Pinstripe Alley

Pitching- What are we going to do with them?

Cbeck3 — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:28:12 -0000

Pete A at LoHud reports Jeff Karstens is feeling well and anxious to do a few rehab appearances. Phil Hughes will not be ready to throw for a little while, but it won't be long. Ian Kennedy is coming back.

So in a couple weeks our starter list looks like: Wang, Pettitte, Moose, Rasner, Kennedy, Karstens, Hughes, Joba?. That looks a lot like eight to me, for 5 slots.

Last nights loss followed Pettitte with Britton, Veras, and Edwar Ramirez. To me Britton looks like he deserves some more innings, as does Ramirez. Veras has had a good outing and a shaky one, but has the kind of arm which should get him a decent look. Even with Bruney and Albaladejo hurt we have more arms than slots, with a bunch of talent rehabbing from Tommy John. If Joba leaves the pen some starter in the list above has to go to the pen or the minors.

Pitching in the minors can help with developing talent but there are limitations. Once a pitcher gets where the Trinity were last year or Rasner was this spring they need to face Big League hitters. They are different than minor leaguers because they are so much better and smarter. To keep developing these guys need to pitch in the majors.

So, what are we going to do with them? I hate seeing Chris Britton on the Scranton shuttle. He has too many walks but I think he can pitch in the big leagues.

I wonder if there will be any market for Hawkins. Is there any market for turning several of the more marginal guys into a top guy somewhere?

The Yankees do have needs for the future in the outfield and at catcher, but I really like Cano and Gonzalez and Arod for a long time. I think Jscape is right that Jeter or Posada will end up playing first. Derek could play outfield if he would.

The current baseball world is one of parity. It is not clear how the Yankees will be able to find another period of dominance. Maybe part of the answer is the glut of young talent, at least on the mound.

Rasner's Stuff- Pitching in the big leagues

Cbeck3 — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:32:36 -0000

We just saw some guy with low to medium velocity win his 350th game.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=280510125

We know Maddox is a first round hall of famer. But we, and almost everyone else, fall into the trap of thinking "Rasner does not have the stuff to get out major league hitters consistently."

I know it's only 2 games but he has looked like a front line big league starter. He gives us 4 guys we can start and hope for a quality start. Who would have guessed our best 4 May starters would include Moose and Rasner?

So, how is he doing it? I guess it's good control, maybe very good control. It is very efficient pitching. By that I mean strikes and keeping his pitch count down. I think he's in the rotation for a while.

We are still short one starter. I do not think I'd bring IPK back after only one start, or on short rest for Friday. So we have a game against the Mets to do something with. I'd like to see Dan Giese, but I know it's a gamble.

Meanwhil as we move toward the return of IKP and Hughes gets of the DL and Joba gets ready to start we have a lot of decisions to make. The old saw is you can never have too much pitching, but this is going to give us a lot to talk about.

Poll

Who should start Friday?

Yankee Stadium Tour and Tickets

stadiumguru — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:05:01 -0000

Hey everyone,

I have never been to Yankee Stadium and am planning on going this summer to add it to my list of stadiums before it's torn down

I wanted to go on the tour on July 8th, but they are sold out. Does anyone know any tricks or tips that I can try so I can get on the tour? I really don't want to miss out on a YS tour, so any help/tips would be greatly appreciated!

Also, since tickets for the 8th and 9th are sold out, I am scalping a ticket. I don't want to spend a lot of money, and the prices look like that means staying in the upper deck. My question is what's best, and what should I avoid?

Any advice or assistance with my questions would be fantastic!

Thank You!

-StadiumGuru

Why Kei Igawa should be in pinstripes!??

Cbeck3 — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:46:33 -0000

Clearly it's because his performance at Scranton made him the obvious choice. Well, I guess that's not it.

Then it's cause we needed someone and he was the best available? Well, no, a look at the Scranton pitching stats seems not to support that.

He's lefty, and we really wanted a lefty! Well, no, Henn had better SW stats and we DFA'd him.

Has anybody got any idea what these guys are thinking? I know we spent on him, but letting him pitch in the bigs just reminds us how bad that decision was. I can forgive signing him. I cannot forgive letting him blow more games.

He's had enough time to straighten out. He's not a young, inexperienced player. If he were going to make it we'd know by now.

Let's get this guy off the 40 man and get IPK, or Giese, or White in for that next start. I'd rather see Wells than him.

Really, enough is enough.

Enough Already

LateInningRelief — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:18:21 -0000

Consider me the lone voice of dissent in saying that while Wells himself is not the right move, throwing the young guns into the mix to see if one of them can handle the challenge isn't either. Let's see IPK string another couple victories together in Scranton. White and Marquez aren't ready yet either; otherwise, nobody in their right mind would have put Igawa on the mound yesterday. Rasner did well last go-round, and hopefully he can fill the #4 slot for a bit. McCutch and the rest: Let's discuss in July.

