Yanks prospect O'Brien homers in Scorpions loss

Last night, the Yankee-affiliated Scottsdale Scorpions lost their 2013 AFL home opener to the Salt River Rafters, 12-2. This game was very one sided, as the Scorpions had just 1 hit through 6 innings. But on the bright side, Yankees third base/catching prospect Peter O'Brien did hit a two-run home run in this one, Scottsdale's only bright spot. 

Two Yankees pitching prospects, Fred Lewis and Brett Gerritse, did appear in this game. Now Lewis did great, throwing a scoreless frame while striking out one. 

But Gerritse really struggled. In his 1.1 innings of work, the right-hander walked two, gave up two hits, and surrendered three earned runs. I'd prefer he do better, but it's just game 2. He still has plenty of time to improve. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 10/10

On this day in 1923 the Yankees played their first postseason game at Yankees Stadium in it's history with the Giants winning 5-4. Giants outfielder Casey Stengel hit an inside the park home run in the top of the 9th to give the Giants the lead they would not relinquish. This was also the first game to be nationally televised in the history of the World Series.

On this day in 1941 the Yankees would win their  14th World Series championship in their storied history as they beat the Giants 4-3 in Game 6.

On this day in 1964 Mickey Mantle hit a walk off home run in Yankees Stadium beating the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1. This would be Mantle's 16th home run of the postseason passing Babe Ruth for the most home runs in the postseason at the time. Also Mantle was only the fifth player to ever have hit a game winning home run in World Series history.

On this day in 2000 the Yankees and the Mariners set an ALCS record for strike outs in a single game with 22 combined K's. The Yankees struck out 13 times and the Mariners struck out 9 times in the game.

Joe Girardi to stay with the New York Yankees: Total No-Brainer

Four More Years! Four More Years!

The New York Yankees checked off their first goal of the offseason on Wednesday, retaining manager Joe Girardi until 2017.

The skipper signed a four year contract worth $16 million, as a source told ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand 

Despite missing the playoffs twice in six seasons at the helm of the Yankees, Girardi has led the team to a World Series championship in 2009, an ALCS appearance in three of four years and three division titles. The Yankees' 580 winning percentage under him since 2008 is the best in baseball.

After speculation that Girardi would entertain offers from his hometown Chicago Cubs, the Yankees gave him an offer he apparently couldn’t refuse.

That’s a good thing. Girardi is still the best fit for this team, especially as it goes through its first major transition period in a long time. The lack of adequate alternatives (Dusty Baker, Tony Pena, Charlie Manuel, Manny Acta; yeah, no thanks) makes this move obvious.

Girardi’s greatest strengths as a manager includes being numbers savvy (he’s got an engineering degree from Northwestern, you know), managing the bullpen (his predecessor’s greatest flaw), and getting the most out of replacement players, as we saw this year as the Yankees somehow won 85 games without half a roster that hit 245 home runs last season.

The Yankees are going to be a much different team than in the past years. With Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte retired and Hiroki Kuroda and Robinson Cano possibly gone to free agency, the prospects for 2014 don’t look too great next year at the moment, but of course that could easily change.

Regardless of who is on the roster next year, you can count on Girardi to keep this team competitive. Even with the greatest closer ever gone, he will find a way to put together a solid bullpen like he does every year, this time possibly led by David Robertson. If he has the right personnel on offense, he’ll find a way to get this team to hit enough.

The Yankees have proved to be resilient over the past couple of years, and Joe Girardi is a big reason for that. Even when things look bad, he’s been able to push the right buttons and get this team to win. Maintaining him was the Yankees’ first objective and now that’s done, and that’s a good thing for thing. Total no-brainer.

New York Yankees Minor League Players Updates

The Yankees had another year of the injury in 2013 and it was not just limited to the major leagues, it happened in the minor leagues as well. The Yankees saw their players injured from the 2013 draft, from the lower levels of the system, and through the upper levels of the system as well including our former #1 prospect Manny Banuelos. Here is a ton of minor league injury updates.

Speaking of Manny Banuelos he missed the entire 2012 season after having Tommy John surgery but Banuelos has pitched at the Yankees minor league complex down in Tampa and some in the Instructional League. There are no plans to build arm strength or knock any rust off in the winter leagues or anything like that so Manny will be fresh for Spring Training in 2014.

Michael Pineda is not throwing this year in any kind of winter ball or anything like that after rehabbing his shoulder surgery that he got before the 2012 season. Pineda has been a Yankee for two seasons now and has not thrown a pitch for us yet so this is a very important season for the Yanks and for Pineda. Pineda was shut down with shoulder stiffness which was deemed normal for someone having a shoulder surgery like he did. Pineda was seen throwing 94-96 MPH on the fastball and worked off a lot of rust this season. Hopefully we can see Pineda contribute in 2014 for the Yankees and get past these injuries before he is donned the next Carl Pavano.

