Monday, March 11, 2013

Yankees Cut Eleven Players From Spring Training Camp


The Yankees have cut eleven players from Spring Training camp today but the biggest cut was obviously Austin Romine who was the only player who had a legit shot at making the big league roster. The Yankees sent Francisco Rondon, Dellin Betances, Brett Marshall, and Austin Romine to the AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Manny Banuelos, Nik Turley, Jose Ramirez, and Ramon Flores have been sent down to the AA Trenton Thunder. The Yankees, because they are not on the 40 man roster, have reassigned Chase Whitley, JR Murphy, and Luke Morton to minor league camps.

Yankees Sign Ben Francisco To A Minor League Deal


The Yankees have signed right handed outfielder Ben Francisco to a minor league deal today with an invite to spring training. Ben opted out of his deal with the Cleveland Indians this morning because he did not feel like he had a legitimate shot at making the team after the Indians signed Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn. Ben signed a deal the same day this afternoon with the Yankees looking to win a spot as the 4th outfielder. Ben will be competing with Juan Rivera and Matt Diaz for the spot and will not waste any time in doing so, presumably, because the Yankees face left handed pitcher Cliff Lee tomorrow. Ben has played center field in the minor leagues but is considered to be a corner outfielder in the majors at this point in his career. Ben was having a stellar spring with Cleveland batting .400 with six doubles, five walks, and only four strike outs in 20 at bats. Ben is expected to be with the Yankees in camp as early as tomorrow and should be in a game no later than Wednesday.

New York Yankees Spring Training Notes 3/11


David Aardsma threw a bullpen session today and reported no set backs, pain, discomfort, etc. Nik Turley and Jose Ramirez also threw side sessions today as scheduled. Boone Logan is scheduled to throw a bullpen session tomorrow. Michael Pineda is expected to throw a 35 pitch bullpen session tomorrow and include sliders for the first time since his shoulder surgery.


Infielders Walter Ibarra and Gil Velazquez are back with the Yankees after Team Mexico was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic. Gil seemed embarrassed when asked about the brawl between Team Mexico and Team Canada and stated that it was as bad as it looked on television.


David Robertson pitched a scoreless inning today for the first time since he had trouble getting his shoulder warm in the bullpen. David claimed that he just slept on it wrong and did not have anything wrong but the Yankees were being extra cautious with their set up man.


Yankees Talking With Derrek Lee

According to a story by The Sports XChange at Yahoo Sports, the Yankees have spoken with Derrek Lee about coming out of retirement. Lee hasn't played since 2011, when he hit .267 with 19 home runs in 113 games.

The Yankees have been using Juan Rivera at 1B, and are looking at others such as Dan Johnson and even Travis Hafner. There is a chance the team could use Ronnier Mustelier at third base, where he's playing again in today's exhibition game, and move Kevin Youkilis to first base. 

I'm leaning towards endorsing the move of Mustelier to 3B and Youk to 1B, but I'm not sure due to the fact that the defense on the left side of the infield would be pretty sketchy. It would be nice if I heard more reports on Ronnier's defense, as I guess it's gotten better since he came from Cuba.

New York Yankees vs. St. Louis Cardinals 3/11


The Yankees will host the St. Louis Cardinals in their latest Grapefruit League game this Spring Training. The Yankees will send Hiroki Kuroda to the mound to face the Cardinals.  The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on MLB Network on a delay and on ESPN.

Ronnier Mustelier takes another turn at 3B. Here's today's lineup...

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Kevin Youkilis 1B
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C
Corban Joseph 2B
Ronnier Mustelier 3B
Slade Heathcott CF

Yankees Spring Training In Pictures Part 9

A member of The Greedy Pinstripes family has been spending his time down in Tampa at George M. Steinbrenner Field watching the Yankees Spring Training. Our friend, @RobbinsDynasty, has recently started his own blog Draft 2 Dynasty so click the link and give his site a view and follow him on twitter @Draft2Dynasty. We want to thank him for these pictures of the Yankees Spring Training and hope that we see many more from him to share with out readers.


- Joba Chamberlain-


-Ichiro Suzuki the comedian-


-Jose Ramirez dominating-


-Enter Sandman, Mariano Rivera-


-David Wells, Reggie Jackson, Cody Eppley, and some guy in glasses-

Spring Training 3/11/13 Lineup

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter DH
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Kevin Youkilis 1B
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C
Corban Joseph 2B
Ronnier Mustelier 3B
Slade Heathcott CF

RHP Hiroki Kuroda

Start Time: 1:05 p.m
TV: YES Network

Morning Bits: Ronnier Mustelier, C.C., Phelps vs Nova for the 5th spot.

mug3We are now less than 3 weeks till the regular season begins for major league baseball!!!! Let's get going with some Yankee links....

-- We have been talking about Ronnier Mustelier on this blog since last year saying he needed to be on team.   Well he is finally getting some Dap when The Daily News is writing an article about him.  John Harper wrote the article.

-- From The Star Ledger writer Andy McCullough mentions that C.C. will be making his first start of the spring this week.

-- Adam Berry of MLB.COM writes that Phelps and Nova are pushing each other for the 5th spot in the rotation.

Yankees Spring Training In Pictures Part 8

A member of The Greedy Pinstripes family has been spending his time down in Tampa at George M. Steinbrenner Field watching the Yankees Spring Training. Our friend, @RobbinsDynasty, has recently started his own blog Draft 2 Dynasty so click the link and give his site a view and follow him on twitter @Draft2Dynasty. We want to thank him for these pictures of the Yankees Spring Training and hope that we see many more from him to share with out readers.


- Derek Jeter getting ready for cage work-


-Derek Jeter's second at bat-


-Derek Jeter stretching before the game-


-Derek Jeter and Jayson Nix-


-Eduardo Nunez taking a pitch while Ichiro steals 2nd-

Looking Around The AL East - Baltimore Orioles


The Baltimore Orioles surprised the world finishing second in the American League East last season and winning not only a Wild Card birth but winning the inaugural Wild Card playoff game. The Orioles finished the 2012 regular season in a dog fight with the New York Yankees and ended up finishing the season with a 93-69 record. I wanted to take a closer look at the additions and subtractions of the off season to try and judge just what the Orioles will look like in 2013.


I have put each players WAR from 2012 in parenthesis next to their name.

Additions:
  • Nate Mclouth (0.8)
  • Luis Ayala (1.7)
Subtractions:
  • Mark Reynolds (-0.1)
  • Robert Andino (-0.1)
  • Omar Quintanilla (-0.4)
  • Endy Chavez (-0.7)
  • Joe Saunders (0.7)

Notable Trades:
  • Acquired Danny Valencia
  • Claimed Russ Canzler
  • Claimed Chris Dickerson
  • Acquired Trayvon Robinson


With all the one run game victories and the 16-2 record with 16 consecutive wins in extra inning games almost impossible to repeat factored in with all of the above information I can see the Orioles taking a significant step back in 2013. With the AL East as competitive as it is I can actually see them being a last place team with a winning record. I do not expect more career high numbers from guys like Nate Mclouth and even though WAR would disagree I see Mark Reynolds as a huge loss to this lineup. The only "additions" were members of the 2012 team and they lost a few key members for 2013 and did not add much in trades or free agency claims.

2013 Prediction : 88-74 5th Place Finish