Here's the point:

The idea of bringing in a veteran, in my view, is about letting the young guns develop at their own pace. This is not Tampa, and we're not the Rays. I saw the long list RAB put up the other day, laying out all the in-house talent they'd prefer to give a shot over Wells. While I'd probably pick AAA talent over tub-o-goo, let's get real about how one a.) develops young talent and b.) does it in NYC.

The Yankee organization needs to stop over-compensating for years of larding the roster with overage stars by suddenly putting all of the onus on the young guns.

Okay, the ship has partially sailed. That's a given. And hopefully, IPK can get back into the swing, Rasner can hold down the fort and Hughes can get his mojo back. But organizationally, this focus on throwing kid after kid into the breach is sort of like trench warfare. Yeah, sooner or later, somebody's going to get through, but the attrition rate is too high.

Let's be smart about it. And let's give these kids a lot bigger net. Because it's all a game of expectations. Last year, IPK and Hughes had far less, and they won the expectations game. This year? Not so much.

Has anyone watched ESPN today? (David Wells x3)

LosGiantes08 — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:42:44 -0000

Has anyone watched ESPN today? They were reporting that David Wells had approached Hank about pitching for the Bombers for stint number 3. The report also said Hank approved but had yet to approach the rest of the brass about Wells. It also said he lost 25lbs which i thought was funny but i dont what to think about this. Good? Bad? What do you guys think? God knows we could use a little help in the rotation, i mean who couldn't, but David Wells? Is that the answer?

Any seats to avoid at Yankee Stadium?

ruskel — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:15:45 -0000

Pilgrimage with my dad to Shea and Yankee Stadium in June 29th & 30th - Yankees at Mets and Rangers at Yankees....

Subway series is sold out, so I'm looking at ticket brokers.

Never been there. Tickets are expensive, so I don't want to get seats that stink. Any advice on best seats or better yet, what to avoid? ie: obstructed views, etc.

Also, is the Yankee Stadium tour worth it?

I would appreciate any input you may have

Thanks!

Rate the organization

LateInningRelief — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:08:15 -0000

Ed got me thinking about why I'm a bit disengaged this year. The process of developing young talent is always a bit of a trial, no matter how strong a fan one may be.

But that, I think, is really only part of the issue. I can live with a young group of players. However, we're also breaking in a new pair of owners and a new manager. The whole organization, in my view, is up in the air a bit. In fact, there's an argument to be made that the Yanks have the third best organization just in the AL East.

Curious what everybody else thinks...

Poll

Where does the Yankee organization (ownership, front office, farm system, scouting, coaching and players) rank in the AL?

Xavier Nady

SenorSwanky — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:04:33 -0000

Nady can play 1B and is better defensively in RF than is Abreu. He's also on a hotter offensive tear than either Abreu or Giambi (though Abreu has still been one of our better hitters so far this season). There are often rumors he could be traded to a contender. Should it be our Yankees?

And to fill up the stupid length requirement, I will just type another sentence that is nineteen words long.

Poll

Trade for Nady in 2008?

One long ball hitter (right handed)

Cbeck3 — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:55:20 -0000

The test a quote from "Damn Yankees", that's what the team needs.

The Yankee offense is struggling. Arod is our only real righthanded power threat. Posada hits right against lefties and fills that need too. So having them both out at the same time is a problem.

This makes it a very bad time for Shelly to slump. Frankly, much as I like the kid, I'm not sure he's a big league hitter. Molina never figured to hit. Morgan Ensberg has been a good right hand hitter, but that's a while ago, and he's hitting about .220 this year in light duty.

Derek is doing a solid job but with no righties for the lineup and Giambi and Cano both looking as hopeless as Shelly the wait for Arod and Jorge looks to be long and quiet.

It is a hard time of the year to trade for a good player. I do not want to sign the obvious right hand hitter with no team.

What do you guys think of giving Matt Carson or Justin Christian a few at bats. Is this a better idea than playing the current crew and waiting for somebody to snap out of it go on a tear?

For years I have watched teams giving slumping players a couple days on the bench to give them a fresh start. I think this offense will be OK in the long run. But I am starting to doubt it will produce the 900 runs our preseason optimism was based on. Right now we need a spark from somewhere.

I saw the Tuesday game vs Cleveland and the team looked flat, or tired.

I saw a pieace where Damon was taking responsibility.

Damon is a stand up guy (who loves the spotlight) but he's not the problem. Niether is Jeter, Matsui, Abrue, Melky.

What we really need is Joe Hardy. If the wrong guy made me the right offer.......

Do you feel emotionally detached?

