New York Giants prepare for season opener on Wednesday night

Just six days before they host the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants today reached the 53-man regular-season roster limit and the lists of the players let go and those remaining included the usual assortment of minor surprises. Friday was the final cut down day and the setting of the roster as it will look on Wednesday for the regular season opener against the Dallas Cowboys at home.  This came courtesy of Giants.com and I added a couple of my own thoughts also. 

Terrell Thomas the fifth-year cornerback, and Shaun Rogers the 12-year veteran defensive tackle, were placed on injured reserve. D.J. Ware and Greg Jones were cut.
The Giants had to make 22 moves to get down to 53. In addition to placing Terrell Thomas and Rogers on IR, here’s what they did:

*Cornerback Bruce Johnson was waived/injured.

*Besides Ware’s, the contracts of four other veterans were terminated: cornerback Dante Hughes defensive tackle Marcus Thomaswide receiver Isaiah Stanback and offensive lineman Chris White.

*Thirteen players were waived: Jones, wide receivers David Douglas and Dan DePalma defensive ends Craig Marshall and Matt Broha defensive tackle Dwayne Hendricks linebacker Jake Muasau tight end Larry Donnell offensive linemen Matt McCants, Selvish Capers and Stephen Goodin quarterback Ryan Perrilloux and defensive back Laron Scott.

*Safety Tyler Sash has begun serving his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. Sash can rejoin the team on Oct. 1.

“It’s always difficult to release players that have been here and have really worked hard and have earned our respect and our admiration,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “Those are guys like Dwayne Hendricks, who I have great respect for, and DePalma, who has worked hard for us for a couple of years and has done a good job. Isaiah Stanback is another guy who has done an outstanding job here and worked hard and really gained our respect.” It is tough but they have to let a certain number of guys go.

“Greg Jones was a very difficult decision to make,” Coughlin said. “Danny Ware was here for a while and any time you have those relationships with people, it’s tough to see them go. Fortunately, these are men and they understand that decisions have to be made.”


The current makeup of the team includes 16 players (30.2 percent) who were not on the 53-man roster when the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5. The list includes five 2012 draft choices (Wilson, Randle, Hosley, Robinson and Kuhn); four veteran free agents (Bennett, Rivers, Locklear and Stevie Brown); Andre Brown (a 2009 Giants draft choice) and Tracy (a 2010 selection) who were on the practice squad for the entire 2011 season; Austin, who spent last season on injured reserve; Hill, a first-year free agent, and Ojomo, a rookie free agent; and Tryon and Coe, cornerbacks who played for the Giants last year before going on injured reserve.

“The roster turnover is always about one-third in my mind,” Coughlin said. “I don’t think the guys that have been here are turnover guys. They were on the team and they were injured. They have experience with us and I think that’s the way to look at it.”

Ojomo arrived at camp as a relative unknown – he started only 14 games at the University of Miami – but was relentless in his play and led the Giants with 4.0 sacks in the preseason.

“There is a perfect example of a young man for whom preparation meant opportunity and he succeeded,” Coughlin said. “He worked and he worked and he worked and he enjoyed playing. He got confident. He sized up the opponent and he made timely, timely plays throughout the entire preseason. He played on special teams. He earned the opportunity to have his spot.”

The Giants can still reshape their roster prior to the opener. But that might be less likely this year than in other seasons, because they play on Wednesday, four days before most teams begin their season.

Some of the players who were waived will be asked to join the eight-man practice squad, which the Giants can begin constructing at noon tomorrow.

Terrell Thomas and Rogers had held out hope that they would avoid injured reserve and be able to play this season.

Thomas spent the entire 2011 on I.R. after tearing his right ACL in a preseason game vs. Chicago on Aug. 22. He entered training camp last month looking to regain his starting right cornerback job but aggravated the repaired knee early in camp. Thomas said he expected to play this year, but the Giants believe that is not possible and placed him on injured reserve.

Rogers was diagnosed with a blood clot after the preseason opener in Jacksonville three weeks ago. Coughlin initially said Rogers would miss the entire season, then expressed a glimmer of hope he might get back on the field. That hope ended today.

Ware was the longest-tenured player who was released. He had been with the team since 2007 and earned two Super Bowl rings. But the Giants chose to keep Scott and Andre Brown behind Bradshaw and Wilson.

“There was good competition at that running back spot,” Coughlin said. “Andre Brown and Da’Rel Scott have both earned the right and they’ve both proven that they can be special teams contributors as well, which is what we were looking for.”

