Monday, April 28, 2014

Yankees Interested In FA Daniel Carbonell


The New York Yankees are said to be interested in the latest Cuban defector Daniel Carbonell after establishing residency in Mexico and officially becoming a free agent. Carbonell is 6'3" and 23 years old and is now searching for a spot with a major league team. Carbonell put up a .287/.359/.398 in his career in Cuba and has shown an ability to hit for power, to get on base, to run the bases and showcase his speed while on the base paths, and a ton of athleticism.

Carbonell is likely to be the last international free agent of his kind due to Major League Baseball tinkering with the international spending limits and inching towards an amateur draft. Currently if a player has played three years or more professionally and is at least 23 years old the player does not count against the international spending cap. The new rules which will go into effect in July for the 2014-2015 season makes players have five seasons of professional ball under his belt before being ineligible to count against the cap.

The Yankees should go ahead and snatch this guy up, why the hell not right?

Kyle Roller Named EL Player of the Week


Thunder first baseman Kyle Roller has been selected as the Eastern League Player of the Week for the period of April 21st-April 27th.
The 26-year old hit .526 (10-for-19) with two doubles, four home runs, eight RBI, six runs scored, four walks and a 1.263 slugging percentage in five games for the Thunder last week. The Rockingham, North Carolina native, reached base multiple times in all five games he played in last week and had multiple hits in four of those games, including going 2-for-2 with a pair of homers, three RBI, three runs scored and two walks in Trenton's 14-10 win at Portland on Friday night.
In the three-game series over the weekend in Portland, Roller was 6-for-11 (.545 AVG), with four walks, a hit-by-pitch (.688 OBP), five RBI, four runs and a pair of homers.
The 6'1", 250 lb. slugger led all Eastern League players in batting average (.526), on-base percentage (.625), slugging percentage (1.263), OPS (1.888) and total bases (24) last week while also tying for first in extra-base hits (6) and home runs (4).
Roller, who is batting .400 in 12 games for the Thunder this season and currently leads the Eastern League with seven home runs, earns his second career E.L. Player of the Week Award after being given the award a year ago for the week ending April 22, 2013.
He was originally selected by the New York Yankees in the eighth round of the 2010 draft after hitting .324 with 17 doubles, 12 homers, 54 runs scored and 48 RBI during his senior season at East Carolina University.
Tyler Wilson, a RHP for the Bowie Baysox, was selected as the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the period.
Roller is the second Trenton Thunder player to win an E.L. weekly award in 2014, with RHP Bryan Mitchell taking home the Pitcher of the Week last week for the period ending April 21.

Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder. The original article can be seen HERE


Charleston's Caleb Smith Named SAL Pitcher of the Week


Becomes First RiverDog in 2014 to Take Home League's Pitcher of the Week Award

CHARLESTON, SC - Charleston RiverDogs pitcher Caleb Smith received the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week Award on Monday for games played April 21-27. Smith made one start on April 24 at the Delmarva Shorebirds and struck out a career-high 13 batters over six shutout innings en route to a victory.
The 13 batters Smith fanned are the most by a RiverDog since the ballclub became a Yankees affiliate in 2005. The lefty allowed only three hits and walked one batter without allowing a run in his best outing since being drafted last June by the Yankees. The six innings is also the most Smith has pitched as a professional.
A native of Houston, Texas, the 22-year-old pitcher was drafted out of Sam Houston State University in the 14th round of the 2013 MLB Amateur draft by the New York Yankees. A 6'2", 175 lb. left-handed pitcher, Smith is now 2-1 with a sparkling 0.89 ERA in four starts as a RiverDog.
The RiverDogs are home starting at 7:05pm on Tuesday, April 29, at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park for a seven game home stand against the Augusta GreenJackets and Delmarva Shorebirds. For tickets and more information visit www.riverdogs.com, call 843-723-7241, or stop by the Riley Park box office.

Being posted with permission from the Charleston Riverdogs. The original article can be seen HERE

New York Yankees Off Day Music Recommendation


I thought it was interesting that this season Major League Baseball created a rule that directly impacted a players walk up music. MLB announced that a player would only be allowed 15 seconds of walk up music, who would have thought this would even be a pressing issue. Oh well, I decided to take advantage of the off day and our music recommendations by posting our lead off hitters walk up music since this is our first of hopefully many walk up music posts for off days. Jacoby Ellbury walks up to N****'s in Paris by Jay Z and Kanye West so that is what is above. This is obviously not safe for work or children so listen with discretion.

