2013 Draft Competitive Balance Lottery Results

Part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was, beginning next year in 2013, there would be 12 extra draft picks given to twelve teams that were deemed "low revenue" or "small market" teams. Six extra picks would be made in between the first and second round and between the second and third rounds much like compensation sandwich picks are made now. The Yankees were obviously not one of the twelve teams that were picked but what I thought was interesting was the fact that these picks could be traded. Now naturally they put stipulations on these trades saying that they could not be done during the offseason which means today through the end of the regular season and opening day until the draft these twelve teams can trade these lottery picks.

Via MLBTR here are the twelve lucky teams and their draft positions 

Selections Between First & Second Rounds (Round A)

1. Royals
2. Pirates
3. Diamondbacks
4. Orioles
5. Reds
6. Marlins

Selections After Second Round (Round B)

1. Padres
2. Indians
3. Rockies
4. Athletics
5. Brewers
6. Tigers

 I am sorry but how do the Rays and Cardinals , to name a couple, not get these picks but the Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins do? Something is obviously wrong with this system but hey what do I know. 

Blue Jays At Yankees 7/18/12

UPDATE:

Robinson Cano extends his hitting streak to 21 games

Nick Swisher got his 500th hit as a Yankee, an rbi single to put the Yankees up 1-0

Mark Teixeira , on Mark Teixeira bobble head day, hits a two run home run to make it 3-0 Yankees

Andruw Jones with an rbi single to make it 4-0

DeWayne Wise does his best Curtis Granderson impression with an rbi single to put the Yankees up 5-0

Yankees win 6-0

This afternoon the Yankees will look for a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium. On the mound for the Yankees is Hiroki Kuroda who has probably been our ace in the last two months. On the mound for the Jays will be Ricky Romero. The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on YES

Lineups

1. Derek Jeter DH

2. Nick Swisher RF

3. Mark Teixeira 1B

4. Alex Rodriguez 3B

5. Robinson Cano 2B

6. Andruw Jones LF

7. Jayson Nix SS

8. Russell Martin C

9. Dewayne Wise CF

Go Yankees!!

Yankees Trade Targets : Francisco Liriano

Another starting pitcher another "interest" from the New York Yankees. The Yankees will be linked to any starting pitcher that comes available this trade deadline, whether we have true interest or not. 

Liriano was highly touted as the next ace for the Twins and was supposed to lead them to the promised land. All the Twins have got for all that anointment oil was a boat load of inconsistency, bloated ERA's, a 15 strike out game and a no hitter. The problem with Liriano is he is not better, nor more consistent, then any of our current starting pitchers and half of our bullpen arms. The good thing about Liriano? He is only set to make $5.5 million this season and half of that is more then gone already with more then half the season played. Pro rated salary would be estimated at $2 million. 

If we were trading for, or even needed, a LOOGY then I would be all over Liriano. Especially if we paid the Twins like we were trading for a LOOGY and not a decent starting pitcher on a hot streak. The Twins are going to ride that 15 strike out game and that no hitter from last year and his short streak of good starts all the way to the bank this July... and my bank is personally closed. I dislike the idea of trading for Francisco Liriano in hopes of him being a good starter. 

Blue Jays @ Yankees 7/17/12

Darnell McDonald has been designated for assignment to make room for CC Sabathia on the 25 man roster. 

Robinson Cano singles in the 2nd to extend his career high hitting streak to 20 games. 

Andruw Jones hits a three run home run to put the Yankees up 3-0

Yankees Win 6-1

CC Sabathia officially comes of the DL today and will start tonight for the New York Yankees against Brett Cecil and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays will be without Jose Bautista who was placed on the 15 day DL with wrist inflammation after a swing late in last nights game. That is just one of many blows and DL trips the Jays have had to endure. The Yankees do not need to hear any excuses about injuries though because they have had more then their fair share.The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on MY9.

Lineups

1. Jeter SS
2. Granderson CF
3. Teixeira 1B
4. A-Rod 3B
5. Cano 2B
6. Swisher RF
7. Jones LF
8. Nix 3B
9. Stewart C

Go Yankees!!

Joba Chamberlain Strong In 3rd Rehab Outing

Joba Chamberlain made his third appearance in a rehab game and he was dominant. Joba pitched another perfect inning while striking out two more batters. His rehab assignment line goes like this:

4 IP, 0 ER, 0 Hits,  0 BB, 6 K

The out that was not a strike out came as, you guessed it, ANOTHER ground ball out. No word on the pitch count but it should not have been more then 15 pitches. Joba hit as high as 98 mph this afternoon.

In other news Eduardo Nunez played short stop in that game for the first time since his thumb injury. He played three innings in the field and grounded out in his only at bat. The best news? ZERO Errors on one opportunity. Gotta start somewhere, right?

Yankees Injury Updates : Gardner & Rivera

Brett Gardner suffered yet another set back, his third since injuring his elbow way back in May, after taking four at bats in a rehab game and waking up the next morning sore. Gardner will receive an MRI today to see if surgery is needed to fix the elbow or more rest and relaxation is the diagnosis. If Gardner needs some kind of surgery then we can expect to be all in on Shane Victorino or Justin Upton. If he just needs a couple days of rest then I could see us waiting it out and calling up Chris Dickerson if need be. I am just hoping Gardner does not need tommy john surgery.

