Off Day Musings (2nd Edition)

It’s been a while…

State of the Yankees

• Since June 8th, the Yankees have gone 10-5 against the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Mets, and Diamondbacks.
• The Yankees are in first place in the AL East with Boston and Tampa Bay tied for second place at 2.5 games behind the Yankees.
• The Yankees have the best record in baseball at 45-27. That’s a .625 winning percentage and at this rate the Yankees would win about 101 games.

Brackman Rules!

Andrew Brackman, one of the Yankees top prospects, is finally starting to meet expectations. The Yankees drafted Brackman knowing that he would need surgery and he pitched poorly in his first full professional season last year. This year, however, he seems to be improving. He’s been throwing a nasty slider at 87 mph, and has improved his BB/9 from 6.4 in 2009 to 1.4 in 2010. In addition, he has kept up an impressive 8.4 SO/9. According to Joel Sherman, the Yankees plan to promote Brackman from High-A Tampa to AA Trenton before the All-Star Break.

Hughes Rules?

In order to keep Phil Hughes’ innings under control, the Yankees are skipping his next start on June 29th. So far the Yankees have handled Hughes’ innings much better than they handled Joba’s innings. The general feeling is that Hughes is capped at 170-180 innings, so expect for him to be skipped a few more times around.

Albaladejo Reinvented…

You remember Jonathan Albaladejo, don’t you? Well he’s been reinventing and improving his game down in AAA this season and has really become a new and better pitcher. I truly hope the Yankees give him an opportunity to prove himself again at the big league level, it’s not like Chan Ho Park or Boone Logan are blowing the world away. Make sure you check out Mike Axisa of RAB’s post about Albaladejo.

Happy Birthday!

Phil Hughes turns 24 years old today, it’s hard to believe he is still so young.

What’s Next?

The Yankees should be enjoying this off day in Los Angeles and tomorrow they will take on Joe Torre and the Dodgers.  You can bet the media will blow this series way out of proportion. It should be fun!

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Off Day Musings (4th Edition)

Wait, what? Brian Cashman actually tried to make a trade?

As the trade deadline came and past, and the Yankees only acquisition was Jerry Hairston Jr, many Yankee fans wanted Brian Cashman’s head. These fans said that he made no effort to actually acquire a 5th starter (which all of a sudden has become the most important part of a team, I thought it was the 8th inning man…haha,). Well, those irrational fans will probably never change their minds, but to those who might be on the verge of changing their minds, and to those who would just like to see what Brian Cashman had to say about the trade deadline, take a look at this interview with Ken Rosenthal. In it, Cashman said he was “very aggressive” and that he was “on all of it” meaning he was looking at high-end starters, low-end starters, and relievers. Cashman also said that the price for Jarrod Washburn was Austin Jackson, would you give up Jackson’s whole future for 2 months of Washburn, I wouldn’t.

Montero out with an injury

Jesus Montero, who was tearing up AA, is out for the rest of the season with a fractured middle finger. According to Peter Abraham, Montero will be out 4-6 weeks, so by that logic, Montero can still play winter ball. That’s good. There is a good chance Montero starts the 2010 season in AAA. Check out his stats.

Well, I’m glad that didn’t go through

If you listened to the Brian Cashman interview that I linked to above, you would know that the Yankees were one of the several teams that inquired about Felix Hernandez, the young Mariners ace. Well, another team that inquired about King Felix was of course, the Boston Red Sox. And according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLBTR, the Red Sox had a couple deals in place to get Hernandez. Luckily for the Yankees, the Mariners turned down both offers.

Previewing the upcoming Toronto series

Tuesday – Andy Pettitte vs. Roy Halladay (yes he is still a Blue Jay) at 7:07 pm. The last time the Yankees faced Halladay, he gave up 5 runs in 7 innings. I think the Yankees would be glad to take that again, but that happened in Yankee Stadium, this time it will be in Toronto. The last time the Jays faced Pettitte, Andy allowed 6 runs in 6 innings, the Yankees hope he fares better this time.

Wednesday – Sergio Mitre vs. Marc Rzepczynski at 7:07 pm. Mitre looks to bounce back from his last outing against the White Sox in which he allowed 5 runs in 3 innings. Rzepczynski will be making his 6 start on the year, he has pitched well so far in his rookie season posting a 3.25 ERA and holding opponents to a .192 batting average.