Off Day Baseball Movie Recommendation


It's time for that 2:00 feeling again and it's time to watch a full baseball movie classic without leaving the site. Today we watch the 1996 television classic Soul of the Game. This movie covers baseball in the Negro Leagues and has Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Roy Campanella as the main characters. It really is a great and underrated baseball movie so enjoy it and enjoy the rest of your off day Yankees family.

A Look At The Yankees Leaders Through A Month


The Yankees are off today so no better time to look at the Yankees leaders in stats through almost a month of baseball. Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran are still plastered all over the leader board while Masahiro Tanaka is living up to all the hype. Without further delay let's get to the stats:



Games Played:

25 games for Jacoby Ellsbury making him the only player to get into every single Yankees game this season. 

At Bats:

93 at bats for Jacoby Ellsbury and Alfonso Soriano

Runs Scored:

Carlos Beltran has 14 to lead the team.

Hits:

Jacoby Ellsbury  leads the way with 29 hits 

Doubles:

Carlos Beltran leads the team with nine doubles

Home Runs:

Carlos Beltran has five home runs to lead the Bronx Bombers

RBI's:

Carlos Beltran and Yangervis Solarte each have lucky number 13 in  RBI's

AVG:

Ichiro Suzuki leads the team with a .333 batting average, which is encouraging, but the Yankee regular leading the way in average is Jacoby Ellsbury with a .312 average. 






Wins:

Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia both have three wins a piece to lead the pitching staff. 

Losses:

CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda, Hiroki Kuroda, and recently injured Ivan Nova all have two losses for the Yanks. 

ERA:

Not counting Matt Daley and Cesar Cabral's 27.00 ERA's or Dean Anna's 18.00 ERA, or Bruce Billings 9.00 ERA, or injured Ivan Nova's 8.97 ERA brings us to the man that replaced Nova in Vidal Nuno's 6.59 ERA. The lowest Yankee ERA is David Robertson's 0.00 ERA. Dellin Betances has a 0.77 ERA and the lowest Yankee starters ERA is Michael Pineda's 1.83 ERA. 

K's:

Masahrio Tanaka has a staggering 46 K's to start his major league career


Can't Predict Baseball: Scranton Gets No Hit


Over the weekend the Scranton Wilkes Barre RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, got no hit by the Durham Bulls. The Bulls are a Tampa Bay Rays affiliate and Mike Montgomery, no relation to the Yankees Mark Montgomery that I am aware of, was on the mound with Rays GM Andrew Friedman was watching from the stands. Looks like we have a new Yankee killer on the way.

I just thought it was interesting because 10 months earlier Montgomery had a no hitter going only to give way to the bullpen and lost his shot at history. Not only did the bullpen lose the no hitter but they also lost a five run lead and the game. This time Montgomery pitched 8.1 IP of no hit ball and had to watch as the Bulls bullpen had to close out the no hit bid again.

This time Brad Boxberger did the job having Antoan Richardson ground out and striking out Jose Pirela in a 5-0 Bulls victory. You can't predict baseball.

Quick Hit: Robby Cano, Don't Ya Know?


Robinson Cano comes back to the Bronx for the first time since leaving the New York Yankees via free agency to the Seattle Mariners for 10 years and $240 million. I am sure this is all anyone will be talking about for the next four days and if you can't beat them join them. Over/under Cano breaking out of his power outage and early season slump and hitting three home runs this series against the Yankees? I'm going over, way over. What say you?

Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap 4/27


RiverDogs Blanked to End Road Trip
Delmarva completes suspended game with game-winning home run before taking series finale

