River Avenue Blues

When the Blue Jays trade a pitcher

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When I heard earlier this week that the Blue Jays were prepared to trade Roy Halladay, six names ran through my head: Jason Jarvis, Mike Gordon and Marty Jenzen. David Wells, Homer Bush and Graeme Lloyd.

The names represent extremes of the trade spectrum and relate, as we know, to two blockbuster trades between the Jays and the Yankees. The first three were the package of prospects the Yanks sent to the Blue Jays in 1995 for David Cone. That would be a coup for the Yanks as Cone would win four World Series rings with the Bombers, and none of those three would amount to much. The second three were for Roger Clemens prior to the 1999 season. The legacy of that trade is best left to other posts.

As the rumors have grown surrounding Halladay — you can find the latest here on MLBTR — I pondered a post about the prior trades involving the Blue Jays and ace. So did Mark Feinsand. Since there’s no need to reinvent the wheel, we shall examine Feinsand’s charge that the three situations are not alike.

On Cone:

It’s hard to believe that’s all Toronto got for Cone, but don’t forget that he had only been in Toronto for three months when they traded him. He wasn’t the institution that Halladay is. Still, they should have gotten much more for him.

It should also be noted that this took place just months after the 1994 strike, and Cone’s $8 million salary was second-highest in the American League, so the Jays were probably happy enough to dump the free-agent-to-be once they were out of the race. Halladay is signed for another year, so there isn’t the same desperation to get rid of him.

On Clemens:

As for Clemens, the Yankees traded a package led by David Wells to get the Rocket, who had requested a trade and left the Blue Jays with very limited options based on his no-trade clause. If you want to equate that to present-day, the Yankees would have to send Toronto a package led by A.J. Burnett to get Halladay. I’m pretty sure that won’t happen.

Feinsand is on the money with Clemens, but I think the Cone comparisons are slightly closer than he thinks. As they did in 1995, the Blue Jays, a franchise treading water, want salary relief. But, unlike in 1995, their fans know the value of Halladay, and they will have to land more than just three no-names who aren’t going to amount to much.

Earlier this morning, rumors swirled that the Blue Jays asked for a package of three players consisting of Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes, Mark Melancon, and Austin Jackson or Jesus Montero. Clearly, J.P. Ricciardi has his intra-division sights set high, and that’s where things stand. The Yankees will not acquire Halladay, and I highly doubt the Red Sox will either. Philadelphia seems to be the likely destination with Texas far behind. The history of Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher trades will, sadly, probably not repeat itself.

New camera, software system could help rate defense

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Defense: the final frontier. For the past five or so years, baseball statisticians have been seeking a way to rate defenders. They already have measures for offensive value, with stats which reflect a player’s ability to get base hits, get on base, and hit for power. With pitching there are a rash of stats to not only measure how a pitcher did, but also to examine his independent numbers (strikeouts, walks, home runs) to help strip out how the defense helps him. Yet there is so much more that goes into defense that it’s tough to get with batted ball data. Alan Schwarz of the Times notes a new system currently being tested in San Francisco. It uses various cameras, kind of like pitch f/x, to measure the distance, trajectory, and speed of batted balls. It could be the defensive revelation we’ve been seeking.

Bob Bowman, CEO of MLBAM, said that he hopes to be measuring in San Fran by the end of this year, with the goal to get it in all 30 parks by next year. The stats, in some capacity, would be available to the public for a subscription fee — which you can be sure RAB would pony up for. As Schwarz says, “The new camera-tracking system will assess it all to the inch.” I’m pretty stoked to see this in action.

Who will stay and who will go now?

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Nearly two hours ago, Chad Jennings broke the news that Mark Melancon is heading to Anaheim to help spell the overworked Yankee relievers. After the Yankees basically got through Thursday’s victory over with the Twins by throwing six relievers, Joe Girardi asked for help and got it.

As Thursday’s game unfolded and it became clear that Alfredo Aceves wouldn’t make it through the 4th inning on his 65-70 pitch limit, I wondered about the decision to start him. Perhaps the Yankees should have made a move to bring up a pitcher who could have thrown 100+ pitchers. They have some 40-man flexibility right now, and they could have summoned Sergio Mitre.

A few fellow Yankee fans noted that the start-by-bullpen would probably be more effective than Mitre or Josh Towers, but I thought that was a short-term outlook. After all, while Aceves and the pen would make for a better outing on Thursday, it would handicap the team heading into a key weekend series against a Wild Card competitor that has a history of success against the Yankees. Short-term gains outweighed the long-term benefits, and Aceves it was.

When the game was over, it was clear that the Yankees needed help. Aceves is out until after the break; The Phils and Mariano had pitched in back-to-back games; and Jonathan Albaladejo and David Robertson had throw 28 and 23 pitches respectively. The Yankees were facing the real possibility of heading to Anaheim with just Brett Tomko and Brian Bruney available for long stints. So Mark Melancon was summoned. The question now because who will stay and who will the go. The answers could be intriguing.

