New York Yankees and New York Mets news and rumors

The Super Bowl is over and pitchers and catchers report in about two weeks.  It is time to look at what has been going on with the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.  There really hasn't been much going on especially with the Mets.  They made their big move early in the offseason and that was it.  They still haven't gotten a shortstop which would lead you to believe they think Wilmer Flores is the answer at short for now.  I don't agree with them but if that is what they believe then so be it.  The Yankees are pretty much set in stone, they have made a bunch of minor moves this off-season and they could make a move for the cuban guys now.  Yoan Moncada is the most notable to keep an eye on.  He is a 19 year old switch hitter who is supposed to be five tool and basically a can't miss guy.  If the Yankees sign him he could be their second baseman or 3B of the future.  He would fit perfectly with their team.  Another young talent that they could have on the team in the next couple of years to go with the Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Luis Severino crew. 

The New York Yankees did sign Scott Baker to a minor league contract.  He is a veteran who has battled injuries the last couple of years but pitched pretty decent for the Texas Rangers last year out of the bullpen.  He was a long man/spot starter type of pitcher. 

The Yankees have stayed away from the big fish this off-season but James Shields is still out there.  You have to wonder if he would sign a lesser deal now that it seems he isn't going to get the big money he may have gotten earlier in the off-season.  The Yankees haven't been linked to him but you wonder if they would jump in if they could get him for say 75 million instead of over 100 million. 

The Mets rumors were early in the off-season when you heard the Troy Tulowitski rumors mainly.  He isn't going anywhere right now and definitely not to the Mets.  The Mets appear to be going with Ruben Tejada or Flores at SS.  I think they should get a SS but it doesn't look like they will.  Ian Desmond has been another guy they have been linked to but you haven't heard that in at least a couple of weeks so that may be dead now. 

Johan Santana has been working out for teams and you hear the Yankees name in the mix but if anything that would be another minor league contract.  He was throwing though and then shut it down for a little bit due to shoulder soreness so I would think they would pass on him but we will see what happens. 

Alex Rodriguez is the big name for the Yankees and you have heard a lot about him lately.  The main thing is the Yankees trying to avoid his milestone bonuses.  This could get ugly but it doesn't appear Joe Girardi has a part in this or wants to have one.  He spoke over the weekend about him and said they have been talking and considers their relationship good and he just wants to put him and all of his players in the best position to succeed. 

The Mets really haven't had much going on overall and I really don't expect much to happen with them.  Dillon Gee is still on their team and could be traded in the next couple of weeks but not even sure that will happen.  The best news is that pitchers and catchers will be reporting in about two weeks or so and then we can start discussing this more in depth and no more rumors, it will be talking about the players on the field and what is going on with the teams. 

New York Yankees very early offseason notes

The New York Yankees are looking for a new hitting coach while undergoing some changes in the administration.  Brian Cashman is back as the GM for three more years but there are changes in the staff.  They have a new VP of baseball operations in Gary Denbo.  He was most recently in a scouting role with the Yankees.  He has been a long time hitting coach and coordinator throughout the organization.  He worked with Derek Jeter back in 2011 when he snapped out of a big slump.  Pat Roessler will not be back as the director of player development according to Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News. 

Chili Davis is the new Boston Red Sox hitting coach.  He interviewed with the Yankees and also today Dave Magaden was told by the Yankees that he did not get the job.  He is currently the Texas Rangers hitting coach and is now seen as a possible leading candidate to take over for Davis in Oakland.  James Rowson who has been a minor league hitting instructor and Marcus Thames who was the AA hitting coach have been mentioned as possible other candidates.  Last week the Yankees were basically saying there could be a decision by Tuesday but we will have to wait and see.  Another name that has been mentioned has been long time friend of Joe Girardi, Dante Bichette.  We will have to see if any of those names pan out or is it someone we didn't even hear about. 

Trey Hillman who was serving as a special assistant with the Yankees is now going to Houston to become the bench coach under new manager A.J. Hinch.  There are rumors out there that the Yankees have discussed Omar Minaya becoming part of the Yankees staff in some capacity but up to this point it is just a rumor.  The Yankees have a bunch of players in winter ball. 

Greg Bird is a minor league first baseman who had a really good  year in AA and is off to a great start in the Arizona Fall League.  He leads the league with four homeruns at this point.  Aaron Judge who many consider to be their best prospect is also playing well in Arizona. 