Off Day Musings (3rd Edition)

Right now everything is going well in Yankee Universe, winning seems to do that. After losing series to both the Nationals and the Marlins, things weren’t looking so good, and many were calling for Girardi’s head. However, since then things got back on track and the Yankees took 2 out of 3 from the Braves, and swept the lowly Mets. Today the Yankees are off, and they are gearing up for 7 game home stand, in which they play the Mariners 3 times and the Blue Jays 4 times. After that the Yankees set out for a road trip to Minnesota then Anaheim before the All Star Break begins. Let’s not get to ahead of ourselves though, because for now we should just be enjoying an off day, but I know there are many people out there (myself included) who don’t like off days because they want to see Yankee baseball every day. While, I can’t do anything about the Yankees not playing, I can hopefully quench your thirst for baseball with a few stories, links, and rumors.

Rivera the great reaches his 500th save

Last night Mariano recorded his 500th Major League save, 2nd on the all time list to Trevor Hoffman who has 571 saves. Despite how great Hoffman is, we all know that Mariano is the greatest reliever of all time. What makes Mo great is that his only goal is to help his team win, he is not trying to set records or anything. After last night’s game, things got emotional as every member of the Yankees gave Mo a hug. All of his teammates were so happy for him, some people got some memorabilia. Cody Ransom got to take home the bat that Mo used in the at bat in which he got his first Major League RBI. Chien-Ming Wang asked Mo to sign a ball to give to his son, JJ Wang, so that JJ would always know that his father played with the great Mariano Rivera. He truly is unbelievable. Recently, ESPN sat down with Mariano for an interview, it was a few days before he actually got his 500th save. It definitely is worth a watch, it was just amazing to see how humble Mariano really is. Check it out.

Should I stay or should I go?

According to PeteAbe, Jose Molina is set to return to the big league roster very soon. He was with the team yesterday, and he did some base-running drills. Now he will begin a rehab assignment that should last for about a week before he rejoins the Yankees. The big question though is, “What to do with Fransisco Cervelli?” There are only a few options:

• Carry 3 catchers – One option is to carry Jose Molina and Fransisco Cervelli, along with Jorge Posada. In this option, somebody obviously has to be either sent down or DFA. Ramiro Pena sent down? Brett Tomko DFA? I’m not crazy about this option.
• Send the kid to AAA – Another option is to carry just Jose Molina and Jorge Posada, and to send Fransisco Cervelli to AAA. This would be a tough call, Cervelli calls a great game, the pitchers love him, and he brings a spark to the team. I really don’t know if this is the right option, I’m 50-50 on this.
• Trade Jose Molina – The final option is to trade Jose Molina and carry Jorge Posada and Fransisco Cervelli. To me this seems kind of harsh to Molina, plus what do you do if Jorge or Cervelli gets hurt, Kevin Cash? Maybe? Jose Molina has done nothing to deserve being traded, the pitchers love throwing to him just like Cervelli. If they were to trade Molina, I doubt they would get much in return, but there should be some teams out there that would like to have him. I really am unsure on what to do with this whole situation, but that’s why I’m not the general manager. However, feel free to pretend that you are Brian Cashman, and comment on the move you would make.

Huston Street?

The rumors keep on burning that Huston Street will be a Yankee. I still feel the same way on him, I’d absolutely love to have him in the bullpen as he would provide an 8th inning fix, and possibly even a future closer since he has already been closing ballgames, but the thing is that I don’t think he is worth the price that the Rockies are going to want for him. He only becomes more expensive now that the Rockies are winning ballgames left and right. How to you feel about the Huston Street comments? Feel free to comment.

How to get your baseball fix?

Well as you know the Yankees are not playing today, but that doesn’t mean you can’t watch baseball today. Here are some notable games set to take place tonight:

Boston @ Baltimore (NESN, MASN) 7:05

Lester goes for Boston

Berker goes for Baltimore

Tampa Bay @ Toronto (SUN, TSN) 7:07

Niemann goes for Tampa Bay

Halladay goes for Toronto

NY Mets @ Milwaukee (ESPN, FSWI) 7:08

Nieve goes for New York

Looper goes for Milwaukee

Update: I just realized this was my 100th post. Pretty cool.