First up are the obvious candidates. David Robertson or Jonathan Albaladejo are probably the ones most likely to go. Neither is available to pitch on Friday, and both have ridden the Scranton shuttle this year. Robertson managed to walk in two runs with the bases loaded on Thursday and can’t find consistency. He is brilliant or all over the place. Albaladejo is expendable and could be up shortly after the All Star break.

The Yankees could also choose to DFA Brett Tomko, but for now, they won’t. It would in fact be anathema to their goal. Melancon is up to add an available arm to the pen. By DFAing Tomko, they would be eliminating an available arm. As much as we want to happen, it won’t. Our best hope is for Melancon to throw strikes and get outs so that the Yanks can jettison Tomko in 10 days.

Finally, we arrive at the intriguing names. Either Phil Hughes or Al Aceves could get sent down for a short time. Right now, the Yankees don’t need a 5th starter until July 21, and neither Aceves nor Hughes are stretched out. If the Yanks send Aceves down, he could start for Tampa or Staten Island on Tuesday or Wednesday to get his pitch count up. He would then be ready for a full start of around 100 pitches on the 21.

Sending Hughes down would put him out of commission for a few more days. If the Yanks want to get Hughes ready, he could pitch on Saturday and then again on the 16th before getting ready for a July 21 start. He’d probably be up to around 85 pitches that day, and the Yanks could opt to have him use those pitches against the Orioles.

Just yesterday, Fack Youk expressed dismay over Joe Girardi’s comments on Hughes. The Yanks’ skipper seemed to indicate that Hughes would be in the pen for much of this year because he’s been so dominant. That, however, impacts his innings limit next year. It’s quite easy for the Yanks to change their mind.

In the end, much of this depends upon Chien-Ming Wang. If the Yanks are concerned about his shoulder and if it doesn’t seem as though Wang will be back any time soon, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Aceves or Hughes join the rotation for a while. No matter who it is though, the Yankees have a lot of choices. It is a testament to roster flexibility indeed.

Edwar blows up as SWB plays a home game on the road

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Two years ago today on DotF, Phil Hughes made his first rehab start after popping him hamstring in Texas.

Triple-A Scranton (6-3 loss to Lehigh Valley) the field is still a mess, so they played this game in Lehigh Valley even though SWB was technically the home team
Kevin Russo: 0 for 5, 1 K
Ramiro Pena & Austin Jackson: both 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 K – Pena swiped bag
Shelley Duncan: 1 for 3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Juan Miranda & Doug Bernier: both 0 for 3, 1 BB – Miranda K’ed twice
Frankie Cervelli: 1 for 3, 1 RBI, 1 PB – picked off first
Colin Curtis: 0 for 2, 2 BB
Yurendell DeCaster: 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
Josh Towers: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HB, 8-5 GB/FB – 45 of 75 pitches were strikes (60%)
Amaury Sanit: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2-3 GB/FB – 15 of 29 pitches were strikes (51.7%) … Cuban vet already worked his way up from Hi-A this season … he’s on the Aceves track
Edwar Ramirez: 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2-3 GB/FB – 24 of 39 pitches were strikes (61.5%)

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Melancon up for bullpen relief

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After the Yanks’ victory-by-bullpen over the Twins this afternoon, Joe Girardi hinted that he would ask Brian Cashman for some bullpen relief. The Yankees have obliged, and as Chad Jennings reports, Mark Melancon will rejoin the Big League club in Anaheim. No word yet on the corresponding move, but assume it will be either David Robertson or Jonathan Albaladejo. More on this after Mike’s DotF post.

Yanks overcome walks, errors to finish sweep of Twins

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Today’s game was not easy to watch. Those of you who missed it while at work were spared some frustration. The Yankees threw 151 pitches and the Twins tossed 164, and the teams combined for six mid-inning pitching changes. That’s a lot to cram into three hours and 18 minutes. Add in the Yanks committing two costly errors, walking in two runs, and using six pitchers, and it seems like a game they should have lost. In the end, the bats were able to overcome some sloppy play and the Yanks took their Metrodome finale, completing the season sweep of the Twins 6-4.

Al Aceves, making his first big league start since September of last year, didn’t pitch as well as many had hoped. He wasn’t terrible, especially for a guy making his first start since April. Trouble in the second inning upped his pitch count, and trouble in the fourth spelled his exit. He had allowed just one earned run at the time — an inexcusable down the middle fastball to Jason Kubel on an 0-2 pitch — but David Robertson walked in two more, leaving Ace with a line of 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Even the unearned run was partially his fault.

The Yankees executed a series of follies in the second inning which really led to both runs. The first was the aforementioned 0-2 pitch to Kubel. I’m sure Ace wasn’t trying to groove a fastball there, but he did and a hitter like Kubel is going to be all over that. It went out to dead center and cut the Yankees lead to 3-1. Folly No. 1. The second came two batters later. After a five-pitch walk of Mike Cuddyer, Ace threw over to first. He missed by a mile, moving Cuddyer to second. Folly No. 2.