Regular Season Game 13-Cubs at Mets

The New York Mets return home tonight to take on the Chicago Cubs. They will try to win their first series of the year. Here are some of the notes and lineups for tonights game. Ike Davis the Mets big time first base prospect has been called up and Tobi Stoner was sent down to AAA Buffalo. The Mets have lost their first 4 series to start the year. The last time they failed to win one of their first four series was in 1997. They had 2 longer streaks losing their first 6 series in 1962 and their first 7 in 1964. That was when they first came into being though. The Mets are one of only two teams that have yet to allow an unearned run. The other team is the Minnesota Twins. The Mets have 9 homers in their first 12 games ranking 23rd in the majors in that category. The only teams with fewer are Detroit, Washington, Oakland, Seattle and Houston. David Wright leads the majors in walks this season with 17, he also has 10 hits being one of 11 players to have double digits in both categories. He is the only one with more walks then hits. The Mets bullpen leads the national league and is second in the majors in era. They have a 2.34 era. 27 french high school students will be attending the game tonight. They are grounded in NY due to the volcanic eruption in iceland and can't get back home. They are staying at the Laguardia Marriot and are guests of the Mets tonight. Mets catchers have thrown out 3 of 6 base stealers which is tied for best in the majors. Mets Lineup: Pagan(CF) Castillo(2B) Wright(3B) Bay(LF) Francoeur(RF) Davis(1B) Barajas(C) Cora(SS) Niese(P)

Regular Season Game 5-Nationals at Mets

The New York Mets take on the Washington Nationals in Game 2 of their 3 game series. The game is at Citi Field and starts at 1:10PM. Here are the lineups and notes for this game. Mets Lineup: Reyes(SS) Cora(2B) Wright(3B) Bay(LF) Francoeur(RF) Matthews Jr.(CF) Tatis(1B) Blanco(C) Perez(P) Nationals Lineup: Morgan(CF) Guzman(2B) Zimmerman(3B) Dunn(1B) Willingham(LF) Desmond(SS) Rodriguez(C) Taveras(RF) Lannan(P) Jose Reyes returns from the DL today and the Mets optioned Ruben Tejada to Buffalo which is the AAA club of the Mets. Jeff Francoeur recorded his 7th multi HR game of his career. His last one came on April 12, 2008. Oliver Perez is making his first start of the year. He struggled in spring training and got booed on opening day. It will be interesting to see how he reacts in his first start. He has a 9.20 k per 9 inning rate which ranks 3rd among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched.

Regular Season Game 3-Marlins at Mets Part II

I decided to break up the lineups section and the notes section, I thought it would be too much and I think I will continue to do this for all of the game posts. The Mets and Marlins won't see each other again until May 13-16th when they will play a 4 game series in Florida. The Mets 4 full season minor league clubs will open up tonight. Jose Reyes played 5 innings yesterday in a minor league intrasquad game. He went 1-5 and is eligible to come off of the DL on Sat. I would expect to see him with the club on that day. The only other players to have homered more frequently as a catcher other then Rod Barajas are Jorge Posada and Brian McCann. Barajas does it 1 time every 25.3 at bats. This info comes courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau. David Wrights first inning homerun was only the third such homerun in the Mets 49 yr history. Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson are the only other 2 Mets to accomplish that, thanks again to Elias. The Mets have the most foreign born players on their opening day roster. They have 18 such players from 7 different countries.

The plan for Phil Hughes

The Yankees came up with this plan for Phil Hughes, he won't make his first start of the season until April 15th. On April 5th he will throw 90-100 pitches in a extended spring start. This is basically the equivalent of a minor league spring training game. He will fly to Boston after the game to join the rest of the team. April 10th- He will make another extended spring start in the middle of a series in Tampa against the Rays. He will most likely be backed off to about 70 pitches, it is just like the other pitchers were in their last starts. April 15- He will make his season debut at home against the Angels. He will be stretched out just like the rest of the other pitchers at that point. Joe Girardi said they chose to do it this way because it will help to further control his innings. The innings he pitches in extended spring won't count against his total for the season. He said he was only throwing 50 pitches at times when the other guys were throwing 50 and they feel this is a good way to get him up to where he should be. He said the innings don't count because it is a controlled environment. If he throws 20 pitches in a inning and they want to stop the inning they can. In a real game you can't do this. Why wouldn't the Yankees option him to the minors and bring him up when needed. "There is a situation that might arise where you need him to make a spot start, or you get rained out and they want to play a double header. If he were optioned they would have to wait 10 days before calling him up. This seems like a pretty reasonable plan, I guess I like this plan. I think it will work out fine, I was thinking send him down but with Girardi explaining this I can understand what they are thinking. The notes come from Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees blog and Journal News.

