Trenton Thunder Playing For The EL Championship

The Trenton Thunder are just three wins away from their third Eastern League Championship!  Be there as the Thunder face the winner of the Western Division Series (either Harrisburg or Erie) in Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern League Championship Series on Tuesday, September 10 and Wednesday, September 11, both at 7:05pm. There is nothing like the intensity of CHAMPIONSHIP baseball!   Please note, if you would like to purchase your championship tickets by phone(609-394-3300) or in person,  the Ticket Office at ARM & HAMMER Park will be open on Monday, September 9 starting at 9:30 AM.

Yankees pitching continues to suck in third straight loss to Red Sox

OK, giving up 9+ runs one night was understandable. Two nights was pathetic. Three nights, I have no words. All I can say about today's game is, at least they showed some fight when they were down 10-1. By the way, the Yankees lost this one by the final score of 13-9. Like I said, I have no words to describe this horrible play. But at least the offense did it's part, again. 

The Yankees nine runs today came on RBI Singles from Lyle Overbay, Robinson Cano, Alfonso Soriano, and Derek Jeter, an RBI Double from Ichiro, and two two-run doubles from Gardner and Reynolds. Those were all nice, but they don't matter since they came in a loss. 

12 Days Of September: Joba Chamberlain

This post was intentionally left blank because that is exactly what he has given the Yankees... nothing.

12 Days Of September: Phil Hughes

On the first day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, a victory for the other team.

On the second day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

On the third day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, three hits an inning, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

On the fourth day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, four wins in 26 starts , three hits an inning, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

On the fifth day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, five point ERA , four wins in 26 starts , three hits an inning, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

On the sixth day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, six innings or less, five point ERA , four wins in 26 starts , three hits an inning, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

On the seventh day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, seven painful seasons, six innings or less, five point ERA , four wins in 26 starts , three hits an inning, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

On the eight day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, eight wasted months, seven painful seasons, six innings or less, five point ERA , four wins in 26 starts , three hits an inning, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

On the ninth day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, nine innings of disaster, eight wasted months, seven painful seasons, six innings or less, five point ERA , four wins in 26 starts , three hits an inning, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

On the tenth day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, ten no decisions, nine innings of disaster, eight wasted months, seven painful seasons, six innings or less, five point ERA , four wins in 26 starts , three hits an inning, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

On the eleventh day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, eleven pitchers on the team better than him when we carry 13 pitchers, ten no decisions, nine innings of disaster, eight wasted months, seven painful seasons, six innings or less, five point ERA , four wins in 26 starts , three hits an inning, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

On the twelfth day of September Phil Hughes gave to the Yankees, twelve heart attacks,eleven pitchers on the team better than him when we carry 13 pitchers, ten no decisions, nine innings of disaster, eight wasted months, seven painful seasons, six innings or less, five point ERA , four wins in 26 starts , three hits an inning, two home runs a start, and a victory for the other team.

Shawn Kelley & Kevin Youkilis Injury Updates

Shawn Kelley has been battling triceps inflammation for almost a week now but seems to be on the way back after throwing a bullpen session today. Kelley felt no pain and said everything felt real good so maybe he can get back to striking people out and stranding runners and less of that three run home run in decisive games we have to win stuff. Kelley has an outside shot at being available tomorrow against the Red Sox in the finale of their four game set and that is not a game too soon.

Kevin Youkilis is still a Yankees player, remember him? Well he is now trying to get back on the field this season even if it is just for the final week of the regular season. Youk has started hitting off of a tee and doing some soft tee and toss in his rehab for his back after surgery. Youk is heading to Tampa to play in a simulated game on Monday with hopes of making it back sometime this season.

Vidal Nuno Called Up & Transferred To 60 Day DL

Vidal Nuno, my friend on Facebook by the way in case you were wondering, has been called up to the Yankees only to get transferred to the 60 day DL. This move was done to make room for the call up of Jim Miller to help the depleted bullpen. Nuno posted on his Facebook just last week that he recently was on the way to Tampa to begin a throwing program so there is very little shot he comes back this season anyway.

