Spring Training 3/17/12

From River Avenue Blues

(J. Meric/Getty)

The Yankees beat the Astros 6-3 today. Hiroki Kuroda was fantastic, allowing just one run on three hits in his four innings of work. He struck out two and walked zero, and threw a whopping 49 strikes with his 59 pitches (83.1%). That’ll work just fine thank you. Mariano Rivera needed eight pitches to hit a batter and record three outs in his scoreless inning. He hasn’t allowed a Spring Training run since March 15th, 2008 according to the team.

Robinson Cano was the offensive star of the day, clubbing a three-run homer over the right field bleachers and out of the stadium in an 0-2 count. Bill Hall also chipped in a solo shot, and Andruw Jones had a pair of knocks. Both Curtis Granderson (double and walk) andBrett Gardner (two walks) each reached base twice as well. Dellin Betances showed us all he had in his scoreless inning, including nasty offspeed stuff for swings and misses, on-and-off fastball command, and ugly fielding. Here’s the box score and here’s the rest from Tampa…

• Eduardo Nunez played today for the first time in close to two weeks. He took batting practice and fielding grounders before the game to test his injured right hand, then wore a protective glove during the game. “It feels better,” he said. [Chad Jennings]
• Nick Swisher went for a precautionary MRI on his sore groin, which came back clean. He expects to play tomorrow, but since they’re playing a night game an hour away in Sarasota and they have Monday off, I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t return until Tuesday. [Bryan Hoch]
• David Robertson will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday, his first time back on a mound since suffering the bone bruise in his right foot. [Sweeny Murti]
• Austin Romine resumed baseball activities today. He took some hacks off a tee and soft toss, and played catch as well. He’s been out for most of camp due to back inflammation. [Jennings]
• Ravel Santana was scheduled to take batting practice in minor league camp today. There’s been some confusion about his status for this summer following the brutal ankle injury that ended his 2011 season, but at least he’s taking BP. Running and playing the outfield is another matter entirely. [Josh Norris]
• Rule 5 Draft pick pick Brad Meyers threw live batting practice today. He has yet to appear in a game after hurting his shoulder working out this offseason, so his chances of making the team are basically zilch. For shame. [Jennings]

The Pettitte News Confuses Me

I didn't plan on writing again until Monday, as I traveled out of town for St. Patrick's Day, but I had to chime in regarding Andy Pettitte returning to the Yankees.

On the surface this is awesome news. Andy Pettitte has been a key part of 5 World Championships for the Bombers, and put up a 3.98 ERA in 405 starts (2535.2 innings pitched) for them over 13 seasons. And even though he only threw 129 innings in 2010, Pettitte did give up only 4 runs in 14 innings (2 starts) in the postseason (if the Yankees could have figured out Cliff Lee at all Pettitte may have won both of those starts). So it's hard to be upset by the news.

But I'm still confused by this.

The Yankees certainly don't need another starter. We already have Phil Hughes or Freddy Garcia lined up to be the #5 starter. And that right there already has concerns attached to it, as Freddy has very limited experience out of the bullpen (4 out of 2076.1 innings in his career), and many (myself included) want to see Hughes get another shot as a starter. So bringing Andy into the equation causes more issues than it solves.

Now, I readily admit that having too much pitching is never a bad thing. A team is much better off having too many options to choose from, as injury or ineffectiveness is bound to come up somewhere. But what about the AAA guys?

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Empire State Yankees rotation is already set with Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, David Phelps, Adam Warren, and DJ Mitchell. There's a chance that Pettitte is put into the MLB rotation, Garcia is in the bullpen, and Hughes (who has an minor-league option remaining) is sent to AAA. Which would bump one of the previous 5 guys down to AA. That wouldn't be a horrible thing, but I believe each of those pitchers should be working in AAA to prepare for a possible spot in the MLB rotation in 2013.

Andy Pettitte could also mean Freddy Garcia is traded. But what could the Yankees really get for him? Freddy should get the team something useful, as Garcia showed last year that he's still got plenty to offer a team's pitching staff, but the idea that the Yanks could just deal him doesn't exactly excite me. It's not like the Yankees could get Andre Ethier in return for Sweaty Freddy.

Look, the move is not awful by any means, but it's hard to grasp what the Yankees were thinking. Well, it's hard to grasp what they were thinking beyond "it's Andy f'n Pettitte, if he wants to pitch we're going to bring him back".

Yankees Injury Update For 3/16/12

Derek Jeter, no matter how much he is downplaying it, has a sore right calf. He is going to miss a couple of days with it but it does not seem like it should be a lingering issue.

Although Nick Swisher was able to take batting practice and run the bases he is still going to be taking a few more days to rest that sore groin muscle of his. Nick's, like Jeter's, injury is not that big of a deal and if this were the regular season I think both players would be in the games.