SALISBURY, MD - After losing the resumption of a suspended game, the Charleston RiverDogs lost their road trip finale 5-0 to the Delmarva Shorebirds on Sunday at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in South Atlantic League action. Delmarva earned a 5-3 walk-off win in eight innings to complete a suspended game from Saturday's doubleheader before winning the finale.
Charleston has an 11-12 record this season as Delmarva improves to 12-11. The RiverDogs finished 3-4 in a seven-game road trip that included a series victory at Lakewood.
Sunday's action began with extra innings and a quick finish to a game that started on Saturday before being suspended due to weather. After the RiverDogs were scoreless in the top of the eighth, Delmarva extended the inning with Drew Dosch's two-out single followed by a walk-off home run from Conor Bierfeldt. Charleston pitchers had combined to retire 15 straight Shorebirds until the late pair of hits led to a 5-3 Delmarva victory.
Dylan Rheault was the winner of the contest. Rheault is a perfect 5-0 with Delmarva following a scoreless eighth inning. Stefan Lopez is now 1-1 after being charged with the loss for Charleston.
Delmarva made big plays in each half of the third inning while taking an early 1-0 lead in the series finale. Center fielder Josh Hart robbed Mikeson Oliberto of a possible go-ahead hit with a diving catch in the top of the third. In the home half of the inning, Gregory Lorenzo brought in Mike Yastrzemski on a single to put the Shorebirds in front.
The Shorebirds doubled the lead to 2-0 in the fourth. Charleston's Giovanny Gallegos had two outs and led the count against Hart when catcher's interference put Hart on first base and moved Bierfeldt to second. Bierfeldt scored after a Federico Castagnini single.
Delmarva added three more runs in the seventh inning. Castagnini gave the Shorebirds a 3-0 advantage when he scored on a single by Dosch. Kemp followed with a double that moved Lorenzo home for a four-run lead. Dosch came in on a wild pitch and brought the lead to 5-0.
Austin Urban held the RiverDogs scoreless over five innings as the Delmarva starter. His successor, Dennis Torres, allowed two runners to get into scoring position in the seventh, but he coaxed a fly out and kept the Shorebirds lead intact. David Richardson got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. Bennett Perry closed the shutout after pitching in the ninth inning.
Urban claimed the win and is now 1-2 this season. Gallegos fell to 0-3 as he took the loss.
COMING UP: After a league-wide off day on Monday, the Charleston RiverDogs will open a seven-game homestand against the Augusta GreenJackets at 7:05pm on Tuesday evening. RiverDogs RHP Brady Lail (2-1, 5.49 ERA) is scheduled to pitch against GreenJackets RHP Chase Johnson (1-1, 2.08 ERA). Harris Teeter 2-for-$20 Date Night Tuesday, presented by Nash FM 96.9, offers a great deal with two tickets, two tacos, two fountain drinks, and one nacho tray for just $20 for couples that show their VIC Card at the box office. Tickets may be purchased at the Riley Park Box Office, (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or on-line at www.riverdogs.com. If fans cannot make it to the ballpark, they are encouraged to tune in to all the action this year both home and away worldwide onwww.riverdogs.com and locally on 1250 WTMA, the new radio home for RiverDogs baseball.
Box Score - Suspended Game from April 26: http://atmilb.com/1rxv2vY
Box Score - Regularly-Scheduled Game for April 27: http://atmilb.com/1k90rQK

Being posted with permission from the Charleston Riverdogs. The original post can be seen HERE

Trenton Thunder Game Recap 4/27

Thunder Win Final Game in Portland, 6-5

PORTLAND, ME - The Trenton Thunder earned a 6-5 win Sunday over the Portland Sea Dogs behind early offense from top prospect, catcher, Gary Sanchez.
The Thunder had a 6-1 lead over the Sea Dogs by the top of the 4th inning and the Thunder bullpen held off Portland from completing a second consecutive come-from-behind victory.
Trenton faced Portland lefty Henry Owens who shut down Trenton for 6.2 shutout innings in his second start of the season. This time around the Thunder jumped on Owens for six runs in 5.0 innings on nine hits and three walks.
Sanchez' first-inning double began the scoring for Trenton in the first inning and scored Ben Gamel for a 1-0 lead while advancing Rob Segedin to third base. The next batter, Kyle Roller, stroked a single to right field to plate a pair of runs and give the Thunder a 3-0 lead.
Two innings later, the Thunder used a leadoff walk to Segedin to set the stage for Sanchez' second homerun of the season. Sanchez finished the day 2-for-4 with a double, homer two runs and three RBI.  
Trenton starting pitcher Graham Stoneburner made in through 3.2 innings while being charged with four runs (all earned) and did not factor in the decision. Jairo Heredia, Manny Barreda and Branden Pinder combined out of the bullpen to allow one run in 5.1 innings down the stretch to give Trenton the win.
The victory earns the rubber-game from Portland, moves the Thunder to 14-9 and 0.5 games within first place in the East Division. With the series win, the Thunder improve to 4-0-3 in their seven series this season.

Trenton hits the road to New Hampshire following Sunday's game and the team returns to action Monday against the Fisher Cats in the first game of a four-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with the Trenton Thunder pre-game show beginning at 6:20 p.m. on 91.3 FM WTSR or online at www.trentonthunder.com.

Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder. The original post can be seen HERE

This Day In New York Yankees History 4/28


On this day in 1985 Yogi Berra was fired as manager of the New York Yankees after starting the season 6-10. Billy Martin is hired to replace Berra who would be managing the Yankees for his fourth time. Berra vows to never return to Yankee Stadium for as long as George Steinbrenner is the owner of the team and he didn't for 14 years. Eventually Berra and Steinbrenner reconciled and Berra is now a mainstay at Yankee Stadium and in spring training camps.