Tuesday, March 18, 2014

One Yankee Listed In Baseball America Top 20 Summer League Prospects List


One member of the New York Yankees was listed in a subscriber only article written by Ben Badler from Baseball America showcasing the Top 20 Summer League prospects. The summer leagues that are showcased are the big ones, the Dominican and Venezuelan Leagues, and the Yankee that made the list was Jorge Mateo. This is not as much of a ranking as much as it is just a list of names to watch this summer in short season baseball.

Mateo is an 18 year old shortstop coming off a season in which he hit .287/.378/.450 and a 145 wRC+. The right hander is expected to come stateside this summer to play with the Gulf Coast Yankees after signing in January of 2012 for the low, low price of $250 K. Here is a quote from Badler about Mateo who was ranked as an 80 in the running department on a scale of 20-80:

“He’s a premium athlete who should be able to stay at shortstop, where he shows very good range, quick feet and a plus arm … He should have good power for a shortstop, with 15-20 home runs a very realistic possibility. Mateo uses the whole field and did a solid job of managing the strike-zone in his debut, though he will have to make adjustments as he moves up the ladder and starts to see better breaking pitches.”

New York Yankees Spring Training News & Notes 3/18


Brendan Ryan's sore back and Scott Sizemore's tight right quad allowed both players to take outside batting practice. Both could be in a game as early as tomorrow.

David Phelps threw a side session today to get ready for his start on Thursday. CC Sabathia threw a bullpen session getting ready for his start on Friday. Masahiro Tanaka threw a bullpen session also to get ready for his start on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins.

Chase Whitley was cut from Yankees camp today so they could stretch him out in the minor leagues as a starting pitcher. Whitley excelled in the role late last season so it could be helpful for both Whitley and the Yankees.

Jacoby Ellsbury will not make the road trip tomorrow and is unlikely to play against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night after feeling a little tight in his right calf. Joe Girardi wants to give Ellsbury all the time he needs to get healthy for when the games count and I can't blame him for that.

Chad Jennings with the assignments from today:

Today’s second string: C Austin Romine, 1B Jose Gil, 2B Eduardo Nunez, SS Dean Anna, 3B Zelous Wheeler, LF Yangervis Solarte, CF Adonis Garcia, RF Zoilo Almonte
· Today’s scheduled relievers: Dave Robertson, Fred Lewis, Shawn Kelley, Matt Daley, David Herndon (with Jim Miller, Yoshinori Tateyama, Chris Leroux and Danny Burawa available if necessary)
· Batting practice groups:
Group 1: Carlos Beltran, Derek Jeter, Brian Roberts, Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki
Group 2: Brett Gardner, Kelly Johnson, Mark Teixeira, Francisco Cervelli
Group 3: Zoilo Almonte, Zelous Wheeler, Jose Gil, Austin Romine
Group 4: Dean Anna, Adonis Garcia, Corban Joseph, Mason Williams
Group 5: Eduardo Nunez, Jose Pirela, Brian McCann, John Ryan Murphy
Group 6: Antoan Richardson, Brendan Ryan, Scott Sizemore, Yangervis Solarte
Group 7: Tyler Austin, Ramon Flores, Francisco Arcia, Pete O’Brien, Gary Sanchez
Travel squad to Orlando tomorrow:
Wasn’t posted before I posted the pregame notes
Pitchers: Dellin Betances, Danny Burawa, Cesar Cabral, Preston Claiborne, Shane Greene, Jim Miller, Ivan Nova, Yoshinori Tateyama
Catcher: Jose Gil, Brian McCann, John Ryan Murphy, Austin Romine
Infielders: Dean Anna, Derek Jeter, Kelly Johnson, Eduardo Nunez, Brian Roberts, Yangervis Solarte, Zelous Wheeler
Outfielders: Zoilo Almonte, Carlos Beltran, Adonis Garcia, Brett Gardner, Antoan Richardson, Alfonso Soriano

Yankees Announce 12 Cuts From Spring Camp


The New York Yankees have announced 12 cuts from spring training camp today. The cuts include outfielders Ramon Flores, Tyler Austin, and Mason Williams, catchers Peter O'Brien and Francisco Arcia, RHP's Robert Coello, Bruce Billings, Brian Gordon, Mark Montgomery, and Chase Whitley, and infielders Jose Pirela and Corban Joseph.

