Thursday, May 2, 2013

Injury Updates On An Off Day


Michael Pineda pitched today and was seen hitting 93-95 mph on the radar gun which is a great sign being less then a year removed from major shoulder surgery. He is going through very physical work outs and rehabs and is coming through everything great so the Yankees may have a log jam of a problem on their hands come June or July.


Mark Teixeira hit off of a tee and did some soft toss for the first time yesterday since his wrist injury that he got in the World Baseball Classic. He expects to stay with the Yankees over the weekend before heading down to extended spring training to begin his rehab.


David Robertson was seen limping off the field after getting the final out of the 8th inning in last nights game against the Houston Astros but the Yankees claim there is nothing to worry about. David felt some tug in his hamstring where it connects to the knee and saw the team doctors today and is listed as day to day. Brian Cashman claims that this will not be a DL situation, thank god.


Corban Joseph Sent Down To AAA For Chris Nelson


The Yankees have sent down Corban Joseph to AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre to make room for newly acquired Chris Nelson on the major league roster. Chris will be active when the Yankees host the Oakland Athletics this weekend at Yankees Stadium.

The Best DL Money Can Buy

I'm not the first person to point out all the money currently sitting on the Disabled List for the Yankees, but I couldn't stop myself from writing it down.

Here are the list of players currently on the DL, including their 2013 salaries...

Alex Rodriguez - $28 million
Mark Teixeira - $22.5 million
Derek Jeter - $17 million
Curtis Granderson - $13 million
Kevin Youkilis - $12 million
Joba Chamberlain - $1.875 million
Ivan Nova - $575,600
Michael Pineda - $528,475
Francisco Cervelli - $515,350
Cesar Cabral - $490,000

Total: $96,484,425

That's more than the total payroll of 16 teams (MLB team salary information courtesy of Newsday.com).

Joba Chamberlain Placed on 15-Day DL

Like dominoes, it seems only a matter of time until another Yankee falls.

Joba Chamberlain has been placed on the 15-Day DL with an oblique strain. The move is retroactive to Joba's last appearance on April 28th, so he could be back sooner than 15 days. However, oblique injuries can be really hard to predict, as we saw last season with David Robertson (missed 34 days).

Perhaps I missed something last night, as I wasn't able to see most of the game, but I did find it odd when Boone Logan returned in the 7th inning after getting the 3rd out in the top of the 6th. Not only because Joba is the unofficial 7th inning reliever, but because Robbie Grossman (the first batter for Houston in the top of the 7th) is a switch-hitter with a massive split against left-handed pitchers (so far in 2013 Grossman is hitting .333/.455/.407 vs. LHP like Logan and .243/.364/.270 vs. RHP like Chamberlain). 

It's hardly surprising that another Yankee has hit the DL, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. Fortunately the bullpen is still in good shape thanks to Logan, Robertson, and the GOAT. So as long as Yankee starters can keep the team in the game through 6 innings, then the Bombers have a really good chance to win. 

Off Day Music Recommendation


With the Yankees off today and the movie "Soul of the Game" under your belt I wanted to take this opportunity to recommend some music that I have been listening to lately. A friend of mine turned me on to this guy after seeing him in a concert and I kind of like it. His latest album, Old Boy Jon, was released free so go check that out and we will be back to work tomorrow with all things Yankees.

Off-Day Notes: Chamberlain, Robertson, Rodriguez, Jeter, Teixeira, Pineda, Nelson, Granderson

Beauty comes with a price, doesn't it? On a day where it's 73 degrees in New York City...there had to be some news about the Yankees somewhere. Let's get to them.


Joba Chamberlain


-- Joba Chamberlain was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a tight oblique. He said he felt something when he was warming up to pitch on Tuesday and complained of soreness when he arrived at the stadium yesterday. Brian Cashman said that the strain is "mild" and Joba should be back to pitch in two weeks. There wasn't a move on the roster to replace Chamberlain but Cashman did say that he had three names in mind when it came to taking that roster spot: Mark Montgomery, Preston Claiborne and Sam Demel.


David Robertson


-- David Robertson spent his off-day at the doctors office after feeling discomfort near his knee/hamstring. The doctors did an MRI and the diagnosis is a "cranky hamstring". Robertson won't have to go on the DL; instead he is day-to-day.


Alex Rodriguez


-- Alex Rodriguez posted on Facebook that he had been cleared to do baseball activities and that he will head to Tampa on Monday in order to join Curtis Granderson rehabbing their way back to the team. Rodriguez is still expected to be back after the All-Star break, along with Derek Jeter.


Derek Jeter


-- Derek Jeter is still in the walking boot, but he's able to remove it to do exercises. He's expected to be back after the All-Star Break.


Mark Teixeira


-- After doing tee and toss, Teixeira will stay with the Yankees until the end of the homestand, then head off to Florida to rehab with A-Rod and Granderson. Teixeira is expected to be back in June.


Michael Pineda


-- Michael Pineda is throwing to hitters down in Florida. He's reached 93-95 MPH on his fastball.


Chris Nelson


-- After being acquired by the Yankees late last night, he's officially been put on the 25-man roster and is activated for tomorrow. Corban Joseph was optioned to Triple-AAA to complete the roster move.


Curtis Granderson


-- Curtis Granderson is on the road back to the Yankees today. He took more at-bats in an extended Spring Training game. If all goes well, Granderson is slated to come back in about two weeks.

San Diego Looking To Extend Headley

"Will it be 10 years? No," said Fowler. "We're not going to do something like that. But we will do an offer that will be the largest offer we've ever made to a player in San Diego history and think it will be very close to some of the numbers I read in the press."
That quote comes from San Diego Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler, and he's referring to his team's plans to offer Chase Headley a team record contract.

Fowler didn't say just how long a contract he's thinking, and it would be dumb to make such a thing public, but it's important to know that Headley himself is looking for something more than the current largest contract in San Diego history... 3 years and $52 million extension for Jake Peavy in 2007.
"A three-year deal would put me in the same position I am now in about a year and I don’t want to do this again." - Chase Headley
I've been lobbying for the Yankees to trade for Headley, as I didn't see the Padres willing to offer him the contract he deserves. This news indicates that I may have been wrong about that, and San Diego could use this move to build off of for the future.

Off Day Movie Recommendation


The Yankees are off today for the first time in 16 days before starting a weekend series with the Oakland Athletics at home. I wanted to take this opportunity, after recently seeing the movie "42" finally, to recommend another movie centered around the Negro Leagues, Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Roy Campanella, etc. The name of the movie is Soul of the Game and came out in 1996 telling the story of Branch Rickey and the players aforementioned coming up through the big leagues and playing in the Negro Leagues. It's really a great movie that never really got enough attention but maybe with the recent success of 42 that will change. You can watch the movie in its entirety above so feel free to check it out because it really is a great movie that tells a great story.

This Day In Yankees History 5/2


On this day in 1939 Lou Gehrig tells then Yankees manager Joe McCarthy that he is benching himself for the good of the team and ends his 2,130 consecutive game streak.


On this day in 2001 the Twins almost had to forfeit a game after fans assaulted left fielder and former Twins player Chuck Knoblauch with coins, plastic beer bottles, and golf balls in the outfield. Over 40 fans were ejected from the stadium and the game itself was held up for over 12 minutes during the fiasco. The Twins would win the game 4-2 over the Yankees.