Edwantsacracker — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:09:35 -0000

NoMaas feels emotionally detached from the team. I'm shocked. How can you emotionally detached from a team that is playing like the Yankees are now. Reasons I'm excited about the Yankees:

1 Mike Mussina - Is Mike Mussina the lynchpin of our team? So many people discounted him as being done, but instead he has changed his style and is pitching well. Extremely well. If he is able to give us 170-180 innings of quality ball alot of the pressure will be taken off the kids. I hope that happens.

2 Mariano Rivera - I know its old news, but shit, the guy is good. And not just oh I'm Mariano Rivera I'm better than everyone else on the planet, so far he has been better than anyone could have expected. Completely dominating hitters.

3 Hideki Matsui - Dude is among the league leaders in batting. Sorry I wanted to trade you. He seems to be ok in the DH role.

4 Melky Cabrera - I always feel good when Melky does well, because he was never really supposed to do well. (I get the same feelings for Aaron Small) He came up to fill in for injuries. He stayed because we liked what we saw. The year started off with Cashman warning him that center field wasn't his, and that he had to battle for his position. Noted and answered.

5 Andy Pettitte - I was worried that we wouldn't be able to put all the bullshit behind us, but Andy comes out just like we never lost a beat. The guys like a quality start machine.

6 Wang - Comes out after a horrible postseason, (I don't blame him for it, I don't think it makes him "not an ace" but it was horrible.) and starts the year beautifully. He is mixing all his pitches to great effect. Instead of relying on the sinker, he has his split, slider, change all working for him. His slider and change are about the same speed with very different breaks on them and will have batters lining up on the Macombs Dam Bridge screaming its not fair.

I psyched when we win, I'm frustrated when our pitcher gives us a quality start and we can't even make it a ballgame by scoring a run, I react badly to blown saves even though I know he's just a rookie. I hate heavy steroid ingested dead weight in the lineup. But one thing I am not is emotionally detached.

Screw you NoMaas I bet Brian Cashman thinks your blog is girly.

Poll

Do you feel emotionally detached?

1 year anniversary of Roger Clemens

Pasik'sRight — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:52:55 -0000

Returning to the yankees and suzyn waldman losing her mind in the booth. I have the link here for you read my blog and hear her call.

I was at the game last year and did not get to hear the call live. I heard on espn talk radio about how amazing it was and how crazy she went. I think she was almost in tears and said this was the greatest moment she has ever seen in yankee stadium. I think that is a bit exaggerated but was great humor to hear this call. Sterling must have been laughing at her all along.

HELP - Stuck in MA

JS318 — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:22:43 -0000

I checked out a company webstie today. I saw an ad they had posted on monster for a job that seemed right up my alley. Check it out davisad.com. If you click on 'information,' then 'employment opportunities,' and scroll all the way to the bottom.

Is this crap legal? Sersiously.. Discriminatory at the very least. I have lived here a long time and certainly have gotten used to living in hideous Red Sawx Nation. So all the pro-Sox stuff is <almost> tolerable. But the hatred and the bitterness....come on! Where are all the Sawx fans who claimed all they wanted was their one little stupid World Series win? They actually got more hateful and more bitter. I need outa here, and I need out NOW. HELP!!!!

Piggyback Joba with McCutchen/Horne/Marquez?

SenorSwanky — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:03:18 -0000

Interesting suggestion by Tom Covill about how to work Joba into the rotation by the All-Star break:

For those who believe that Chamberlain is an easy heir to the Mariano Rivera throne and a comparable closer to Boston’s Jonathan Papelbon for years to come, consider this - Rivera became a closer because he had one fantastic pitch and couldn’t make it work as a starter.
Papelbon is sitting in the bullpen because he wanted to be there. He was a closer at Mississippi State and didn’t start until entering the Boston system.

Chamberlain doesn’t have one dominant pitch. He has four. He’s always been a starter. He has better stuff than anybody on the New York staff or in the New York system, and there is no reason the best pitcher in the system shouldn’t be giving the team the most innings.

So what about the eighth inning? And how will the Yankees transition their phenom to the rotation?

They answered both of those questions last season when the devastating righthander made his first appearance in the majors.

New York is blessed with one of the best farm systems in baseball. In terms of pitching depth, there are few other organizations that can compete. So, pick a starter at the high levels of the minors that is ready to make the jump.

Alan Horne, who just reached Class AAA, perhaps. Or Jeffery Marquez, who has made six starts at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season, or Daniel McCutchen, who is tearing up the Eastern League.

The idea is to integrate another of the top pitching prospects onto the major league team while limiting their innings, just like with Chamberlain last season.

So slot Horne, Marquez, McCutchen or whomever into the rotation with Chamberlain scheduled on the same day and piggyback the appearance.