Shaking Up Next Year's Team

A lot of Yankees fans have wanted the team to really shake things up, and I can't blame them for that. For most of the season the team has just seemed flat. So while I've advocated the team bringing back Curtis Granderson to start in LF and Hiroki Kuroda to pitch, along with Vernon Wells to be a bench player and Francisco Cervelli to at least share catching duties, I'm going to change that stance (at least for the time being) and say "let them all go".

Here's a box of puppies as a good-bye present.

Let's start with Curtis Granderson. Curtis will likely be able to take a qualifying offer (about $15 million) this offseason, and could even get offered a contract by the Yankees. While I would be okay bringing him back, this could be a way for the team to save a few bucks while taking advantage of some decent outfield options in free agency (see below).

I see no reason to keep Vernon Wells around. He's batting below .250, his on-base percentage is below .300, and a slugging percentage of .371 is hardly something to be proud of. Wells does hit left-handed pitchers well (.295/.349/.423 this season), and would cost nothing towards the Luxury Tax, but the team already has a bad player under contract to play the outfield (Ichiro). For those saying "why not let go of Ichiro, instead", Suzuki would cost more if released. And at least Ichiro is still a solid defender.

Francisco Cervelli came out of the gate on fire in 2013, before getting injured and then suspended. So I thought, and still think, it would be interesting to see what he could do in 2014. But with Austin Romine looking better as of late, and JR Murphy possibly being ready for MLB-duty, it may be time to let go of Cervie. While having faith that he could continue hitting like he did at the beginning of this season is okay, I wouldn't expect such a thing. 

By the way, it's about time Chris Stewart left the team too.

Yep, you too, Chris. Get out.

Looking at the full season, there's no doubt that Hiroki Kuroda has been the best starting pitcher on the team. Even if CC Sabathia was having his typical good season, Kuroda would still likely be some people's choice for starting the first game in the postseason. But I can't ignore the way he's faltered at the end of the last two seasons. And at 38 years old, I don't think we should disregard that. This is looking like one of those times when a team should get out while they're ahead, because the Yankees are sure as hell "ahead" with Hiro.

With all of those guys being let go, it's time to see what the Active Roster looks like so far for 2014. And the arbitration salaries are just guesses, as is Cano's new contract.

Catcher - Austin Romine $500,000 (pre-arbitration)
First Base - Mark Teixeira $22.5 million
Second Base - Robinson Cano $25 million (re-signed)
Third Base -
Shortstop - Derek Jeter $14.375 million
Left Field -
Center Field - Brett Gardner $6 million (arbitration 3)
Right Field –
Designated Hitter - Alfonso Soriano $4 million

Bench - Jayson Nix $1.5 million (arbitration 1)
Bench - JR Murphy $500,000 (pre-arbitration)
Bench - Ichiro Suzuki $6.5 million Note: Ichiro hits LHP well, but must sit vs. RHP
Bench - Eduardo Nunez $600,000 (pre-arbitration)

Starting Pitcher - CC Sabathia $24.4 million
Starting Pitcher -
Starting Pitcher - Ivan Nova $2.5 million (arbitration 1)
Starting Pitcher - Michael Pineda $750,000 (arbitration 1)
Starting Pitcher - David Phelps $500,000 (pre-arbitration)

Closer - David Robertson $5 million (arbitration 3)
Relief Pitcher - Shawn Kelley $1.5 million (arbitration 2)
Relief Pitcher - Adam Warren $500,000 (pre-arbitration)
Relief Pitcher - Preston Claiborne $500,000 (pre-arbitration)
Relief Pitcher - Dellin Betances $500,000 (pre-arbitration)
Relief Pitcher - ??? $500,000 (pre-arbitration)
Relief Pitcher - ??? $500,000 (pre-arbitration)

That means the team has spent $118.625 million, leaving $53.375 million to spend. Remember, that is after the 15 remaining roster spots and portion of player bonuses are taken care of. And I didn't even take into account the fact the team may want to leave itself with a few million dollars to play with.

