Monday, March 3, 2014

Yankees Sign Five Players From The Dominican Republic To Minor League Deals


Somehow I missed this, and I think we all missed this around the blogosphere, but the Yankees signed five players to minor league deals last month. None are household names or game changers in 2014 I wouldn't think but they are still worth mentioning, seen HERE at the Yankees transactions page.

The Yankees signed RHP Wilmi Francisco (23), catcher Algeni Mateo (18), RHP Isaac Padilla(17), RHP Dionicio Perez (22), and right fielder Carlos Tatis(17). All of these men are from the Dominican Republic and none of them have any stats or history on their milb.com pages. This leads me to believe that these are international signings and all will count against the spending cap for this season, just a hunch though.

Johan Santana Is About To Come Off The Yankees Board

Brian Cashman talked about dumpster diving but the Baltimore Orioles are actually doing it as evident with the news that they are close to signing Johan Santana to a minor league deal. Whether the Yankees had any interest in Santana or not really became a moot point when he came to camp throwing a less than blazing fastball after a second torn shoulder capsule surgery. Obviously Baltimore would be getting Santana on a minor league deal and see him as a left handed relief pitcher, not a starter.

Santana is in his age 35 season and was seen in Orioles camp today before the deal was announced on Twitter. The last time Santana was on a mound was in 2012 when he threw the first "no hitter" in New York Mets history. I actually like the idea of Santana maybe being a LOOGY with that Bugs Bunny changeup of his, good call Buck.

New York Yankees Spring Training News & Notes 3/3


The New York Yankees ended the Washington Nationals perfect spring record this afternoon behind three strong innings of Ivan Nova baseball. The Yankees have won three straight games and have pitched well in all three contests. Here are a few news and notes from Yankees camp today.

David Robertson and Shawn Kelley both made their spring debuts for the Yankees today in the victory over the Washington Nationals. Robertson hit a batter but pitched a scoreless inning while Kelley gave up a long home run to center field. Interestingly Corban Joseph started at first base today, although it is spring training so it shouldn't be that odd. Another day and another catcher was showcased as the DH today as Francisco Cervelli was in the DH spot while Brian McCann was behind the plate.

Andy Pettitte arrived as a Yankees guest instructor at camp today. How cool does that have to be for the likes of Manny Banuelos, Vidal Nuno, and Cesar Cabral, fellow lefties.

Speaking of lefties Mark Teixeira took live batting practice for the first time since wrist surgery ended his 2013 season. He took BP off left handed pitcher Manny Banuelos and right handed pitcher Jose Campos. Teixeira called it "pretty uneventful" and if you ask me that means it was a success.

Derek Jeter will play again tomorrow since the Yankees have a night game, perfect time to see if he can play in back to back games. Jeter will be DH though so he will get a half a day off.

Joe Namath was at the game. I am a New York football Giants fan so I was not jumping up and down like some people were, prediction and all.

Chad Jennings with the assignments and bullpens and such like he has every day, and we thank him for them.

Morning bullpen sessions:
CC Sabathia (to Francisco Cervelli)
Masahiro Tanaka (to Austin Romine)
Dellin Betances (to Roman Rodriguez)
· Today’s second string: C John Ryan Murphy, 1B Jose Gil, 2B Zelous Wheeler, SS Addison Maruszak, 3B Jose Pirela, LF Ramon Flores, CF Mason Williams, RF Adonis Garcia
· Today’s scheduled relievers: Dave Robertson, Shawn Kelley, Dan Burawa, Yoshinori Tateyama, Robert Coello, Jim Miller (Chase Whitley, Mark Montgomery and Brian Gordon are listed as available if necessary)
· Batting practice groups:
Group 1: Derek Jeter, Brian Roberts, Ichiro Suzuki, Francisco Cervelli
Group 2: Brett Gardner, Kelly Johnson, Corban Joseph, Brian McCann
Group 3: Zoilo Almonte, Mason Williams, Jose Gil, John Ryan Murphy
Group 4: Ramon Flores, Adonis Garcia, Jose Pirela, Zelous Wheeler
Group 5: Carlos Beltran, Russ Canzler, Jacoby Ellsbury, Alfonso Soriano
Group 6: Eduardo Nunez, Brendan Ryan, Scott Sizemore, Mark Teixeira
Group 7: Dean Anna, Antoan Richardson, Yangervis Solarte, Austin Romine
Group 8: Addison Maruszak, Francisco Arcia, Pete O’Brien, Gary Sanchez