Aaron Judge missed the entire 2013 season after a quad pull but is expected to be ready for spring training this season. The injury was called precautionary as the Yankees wanted to make extra sure that the injury is fully healed so The Judge can make his professional debut without a hiccup.

Gosuke Katoh was also drafted this year like Judge and also has missed time due to injury. Katoh broke onto the scene in a big way with an amazing debut for the Gulf Coast Yankees before his season ended with a sprained finger ligament while in the instructional league. This is considered to be a very minor injury and another precautionary move to ensure that Katoh will be ready and healthy for the spring.

Mark Montgomery spent much of the season on the AAA disabled list and not on the RailRiders field after being donned the best Yankees relief prospect in their system with a back and a shoulder injury. The shoulder has been looked at multiple times and is said to be healthy so now the Yankees are letting Montgomery's back heal up for spring training.

Corban Joseph's season ended with the AAA Scranton Wilkes Barre after a cup of coffee in the majors on May 31st with a season ending shoulder surgery. He is throwing and rehabbing the shoulder now and also will be ready for spring training in 2014. With Joseph's spot on the 40 man he better hope and do everything that he can to ensure that the shoulder is healthy coming in.

Jose Ramirez was shut down with an oblique injury at the end of the 2013 season but is back to throwing and is in the Instructional League. Ramirez will be ready for spring training in 2014.

Slade Heathcott had offseason knee surgery after being shut down the last couple weeks of the AA Trenton Thunder's season. This procedure was considered to be very minor and just classified as a clean up type procedure and Slade should be ready for spring training.

Yankees Sign Joe Girardi To New Four Year Deal

The New York Yankees have announced that they have reached an agreement on a new four year deal with their manager Joe Girardi worth $16,000,000. Girardi has been the Yankees manager for six seasons including four postseason appearances and one World Series championship. Girardi is now among the games highest paid managers so welcome back to New York Joe, no pressure. 

2013 New York Yankees Old Timer's Day

Let's take a look back at the 2013 Old Timer's Day put on by the New York Yankees this season. Enjoy!

2013 New York Yankees YES Season Recap

Look back at the YES Network's recap of the New York Yankees 2013 season. Enjoy!

Scorpions rally in ninth to win AFL opener over Salt River, 6-5

Yankees infield prospect Tyler Austin went 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI Single, and two scored runs last night as his Scottsdale Scorpions won their 2013 Arizona Fall League opener over the Salt River Rafters, 6-5. The Scorpions actually trailed 5-3 going into the ninth inning of this one, but due to a quick rally that deficit quickly went away. 

Another Yankees prospect who started this one, outfielder Mason Williams, also looked pretty good, going 1-for-5 with an RBI Single and a run scored. The only pitcher out of their organization who threw in this game was James Pazos, who pitced a scoreless eighth inning despite walking two. He got the win, obviously improving his record to 1-0. 

Magic Johnson May Face Penalty On Cano Comments

Los Angeles Dodgers owner may face some sort of penalty from Major League Baseball after he made comments about Robinson Cano earlier in the week. It is against the rules to discuss potential free agents while still under contract with other teams, especially if it will affect their free agency value. With the Dodgers coming out publicly and saying they would not pursue the All Star second basemen this is the definition of affecting free agency values as no other team could likely afford to pursue Cano. General Managers around the league commented that their comments were watched a lot more closely over the past year then in recent memory so maybe this is another Bud Selig media crackdown. I cannot see anything more than a slap on the wrist or a meager fine but who knows.

This Day In New York Yankees History 10/9

On this day in 1928 the Yankees completed their second consecutive sweep of the World Series as they beat the St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees would win their third World Series title overall behind five home runs, three by Babe Ruth alone, in the game four clincher.

On this day in 1938 the Yankees completed a sweep of the Chicago Cubs to become the first team to win three consecutive World Series titles in Major League history.

On this day in 1951 the Yankees rookie infielder Gil McDougal would become only the third player in World Series history to hit a grand slam. The other two were the Yankees Tony Lazzeri and Elmer Smith.

On this day in 1958 the Yankees would win their 18th World Series championship while beating the defending champion Milwaukee Braves. The Yankees would win game seven 6-2 becoming only the second team to come back from a three games to one deficit to win a World Series.

On this day in 1961 the Yankees would win their 19th World Series championship while beating the Reds 13-5 in game five.

On this day in 1980 George Steinbrenner reared his ugly head again as Willie Randolph was thrown out at home in game two of the ALCS. George was seen on national TV jumping out of his seat and screaming profanities wanting the third base coach Mike Ferraro fired on the spot. Dick Howser, the Yankees manager, refused and would lose his job following the season even though the Yankees finished in first place in the American League East with 103 victories.

On this day in 1996 we all witnessed the Jeffrey Maier assisted Derek Jeter home run in the ALCS against the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees were trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the eight inning in game one before the home run and the eventual Yankees victory.

On this day in 2010 the New York Yankees completed a sweep of the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS at Yankees Stadium. The Twins were the first team to clinch a playoff spot in 2010 and exited their second consecutive postseason without winning a single game.