No, not this type of "playing". I was thinking in case a mid-season move needs to be made.

While I hope Cashman can pull off a good trade or two to fill some of those holes (particularly at least one outfielder, and a third baseman), let's see what free agency has to offer.

Outfield
Jacoby Ellsbury – Ellsbury is a good defender, gets on base, and carries batting average. However, his power has diminished, and something about him being a key Red Sox player turns me off.

Carlos Beltran – Carlos will be 37 by Opening Day, and therefore shouldn't cost more than a two-year deal. He has good power, but a very low walk rate this season.

Shin-Soo Choo – Choo could cost as much as 5 years, which may be a bit much. Especially seeing that he's almost useless vs. LHP (.199/.330/.230 this season), even though he's really good vs. RHP (.329/.461/.580 vs. RHP). Another thing to keep in mind is that he's not a good defender.

Starting Pitcher
Matt Garza – Matt's under 30, so his arm should be good for years to come. And one good thing is that he's getting AL experience with a contender. On top of that, Garza's strikeout and walk rates are pretty good.

Tim Lincecum – At one time Timmy was in line for a Greinke-like payday, but that ship has sailed. There's a chance he's looking for a shorter contract to boost value for another FA bid. Lincecum has shown signs of his old Cy Young-self (see no-hitter in July), too. If he can get walks under control, and maintain his nice K rate, he could be a good option.

Ricky Nolasco – Nolasco has been killing it in Los Angeles with Dodgers, but that could be due to his low BABIP. Even so, thanks to a low BB rate and decent K rate, he could be interesting.

Third Base
Can you say “nothing good”? Seriously, the free agent list at the hot corner looks damn cold. Mark Reynolds may be the best 3B available, and he’s a very bad defender over there. Michael Young? Well, he has a good batting average, and his on-base percentage is okay, but that SLG is very low, not to mention his poor defense. A trade here is pretty much a "must".

And we haven't even got into a good bullpen arm, who could possibly set-up for Robertson, or be the new closer for the team (no... Girardi will not talk Rivera into returning).

So while the team could certainly use this offseason as an opportunity to shake things up, their ability to compete while doing so next season is in question. 

"This job is really hard."

Game Thread: Red Sox @ Yankees 9/7

The New York Yankees host the Boston Red Sox at Yankees Stadium in the third of a four game set this weekend. The pitching match up is David Huff for the Yankees, who has taken the rotation spot from Phil Hughes, and is facing off with John Lackey for the Red Sox and the game can be seen on FOX. The Yankees have 19 games left in the season and are within striking distance for the playoffs and a wild card spot currently held by the Tampa Bay Rays so the stretch run starts now. We have to keep the foot on the gas petal and cannot let up, Robinson Can, Brett Gardner, Alfonso Soriano, the bullpen, everyone can rest in November. Now is the time fellas so let's get it. Go Yankees!!

Here is the Yankees lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Derek Jeter SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Curtis Granderson DH
Eduardo Nunez 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Austin Romine C

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New York Yankees Wild Card Update

Looks bleaker than ever after two heart breaking losses...

David Robertson Unavailable With Shoulder Inflammation

David Robertson was hoping to come to the ballpark last night with the opportunity to close a potential Yankees win but quickly found out that would not be happening. David felt soreness in his shoulder after Thursday nights game and the pain was still there Friday to the point where he could not even play catch. David hopes to take last night off and be available for tonight but he is obviously going to be a game time decision. Of course Joe Girardi and his crew that like to baby our pitchers no matter what say it could be five or six days before David would be cleared to throw. If that is the case you can close the file on the 2013 season and start wondering what we are going to do in free agency.