While Folly No. 1 was frustrating and Folly No. 2 was annoying, Folly No. 3 was downright infuriating. The best you can say about Mike Redmond’s running is that he’s faster than Jose Molina. Yeah. He hit one hard to third, and the ball hit the seam. Cody Ransom stayed with it, though, corralling it with plenty of time to make an accurate throw. He pulled it, though, sending it wide of Teixeira at first and allowing Cuddyer to score. Despite missing two months, it was Ransom’s fourth error this season.

David Robertson committed Follies Nos. 4 and 5, which were even more infuriating than No. 3. He came into the game with the bases loaded, never an enviable task for any reliever, let alone a rookie. After avoiding the walk of Nick Punto, an affliction from which many Yankees pitchers have suffered this series, he put Span on first with four straight balls. 5-3 Yanks. Five pitches later, Matt Tolbert would take his base. Not only did this plate the fourth Twins run, but it brought up Joe Mauer with the bases loaded. How Robertson got him to ground out after being behind 2-0 is beyond me. I tried not to think about it too much, opting to wipe my brow and send thanks to the baseball gods.

Meanwhile, with the bullpen responsible for the remaining five innings, the Yanks could have used some more runs. A 5-4 lead just didn’t feel safe, not with Albaladejo in the pen in place of Aceves. Mark Teixeira was the only one who could deliver, sending a solo blast into the left field seats, ending his drought and the annoying comments about it being X at bats since he last homered. As of this writing, it has been one at bat since Mark Teixeira homered. Who’s counting with me?

Oddly enough, Girardi opted to stick with Robertson for the fifth. It seemed a curious move, sending out Robertson, who had just walked in two runs, to face the number four, five, and six hitters in the Twins’ order. He surprised by striking out Justin Morneau on three pitches, but got back to his inaccurate ways by walking Kubel on five. Finally Girardi had seen enough and called on Jon Albaladejo to get the last two in the fifth, and presumably all of the sixth. He delivered, striking out Cuddyer and Redmond, and then sitting down the Twins 1-2-3 in the sixth. With Coke and Hughes up and ready, the prospects of the bullpen finishing the game got a bit better.

They got a ton better when Coke shook off a leadoff bunt single by Joe Mauer to get Justin Morneau to ground out on the first pitch. He then struck out Kubel on just three. That’s five pitches, five strikes for Coke. He might have struggled with his command early on, but lately Coke has done nothing but work quickly and throw strikes. Coke’s last five appearances: 3 pitches, 2 strikes; 24 pitches, 16 strikes; 6 pitches, 4 strikes; 7 pitches, 4 strikes; 5 pitches, 5 strikes. He has allowed just one hit in that span and has walked none.

Phil Hughes again was Phil Hughes. He continued attacking hitters, a lesson we can only hope he takes with him when he eventually returns to the rotation. That was one of the frustrating things about watching him last year and even parts of this year. He’d try to hit corners, and when he didn’t he looked lost. From the bullpen he’s constantly getting ahead of guys, throwing strikes and letting them take hacks if they want. Most of the time their efforts are futile. In the eighth (after a gift out by Justin Morneau, gift-wrapped by Jorge Posada) he got ahead of all three hitters he faced, striking out the last two. The only semi-blip was against Jose Morales, but after going up 0-2 I think it was more Hughes trying to get out an inexperienced hitter with some junk pitches. In the end Hughes got him with ol’ number one, a 95 mph fastball up that Morales had no chance of reaching.

On the offensive side, the Yankees again got production from the bottom of the order. Cody Ransom walked with the bases loaded and drove in a run with a single. Brett Gardner bounced into a fielder’s choice that allowed a run to score and singled on a poorly placed Liriano changeup. The only other runs came on a Derek Jeter single to center, a bloop on the first pitch during Liriano’s long second inning, and the aforementioned Teixeira bomb. Those six runs ended up being enough for the staff, and the Twins’ four runs meant yet another save for Mariano Rivera.

The Yanks will now fly out to Anaheim to wrap up the first half of the season. Don’t be scared, though. While the Yankees haven’t fared well against the Angels in years past, this is just not the same team. They’re good, no doubt, but they’re just not as intimidating as even last year. They’ll face Jered Weaver, the only consistently good pitcher in the Angels rotation, sandwiched between struggling pitchers Joe Saunders and John Lackey. Taking two out of three would be a wonderful way to finish up before the break.

No action until 10:00 tomorrow night, so it’s time to relax. And you know what that means: A glass of wine, your favorite easy chair, and of course this open thread playing on your home Internet machine. So go on, indulge yourself. That’s right. Kick off your shoes, put your feet up, lean back and just enjoy the comments. After all, baseball soothes even the savage beast.