Yanks Recap and Some Notes

The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays this evening by the score of 5-3. Sergio Mitre got the start and looked very good. He pitched 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 3 hits with 0 walks and 5 strikeouts. He gave up a 2 run homerun in the 4th inning, that inning his pitches were up but that is a very good outing. Damaso Marte pitched a inning giving up a hit, run and walk. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Boone Logan got the save with a scoreless inning. He allowed a walk and had a strikeout. He is trying to make the team as the second lefty and if Aceves can't go and starts on the DL his chances look pretty good. Derek Jeter was 2-3 tonight with a walk, Nick Johnson was 1-4 with a rbi. Marcus Thames was 1-4 and Alex Rodriguez was 2-3 with a walk. Randy Winn and Ramiro Pena were both 1-4 with a rbi. Francisco Cervelli also had a hit. The Yankees will play the Minnesota Twins tomorrow afternoon at 1 on the yes network. Here are some postgame notes from tonights game: The Yankees assigned Jon Weber and David Winfree to minor league camp after the game. Weber hit 483 this spring and is tied for the team lead with 4 doubles. He was definitely the nice story of camp. He is 32 years old and never made the major leagues. He had this to say "It was the best time in my life, in my career, that I have ever had. I made it to the final week with the New York Yankees." Girardi said he did everything that he could and opened up some eyes. Mark Teixeira was at camp today and reported no swelling of his elbow. That was great news for the Yankees as he got hit hard last night. Alfredo Aceves was also feeling better today and there is a chance he will play catch tomorrow. The decision on if Phil Hughes will start in the minors and come up when they need a 5th starter or just start in the majors is coming soon. Girardi said "We should have that for you shortly. I think we are just about done with that." Joba Chamberlain probably won't pitch in back to back games this spring. The Yankees only have 4 more games.

Mets and Marlins Tie

The New York Mets took on the Florida Marlins this afternoon. They tied 8-8, it was called after 11 innings. Nelson Figueroa gave up 8 hits and 7 runs in 2 2/3 innings. Jenrry Mejia faced 6 batters in 1 1/3 innings. He gave up 1 run and 3 hits. Fernando Nieve and Pedro Feliciano each pitched a scoreless inning. David Wright had a big day hitting a solo homerun and a 2 run double. Alex Cora also had a solo homerun, the Mets have really been hitting the longball this spring but I don't think it will carry over at this rate. I do think the Mets will hit more homeruns this year and be fine offensively just by having Reyes and Beltran will be back eventually. Jason Bay will add a bunch of power also. Angel Pagan had 3 hits, a rbi double and a leadoff walk. According to Brian Costa of the Star Leger Jenrry Mejia said he is ok with whatever the Mets decide. He said if they send him to the minor leagues he understands and just has to work hard and get to the majors eventually. The Mets will play the Nationals tomorrow at home tomorrow, the game will be televised on WPIX.

New York Mets Recap and Postgame Notes

The New York Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals at Tradition Field by the score of 6-5 today. The starting pitcher was Fernando Nieve and he pitched 3 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. He also walked 1 and didn't strike out a batter. The offensive star was Angel Pagan who hit a 2 run walkoff homerun for the victory. Here is how the other players performed. Pitching wise Jon Niese was the worst of who pitched today. His line was: 3 innings giving up 4 hits and 3 runs, only 2 were earned and he did strike out a couple. Sean Green, Pat Misch and Francisco Rodriguez all pitched scoreless innings. K-rod had a perfect inning with a strikeout in his debut. Sean Green walked 2 batters but didn't give up a hit and Pat Misch had a walk but gave up no hits. Luis Castillo had a hit, Ruben Tejada had 2 hits and a rbi. David Wright and Mike Jacobs each had a hit and Jason Bay and Fernando Martinez each had 2 hits. Fernando Martinez also had 2 rbi. Jeff Francoeur had a hit, rbi and walk. Francisco Rodriguez was sporting new goggles and told Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News after the game he has to get used to them. According to Gary Cohen Fernando Martinez will start the season in the minors. He said this during todays broadcast and said that GM Omar Minaya said this.