For example, let Horne pitch the first five innings and give Chamberlain two or three. Five days later, Horne gets four and Chamberlain gets four, and so on.

Both pitchers would be available in the bullpen on their throw days in between the start.

Will Horne, Marquez or McCutchen be as dominant as Chamberlain in the bullpen? Probably not, but that is what Kyle Farnsworth, LaTroy Hawkins, Ross Ohlendorf, Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez and Chris Britton are for - to do their jobs.

What do you all think?

The front office is hopeless!

flconticello — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:13:35 -0000

I just don't understand what they are doing. They tell us all off-season that we as fans need to be patient with the development of young pitchers then they pull Ian Kennedy from the rotation and roster at the first sign of trouble. If you look at his last 2 starts he really only had one bad inning in each and really wasn't helped at all by his defense. They are telling him to throw strikes and guys like Bobby Abreau (who is an aweful outfielder) and Damon are misjudging balls all over the lot. It' s not like he's giving up gofer balls ...he's yet to let one leave the park.

Someone please tell me the #1 ace pitcher who in their rookie year was dominant......times up... there aren't any.

The problem with the yankee front office is that they are too influenced by the media. They hear that these guys should be sent down...low an behold they are sent down.

They hear that Jaba should remain in the bullpen where his talents are wasted...he's staying in the bullpen....

A little advice....make a plan, grow a backbone and stick with the plan!

Rasner time in the Bronx? reprise

Cbeck3 — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:57:49 -0000

Well, my April 22 post pointing out Rasner's nice AAA work has the ring of prescience. Nice game by Rasner. I hope he can be this year's Aaron Small.

I also agree with moving IPK to AAA to get it worked out. Hurry back Ian! We want you to be a winner in the Bronx.

Pete A. at LoHud is amoung the voices predicting an Igawa sighting in Pinstripes. Nothing in Kei's AAA numbers makes me think this is a good idea. However IPK's ML numbers have made me think that we could harm his fututre by just letting him get blasted in the bigs. So, Let Kei hald the fort til Ian is ready.

Hold on to your hats.

Tribute to Yankee Stadium

ed10s26 — Sat, 03 May 2008 00:21:00 -0000

I went to Yankee Stadium last night and even though the weather and score was not ideal, it was great to be in "The House that Ruth Built."

Being in a place where people like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Don Mattingly, and Derek Jeter roamed the merion bluegrass just chokes me up. The best hotdogs are in front of the bowling alley...make sure you get a dog with mustard and the sweet onions.

For a photo tribute... www.edtseng.blogspot.com Message #277

IPK being sent down?

NumberSeven — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:27:05 -0000

Mark Feinsand is reporting/guessing that something will be happening soon with Ian Kennedy:

Joe Girardi didn’t say it directly, but he and Brian Cashman will be discussing the young pitcher in the next day or two to “figure out what is the best plan” for Kennedy.

Read between the lines: Kennedy will either be skipped or sent down.

The Yankees have three off days to play around with this month, so they’ll only need a fifth starter three times. That means Kennedy could hang around, get skipped and work with Dave Eiland on his mechanics and whatever else ails him. Or he could be sent to Triple-A to pitch down there and get his act together.

This all complete speculation at this point. But how long before something happens? Do Yanks just plow forward and let him keep getting hammered, or do they step in and make some sort of change? I don't know if the minors is really the best option, but skipping him a couple of times and letting him work on his mechanics out of the bullpen doesn't sound terrible. And frankly, it'll keep his innings down and maybe he can get it together and be strong down the stretch.

Thoughts?

Cashman's future

LateInningRelief — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:16:09 -0000

is now all about depth. Even if Joba's move to the rotation gives us the semblance of a starting 5, Phil and IPK are definitely looking more like reclamation projects in 2008. Meaning: Cashman's youth movement needs to produce some unlikely heroes. Otherwise, the big non-deal last winter will probably get him canned.

Jscape, is there anybody in the pipeline beyond Rasner that could be helpful? With Horne on the DL, does White look like the best candidate to come up next?

Hughes out until July

nyg2008 — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:04:04 -0000

I haven't seen this posted anywhere else on the site, so I thought I'd be the first to break the bad (or good, seeing how he has pitched recently) news. Phil Hughes is out until July:

Phil Hughes has a stress fracture in one of his ribs, and the New York Yankees’ pitcher is expected to be sidelined for at least two months.

The news comes at an inopportune time for the injury-depleted Yankees, also missing three-time MVP Alex Rodriguez, All-Star catcher Jorge Posada and reliever Brian Bruney.

[..]

Hughes, placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday, had tests that revealed a stress fracture in the ninth rib on his right side. He will be shut down for four weeks and then re-evaluated. Cashman said the team probably can’t expect the 21-year-old right-hander back before July.

I wonder if this means Joba moves into the rotation.