Ware was signed by the Giants off the Jets’ practice squad on Dec. 4, 2007. In five seasons he played in 45 regular-season games with one start and played in four postseason games with one start. Ware’s regular-season totals included 81 rushing attempts for 324 yards (4.0-yard avg.) and one touchdown, 37 receptions for 252 yards and 25 kickoff returns for 486 yards (19.4-yard avg.). Ware has also scored twice on 2-point conversions. In the postseason, Ware had four rushing attempts for 10 yards and two receptions for 21 yards.

In 2011, Ware played in all 16 regular-season games for the first time with one start and played in all four postseason games with one start. He had career-high totals of 46 rushing attempts for 163 yards – both third on the team – with a long run of 17 yards, and 27 catches for 170 yards with a long reception of 22 yards.

Jones was a sixth-round draft choice in 2011, when he played in every game as a rookie, with five starts. He finished the regular season with 25 defensive tackles (22 solo) and six special teams tackles (four solo). In the postseason, he led the Giants with seven special teams tackles (six solo). Jones was the only Giants rookie to start the season opener at Washington on Sept. 11. He had four solo tackles, including one on the game’s first play. Jones was the first Giants rookie linebacker to start on opening day since Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor in 1981, the first defensive rookie to start an opener since tackle Barry Cofield in 2006 and the first rookie to start since tight end Michael Matthews in 2007. He also started the following week vs. St. Louis but his playing time diminished as the season wore on.

“There were a lot of numbers issues (at different positions) and you can’t keep everybody,” Coughlin said. “You don’t like to let a guy go that has played and contributed and done the things that Greg has done. However, the unfortunate part about it is you only have so many spots.”

Also waived was this year’s sixth-round draft choice, McCants, the tackle from Alabama-Birmingham. The team’s fourth-round selection, offensive lineman Brandon Mosley, was placed on injured reserve earlier this week with an ankle injury.

Stanback was signed on Nov. 30, 2011 to the Giants’ practice squad and spent the rest of the regular season and the postseason there. He caught three passes for 26 yards in the preseason and made the highlight play of the summer when he reached high to make a one-handed catch of a David Carr pass for a five-yard touchdown in Jacksonville.

Marcus Thomas, who played the previous five seasons for the Denver Broncos, was signed on August 16 after the Giants suffered a spate of injuries at defensive tackle. He recovered a fumble by New England’s Brian Hoyer Wednesday night to set up Lawrence Tynes’ game-winning field goal in the Giants’ 6-3 victory.

Hughes is a six-year veteran who was signed on May 24. He previously played for Indianapolis and San Diego.

White was in training camp with the Giants in 2011. He was let go in the final cutdown last year and re-signed on Feb. 13. White has previously played for Green Bay, Houston and Seattle.

Johnson, who hurt his shoulder last week and missed the preseason finale, was waived/injured. He missed the entire 2011 season after tearing his Achilles tendon in training camp. In 2010, Johnson was placed on I.R. after six games when he injured his knee.

Hendricks was on the Giants’ practice squad each of the last three seasons. In 2011, he was signed to the active roster on Oct. 15 and played in one game, at New England on Nov. 6.

Perrilloux was in training camp with the Giants in 2011. He was waived and re-signed to the practice squad 13 times during the regular season and postseason. This preseason, he completed eight of nine passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

Marshall was with the Giants in training camp last year and did two short stints on their practice squad in November. He had 2.5 sacks in the just-concluded preseason.

Broha, a rookie free agent from Louisiana Tech, was second on the team with 3.5 sacks in the preseason.

Muasau was a rookie free agent from Georgia State. He was signed after impressing the coaches while attending the rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. Muasau finished the preseason with three tackles after missing the opener with a hamstring injury.

Douglas was a free agent from Arizona who impressed early in training camp. But he was slowed by a quad injury that kept him out of the preseason opener. Douglas finished the preseason with one 23-yard reception and four punt returns for just two yards.

DePalma spent the entire 2011 season on the Giants’ practice squad and was signed to the active roster on Feb. 8. In the preseason, he caught three passes for 46 yards.

Donnell was a free agent from Grambling. He did not have a reception in the preseason.

Capers was signed to the Giants’ practice squad on Sept. 5, 2011 and was waived and re-signed to the squad nine times in the regular season and postseason.

Goodin was a rookie free agent from Nebraska-Kearney.

Scott was signed on Aug 16, soon after his release by the New Orleans Saints

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.