Yankees sweep split squad games

The New York Yankees played a split squad affair today and won both games. They took on the Philadelphia Phillies in Tampa and won by the score of 7-5. They defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton by the score of 6-0. The 5th starter battle is between 5 men Joe Girardi has promised even though most feel it is really only between Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. If Joe Girardi is true to his word we got a real battle on our hands. Sergio Mitre pitched his second straight strong outing yesterday and now today Alfredo Aceves who was a intregal part of the bullpen last year was outstanding. He pitched 4 perfect innings with 3 strikeouts, that is his second straight strong outing. This was the game in Bradenton and here is how the rest of the pitchers fared. Ivan Nova pitched 2 innings giving up 1 hit and 1 walk with a strikeout. He didn't allow a run. Zach McAllister pitched 2 hitless, scorless innings with a walk and Jason Hirsh finished it out with a perfect inning. Hirsh is also pitching well and trying to make it as a longshot. It wasn,t that long ago that he was a top prospect. The offense had A-rod go 1-3 with 2 rbi,s and jon weber go 2-2 with 2 rbi. Eduardo Nunez was 2-2 with a rbi. He is a ss prospect who the Yankees are high on but of course Derek Jeter is in front of him. Greg Golson was 1-2 and Randy Winn was 1-3. Juan Miranda was 2-4 with a rbi. Before the Yankees signed Nick Johnson there was talk that he could be the DH, he has done nothing but hit in the minor leagues and he is probably too good for AAA anymore but who knows if he could hit in the majors. He is having a good spring so far so the Yankees will have their eye on him if Nick Johnson gets hurt or is ineffective. The game at home in Tampa was highlighted by Javier Vazquez, he gave up a leadoff homerun but that was it. He struck out 4 in 2 innings and really looked sharp after the leadoff batter. He featured pretty much everything, fastball, changeup and his curves. Jon Albaladejo bounced back in that he didn't give up a run in 1 inning but he did give up 3 hits. Dave Robertson had a rough outing, he pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up 3 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks. Amaury Sanit pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up 2 hits and 0 runs with 2 strikeouts. Christian Garcia pitched 2 innings giving up a hit, run and walk with 2 strikeouts. Zach Segovia and Kevin Whelan were the other pitchers who appeared in the game. Segovia went 1 1/3 innings giving up 3 hits and 1 run. Whelan faced 2 batters and got them both out with a strikeout. Offensively Jorge Posada was 1-2 with a walk, Robinson Cano was 2-2 with 2 rbi and a walk. Nick Swisher was 2-3 with 3 rbi. Kevin Russo was 2-3 with a walk. He has a chance to be the utility outfielder and is playing well since coming back from illness. I still think Ramiro Pena will make the team though. The Yankees will play the Pittsburgh Pirates tomorrow afternoon at 1:00PM on the Yes Network.

Fridays News and Notes from Tampa

Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes spoke to the media toay and you can hear about 3 minutes from each on the Lohud Yankees Blog. Here is the link http://yankees.lhblogs.com Andy Pettitte followed the lead of the other starting pitchers and stayed off the mound, he will wait a few days before he revs it up. Here is what he had to say "My bodys feeling good, everything feels good coming into the spring. I feel real good about that." Andy also said the workload of the playoffs shouldn't bother him because the Yankees did a good job at the end of the year of resting their pitchers for the playoffs. He also said he is happy they added another reliable arm and that they never had met before but have already played golf together. Joe Girardi said you would love to have 2 lefties in a perfect world but they feel their righties get lefties out well. He specifically mentioned Dave Robertson but did say that 2 lefties gives you so many more options. Yogi Berra was in the clubhouse this morning according to Chad Jennings of the Journal News. Greg Golson and David Winfree both stopped in the clubhouse today, they are both going to be fighting for a job. It will be interesting to see what happens with guys like this, do they serve as trade bait, the last spot on the bench or go to the minors and add depth. Joe Girardi said the thing that has jumped out at him this early in camp was a lot of quality arms. He said some of the pitchers are big and intimidating, that he needs a step stool to talk to them. Here are the pitchers who threw today Joba Chamberlain, Christian Garcia, Phil Hughes and Edwar Ramirez. The second group was Kei Igawa, Mark Melancon, Boone Logan and Mosely. The third group was Zach McAllister, Ivan Nova and Kevin Whelan. The last group was Jeremy Bleich, Hector Noesi, Wilken De La Rosa and Mitchell. There isn't too much going on but I am going to try and post some pictures over the weekend and the starters are going to start throwing bullpens and then on Wednesday the full squad reports so it will get more interesting.