Off Day Musings (2nd Edition)

• Damaso Marte was OK’d to continue his rehab in Florida according to the AP. He went to Dr. James Andrews because he said he didn’t feel right and he didn’t want to further injure himself, but Doc found nothing wrong in his shoulder. I don’t know how much longer I can say this: Marte would really help this bullpen out as he was a proven reliever in the past…if he ever returns.
• DeAngelo Mack, who the Yankees selected in the 13rd round of this year’s amateur draft, has signed on with the Yankees. He will head to Tampa, and likely stay there until the Staten Island Yankees season begins where he will most likely play.
• Brian Bruney will return to the Yankees bullpen tomorrow, hopefully for good. Obviously, someone will have to be sent down or DFA. If it was up to me I would probably DFA Jose Veras, but I get the feeling Brett Tomko will be DFA. If anyone else gets the axe (besides Angel Berroa who they probably want to keep for now) I will be pretty upset.
• Choose answer choice (A) if you are attending the Yankee game tomorrow. Choose answer choice (B) if you attend PS 55. Choose answer choice (C) if neither A or B apply.
• (A) Nice! You have a chance to meet Alex Rodriguez tomorrow! According to PeteAbe, “A-Rod himself will be in Monument Park tomorrow from 4:10-4:30 p.m. Gates open at 4 p.m., so hustle.” You heard him, hustle.
• (B) Do you like your principal? Well, if you don’t you’ll be happy tomorrow. According to PeteAbe, “Robinson Cano will serve as “Principal for a Day” for PS 55 in the Bronx tomorrow.”
• (C) Better luck next time. Well, there is plenty of other things to do…if you live in New York you could wander around Central Park, catch a Yankee game, go shopping in Manhattan, etc. Have fun!
• FYI, you should really check out this site I found…its called Demolition Of Yankee Stadium. It has hundreds of pictures of the demolition of the old place, they make me sad, but they’re still cool to look at.

That’s going to do it for this edition of Off Day Notes. Hope you enjoyed it.

Off Day Musings (1st Edition)

Hip Hip Jorge!

Via Peter Abraham, Jorge Posada is definitely returning tomorrow in Cleveland. He will be a big help offensively to the Yankees, defensively we all know he not too good handling the pitchers and such, but his bat will surely be a welcome addition. There is no word on a corresponding roster move yet, I figure its got to be Berroa, Cash, or Cervelli. I think the best move would be to keep Cash and Cervelli and just said goodbye to Berroa, who doesn’t appear to useful to the Yanks.

Mark DeRosa?

ViaMLBTR, Buster Olney says the Yankees are considering making a trade for Mark DeRosa. Here’s what he had to say:

Imagine DeRosa as a big hunk of tuna, bait on a hook. One of the looming shadows circling below is that of the New York Yankees, who are weighing options and haven’t decided whether to take a shot at the versatile veteran.

I like Mark DeRosa, he is a good ball player. He could give the Yankees some help here and there in the infield and even in the outfield. Plus he is a good hitter. However, I don’t think the Yankees need him. They already have a very capable defender to backup the infielders in Ramiro Pena, plus he hasn’t been abysmal with the bat. The biggest issue with Mark DeRosa though, is his price tag. He is probably going run the Yanks a shiny prospect, which I don’t think that he would be worth. Now, don’t get me wrong if the Yankees can get him cheap, I guess he’d be worth it, but I don’t see that happening. In the end, I just don’t think Mark DeRosa is worth trading a good prospect when they already have Pena who has filled in very nicely.

A Good Problem To Have

Chien-Ming Wang pitched two 1-2-3 innings last night, and looked more like his old self. He wasn’t lights out, but he was better. If Hughes continues to pitch respectable ball games and Wang can keep coming out a throwing good innings every once when they call on him, the Yankees will have a tough descision to make. Do you leave Wang in the pen, I don’t think that would be a good plan, Wang is meant to be a starter. Do you send Hughes to Scranton, I don’t know how well he can develop down there, I think he needs to pitch in big league ball games. I don’t think you put Hughes in the bullpen either. I am 100% against Joba in the pen, so I won’t even discuss that. I don’t know what the Yankees will do, that’s why Brian Cashman is the GM. I do know though, that if it continues to be a tough descision that it’s a good sign because that would mean everyone is pitching well.

Well, that’s it for this edition of Off Day Side Notes, don’t forget the Yankees play tomorrow at 7:05 in Cleveland. It’ll be Andy Pettitte up against Cliff Lee, a battle of southpaws.