Roster Changes for World Series

The New York Yankees finalized their roster this morning. Freddy Guzman and Francisco Cervelli were taken off the roster and replaced by Brian Bruney and Eric Hinske. You need a pinch hitter for the games in the national league park. The Yankees felt they needed a extra pitcher and taking Cervelli off the roster seems like they will scrap the Molina/Burnett pairing and just go with Posada the whole way. If you are headed out to the game as of right now they are saying the game should be started on time with no delay or anything but it is terrible out right now. I would dress warm and appropriately and bring something to clean the seats as they will be soaked. Alicia Keys and Jay-Z have been switched to tomorrow instead because of the weather. I don't have any other news right now. There will be some press conferences in a little while and I am hoping to have the gamepost with the notes and lineups up before 4.

News from todays workout

The Yankees today decided to add Freddy Guzman and drop Eric Hinske from the roster. I don't think this is that big of a deal but clearly the Yankees are going to play this series different, run more and play small ball the Angels way. I think this is also saying that Gardner may start and Guzman would become the main pinch runner. A.J. Burnett will pitch game 2 and Andy Pettitte game 3 which was expected but Joe Girardi won't go beyond that for now. Dave Eiland talked about Phil Hughes and said they made a slight adjustment and thinks he will be better now. Johnny Damon worked with Kevin Long and also thinks he made a mechanical adjustment and will be better. This has been a long wait and it could be even longer but hopefully not. The weather was terrible in the NY area today and tomorrow it doesn't look good either, Saturday may be a little better. I hope this game gets started and on time but it is possible we may not get to see a game tomorrow either. There is only so much analyzing and talking about certain things you can do, these teams are pretty closely matched and it is time to prove who the better team is on the field. It will be interesting to see if Joe Girardi uses Jorge Posada for a DH in game 2 with a lefty pitching and Molina catching Burnett.

Recap of the Yanks/Twins Series

The New York Yankees swept the series and had strong starting pitching to set it up. The Yankees offense the last 2 games was shutdown at least for a good portion of the game but as we have known all year with this team they just keep fighting and keep coming at you and until the game is over they are never out of it, especially at home. A-rod was the MVP of the series even though there isn't one for the ALDS. I think Andy Pettitte actually pitched the best out of the 3 starters. CC and A.J. were good but can be even better. A.J. was a little too wild with 5 walks and 2 hit batters. Phil Hughes didn't have a great series out of the pen but we can see the formula is starter for 6 and then Joba-Phil-MO. I do think Joe Girardi was a little too quick to get the starter out and put the pen in but it worked and you can't complain too much. I hope he is going to let CC go a little further in game 1 on friday especially since he will be on 9 days rest. A.J. you do want to get out before the game gets out of hand and Andy probably could of stayed in a little longer but it wasn't a terrible move. The Yankees now have to think about using only 3 starters again as they can have CC go games 1, 4 and 7. He would only be on three days rest for game 4 but he is on 9 days rest for game 1 and normal rest for game seven if it went that far. I think this is the way they will go and use Chad Gaudin as long relief if they have too. I don't think you will see Damaso Marte in the second round but we will see. Joba does look better out of the pen and he can be trusted in a big spot and Dave Robertson has a lot of confidence now. The Twins just made too many mistakes and they were overmatched even though the games were pretty close except for game 1. The Twins made a lot of baserunning mistakes which is unusual but it could of been the pressure getting to them. The Yankees now can start preparing for the Angels and I am sure by Wed we will hear about the roster and any news on the rotation.

Yanks win with B lineup

The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals from a rain soaked Yankee Stadium by the score of 8-2. The game was delayed nearly 2 hours and then only took about 2 1/2 to complete. Chad Gaudin got the start and was good, the Yankees are 7-0 in his starts so he has really given them something to think about for the postseason and for next year. Alfredo Aceves finished off the game. Gaudin gave up 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings. Aceves finished off the last 2 1/3 innings. The lineup had Ramiro Pena, Francisco Cervelli, Shelly Duncan and Juan Miranda in it. Shelly Duncan had a rbi single, Francisco Cervelli had a couple of hits but the biggest one of all was Ramiro Pena hitting his first career homerun. The guys in the dugout gave him the silent treatment before jumping all over him, it was a great scene and you could tell how much they really like this kid. The Yankees have had a great year and a lot of the veterans have come up huge but a lot of the young kids have also stepped in and done a great job. Ramiro Pena and Francisco Cervelli have so impressed the Yankees they probably have spots on the 25 man roster next season. It is really great to see when you have a mix of young and old and the team just keeps rolling along. Robinson Cano had a grand slam which is good for him because if he hits in the cluth in the playoffs that will be huge for this team. He and Melky Cabrera will be off today and you will see the rest of the guys back in there. A.J. Burnett makes his final start of the regular season hoping to keep his recent success going and carry a good frame of mind into the postseason.

