Luke Joseph Robertson Born Today

Congrats to David and his wife Erin Robertson on the birth of their first child, a baby boy, Luke Joseph Robertson. Luke came in weighing 8 lbs 7 oz and healthy. Congrats to them again they, with their big hearts and generosity, are going to make absolutely amazing parents.

David Robertson is going to, amazingly, be in uniform tonight for the Yankees and available to pitch tonight. That is either being nuts or dedicated David but we are in a pennant race so I cannot say that I do not appreciate the dedication.

Blue Jays @ Yankees 8/27/12

Robinson Cano Home Run ties the game at 1-1

Cano hits his 2nd home run to put the Yankees up 2-1

Russell Martin hits an RBI single to put the Yankees up 3-1

Swish Bomb Makes it 6-3 Yanks!

Yankees lose a wild one 8-7

The Yankees start a stretch where they play 22 consecutive games against American League East opponents so we will really see where we stand really soon. This stretch starts tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays at home at Yankees Stadium. David Phelps will be starting in place of Ivan Nova tonight and will be facing off against Henderson Alvarez. Jose Bautista will be back for the Jays so the pitching needs to be on point tonight. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on YES.

Lineups

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
Raul Ibanez LF
Ichiro Suzuki RF

Go Yankees!!

Yankees Acquire Steve Pearce

In the head scratcher of the day the Yankees have acquired, for the second time this season, 1B and OF prospect Steve Pearce. This time the Yankees receive him from the Houston Astros for cash considerations, which means we will pay his salary for the rest of the season.

Steve has bounced around from the Minnesota Twins, then to the Yankees, then traded to the Orioles, then claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros and now re acquired by the Yankees in a trade all in one season.

Brandon Laird, this is where the head scratching part comes in, was designated for assignment to make room on the 40 man roster for Pearce. Apparently there will also be a 25 man roster move to make room for him with the big club. What?!?!

First off I do not expect anyone to take a waiver on Laird so, assuming he accepts a AAA job(which he will), then it will be nice to have him off the 40 man. The thing I do not understand is why bring Pearce up to the majors? There is something we are all missing here and not being told.

8 Current Yankees With At Least 200 Home Runs

With Curtis Granderson's 200th career home run yesterday in Cleveland the Yankees currently have 8 active players with at least 200 career home runs. That is an amazing stat if you think about it to have that many current players with that many home runs in one lineup. Granted some guys had most of theirs with other teams but still impressive nonetheless.

Alex Rodriguez - 644

Andruw Jones - 433

Mark Teixeira - 337

Raul Ibanez - 267

Derek Jeter - 253

Eric Chavez - 245

Nick Swisher - 204

Curtis Granderson - 200

The next highest home run total is Robinson Cano at 169 career so expect him to reach the 200 plateau sometime next year. Too bad it is a bad thing to hit too many home runs #sarcasm

Meet A Prospect : Melky Mesa

With September call ups and an expanded active roster on the way I thought it would be a good time to look at the prospects that we have on the 40 man roster that may not be household names. We will continue our series with AAA affiliate Empire State Yankees OF prospect Melky Mesa.

Melquisdec Mesa was born January 31st, 1987 in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic. This is Melky's second season under 40 man roster and Rule 5 Draft protection and he has done nothing to disappoint the Yankees brass thus far. He has impressed so much that he recently has been promoted to AAA Empire State Yankees. The speculation has yet to begin but with a few good weeks in Scranton it could start that the Yankees are looking to and willing to put Melky in place of Nick Swisher in 2013. 

Melky has shown, although raw, some amazing power and even more amazing plate discipline at such a young age in the Yankees system. Melky Mesa has the potential to be a five tool player with great defensive ability and a cannon for an arm, out of this world speed, raw power and discipline at the plate, and even hit for average. He has not quite lived up those expectation yet but he was signed as a 16 year old IFA in 2003 so he has some more time to go. The problem is whether the Yankees will wait out his "Jekyll and Hyde" kind of offensive spurts. 

The closest comparison to a current major leaguer I could come up with would be Alfonso Soriano when he was a Yankee. He could easily hit 30 + home runs in a season and steal 30+ bases and play really solid defense. The problem will be a lack of taking walks and way too many strike outs. I would take another Soriano though if that is what Mesa became. 

Yankee Hitters Have Been "In The Dark" Lately

I have a thing for hard rock/metal bands with female lead singers. Actually, any female member of a hard rock/metal band kicks ass, but it's female leads that really appeal to me. There's something about hearing a female voice with driving music behind it that's awesome. And The Birthday Massacre may be the best example of that, as lead singer Chibi has a voice that could be from a pop star, but instead mixes so well with the music.

Tell me what you think.

