Given the amount of catching prospects in the Yankees system – even with the trade of Jesus Montero to Seattle – Jeff Farnham has gone about his career as a farmhand mostly out of the spotlight. The 24-year-old , a native of Las Vegas drafted in the 27th round in 2009, is not mentioned with [...]

Tonight I will be live from the studio of 1240 AM WGBB. Former big leaguer Frank Catalanotto will kick off the show. Frank recently published a book called “Heart and Hustle: An Unlikely Journey from Little Leaguer to Big Leaguer.“ I will talk about the homegrown Mets and their surprising April start. MLB.com contributor Jed [...]

TRENTON, N.J. – Yankees fans, rightfully so, are a bit concerned about their favorite team’s starting rotation. Yes, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia have been inconsistent. The injury to Michael Pineda throws another monkey wrench into the picture. Help will be coming from veteran Andy Pettitte, but not immediately.  The 39-year-old,  who has made 479 [...]

Yankees fans have been penciling in Andy Pettitte to takeover either Phil Hughes‘ or Freddy Garcia‘s rotation spot. On a day where the organization received bad news regarding Michael Pineda‘s shoulder, Pettitte made another rehab start with Double-A Trenton. According to Mike Ashmore of the Hunterdon County Democrat Pettitte’s velocity was between 86-87 mph. His average in 2010, his last full [...]

The setback to Michael Pineda this past weekend where he was shut down after only 15 pitches on Saturday, along with the recent struggles of the Yankees rotation, have turned the signing of Andy Pettitte from a “luxury item” to a thing of urgent necessity. So how concerned are the Yankees with Pineda’s latest setback? I spoke with a [...]

Back in 2006, the Atlanta Braves thought they had their slugger of the future in 6-foot-4, 240-pound Cody Johnson. Atlanta spent its first-round pick on the strapping Johnson, luring the native of Panama City, Fla., away from a scholarship at the University of Florida. Johnson did not disappoint. In 2007, playing with the Danville Braves [...]

Andrew Marchand of ESPN NY has consistently been concerned about Michael Pineda‘s velocity this spring. He, along with some other members of the media and blogosphere, have almost comically tracked each Pineda pitch. The thought of sending Pineda down to the minors seemed absurd earlier in spring, but the signing of Andy Pettitte gave the meme a more [...]

Andy Pettitte returned to the New York Yankees spring training camp yesterday, this time for keeps. He will throw batting practice and bullpens again, but throwing pitches with conviction and intent. All reports indicate Andy’s bullpen session on Tuesday went better than expected. Pettitte is once again a New York Yankee starting pitcher. And his [...]

Forgot Andy Pettitte for a minute, since we don’t know how long or where he will be pitching in the minors. The Yankees Triple-A rotation will probably consist of: Manny Banuelos (2-2, 4.19) – Age 21 Dellin Betances (0-3, 5.14) – Age 23 Adam Warren (6-8, 3.60) – Age 24 David Phelps (6-6, 3.19) – Age 25 D.J. Mitchell (13-9, 3.18) – [...]

I return to the airwaves after my trip to Florida. Andy Pettitte will be the main topic of conversation, as I will tell you why I think this is a bad move for the Yankees. Hear what Steve S. of the Yankee Analysts and NYBD contributor Joe Delgrippo have to say, as well. In the back [...]

Andy Pettitte‘s comeback will be the headline topic on tomorrow night’s radio program. I wrote yesterday that I am not optimistic that Pettitte will be able to provide the kind of performance that makes his presence worth the signing. This isn’t about money; it’s about the fact that he will create the kind of distraction [...]

The word we are hearing out of Tampa is the Yankees believe signing Andy Pettitte to a minor league deal is a “no-brainer.” The move was made for rotational depth, and doesn’t impact the battle between Freddy Garcia, Phil Hughes and Michael Pineda for the final rotation spots. The Yankees also don’t feel Pettitte’s presence will stunt the development of the Killer [...]

In recent months I have discussed the dangers of long-term deals, specifically when it came to the Mets signing Jose Reyes. The years, more than the dollars, is usually the problem. Long-term contracts lead to teams paying premium dollars for players past their prime. The average annual value is often skewed because you have situations (see [...]

Just like in the ’73 World Series, Yogi Berra will be questioned whether he should have started George Stone. Jon Matlack didn’t retire a batter after the Yankees scored 4 runs in the first, and Mariano staved off a late comeback with 2 scoreless innings in a 6-4 victory, which clinched the series for the Yanks 4-2. Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, [...]

Mariano Rivera collecting his 600th save last night made me think about the late nineties version of the Yankees. In recent years this group was represented by the “Core Four,” which is now the “Core Three,” and soon to be “Core Two” once the team parts ways with Jorge Posada this offseason. The 2012 version of the Yankees [...]