Royals at Yankees

The Yankees take on the Royals at 7:05 on YES. The Yankees have clinched everything they could in the regular season. The goal now is to stay healthy and finalize their playoff rosters. They will see how Robertson does this week and if Bruney can continue to be effective as well as see if Gaudin will be a long man or they will go with 2 lefties etc. The games don't mean anything as they could lose them all and still have the best record in baseball. Hereare the pregame notes and lineup via Peter Abraham. RHP Dave Robertson has been cleared to pitch and you can expect to see him tomorrow at some point. He has been out since Sept. 5 with a sore elbow. He has 61 strikeouts in 41 innings and could play a big role in the postseason. Andy Pettitte banked an additional $750,000 when he went over the 190-inning mark. He needs 8.2 innings to get to 200 and another $750,000, which won’t be happening. The Yankees are 44 games over .500. They have not been 45 games over since finishing 2002 with a 103-58 record. Yankees Lineup: Gardner(CF) Cabrera(RF) Damon(LF) Posada(DH) Cano(2B) Hinske(3B) Miranda(1B) Cervelli(C) Pena(SS)

Yankees injury news

The Yankees got good news on Jorge Posada yesterday as X-rays were negative on his foot and he is expected to be back catching tomorrow. The Yankees also got good news today when Jerry Hairston Jr. was told he had tendinitis in his wrist and recieved a cortisone shot. He should be day to day and be back next week. This is good news as he is very versatile and will be on the postseason roster. Nick Swisher is banged up but I would expect him to be back also tomorrow night against the Red Sox.

Some Yankee notes

A-rod just had a normal day off, remember he is still dealing with the hip and they do need to get him so days off. The Yankees announced today that ticket prices for the postseason would be less then last year and in fact for the first round tickets for the season ticket holders will remain the same. Check out the link at http://yankees.com. Ian Kennedy who said he felt great the other day will throw live batting practice on Wednesday for the first time since his surgery. He will throw 30 pitches then throw again on Saturday and the following Tuesday. Brett Gardner hit off a tee again today and felt good, he is expecting to head to Scranton for rehab games by Thursday. Peter Abraham's Lohud Yankees Blog has all this information and more so thanks to him for having all of this great stuff. Tomorrow is Sept 1st so rosters do expand, I expect to see Cervelli and Pena and I would guess Albaladejo and Melancon but we shall see. I think Shelly Duncan and Austin Jackson will come up after the AAA season is over.

Yankees at Rays

The New York Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays in game 2 of this 3 game series at 7:10 on MY9. Here are the pregame notes and lineup from Peter Abraham of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees Blog. The Yankees are 16-11 against the Rays the last 2 seasons. If the Yankees win tonight that would be 9 of their last 10 series. CC Sabathia is 3-1 with a 2.92 era in his last 4 starts. He is 2-0 since the break, allowing three earned runs over 14 innings. The Big guy is 7-1 with a 2.63 era in 12 career starts against the Rays. He had a no decision against them on June 6th allowing 5 runs in 8 innings in what turned out to be a 9-7 loss at Yankee stadium. Carl Crawford leads the majors with 48 steals. He has 350 for his career. Melky Cabrera is heating up going 7 for his last 12 with 5 walks in his last 4 games. The Yankees are 9-3 in their last 12 road games. Robinson Cano is a career 324 hitter against Tampa Bay. Derek Jeter has hit safely in 7 straight. He is 9 of 18 in his last 4 games with 6 rbi's and 5 runs scored. Jeter is 5th in the AL at 325 and 5th in OBP at 402. Tonight is the 1,00th game of Mark Teixeira's career. Big Tex and Jorge Posada are both 8 for their last 22. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF) Alfredo Aceves is tired and will be out again so there doesn't seem to be a roster move but eventually they will get another OF up here and send down Albaladejo or Melancon. There is no word yet on Wang but we should know later what happened with him and Dr. Andrews. Also the rumor going around today is that the Yankees are looking at Jarrod Washburn again and can probably get him.

Yanks try to finish off homestand in style

The New York Yankees finish their 10 game homestand today with a 1:05 game against the Oakland A's. Dallas Braden is on the mound for Oakland who stats wise is their best pitcher, I can't see the Yankees doing much worse then yesterday when they couldn't hit Gio Gonzalez at all. The game is on Yes. The Yankees will leave after the game for Tampa where they will start a big 3 game series with the Tampa Bay Rays and then they will continue on to play the White Sox for 3 and 2 with Toronto before coming home for a huge 4 game series with the Boston Red Sox. Peter Abraham is off today so there isn't much notes but the big thing is Brett Gardner is on the DL with a broken thumb, he did it yesterday breaking up a double play in the first inning. He will be in a cast for at least two weeks. The only other outfielders on the 40 man roster are Shelly Duncan, John Rodriguez and Austin Jackson. It will be interesting to see who they call up but for now Jon Albaladejo will be on the team for today and then tomorrow they will send him back down and send someone else up. A-rod is just getting the day off as he has looked lethargic lately. Yankees lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) Posada(C) Matsui(DH) Swisher(RF) Cano(2B) Cabrera(CF) Ransom(3B)

