vs. John Lackey tomorrow.

Brackman highlights busy night with solid effort

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Zach Kroenke was added to the International League All Star Team. That’s what a 0.95 ERA will get you.

Jesus Montero was place on the temporary inactive list since he’s in St. Louis for the Futures Game. He’s going to start the game behind the plate for the World Team and bat fifth tomorrow. Jonathan Mayo says the starting pitchers will be Chris Tillman (O’s) and Junichi Tazawa (Red Sox).

Triple-A Scranton (2-0 loss to Buffalo)
Kevin Russo: 1 for 5, 1 R
Ramiro Pena: 2 for 5 – he was supposed to play CF tonight, but the outfield was wet so they held him back … he’s supposed to be out there tomorrow
Austin Jackson: 3 for 4, 1 R, 1 K – 11 for his last 24 (.458)
Shelley Duncan & Frankie Cervelli: both 1 for 4 – Shelley threw a runner out at second from RF … Cervelli doubled & K’ed twice
Juan Miranda: 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 K
Colin Curtis & Yurendell DeCaster: both 0 for 4 – DeCaster K’ed twice
Doug Bernier: 1 for 3, 1 2B, 1 K
Ivan Nova: 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 15-3 GB/FB – 58 of 98 pitches were strikes (59.2%) … just keeps on mowin’ ’em down
Zach Kroenke: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1-0 GB/FB – 4 of 6 pitches were strike … wait, is it too late to take back that All Star spot?
Jon Albaladejo: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K – 11 of 16 pitches were strikes (68.8%) … allowed the lone inherited runner to score

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A-Rod now 10th on all-time HR list

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Amid the muck of this game, Alex Rodriguez hit his 569th and 570th career home runs, tying him and then moving him past Rafael Palmeiro for 10th all-time. Three more and he’s tied with Harmon Killebrew. A-Rod could reach seventh all-time this season: he needs just 17 more to pass Frank Robinson.