LA Dodgers Set To Visit Yankees Stadium In 2013

Mike Axisa from River Avenue Blues writes that we will see the Dodgers come to Yankees Stadium for the first time since the 1981 World Series. This will only be the fourth time the Dodgers have come to Yankees Stadium since moving to Los Angeles, most recently in 1981, then in back to back World Series in 1977 and 1978, and in 1963. This should be an entertaining series with the Yankees offense and that short porch going against Hanley Ramirez, Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez, and the 19 other guys I could name since the Dodgers became the Yankees of the west.

Should the Yankees Trade For Shin-Soo Choo?

As we all know the Yankees have some decisions to make not only this off season but next off season as well if they plan to get under the 2014 $189 million luxury tax thresh hold. Nick Swisher will be a free agent after the 2012 season and with him already hinting, whether directly or indirectly, at wanting Jayson Werth money he may already be out of the Yankees plans this off season. The Indians came out and said that they would be willing to listen to offers for Shin-Soo Choo this off season while he will be in the last season of his contract and entering his age 30 season.

Shin-Soo Choo is currently 30 years old and will not turn 31years of age until the middle of July 2013 so he is in the middle of his prime. Choo is considered to be a strong defensive player with an absolute cannon for an arm with a good average, on base percentage, and OPS. Choo has a career 19.0 WAR and 13.9 of that have come in the last four seasons. He also has a career .290 batting average including his rookie season in Seattle where he only batted .056 in 21 plate appearances. Choo has been good for around 15-20 home runs a season with 15-20 stolen bases and over .100 points higher with his OBP then his batting average, which is considered to be well above average.

Choo also would only be on a one year deal since 2013 would be the final year of his contract that will pay him slightly higher then the $4.9 million he made this season in his final year of arbitration. His AAV, even if he were to re sign with the Yankees,would have to be lower then Swisher's AAV if he came anywhere near Jayson Werth money. Also the new Collective Bargaining Agreement for MLB states that you can offer a player a qualifying offer, which he would be expected to decline for a multi year deal, and if ti is declined you can get draft pick compensation. I mean Scott Boras is his agent so I do not see any chance of him accepting that qualifying one year offer.

The problem would be that if we did trade for Choo we would have a 2014 free agency class that would include Shin-Soo Choo, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter(if he declines his player option), Rafael Soriano (if he does not opt out sooner), and whoever else comes out way between then and now. Joe Girardi will also no longer be under contract but I do not see a situation less then a Bobby V season where he does not come back. The 2014 free agency class highlights Jason Kubel, Martin Prado, Nelson Cruz, Carlos Beltran, Hunter Pence,  Chris Young, Jacoby Ellsbury, and others seen HERE.

Whether the Yankees even have the interest or the pieces after the disappointment in the minor leagues this season is the real question here but I plan on monitoring this closely. This news just took some of the leverage away from Nick Swisher when it comes to the Yankees though and part of me says that Nick will give the Yankees a "home town discount" and sign a three or four year deal worth 12-15 million per. Either way, the shorter deal for Swisher or trading for Choo without emptying the farm, I am down because both put the Yankees in a great position to win.

Yankees @ Indians 8/26/12

UPDATE:

Yankees take a 1-0 lead on a Ichiro single.. Jeter rbi sac makes it 2-0..Swisher RBI single makes it 3-0 Yankees in the 2nd inning. 

Curtis Granderson's 200th career home run makes it 4-2 Yanks

#Untuck Yankees win 4-2

The Yankees will look for the series win this afternoon against the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland, Ohio. On the mound for the Yankees will be Freddy Garcia and he will be facing off against Ubaldo Jimenez. The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on the YES Network.

Line ups

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Eric Chavez 3B
Raul Ibanez DH
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Chris Stewart C

Go Yankees!!

Meet A Prospect : Corban Joseph

With September call ups and an expanded active roster on the way I thought it would be a good time to look at the prospects that we have on the 40 man roster that may not be household names. We will continue our series with AA affiliate Trenton Thunder 2B Corban Joseph.

Corban R. Joseph was born in Franklin, TN on October 28th 1988. Joseph, now 23 years old,  is running out of time in the Yankees system after being added to the 40 man roster before this season. The Yankees selected him in the 2008 draft, the same year as David Adams, a round later then Adams in the 4th round.  Corban is considered below average defensively and has not really progressed enough with the bat in the Yankees system. The Yankees, in my opinion, are only holding on to him because of the lack of depth in the upper levels of the system in the infield. The former 4th round pick for the Yankees has been totally less then stellar in his New York Yankees career which got him as high as AAA Scranton before being sent back down to Trenton. He has enjoyed as high as an 8 game hitting streak this season though so there is always the late bloomer philosophy.

Corban was originally drafted as a highly advanced power hitting short stop straight out of high school after getting huge praises from Yankees scout Damon Oppenheimer. While he is proof, until now, that not every draft pick who showed promise in the lower levels will work out the Yankees are being very patient with him. After moving him to 2B, mainly because of his lack of speed, the Yankees are looking to give him one more shot before DFA'ing him for nothing. He has been making up for some up it lately as he has been tearing up AAA pitching lately. Maybe a glimmer of hope?