Flores was the only man on the 40 man roster so he was technically assigned to Scranton Wilkes Barre with the RailRiders. None of these guys except for maybe Whitley or Montgomery had a legitimate shot at making the team so these cuts should not come as a surprise.

The real cuts will start coming later this week and next week as the roster continues to shrink to 25.

Pineda stretches scoreless innings streak to 9 in Yanks blowout of Red Sox

Michael Pineda gave up no runs in 4.1 innings of work and Alfonso Soriano homered while driving in 4 today as the Yankees blew out the Red Sox backups/minor leaguers easily, 8-1. With those 4.1 scoreless frames, Pineda has now impressively thrown exactly 9 innings this spring, meaning that his 0.00 ERA is now actually kinda legit. 

Anyway, if you watched this one you already know that it was never close, as the Yankees scored once in the first on a Soriano single and four more times in the second on a few more singles from Ichiro, Jeter, and Teixeira, so yea, I guess this ball game went pretty well. I mean, it was a win over Boston, wasn't it?

New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox 3/18


The rivalry will be renewed once again, sort of, as the New York Yankees host the Boston Red Sox in the latest Grapefruit League game this spring training. The game will be played at George M. Steinbrenner Field down in Tampa at 1:05 pm ET on the YES Network, ESPN, and MLB TV. Michael Pineda will be on the mound for the Yankees looking to secure the fifth starter job for New York. Enjoy the day Yankees family.

Potential 2014 Milestones For Carlos Beltran


Carlos Beltran can crack the Top 100 on the all time list for runs this season if he scores 100 times as he currently sits in the 106th spot with 1,346 runs. Getting to the 1,446 rank would get him all the way to a tie for 77th on the all time list passing the likes of Roberto Clemente, Bernie Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Tony Gwynn, Andre Dawson, Brett Butler, and Fred McGriff to name a few.

Carlos Beltran can also crack the Top 100 on the all time list for doubles as he currently sits ranked 103rd with 446 doubles. Beltran has averaged 35 doubles in his career over a 162 game average so 30 doubles in 2014 would put him at 476 doubles and well within the Top 100. It would in fact make him 79th passing Joe Morgan, Bernie Williams, Jim Thome, Paul O'Neill, Jimmie Foxx, Reggie Jackson, Gary Sheffield, and Larry Walker.

There's no way Beltran could hit 42 home runs this season in Yankee Stadium is there? Well if he did that would be an even 400 home runs for his career.


Yankee Stadium Legacy: #13 Joe McCarthy


Joe McCarthy was the Yankees manager during the 1930's and definitely did a great job in doing so. McCarthy took over the helm of the Bronx Bombers in 1931 and went on to win 107 games and his first World Series title in 1932. McCarthy added four more World Series rings to his collections for the decade and another two in the 1940's before ending his New York career with 1,460 victories over 16 season.

And just like that New York fans we're an Alex Rodriguez, 13 days, away from Yankees Opening Day.

Quick Hit: Scott Feldman Astros Opening Day Starter


Just a quick hit to get your Tuesday started, the Houston Astros have announced that Scott Feldman will be their Opening Day starter. Why do we care? The Yankees will face the right handed starter on Opening Day on April, 1, and that is not a joke. CC Sabathia will be on the mound for the New York Yankees to face off with Feldman.

With a righty on the mound I can see a very left heavy Yankees lineup which may or may not look a lot like this:

Jacoby Ellsbury
Derek Jeter
Carlos Beltran
Brian McCann
Mark Teixeira
Alfonso Soriano
Kelly Johnson
Brian Roberts
Brett Gardner

This Day In New York Yankees History 3/18


On this day in 1937 Lou Gehrig ended his holdout after agreeing to a one year deal worth $36,000 with a $750 signing bonus. Gehrig had originally asked New York for $50,000. The deal still made the Yankees first basemen and last season's American League MVP the highest paid player in all of baseball.


On this day in 1943 the New York Yankees, and five other teams, had to open spring training camps in northern locations. The Yankees opened up camp in Asbury Park, New Jersey.


On this day in 2008 the "Evil Empire" attempted to help with the healing process on the campus of Virginia Tech University after 32 students and staff became victims of a shooting spree the previous April. The Yankees played the Hokies at Virginia Tech's English Field and George Steinbrenner donated $1 million to a memorial fund while also making arrangements for his team to participate in the exhibition. The ESPN Red Sox did nothing.