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Mr. Irrelevant signs

June 14, 2007 by Mike 2 Comments

The last guy picked in the entire draft has signed:

The Nahant-born [Larry] Day got pre-draft invitation to work out for the Yankees in Yankee Stadium courtesy of ex-Harvard coach Matt Hyde, now a Northeast scout for the Yanks.

“I still never expected to be drafted. That was my gut feeling,” Day said.

Now for the kicker: he was the last player chosen in the draft, No. 1,453 overall.
…
Day signed with the organization and learned that he’ll probably be assigned to Staten Island (N.Y.) Saturday in the all-rookie New York-Penn League.

“My bonus? When you’re the last guy chosen, it’s not all about the money,” he chuckled.

There’s a bunch of rumors floating around message boards that a couple other guys have signed, but I have yet to see confirmation of this. BA is slow to update the signings in their draft database this year, although you can see that the Mets have begun to lock guys up.

Filed Under: Draft Tagged With: 2007 Draft

The anatomy of a winning streak

June 14, 2007 by Joe Pawlikowski 8 Comments


Photo Credit: Associated Press
What’s sweeter than picking up an eighth straight win? Picking up another game on Boston. Yeah, I know that I shouldn’t be thinking about the standings right now; winning is the name of the game, and as long as the Yanks keep doing that, they don’t have to worry about much else. But it’s still nice to see that GB number dwindle. Eight and a half is still a big number, but remember, it was 14.5 just two weeks ago.

Things look to be getting better, too — if that’s possible. We’ve inserted Clemens into the rotation, which helps solidify one of the weak points that was exploited during the season’s first two months. Sure, he’s not going to win the Cy Young or anything, but he doesn’t need to. They Yanks just need someone on whom they can rely.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Game Stories

USAToday: Giambi may face suspension if…

June 14, 2007 by Benjamin Kabak 3 Comments

Here’s a lesson Bud Selig wants you to learn: If you tell the truth, you will be suspended. If you talk about the black mark on baseball’s past in an honest and frank way, your comments will be lorded above you and used against you unless you cooperate.

In a story bound to ruffle some feathers, mine included, Bob Nightengale of USAToday reports that Bud Selig will suspend Jason Giambi next week if the slugger does not cooperate with the Senator Mitchell’s spineless steroid witch hunt. The relevant parts follow:

Commissioner Bud Selig is heading toward suspending Jason Giambi next week if the New York Yankees slugger does not cooperate with former Sen. George Mitchell’s investigation on steroid use, according to a high-ranking Major League Baseball official.

The official, who talked with Selig but has not been granted permission to speak publicly because of ongoing talks, said Selig wants Giambi’s decision by Tuesday.

Now, let’s review: Jason Giambi has never failed a steroid test under MLB’s rules; he has never broken MLB’s drug policy. While I do not at all condone his use of steroids as detailed in the BALCO Grand Jury testimony and Game of Shadows, this is outrageous. Bud Selig wants to suspend Jason Giambi because he had the guts to come forward and discuss steroid use in baseball on the record.

Selig is trying to use Giambi’s comments to give some weight to what everyone already thinks is a spineless investigation. The Mitchell Investigation has floundered. It has no subpoena power and is instead relying on players to volunteer information. Well, the players have just learned a lesson: If you volunteer information to someone other than Mitchell, be prepared to face the consequences.

The Players Association will file a grievance in this case, and they would probably win such a case. Selig is about to start down a dangerous path that could threaten nearly a decade of labor peace in baseball. Let’s hope this doesn’t come to pass.

Filed Under: STEROIDS! Tagged With: Jason Giambi

That’s the way I like it

June 14, 2007 by Benjamin Kabak 1 Comment

Yanks pitch. Yanks hit. Yanks win. Before we could blink, the Bombers are right back in the thick of things. 8.5 games never seemed so small.

Filed Under: Asides

DotF

June 13, 2007 by Mike 4 Comments

Triple-A Scranton had a scheduled off day.

Double-A Trenton (7-4 win over Connecticut)
Brett Gardner: 2 for 4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 CS – 4 multi-hit games in his 6 contests back from the DL
Cody Ehlers: 1 for 3, 3 RBI
Noah Hall & PJ Pilittere: both 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 K – Hall doubled and had a steak
Matt Carson: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K – picked off second
Justin Christian: 2 for 4, 1 K – only 15 SB this year after 68 last year
Alan Horne: 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 4-8 GB/FB – have to love that he’s gone at least 6 innings in 8 of his 13 starts

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down on the Farm

A list of who’s left

June 13, 2007 by Mike 8 Comments

I saw that Grant Plumley was released in BA’s latest transactions update, and that got me wondering how many players are still with the Yankees’ organization that were drafted by the team this century. Here’s the list:

2000 (50 drafted, 2 left): Sean Henn, Jeff Kennard

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Minors

Wallace Matthews is an idiot

June 13, 2007 by Benjamin Kabak 3 Comments

Yesterday, Wallace Matthews, who somehow has a job as a sports columnist with Newsday, wrote a piece about Alex Rodriguez and the now-infamous opt-out clause. His conclusion: The Yankees should wave good bye to A-Rod and instead invest in middle relievers because the Yankee Dynasty teams of the late 1990s won with good relief pitching. Yes, you read that correctly; a newspaper columnist is calling for relief pitchers instead of the best power-hitting third baseman in the game. Matthews’ column is so stupid that I won’t even link to it here. Instead, let me direct your attention to Ken Tremendous’ latest post on Fire Joe Morgan in which he absolutely eviscerates Matthews. Tremendous did what I wanted to do, only better.

Filed Under: NYC Sports Media

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