I was extremely skeptical of Don Mattingly taking over as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The former Yankees star didn’t have any minor league experience. He was given coaching jobs with the Yankees and Dodgers due to his name and relationship with Joe Torre. When he went up for the Yankees job against Girardi it was made […]
Having gotten to know many of the Yankees pitching prospects personally, I certainly have sympathy for any who are bitten by the injury bug. I’ve seen both Chris Garcia and Jeremy Bleich go down this year. The Yankees released Garcia May 14 to open up a roster spot. He underwent elbow surgery. Bleich, who in […]
The Yankees have pretty strict organizational rules about how much and when their young pitchers throw. The handling of Joba Chamberlain might go down as the most absurd development plan in the history of baseball. Along the way there have been a number of injuries in the organization: George Kontos, Christian Garcia, Alan Horne, Andrew […]
The Yankees, who play their first Grapefruit League game Wednesday vs. Pittsburgh in George M. Steinbrenner Field on Dale Mabry in Tampa, have 25 non-roster players in camp. Some of the fun in spring training is watching players from any team with numbers in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s hustling and trying to male […]
By the time I arrive at the Yankees’ Player Development facility, just a stone’s throw from George M. Steinbrenner Field, hopefully many of the questions surrounding these former top draft picks will be answered. Both are happy to see 2009 fade into oblivion. Bleich, a supplemental first-round pick out of Stanford in 2008, had a […]
Yankees fans seemed pleased with the acquisition of pitcher Javier Vazquez, a perfect No. 4 starter for the club. Mets fans, who sit waiting for a move that is at least similar, wish their team had the resources to accomplish that. Those “resources’’ are prospects and major-leaguers, not stars, such as Melky Cabrera. The Yankees […]
So are you still not worried about the Yankees starting rotation? AJ Burnett has pitched to an ERA over 6 since August 1st. That includes the 7.2 innings of 1 hit shutout ball against Boston at Yankee Stadium. I mentioned yesterday that Andy Pettitte should be the #2 starter in the playoffs after CC Sabathia. […]
Wanted to pass this along. Mike Ashmore, the Trenton Thunder beat reporter for the Hunterdon County Democrat, is holding a pretty cool contest. He has an official signed team ball courtesy of the Thunder front office to give away on his site: Thunder Thoughts. It’s very democratic and easy to join. Send an email to […]
Now that the dust has settled on the trade deadline frenzy we can look at where the Yankees stand. It was a great day for those in the organization that have pushed Brian Cashman to be conservative with all his top prospects. Meanwhile, those that were concerned about the pitching and the Red Sox making […]
Jon Heyman just reported at twitter that the Yankees and Mariners are discussing Jarrod Washburn. Last year the two teams nearly completed a deal to bring Washburn to the Bronx. Heyman reported that Seattle asked for Hughes or Chamberlain during initial discussions. Obviously, the Yankees weren’t interested. Other names that Heyman list as “off limits” […]
We now enter the 72 hour mark for the trading deadline. Rumors are abound regarding Roy Halladay and the Phillies, Angels, and Red Sox. You hear the Yankees are not interested, but a definitive stance has never been communicated. The latest news has Boston “amping up their efforts” to obtain Doc. The Phillies played hardball […]
Recently Jed Weisberger did a spotlight on Yankees 2008 supplemental first round pick Jeremy Bleich. Bleich was given the highest praise by Baseball America as they named him the organizations pitcher who most soon could help on the big league level. With names like Zach McAllister and, when healthy, George Kontos and Ian Kennedy, on […]
- How much more proof do we need that Jonathan Niese should be in the Mets rotation? He threw seven innings of shutout ball last night. His ERA for July is 0.41. Fernando Nieve might very well be battling for his rotation spot tonight. - I told you earlier this week that Jesus Montero reminded […]
- We talked about Austin Jackson (named to IL All Star team this week) on a recent show. I mentioned the lack of power he has displayed at AAA, but over the last 10 games he has hit 2 homers. - Shelley Duncan expressed frustration with this article. I think Shelley has done enough that […]
- Eric Hacker was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Romulo Sanchez. The Pirates just love Yankees prospects. Sanchez has some major league experience with Pittsburgh in 07′ and 08′ (4.60 ERA). In five minor league seasons he has a very pedestrian ERA of 4.11 and a WHIP of 1.3. Jorge Posada raved about Hacker […]
