Monday, September 1, 2014

Girardi Frustrated After Losing Series to Blue Jays

Prior to Brandon McCarthy's giving up of 4 runs in yesterday's sixth and seventh innings, the Yankees were looking alright against J.A. Happ and the Blue Jays.

From the second pitch of the game to Melky Cabrera's solo shot, as expected, the Yanks were in complete control as they tried to win the series, taking a seemingly-comfortable 3-0 lead in the first five and a half of frames when Brett Gardner connected on a pair of big hits and Francisco Cervelli drove in another run with a single.

Yes, it is in fact true that a likable scenario was playing out for them during the first half of the contest, but since McCarthy ended up collapsing instead of maintaining the advantage the day did later prove to be memorable for the wrong reasons, an annoying happening that unsurprisingly frustrated Joe Girardi.

“We need to win games,” the Yanks' skipper of seven years told The New York Post after the defeat. “The road trip started off well, (but) didn’t end well."

Unfortunately, that last sentence couldn't be more true, as the week started out with a fun-to-watch blowout of the Kansas City Royals. 

Still, since the Yankees did ultimately finish just 3-4 in it Girardi was forced to state the following seconds later, even if doing so wasn't at all necessary. 

"We need to make up for it on our homestand," Girardi said.

No kidding.

Yankees Off Day Movie Recommendation: Juice


I am a big fan of Tupac, I was even one of those little kids running around how he was still alive and seven this and seven that, and one of my favorite movies that he was in was Juice. It's 2:00 and it's a Yankees off day so it's time for a full movie to keep you company at work. Here it is, enjoy the day off and we'll be back to work tomorrow as the Yankees host the Boston Red Sox. Go Yankees!

2015 Rule 5 Draft Picks That Need To Be Protected


The New York Yankees have eight players that will need to be added to the 40 man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft this winter. The list includes Tyler Austin, Jose Pirela, Kyle Roller, Branden Pinder, Pat Venditte, Nik Turley, Danny Burawa, and Mark Montgomery.

I cannot see a scenario where Austin is not protected this winter. It is unlikely that he would stick on a 40 man roster in a normal scenario but a team like the Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, etc. would easily stash him away on the bench to get his talent on the team.

Burawa was left unprotected last season and nobody took the right hander and may not be protected this season either. Burawa's very inconsistent and has bounced back and forth between Triple-A and Double-A this season. Pirela looks to be no better at this point in his career than Zelous Wheeler which may keep him off the 40 man and may force him to head to free agency for the first time in his career. Turley spent most of the season on the disabled list and has not looked great since coming off the disabled list which means he will likely be unprotected as well.

Players on the fence are Mark Montgomery who has been demoted to Double-A to try and cut down on his walks and work on mechanics. I can't see a scenario where Montgomery could stick on a 25 man roster all season in 2015. Pinder is heading to the Arizona Fall League and has basically jumped Montgomery and Burawa both but still may be left unprotected this winter if his AFL numbers don't shine. Roller is 27 years old so he should be leading the Yankees minor league players in home runs but will his home run numbers alone garner some interest from other clubs? Honestly I can't tell since Roller does strike out a little more than you would like and also has defensive question marks.

Finally, I can see the Yankees letting Venditte go unprotected and get taken. Venditte has pitched well in the second half and has held left handers down at an impressive rate but the Yankees don't seem to take the switch pitcher seriously. If the team did then we would have never seen Rich Hill or Josh Outman.

Quick Hit: The August NO Trade Deadline


The August revocable waivers trade deadline has come and passed and according to the Yankees MLB Transactions page not much went on whatsoever. This has definitely been the August NO trade deadline while we all watched the Baltimore Orioles beef up their lineup and improve their infield depth. The Yankees are going with what they have as they continue to push towards a postseason spot. Anyone who is acquired today or for the rest of the season will not be eligible for the postseason so maybe Brian Cashman isn't done, but it is likely that he is.

On 8/5 the Washington Nationals claimed and acquired Matt Thornton in a straight waiver claim and took on his contract for the 2014 and 2015 season. The Yankees in return purchased the contract of Rich Hill and placed the lefty in the bullpen.

The Yankees signed minor league relief pitcher Wilking Rodriguez on 8/18 but released him on 8/30. Rodriguez was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals before coming over to New York and will now look to latch on with another major league team.