Washington Nationals at New York Mets

The Mets are hurting but luckily the schedule favors them now. They play 2 more with the Nationals at home then 3 with the Marlins and then the Pirates. Carlos Beltran won't play the next couple of games and hopefully he will be back on Friday, he has a bruised tibia. Jose Reyes just hasn't been getting better and today as well as Ryan Church were placed on the 15 day DL. Fernando Martinez the Mets promising outfield prospect was brought up. The Mets also sent cash to the Indians for SS Wilson Valdez who will also immediately be put on the 25 man roster. Livan Hernandez gets the start tonight and the lineup is as follows: Pagan(CF) Castillo(2B) Wright(3B) Sheffield(LF) Tatis(1B) Martinez(RF) Santos(C) Martinez(SS) Hernandez(P)

Melancon and Berroa on the way To Boston

Angel B berroa has been called up to take Cody Ransoms spot on the roster and play third base until A-rod gets back. Angel Berroa has a much better bat then Ransom he was hitting 312 in AAA-Scranton this year after having a very good spring. Dave Robertson was announced last night as replacing Chien-Ming Wang on the roster but it looks like Mark Melancon is also being called up. I know one of these guys will be replaced on Tuesday when Phil Hughes needs to come up and replace Wang but I do think eventually these guys will be in the bullpen for the long haul and this is there chance to shine. I will be back later on with more as it develops, I wonder if this is serious for Bruney or they will just put him on the 15 day DL as a precaution.

Yankees minor league rosters set

UPDATE: 9:46PM: Chad Jennings of the Times Tribune and AAA beat writer and has his own blog is reporting that Brett Tomko will be the closer at AAA and Austin Jackson will be hitting sixth to start the season. I have been waiting for this to be official for about a week, the Yankees announced their rosters for Scranton-AAA, Trenton-AA and Tampa-High Class A, Charleston-Low Class A. I am not going to list the whole rosters here but you can find it on http://yankees.com/ under minor league affiliates or on http://milb.com/ which is the minor league site. I am going to list some of the top players though first with Scranton: Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Mark Melancon, Austin Jackson. The Catchers down here are Kevin Cash PJ Pilittere and Chris Stewart. PJ was in Trenton for a couple of years and is known as a good game caller. The other names most of you are aware of, I am looking for Austin Jackson to have a big year and maybe be up in the big leagues in September. I also look for Mark Melancon to be on the big club at some point this year. AA Trenton-Kyle Anson and Francisco Cervelli are here as the catchers both pretty good prospects although Cervelli is thought of as the most advanced catching prospect the Yankees have and could be up in AAA at some point this year, he of course had a lost year least year when he broke his wrist in spring training. They have some interesting pitchers here such as Zach McAllister, Mike Dunn, Wilken Arias, George Kontos and Ryan Pope. Zach McAllister is one of the top young prospects that the Yankees think very highly of. The position players Eduardo Nunez impressed a lot of people in spring training and suprisingly Justin Snyder is at this level, Snyder was in his first year last year. A Tampa- The pitchers here are led by supplemental 1st round pick Jeremy Bleich who could move quickly and Dellin Betances who is just a stud and many have labeled the Baby Unit. They also have the 2 big catchers in Jesus Montero who reminds me a lot of Mike Piazza although he seems to be improving a lot behind the plate and may actually stay as a catcher and also Austin Romine who is a good catcher with a good bat. It will be interesting to see if either moves up and they break these two up for the first time in their young careers. I wouldn't really get too worked up over any of the other prospects but I will be watching the minor league teams all year also and update you on what is going on and if anyone else emerges. A-Charleston- The pitchers here are led by Andrew Brackman they also have Manuel Banuelos, Brett Marshall and the ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte. The infield has Carmen Angelini who is a well though of ss and also Garrison Lassiter who they drafted last year, these guys are very young and a ways off. I have been to both Scranton and Trenton and love going to both places, its a lot of fun and you get to see some prospects and possibly future Yankees. If you have a chance to go, check it out, neither is too far away and pretty easy to get too. I will be in Scranton for an outing July 5th and plan on having a good post about it afterwards. I don't know if I will get to Trenton this year but that is where I have met Melky Cabrera, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Shelly Duncan, Jeff Karstens and more.