New York Mets Notes from Florida

The New York Mets had some news coming out of florida today. According to the Star Ledger of NJ Brian Costa who talked to GM Omar Minaya today he said that Henry Blanco would be the backup and the starters job would come down to either Josh Thole or Omir Santos. The 23 year old Thole hit 321 with 3 extra base hits in 17 games for the Mets last season. It looks like they were impressed with how he handled the pitchers. I think the best thing for him would be to go down to AAA and get some more seasoning in before coming up to the majors later on in the year but with this being the Mets who knows what they will do. Jose Reyes had a informal workout today and there is some video of him on Matt Cerrone http://metsblog.com/. He was at tradition field where he did agility drills, jogging, batting practice and fielded ground balls. He said this " I have been doing so much of my rehab without the team, but now to be back with my team is really exciting. I feel like a little kid bro." He said that he has nothing to be afraid of that " I am able to do everything that I want to do." Mike Jacobs and Daniel Murphy worked together fielding ground balls at first base. Mike Jacobs also took batting practice in front of hitting coach Howard Johnson.

Yankees add 5 more to Non Roster Invite List for Spring Training

The New York Yankees added 5 more players to their list of non roster invitees to spring training. The players are infielders Brandon Laird and Jorge Vazquez along with right handed pitchers D.J. Mitchell, Dustin Moseley and Ryan Pope. The Yankees will now have 25 non roster players in camp and bring the total number up to 65. Laird is the younger brother of Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and led the Florida State Leauge in Rbi's last season with 75. He also batted 266 with 13 homeruns. Mitchell is only 22 years old and made his professional debut last season when he went 12-7 with a 2.63 era in 25 appearances in Class A Tampa and Charleston. He made 24 starts and had 124 strikeouts which was second among all yankees minor leaguers. He also was tied for second in wins and fourth in ERA. Moseley came from the Angels where he went 1-0 with a 4.30 era last season. He was on the disabled list in April with right forearm tightness and in August underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left hip. Pope was with Trenton all of last season and went 5-12 with a 4.78 era. He was selected in the third round of the 2007 draft by the Yankees. He is the only player to ever come out of Savannah College of Art and Design. Vazques is 27 years old and was a 10 year veteran of the Mexican League. He signed with the Yankees in December of 2008, he made his Double A Debut last season batting 329 with 13 homeruns and 56 rbi's in 57 games before missing the final 2 months with a left wrist sprain. This information was provided on Yankees.com. The Yankees are going to have a packed house once everyone reports to camp next week, it should be fun as they are coming off a World Championship. It will be interesting to see if any young guys make a name for themselves because with the Yankees the roster is pretty much set but you never know for future trades or at some point if they can help the club with injuries or ineffectiveness.

Joba Rules

The New York Yankees and Joba Chamberlain have gone back and forth between starter and reliever. He was a started last year until the playoffs and stated just the other day he intends on being a starter this season. He was at the Thurman Munson Awards dinner last night and had some things to say. He did state that he wants to be a starter but the Yankees have the final call and if the told him you are going to be a setup man and be ready to inherit MO's job when he retires he would be ready and able to do that. He stated he just wants to be told what to do and then stick with that. Joel Sherman of the NY Post had a article in todays paper about this and stated that Joba is going to be the setup man and Phil Hughes will be the 5th starter. I have been saying this for a while and I agree with it. The thing about Joba is he just seems different out of the pen. I have been in the Joba as a starter camp and I still believe he can be a very good starting pitcher. The thing though that the Yankees couldn't ignore and most of the fans was that he was sitting at 89-91 as a stater and looked tentative. Joba went back to the pen for the postseason and was back up in the high 90's and just looked dominant again. The Yankees will never admit it publicly but I do think they believe he is better suited for the bullpen now. It is very hard for them because of what they invested for him to be a starter. They went through all this Joba Rules stuff and now finally he is ready to be unleashed this season and what do you know he will most likely end up in the pen. The thing is Phil Hughes will have the rules but the Yankees have Sergio Mitre, Chad Gaudin and some others in the minors to cover the 5th starter role and if there is injury. I think the Yankees best team will be with Joba in the pen and Hughes starting. It will be a debate that will be ongoing but I am sure this is what most people want and will be happy as long as Joba executes in this role the way everyone thinks he will.