Ramiro Pena has a sore ankle and Eduardo Nunez has a bruised right hand.. so much for that SS depth huh? Thank goodness for Doug Bernier.

George Kontos has thrown two bullpen sessions and is considered "100%" from his oblique injury. Time is running out Mr. Kontos so get to work.

Russell Martin has a sore groin as well and will miss a couple of days.

Hopefully no more news to come unless it is positive.

Spring Training 3/16/12

The Yankees once again played the Washington Nationals and once again they won today by the final score of 4-3, in 10 innings. Brandon Laird had the game winning sacrifice fly after an error and a walk allowed the runners to be on base and in scoring position. The speedy Justin Maxwell scored the winning run for the Yanks after his lead off aforementioned walk. CC Sabathia has 6 hits, 3 runs allowed, and a walk over three innings against newly acquired Gio Gonzalez. Phil Hughes came in to save the day and threw four scoreless innings in route to the Yankees win.

Hiroki Kuroda will make his third spring start for the Yankees Saturday against the Houston Astros at George Steinbrenner Field at 1:05 pm ET.

Yankees Make First Cuts

LHP Manny Banuelos
RHP Dan Burawa
RHP Adam Miller
RHP Brett Marshall
RHP Ryan Pope
RHP Graham Stoneburner
RHP Chase Whitley
2B Corban Joseph
2B David Adams
C Gary Sanchez
C/3B J.R. Murphy
C Kyle Higashioka
OF Zoilo Almonte
OF Melky Mesa

I can understand losing some of these guys as they have no chance to make the big league club but as a fan first I really wanted to see as much Zoilo Almonte, Brett Marshall, and Manny Banuelos. Oh well maybe next year.

Andy Pettitte Is Coming Back To The Yankees!!!

2.5 Million Dollar Minor League Deal!!

Whooooooooo!

Yankees Yearly 2012 – Buy my Magazine!

Borrowed from our friends over at The Yankees Analysts

Please buy my magazine!

Longtime readers know that in each of the past four springs, I’ve written for a magazine called Yankees Annual. This magazine used to be published by Maple Street Press, and was distributed pretty widely throughout the Tri-State Area. Unfortunately, Maple Street Press has ceased doing business due to financial difficulties related to the NBA and NFL labor turmoil. That happened just after all of the Yankees Annual writers put together our work. As a group, we decided to self-publish the content online.

A few months later, the result? 109 pages of awesome content. A full 12 of those pages are my work. I wrote three articles: one on Michael Pineda, one on the 2011 ‘last great wild west draft’ class, and finally one on Dante Bichette Jr. I’m very proud of these pieces.

We’re doing this on a profit-sharing deal. This means that, unlike previous years, none of us earn money without selling enough copies to cover expenses. The cost is $9.99, and you can read it on any number of e-reader formats. That’s cheaper than the print edition would have been under Maple Street Press, and we believe well worth it for 109 pages of high-quality content. Don’t be fooled by the cover low-budget cover (no publishing company = no fancy graphic designers), because all of the writing is professionally quality.

If any blogger or member of the media would like a review copy, please email me at fagan.ej (at) gmail.com.

Details:

The team that brought you the Yankees Annual (and before that Bombers Broadside) now brings you the newly revamped YANKEES YEARLY! With all the features that fans of the world’s greatest baseball team have come to love and crave every new season, including our Top Prospects List, Team Roster Preview, interviews with current players, former players, and up-and-coming prospects, analyses of the lineup and team strengths, and great historical articles.

The 2012 edition features:

• Robinson Cano on Hitting, interviewed by David Laurila
• Top Prospects, by Howard Megdal
• Jim Bouton on the 50th anniversary of 1962, interviewed by Chip Greene
• Curtis Granderson’s grand 2011: stacking up against the great NYY center fielders of the past, by Dave Golebiewski 2011 Year in Review by Keith DeCandido
• E.J. Fagan profiles hot new pitcher Michael Pineda and number one draft pick Dante Bichette Jr.
• and much more!

ISBN 978-1-61390-048-2 EBOOK ONLY
ISBN 978-0-61561-659-9 paperback

B&N Nookstore: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/yankees-yearly-cecilia-m-tan/1109517546?ean=2940014307703
Amazon Kindle Store: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JW68V2
Not live yet but will be soon, Apple iBookstore: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781613900482
Live at OmniLit: http://www.omnilit.com/product-yankeesyearlyanannuallookatthenewyorkyankees-751139-324.html (where people can buy the PDF, epub, OR Kindle/mobi version).

