Good morning, Pinstripe Alley readers. The Yankees dropped the first game of their three game set against the Rockies, but CC Sabathia will take the mound this afternoon with the hopes of tying the series up. Now, on to your usual morning news.
Derek Jeter Unlikely to be Activated Wednesday.
Derek Jeter is eligible to return from the disabled list on Wednesday, June 29th, but don't expect to see him in Yankee pinstripes then. Jeter has yet to resume baseball activities, meaning he has not been cleared to swing a bat, take ground balls, or do any running at the team's training complex in Tampa, Florida. The Captain has a grade 1 strain of his right calf, which is still sore.
Jeter said that he cannot provide a timetable, but when he's ready, he'll be back.
Phil Hughes Makes Second Rehab Start.
Hughes hit 93 mph on the radar gun and was consistently in the low 90s, but he needed 72 pitches to get through just 3.1 innings. His overall line didn't look too bad, but he struggled with the command of his fastball.
It was recently reported that Hughes would need just two more rehab starts, but the Yankees may now want to see more from Hughes before calling him up. Brian Cashman said his next start will come at Trenton with a pitch count around 90, and he will then make another start before a call up. However, Cashman didn't rule out calling him up before that:
Depends on what's going on in New York, too. If all hell breaks loose up top, we might not be in a position to finish him off as easy as we want. It's in his best interest to probably get two more starts, but we'll see.
Cano Looking Like Himself Again.
Robinson Cano started off hot in April, belting 8 homers to go along with a .320 batting average and a .979 OPS. However, in May, Cano did not look like the Cano fans were used to seeing. On May 28th, he was hitting .273 with a lowly .319 OBP. Since then, he has caught fire, and has hit .351 with 5 homers and a 1.004 OPS. He can still be frustrating, and he's striking out more than usual, but he's still one of the Yankees' best players and he's still the best second baseman in baseball. Despite his poor May, he leads all second baseman with a .377 wOBA.
Is Alex Rodriguez the best third baseman of all time?
The article is from June 7th, but I don't recall it having been mentioned on Pinstripe Alley. Recently, Alex Rodriguez passed Mike Schmidt in career WAR, meaning we could make the argument that A-Rod is the greatest third baseman ever.
So, is he the greatest third baseman ever? Do you hold the position change or the steroids against him? Voice your opinions in the comments.
Links:
- Jeff Freier of SB Nation New York takes a look at Curtis Granderson's professionalism.
- FOX Sports has a phone interview with Nick Swisher.
- Since June began, Brett Gardner is smacking pitches on the outer third of the plate.
- Bartolo Colon will throw a simulated game on Monday.
- CC Sabathia is looking for redemption at the plate.
- Mark Feinsand says Freddy Garcia has done his part in stabilizing the rotation.
- He didn't pitch too well last night, but A.J. Burnett became the first Yankee to strike out four batters in an inning.