4-run second inning lifts Yankees past Nationals, 4-2

Thanks to 3 near-perfect innings from starter Ivan Nova (4 strikeouts, no walks, no hits, no runs), another scoreless frame from Closer David Robertson, and a four-run second inning performance (Johnson-RBI Double, Joseph-RBI Single, Ichiro-reached on error, credited with one RBI), the Yankees were able to beat the undefeated Nationals today at Steinbrenner Field, 4-2. Overall, this game was pretty boring, since the Yanks offense never did anything for seven of their 8 at-bats, but still, I'd say it was successful. I mean, Nova was terrible in his first start, so isn't the fact that he dominated today worth talking about?

New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals 3/3


The New York Yankees will host the Washington Nationals today at George M. Steinbrenner Field down in Tampa. We may see the debut of Alfonso Soriano at some point this afternoon, but probably not, and get a little more Derek Jeter action since this is a home game. Ivan Nova is on the mound for the Yankees. Enjoy the day Yankees fans.

An Extremely Early Look At The 25 Man Roster


With Spring Training not much older than a couple of weeks I wanted to take this opportunity to take a very early educated guess at the 25 man roster for the 2014 season. We have seen a handful of games now and there are a few Yankees prospects that are making an impact. Obviously keep in mind that this list WILL change, we are still waiting on the debut of Michael Pineda for example so I did not include him just yet, but this is what it is today in my opinion. Still a lot of spring to go and I see another one or two of these posts in my future.

C: Brian McCann
1B: Mark Teixeira
2B: Brian Roberts
SS: Derek Jeter
3B: Kelly Johnson
LF: Brett Gardner
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury
RF: Carlos Beltran
DH: Alfonso Soriano

BN: Francisco Cervelli
BN: Eduardo Nunez
BN: Dean Anna
BN: Brendan Ryan

SP: CC Sabathia
SP: Hiroki Kuroda
SP: Masahiro Tanaka
SP: Ivan Nova
SP: Vidal Nuno

CP: David Robertson
SU: Shawn Kelley
RP: Dellin Betances
RP: Matt Thornton
RP: Cesar Cabral
RP: Adam Warren
LR: David Phelps

Yankees Rank Low On 25-and-Under List

Baseball Prospectus released their 25-and-Under Talent Rankings, which you can check out for free. Then again, as a Yankees fan, you might not want to.

The Yankees were ranked 28th on the list, which honestly isn't all that surprising. The only player 25 or under who, will for sure make the big league roster for sure, is Masahiro Tanaka. Other than Tanaka, Michael Pineda may make the team as well. After that you have 8 players who have yet to make an impact in Major League Baseball.

Personally I couldn't care less about how old the Yankees are. Sure, having good/young players is great, as it helps the future of the team, but I'm more concerned with whether or not they can win. And I think this Yankees team, although they certainly have room for improvement, can win.


Yankee Stadium Legacy: #28 Billy Martin (Again)


Billy Martin entered the Major Leagues as a promising infielder in the 1950's and showed his versatility for the Yankees as a second basemen, shortstop, and third basemen in his playing career. From 1951-1956 Martin played in five World Series, winning four of them, and put up a .333 postseason average. In 1953 Martin had 12 hits in 24 World Series at bats against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

28 days until Yankees Opening Day.

This Day In New York Yankees History 3/3


On this day in 1997 the New York Yankees signed a 10 year contract with Adidas. The licensing agreement with the sportswear company, my favorite in case you were wondering, put Yankees owner George Steinbrenner at odds with the baseball establishment. We all know George was never scared to ruffle a feather or two.