Finally, the Yankees made yet another marginal upgrade on 8/28 when the team acquired LHP Josh Outman for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Outman ended the Rich Hill era in New York.

Before the deadline passed the Yankees added a 27 year old relief pitcher out of the Miami Marlins organization named Chaz Roe. The new Shawn Kelley, I'm coining the term now.

That's it, that's all Brian Cashman and company could muster this month as the team needed obvious upgrades all over the field. The Yankees lost a LOOGY, added a LOOGY, and released that LOOGY when they acquired another LOOGY. Oh and Chaz Roe. Brilliant.

Yankees Off Day Walk Up Music Recommendation


The New York Yankees have two more off days this season including today so let's take advantage of the day and rest up. It's a good thing we're running out of days off because we're running out of walk up music to post every day. Today we showcase Stephen Drew and his walk up music Brooks and Dunn's Hillbilly Deluxe. I never thought I would have country music playing on my site but times are tough for content right now, what can you do.

Enjoy the off day everyone and let's go get us a Wild Card spot. Go Yankees!!

Article Revisit: Possible 2014 September Call Ups


We have posted one article this month already showcasing some of the possible call ups for the Yankees this September but a lot can change between then and now so we are in need of a mulligan.

First let's take a complete look at the players on the 40 man roster that are not on the active roster:

Manny Banuelos
Zoilo Almonte
Bryan Mitchell
Gary Sanchez
Zelous Wheeler
Austin Romine

Now let's look at the players currently injured and on the disabled list that are likely to be back before 9/1:

Preston Claiborne 
Ramon Flores 
Matt Daley
John Ryan Murphy

And finally the players (likely) lost for the season:

Jose Campos 
Slade Heathcott 
Jose Ramirez
Andrew Bailey

Looking at this list I can see Almonte, Mitchell, Wheeler, Romine, Claiborne, Daley, and Murphy being called up in the first weeks of September, if not right away. Sanchez is unlikely to come up this September, especially with likely four catchers already in the Bronx by the time the season ends, and Flores is unlikely to come up with the outfielder logjam the team already faces.

There could always be a Robert Refsnyder, Jose Pirela, Kyle Roller, Tyler Webb, James Pasoz, Jacob Lindgren, Nik Turley, etc. added to the 40 man roster and called up but the Yankees seem stingy with these spots. They also don't like to start the clocks of players unless they absolutely have to so I wouldn't exactly look out for that either.

Reinforcements are on the way but they aren't likely to be enough. It's inventory time in New York.

Article Revisit: Potential Roster Moves For September Call Ups


ORIGINALLY SEEN HERE 

Rosters expand just two days from today as we turn the calendar to September and the New York Yankees are allowed 40 active roster players, not just 25. While we have all heard the names of Kyle Roller, Jacob Lindgren, Robert Refsnyder, Jose Pirela, Tyler Webb, and others we haven't discussed much who could potentially be coming off the roster to accommodate these players.

Just looking at the Yankees 40 man roster more than a few players are injured and lost for the season and a simple 60 day DL transfer away from clearing a roster spot. Players like Jose Campos, who is out with Tommy John surgery, and Slade Heathcott, who had another season ending surgery, Masahiro Tanaka, who just had a setback while rehabbing a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, and Jose Ramirez, who knows what is wrong with him this time, could easily be transferred to make room on the active roster.

Players who could potentially be cut since they are taking away valuable innings and development time from the prospects in the farm include Matt Daley and Brendan Ryan if you want to stretch a little.

The great part about the way the Yankees have been constructing their roster is that so many players are extremely flexible and versatile allowing Brian Cashman and company a plethora of options including the ones we discussed above.

Two more days, stay tuned.

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/1: September Call Up Day


Surprisingly not much has happened on September call ups day in New York Yankees history but one bit of notable news happened on this day in 1931 when Lou Gehrig continued to hit grand slams. Gehrig's bases loaded blast would be his third in four days as the Yankees would beat the Boston Red Sox 5-1 at Yankee Stadium.

Also on this day in 1947  the Giants would break the 1936 Yankees record for most home runs hit in one season by a team. The New York Giants would break the record with the 185 team home runs and would finish the season with 221.