Baseball Odds and Ends

The New York Mets made a couple of minor league signings today. They signed pitcher Josh Fogg and also utility man Frank Cattelanotto. He is a native of Long Island so he will be coming home. Josh Fogg pitched well as a longman for the Colorado Rockies last year. Cattelanotto hit 278 with one homerun and 9 rbi's with the Brewers last year. He had a 346 obp in 144 at bats. Adam Dunn through his agent is saying that Orlando Hudson prefers to sign with the Washington Nationals and Jon Heyman is tweeting he thinks he will end up there. The Yankees will be going on a 6 day tour of the Far East. We know the Yankees have had a relationship with Japan even though Matsui is gone now. The Yankees have a agreement with China and will be furthering their relations on this trip as well as showing off the World Series Trophy. Jim Edmonds signed a minor league deal with the Brewers with a invite to spring training. It looks like the Oakland A's are in serious discussions with Gabe Gross. If they do sign him Damon will have one less team. I still don't see where he will end up maybe it will be Toronto or Tampa.

Yankees minor league signings

The New York Yankees have announced several minor league signings. They signed relief pitcher Royce Ring who pitched for the New York Mets for a couple of years. They also signed outfielders David Winfree and Reid Gorecki. I only know something about Royce Ring, I will have to go with what I have heard. Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees Blog has a good grasp of minor leaguers considering he worked for Scranton for 7 years. Here are the stats that he provided and some insight. David Winfree had his first shot at AAA last year and hit 273 with 14 homeruns and 31 doubles. He did strike out 88 times with only 28 walks. Winfree is only 24 years old, he seems to have Shelly Duncan type power, similar type of player but Duncan has more experience. Baseball America ranked him as the Twins #28 prospect last year and only had one other prospect with better power. Royce Ring has 94 games of big league experience. He has pitched with the Mets, Padres and Braves. He had a 3.04 era in AAA with the St. Louis Cardinals last season. Lefties hit 208 against him last year and they have hit 229 against him in his career. He seems to be AAA filler but isn't a bad guy to have around. The Yankees now have Damaso Marte who they hope will be the guy they saw in the playoffs and not the guy they saw in the regular season. They also have Boone Logan and Wilkens De La Rosa.

Yanks 40 man roster moves

The New York Yankees added 7 men to their 40 man roster today. This is all in preperation for the Rule 5 draft which is coming up in December. The rule 5 draft for those who don't know is a draft for minor league players that aren't on the 40 man roster and have played 6 or more years in the minors to be taken by any other team, the catch is they have to stay on the roster for the whole year otherwise be offered back to their old team. Here are the players that were added according to Chad Jennings of the Journal News: Hector Noesi Ivan Nova Romulo Sanchez Austin Jackson Reegie Corona Eduardo Nunez Kevin Russo Austin Jackson is the Yankees #2 prospect and Kevin Russo really established himself this year as a super utility type guy. Corona was taken last year but then brought back to the Yankees. Noesi, Nova and Sanchez are all pitchers. If you want to learn more about these guys check out the lohud yankees blog where Chad Jennings has more on these guys. He worked with Scranton for the last 7 years or so and brings great knowledge about the minor leagues to that blog, great job by him.

Yankees Minor League Titles

The New York Yankees minor league system once again has been outstanding this season. The A-Tampa Yankees won the Florida State League title last night and the short season Staten Island Yankees won the NY/Penn League title. The Staten Island Yankees were represented by a lot of the recent draft picks. You can check out the stories about the games on www.milb.com the official minor league baseball site. The AAA Scranton Yankees are down 0-2 in their championship series but they have lost a lot of players to the big club such as Shelly Duncan, Ramiro Pena and Francisco Cervelli and a few relievers. They still have a shot though with 3 straight home games, of course they have to win every one of them. The big news out of AAA though is that Ian Kennedy you remember him pitched 3 hitless innings last night with 6 strikeouts. This is great news, he is a good kid who was thrust onto the scene maybe too quickly in NY and didn't do too well and then had surgery this year for a aneurysm in his arm. He now has pitched 5 scoreless innings in the minor league playoffs and will head to the instructional league and Arizona Fall league to build up his innings. Ian should be in AAA next year ready to go but he doesn't have much more to prove there as he has dominated the level. If Andy Pettitte comes back and Phil Hughes does become the 5th starter then there doesn't seem to be a spot for him but maybe he becomes a long reliever/spot starter or stays in AAA as a extra guy. Another scenario is the Yankees leaving Hughes where he is and Ian Kennedy being the 5th starter. This is all a ways off but interesting to think about, hopefully first the Yankees secure their 27th title then they can worry about this kind of stuff.

