Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Yankees to sign Cuban left-hander Omar Luis Rodriguez

Borrowed from RAB


Via Jesse Sanchez, the Yankees will sign 18-year-old Cuban left-hander Omar Luis Rodriguez for a bonus in the $4-5M range. It is a minor league contract. He became a free agent earlier this month and would have been subject to the spending restrictions implemented by the Collective Bargaining Agreement had he not signed by July 2nd. More to come.
Rodriguez first garnered serious attention at the World Junior Championships back in 2010, when he threw a complete game shutout against Team USA in the title game. He did get hit around while pitching in Cuba’s top professional league as a 16-year-old a few years ago, but that’s not terribly surprising. Rodriguez is a projection guy with an 88-92 mph fastball to go with a curveball and changeup that still need development, and he’s drawn raves for his poise in the past. Pretty much exactly what the Yankees look for.

Braves @ Yankees 6/20/12

UPDATE:

Its a home run derby...

Freddie Freeman, Martin Prado, Jayson Heyward, and David Ross all homered for the Braves

Derek Jeter. Eric Chavez, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano all homered for the Yankees

At the beginning of the 7th inning the Braves are leading 6-4

Yankees lose 10-5



This afternoon is the rubber match of a three game series and the last time we will be playing the Atlanta Braves this season barring my World Series prediction coming true. The Yankees had their 10 game winning streak snapped last night against Tim Hudson and the Braves and will look to start a whole new winning streak starting this afternoon. On the mound for the Yankees is Phil Hughes and for the Braves is going to be righty Tommy Hanson. The game will be televised on YES and MLB Network at 1:05 pm ET.

Lineups

Derek Jeter DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Eric Chavez 1B
Russell Martin C
Jayson Nix SS


The Yankees remain 2.5 games ahead of Baltimore and 3 games ahead of Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.

Go Yankees!!

Pineda expects to begin throwing mid-September

Being Borrowed From Bronx Daily Baseball


Michael Pineda showed up at Yankee Stadium for a checkup on his shoulder on Tuesday. He told reporters that he is hopeful to be ready by next Spring Training and that doctors expect that he can begin throwing by mid-September.
“The doctors say everything is great right now, so I’m continuing this plan,” Pineda told Chad Jennings of the Journal News. “… Now I’m just starting working on my exercises. I go to physical therapy every day. No throwing right now.”
Pineda’s next stop is in Tampa to continue his rehab. It sounds like he’s being dilligent about his rehab and multiple sources claimed that he looked to be in better shape than in the spring.
It’s hard to get too excited by this considering he is still so far away. Shoulder injuries can be nasty and sometimes lead to various setbacks too. So far, so good though and his shoulder surgery wasn’t as bad as some. I think at this point it is fair to hope for him to come back and contribute next season, but maybe not smart to count on it just yet.