River Avenue Blues

Trouble, thy name is Roger

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Some ruminations on Roger Clemens’ season numbers, if you will.

Starts IP IP/Start H ERA K/9 IP K/BB
1-6 38.6 6.4 33 3.49 6.5 3.11
7-11 26.3 5.2 35 5.13 4.8 1.75

Clemens is getting paid approximately $1 million per start, and recently he’s failed to deliver. Alarmingly, his hits allowed are up and his strike out numbers are well below his career low. If the other options that we’ve seen – Kei Igawa, Tyler Clippard, Chase Wright – weren’t so dreadful, we’d be a whole lot more concerned about Clemens’ longevity and pitching than we are right now.

Brower, not Joba, gets the call in Myers’s wake

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Remember back earlier in the season when we absolutely needed a starter? The Yanks, citing the ease of the move due to his being on the 40-man roster, called up Chase Wright. They were chastised, and rightfully so. You don’t make a move like that just because a dude is on the 40-man. Hell, he was only there to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft, which he easily would have been.

There were three names floating around to get the callup for Myers: Edwar, Joba, and Jim Brower. Of them, only Edwar is on the 40-man. In this case, it would seem acceptable to call up Edwar. It’s the easier move, and he’s been stellar all year — except when he’s been on two-weeks’ rest.

However, Brian Cashman decided to clear another 40-man roster spot for Jim Brower. The casualty is yet unknown, but this is a rather suspect move, especially at this time. The Yanks just DFA’d Colter Bean to make room for Hughes. Now they have to DFA someone else to make room for Brower. Plus, once they deem Joba ready, they’ll have to axe someone else for him — though that could be Brower if he doesn’t work out.

We are completely advocates of making the right move, regardless of roster implications. However, it just seems strange that Brower got the call in this situation when he is the hardest one to accommodate.

If this is a “we’ll try Brower, and if he doesn’t work out, we’ll DFA him and go with Joba” kinda move, then it’s okay — I guess. There doesn’t seem to be any reason not to use Joba right now, though.

Update: I’m an idiot. Myers’s 40-man spot goes to Brower. Still, another spot would have to be cleared for Joba.

A weekend’s worth of Down on the Farm

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Looks like we missed some valuable time in the minors. Ben and I were both away this weekend, hence the lack of activity. But we’re back now, and with three full Down on the Farms. Here ya go, folks.

Sunday

Triple-A Scranton (2-1 win over Buffalo)
Brett Gardner: 0 for 4, 2 K — eh, give him a day to get back in the swing
Justin Christian: 1 for 4
Giambi: 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 K
Angel Chavez: 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 K
Eric Duncan: 2 for 3, 1 2B
KT: 1 for 4, 1 K
Alberto: 0 for 4
Durazo: 1 for 1 — pinch hit in the 9th and drove in the go-ahead run
Mighty Matt: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K — too bad he’ll never don pinstripes again
Ross Ohlendorf: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K — Joba, Britton, Edwar, Ohlendorf…why are Villone and Farnsworth in our bullpen again?
Jose Veras: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K — still not impressive

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So Joba finally allowed a baserunner

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Joba pitched in relief again yesterday. This time, the Yanks had him go two innings. He allowed one meager single. And that runner was erased when he was caught stealing. So in three relief appearances, Chamberlain has thrown 4 innings. He’s allowed one hit and has recorded strike outs for 10 of the 12 outs. He’ll be in the Bronx as soon as the Yanks can clear up a roster spot. I hope Kyle Farnsworth has enjoyed his tenure in New York City because it should be ending soon.

Yanks waive good bye to Myers

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Courtesy of Peter Abraham comes the fantastic news that Mike Myers has been designated for assignment. Myers had one role on the Yanks, and he just wasn’t doing it well. After today’s debacle, lefties are hitting .312 (24 for 77) against Myers, and with Ron Villone actually pitching serviceably for the Yanks, Myers was expendable. While the corresponding move may be to activate Jason Giambi tomorrow, I would expect that Joba Chamberlain may find himself in the Yankee pen sooner rather than later.

Update: Newday reports that Jim Brower will join the Yankees to replace Myers. Brower, 34, is a reliever with experience in parts of 8 Major League seasons. At AAA, he’s thrown 43.2 innings, nailing 40 Ks and pitching to an ERA of 1.65. With this move, there’s no way Miguel Cairo is still on the team after Giambi is activated.

Update by Joe: Ah, but the Post reports that Joba will be activated this afternoon to take Myers’s spot. We’ll clear this one up once it’s made official.

That took long enough

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From the Blackberry, it’s quick hits from today’s win…

  • So 500. That’s good. The Yanks rolled while ARod struggled a bit but this team is primed for a huge August.
  • Phil Hughes struggled a bit but that is as expected. He fared this poorly during his debut a few months back. He was clearly nervous, and based on the obvious excpectations, I don’t blame him. Expect a good start next Friday against Cleveland. This kid’s got some future.
  • Why is Kyle Farnsworth still around? He couldn’t even pitch well in a nine-run game. Dump him please. You gotta believe the boos are getting to him too.
  • Luis Vizcaino in.a 16-7 game? Really, Joe? Come on.
  • That Proctor-for-Betemit deal looks better each day. I have to give Cashman props too. He turned a huge liability – the bench – into a strength with the additions of Duncan, Molina and Betemit in July. With Giambi coming back, the bench will get even stronger when Damon enters the anticpated platoon.
  • With the Tigers down as I write, the Yanks could be 1.5 games out of the Wild Card before the night is over. Not bad, eh?

Almost as rare as Big Foot

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Spotted outside my office this afternoon: A man wearing a Yankee shirt with the number 45 on the back and the name Pavano written above it. That’s right; I saw someone wearing a Carl Pavano shirt in public. Maybe he was out of clean clothing because really, who does that?