Joba rules part II

The plan has been in place since spring training but no one knew what would happen or what the plan was. Joba Chamberlain didn't even know until recently, he is going to make 6 more starts. The debate continues with this guy now just in a different way, it has been proven that young pitchers under 25 should not increase their innings by too much more then 30 year to year. Joba Chamberlain has had some arm issues in the past and he didn't pitch much in college or the minor leagues so that is also why the Yankees want to be extra careful with him. Joba Chamberlain appears to be on pace for about 165 innings this year and then the postseason where the Yankees say don't count, it is just a regular season innings limit. The question is this Joba only threw a little over a 100 innings last year so isn't 165 too many innings?? How did the Yankees come up with this number and if it is so strict why doesn't it matter in the postseason?? I personally believe that he needs to be the 4th starter in the postseason and may only get 2 starts if the Yankees make the world series so it won't be going that much over the limit but still why does it seem to change because it is the postseason?? Did the Yankees factor this in and aren't telling anyone but this is way more then the suggested 30 innings increase that most teams go by. I guess the bottom line is this, if Joba pitches well and helps the Yankees win the world series and is healthy then no one is going to worry about it. I also am going to believe that the Yankees know better then any of us what they are doing, they are the New York Yankees after all.

Yankees go for sweep

The New York Yankees will be looking for the sweep tonight of the Seattle Mariners. The game is at 7:05 on the Yes network. Here are the pregame notes and lineup from Peter Abraham-the best blogger there is. The Yankees are 30-15 in their last 45 games. The Yankees have won 9 of their last 11 games against Seattle and won 10 straight in the bronx, the last time the Mariners won in the bronx was 2007. The relievers are on a roll, Mo over his last 9 appearances has gone 9 1/3 innings giving up 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 12 strikeouts. Phil Hughes has gone 13 innings in his last 8 appearances giving up 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks and 16 strikeouts. Alfredo Aceves has gone 9 appearances, 12 1/3 innings, 9 hits, 1 run, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts. Phil Coke ha gone 15 appearances, 13 1/3 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 3 walks and 15 strikeouts. These are very impressive numbers and part of the reason the Yankees are winning so much the other part is the starters have been good too and the bullpen is getting worn down. CC Sabathia has a career 2.95 era against Seattle and is 6-1 with a 2.82 era in his last 10 games. Robinson Cano has gone 11 games without an rbi, his last rbi came on June 17th. Johnny Damon has 198 homeruns and is 10 of his last 24 with 7 rbi's and 5 extra base hits. The Yankees team era is 4.44 which is 11th in the AL but getting lower and lower. They are second in strikeouts with 588. Boston has 1 more and they are second in opponents batting average which is at 252, Seattle leads at 250. The Yankees are 23-14 at home and have played in bad weather all year with some rainouts already. Big Tex is overdue for a homerun, his last one was June 12 off of Livan Hernandez. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Matsui(DH) Cabrera(CF) Cervelli(C) Jose Molina starts a rehab assignment tonight with AAA-Scranton where I will be on Sunday for the game with the lohud Yankees blog and Peter Abraham, we are going to also meet Dave Miley the manager and a player and I hope to meet Chad Jennings who does a great job with a blog for the Scranton Yankees. I will definitely do a nice writeup and have some pics from the day out at PNC Park in Scranton. I also will put up what is going on with the contest for the free coloring book later on tonight. The Yankees signed a couple of independent league players the other day and I forgot to mention that and today started the international free agent signing period where the Yankees are expected to announce a couple of signings, one of them being Gary Sanchez a catcher with a big bat, this is where they signed Jesus Montero who by the way is starting to tear up AA at 19 years old.