Spring Training 3/15/12

Borrowed from River Avenue Blues

Chien-Ming Wang strained a hammy today. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

The Yankees beat the Nationals today by the score of 8-5. Michael Pineda allowed two runs and struck out four in 3.2 IP before reaching his pitch count (video), and his fastball was sitting right around 90 mph and topping out at 92 [Marc Carig]. He said he only threw about ten changeups, but it felt like a ton more than that, particularly with no one on base. He got a few swings and misses with it (and at least one ground ball), and his slider was stupid good for the most part. Neither Pineda nor Russell Martin think much of the velocity, but the right-hander was pretty thrilled about the changeup. [Jayson Stark]

Bill Hall (2-for-3) doubled off the wall to the opposite field to drive in a pair, and Justin Maxwell went 2-for-2 in garbage time. Jose Gil also drove in two with a single in his only at-bat. Brett Gardner went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, and he must have seen 20 pitches in the process. He was fouling off everything it seemed. Clay Rapada walked a left-handed batter after getting ahead in the count 0-2, which is a definite no-no. Brett Marshall threw the best 2.1 IP of two-run ball you’ll ever see, I thought he looked very good. Here’s the box score, and here’s the rest from the day in Tampa…

• Freddy Garcia has a big wrap on his right hand but says it’s just a bad bruise. He thinks he’s only going to miss a few days after getting hit by an Edwin Encarnacion comebacker yesterday, but who knows. [MarcCarig]
• Joba Chamberlain will throw 50 pitches in the bullpen tomorrow, with the last ten being sliders. No, they’re not stretching him out to be a starter, it’s all about building arm strength at this point. [George King]
• Austin Romine took some dry swings today, the first time he’s done anything with a bat since hurting his back earlier in camp. He’s still a week away from full workouts. [Carig]
• Ramiro Pena left today’s game with a sore ankle after sliding into second awkwardly while attempting to steal a base in the fourth. There are no tests planned. Martin is fine following the collision with Wang you see above. Here’s video if you want to see what happened. [Carig, Carig]
• D.J. Mitchell broke out a new cutter during his three stellar innings yesterday, though apparently he started working on it last year. Boone Logan has also been focusing on a changeup during side sessions, which is a pitch he threw a while ago but has since scrapped as a reliever. George Kontos (live batting practice), Ivan Nova and David Phelps (bullpens) threw today. [Chad Jennings]

Here is your open thread for the night. All three hockey locals are in action tonight, plus MLB Network will be airing a game a little later tonight. You folks all know what to do by now, so have at it.

No Expanded Replay in 2012

Although MLB felt the need to push through the extra Wild Card into the postseason quickly, they didn't feel like pushing through expanded replay as fast. Expanded replay will not be implemented for the 2012 MLB season.

Apparently umpires wanted something in return to agreeing to implement more replay this season, which would include fair/fouls calls, trapped balls, and fan interference. But the umpires' union couldn't come to an agreement on what that would be, if anything, with the players' union.

I'm not as cynical as some fans, who are lashing out at the umpires for caring more about their wallets than the integrity of the game, but I do think this sucks. Replay is a great tool for an umpire to make the correct call(s). But, as a fellow baseball umpire, I'm concerned with replay taking over the game. I don't believe a robot could ever do the job as well as a human, and expanding replay too far could make umpires worse due to laziness since "the robots will correct me if I'm wrong".

Face it, there are some calls and decisions that take a human brain. For example, how could a robot determine whether or not a pitcher has an illegal substance under the brim of his hat?


And what if a coach has a question on the rules' interpretation? Is he supposed to type the question to the robot behind home plate?

I understand fans just wanting calls to be right. But that starts with putting the best umpires on the field, instead of those with the most seniority or the ones that are great politicians (I can tell you from personal experience that playing the political game with the guys running the officiating associations can be the difference between working a lot of games, or watching a lot of games). What some fans don't seem to understand though is that umpires get 99% of the calls correct. Some of which are amazing, like bang-bang plays at 1B, or bang-bang tag plays when stealing a base. But people harp on that 1%, and claim that that 1% ruins the game. Sorry, but I call "bullsh*t" on that.

Mitchell in '13?

I'm not the prospect guy around here. In fact, we go outside of TGP in order to post information on them. But I would like to point out something that I've noticed this spring...

DJ Mitchell finished 14th in our Top 20 Prospect list (behind Banuelos, Betances, Campos, Warren, and Phelps), he finished 16th in River Ave Blue's Top Prospect list (behind Banuelos, Betances, Campos, Warren, Phelps, and Marshall), and DJ was 16th according to Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus (behind Banuelos, Betances, Campos, Marshall, and Warren). But so far this spring it's Mitchell that's the one impressing me the most.

I know, Spring Training stats don't mean a whole heck of a lot. But it's hard not to be impressed by his 7 innings this spring, in which he's given up a batting average against of .130 and WHIP of .71. What's stood out to me the most is that he's using a cutter, to go along with three other pitches (fastball, changeup, and curveball).

In 161.1 innings last season Mitchell had an ERA of 3.18 and WHIP of 1.351. His 6.2 K/9 is not going to blow people away, and neither will his BB/9 of 3.5, but there's a chance that DJ Mitchell is in the Yankee rotation to start 2013, instead of some other names that have been discussed well before him.