Mariano Rivera and has camp has not ruled out a September come back completely. It is still possible that it may happen due to a partial tear of his ACL and not a full blown tear. How amazing would it be to tear an ACL and come back the same season.

Yankees Trade Targets : Zack Greinke

The Yankees will be linked to EVERY SINGLE starting pitcher at this years trade deadline. We are officially 14 days away from the trade deadline of July 31st at 4 pm ET. Do the Yankees need a starter to help out the back end of the rotation? Do the Yankees need insurance for Andy Pettitte? I personally do not think so but I am not Brian Cashman.

Zack Greinke has not been the CY Young guy that he was in Kansas City since, well, since he was a CY Young winner in Kansas City in 2009. It is no secret that he had many issues with anxiety, depression, and straight up boredom with baseball. Mix that not only with the New York fans and the New York media... but a pennant race and subsequent playoff and potential World Series run.. sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. Greinke's value is as low as it is going to get so that is what makes it most intriguing. The thing is though is he any better then Kuroda, Pettitte (healthy), Nova, or Hughes? A couple months ago I would say yes but since June I am not so sure. Greinke is a pure rental player as well which gives us no chance to even get compensation for him if he leaves as a free agent. He is in the last year of a deal that will pay him $13.5 million this season.

Zack Greinke will miss his next two starts due to "exhaustion" from starting the Brewers last three consecutive games before and after the break. He has allowed 14 earned runs in his last two starts. Maybe the Brewers waited a little too long to trade him or maybe it is just exhaustion... I do not know. I do know the Yankees need consistency and LESS question marks and Greinke does not do that for us in my opinion. He would probably be "cheap" but I still dislike this trade idea and will have to pass on Mr Greinke wearing pinstripes this season.

Call Your Shot : Yankees Mega Prediction Game

I have been playing this mega prediction game on this sports forum and it is really fun so I figured I would share. What you do is predict whether the Yankees will win or lose each game in a series and put a point total to the game. How many point allotted depends on how many games there are in the series. On a three game series you get ONE three point game, ONE two point game, and ONE one point game. Here is MY example for the Blue Jays series.

7/16-7/18 NYY vs. TOR

Game 1: WIN 3 pts (Hughes 9-7, 4.33 ERA vs. Alvarez 5-7, 4.36 ERA)
Game 2: WIN 2 pts (Sabathia 9-3, 3.45 ERA vs. Cecil 2-1, 6.75 ERA)
Game 3: WIN 1 pt (Kuroda 8-7, 3.67 vs. Romero 8-5, 5.03 ERA)


I do not think there is a prize, other then bragging rights, for this but it is fun as hell. Especially when you are getting down to the wire and you purposely have to be strategic to get back into the game. We have a first half winner and a second half winner then those two battle it out in a playoff. All the rules are in the thread, seen HERE, so maybe some of you would be interested in playing?


Totally free and spam free to sign up. 

Blue Jays @ Yankees 7/16/12

UPDATE:

Russell Martin hits a home run to put the Yankees up 1-0. 

No this is not a typo...

Robinson Cano RBI double extends his hitting streak to 19 games.

Raul Ibanez hits a go ahead grand slam in the bottom of the 8th to put the Yankees up 6-2!!!

Yankees win 6-2

Tonight the Yankees continue their 13 games in 13 days stretch after the All Star break by going to Toronto to take in the last place Toronto Blue Jays. Do not let the record of the Blue Jays fool you, they are a good team with a ton of power and flashes of brilliance with the pitching staff. Tonight on the mound for the Yankees will be Phil Hughes and he will be taking on Henderson Alvarez for the Jays. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on the YES Network

Lineup

1. Jeter SS
2. Granderson CF
3. A-Rod 3B
4. Cano 2B
5. Teixeira 1B
6. Swisher RF
7. Ibanez LF
8. Chavez DH
9. Martin C

Go Yankees!!

Yankees Trade Targets : Shane Victorino

UPDATE:

Gardner said that he felt some soreness in his elbow after his rehab game. Joe Girardi is concerned and puzzled by this. We do not know if it is just fatigue, much like David Aardsma, or if it is yet another set back. Only time will tell...

The Yankees seem to be monitoring the left field and outfield market this year at the deadline. We should have a pretty good idea of how Brett Gardner is going to be by July31st. Brett Gardner is set to come back on July 27th to the big leagues, barring any more setback. The Yankees seem to be looking for a Plan B though and one of those plan B's is the Phillies Shane Victorino.

The flying' Hawaiian Shane Victorino has been the Phillies center fielder for what seems like forever but now that they are losing he seems likely to be traded this July. Shane is currently on the final year of a three year $22 million deal. Victorino has a ton of speed and would a terrific replacement for Gardner, if needed, both defensively, offensively, and on the base paths. It is widely thought that the Phillies will not be able to get any compensation for him so he should come pretty cheap if he is traded. Not to mention that he is not having a great season anyway only helps our case.

Assuming that Brett Gardner cannot come back this season and assuming that we cannot get Justin Upton this season then I would be all for Shane Victorino coming to the Bronx. He has lots of playoff experience and is basically an older version of Brett Gardner. He would fit right into the bottom of that lineup and would give us the versatility that builds championships. Bring on Shane Victorino as an obvious plan C kind of situation behind Gardner and Upton.