Minor League News And Notes

Good morning Fackers. Friday at last. T-minus eight hours until that sweet, glorious three day holiday weekend. I'll be wasting mine driving thirty one hours roundtrip to Charleston, SC and back for a wedding which I have no interest in attending. People who get married on holiday weekends should be forced to honeymoon in Guantanamo Bay.

To make matters worse, there will be no dinner served, so I'm sure it'll be cash bar as well (facepalm). The icing on the cake: the Charleston Riverdogs are out of town, so there'll be no checking in the Yankees low A affiliate for me. On the bright side, a wedding south of the Mason-Dixon line is all the excuse I need to wear a seersucker suit.

On to the minor league notes:

Curtis Granderson completed his minor league rehab assignment in the first game of Scranton's doubleheader yesterday. He played center field for all seven innings and went 0 for 2 with a walk yesterday, finishing his stint at 4 for 16 with 2 walks and no extra base hits over five games. He left for New York after the game and will be activated for tonight's series opener against Cleveland.

Recently signed Tim Redding has been named Scranton's starter for tomorrow's game, bumping Jason Hirsh from the rotation. Redding was signed more than two weeks ago, I'm surprised it took this long for the organization to assign him to an affiliate. As for Hirsh, he was a bit stunned by the move, but as Axisa noted in last night's DoTF, this move could be a positive sign for Hirsh. With Alfredo Aceves' immediate future a question mark, the organization could be grooming Hirsh for a long/middle relief role.

David Winfree has been absent from the Scranton line up since last Thursday. Yesterday word finally leaked that Winfree has been out with a sore left wrist but Scranton's intern Conor Foley tells RAB's Mike Axisa that Winfree should be back soon. Winfree was hitting a solid .283/.314/.455 while seeing time in the outfield corners and at first before hitting the shelf.

While Winfree's been out, fellow outfielder/first baseman Chad Huffman has been heating up, going .333/.405/.394 over his last ten games, running his line for the season to .285/.355/.445.

Speaking of wrist injuries, Trenton outfielder Dan Brewer rolled his wrist while making a diving catch last night. Hmm. Suspended game and an injury? Just like the big club does it. After the initial concern, Brewer stayed in the game. He's quietly putting together a nice season, with a decent walk rate and 16 steals in 17 attempts.

The bigger story in Trenton last night was Hector Noesi's second AA start. This one went much better than his first, as he allowed one single, one walk, and five strikeouts through three scoreless innings.

We're a day late on this one, but Trenton third baseman Brandon Laird hit for the cycle Wednesday, culminating the feat with a walkoff homer. Laird is posting an impressive .305/.356/.531 thus far, and new Pending Pinstripes contributor Josh points out that when adjusted for park, Laird's line is even more impressive. Josh also recognizes that Laird is pretty well blocked by Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, and John Nalbone expands on that, noting Laird is Rule 5 eligible after this season, which will force the Yankees to make some decisions about his future in the organization.

Also out of Trenton, catcher Neall French has retired. French was Trenton's third string catcher and had spent the entire year on the DL. With the catching depth in the Yankee system he likely saw the writing on the wall.

While one minor leaguer was leaving, another was returning. The organization brought back Rudy Guillen, who hasn't appeared in organized ball since 2007. The Yankees signed Guillen out of the Dominican Republic in 2000. After spending his career as outfielder, he made three appearances as a pitcher prior to washing out of the organization in 2007. It appears he'll be an outfielder again this time, and while Baseball America sees some potential left in him, it's going to be mighty hard to kick start a career at 26 after three years out of the game.

Andrew Brackman tossed six shutout innings last night, giving up six hits and two walks while striking out seven. Over his last four starts, Brackman has surrendered just six runs, five earned, over 22.1 IP (2.01 ERA). He's allowed just 19 hits and only four walks in that time, while striking out 19. It's a small sample and nothing to get too excited over. But with the struggles Brackman has had, and with Jeremy Bleich facing surgery, and with Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos yet to pitch this year, it's great to see one of the Yankees' high ceiling pitching prospects performing well.

Minor League Injury Notes

Good morning Fackers. Did you enjoy your off day? Feeling rested? I hope so. We've all been stressing a bit too much about the way things have gone over the past week or so, so yesterday's off day came at a good time.

The minor league affiliates did not have yesterday off however, and there are some notes coming out of the system. It appears the injury bug that was ravaging its way through the Yankees clubhouse a couple weeks back has now made its way down the organizational ladder.

As we mentioned last week, Trenton placed starting pitcher Jeremy Bleich on the disabled list with shoulder stiffness. He was sent to the team's complex in Florida for evaluation and yesterday the worst case scenario was realized. Bleich has a torn labrum, will require surgery, and is looking at ten to twelve months before he can return.

If there's any silver lining to this, it's that perhaps the labrum problem accounts for some of the control issues Bleich has had over the past year. Aside from his stellar performance against New Britain earlier this month, he has been wild, posting at 26:28 K:BB. The downside is that Bleich, who many considered a bit of reach with the 44th overall pick two years ago to begin with, has already dealt with elbow issues in college and is now facing the far more uncertain prospect of a shoulder operation.

Also in Trenton, second baseman David Adams, off to a torrid .309/392/.507 start this year, injured his ankle breaking up a double play Friday. He too is on the DL and is expected to miss two to three weeks. Adams is tied with teammate Austin Romine for the Eastern League lead in doubles and is in the top ten in batting, on base, slugging, OPS, runs, RBI, hits, triples, and total bases.

In positive news, Curtis Granderson is three games into a rehab stint at Scranton. He's DH'd twice and made an appearance in center field, going for 4 for 11 with a walk. He could rejoin the team as early as Thursday, which would be very helpful in firming up the bottom of the lineup. [UPDATE 10:15 AM: Granderson will be activated for Friday's series opener against Cleveland.]

Minor League News And Notes

Here are some minor league notes as the Subway Series hype and Yankee paranoia machines steam towards game time:

Yesterday, the Yankees extended their playing development contract with Scranton through 2014; it was set to expire at the end of this season. This seemed less likely last year, when a rainy summer and drainage problems at PNC Field combined to cause a large amount of delays and postponements. As part of the press release announcing the extension, the Yankees pledged their support to help improve or replace the existing complex.

In extending their agreement with Scranton, the Yankees ensure that they keep their top two farm clubs relatively local, with their third club being located at their Tampa headquarters, and their short-season A team being owned by the franchise and located just over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. This seems to have been a concerted effort over the past decade, relocating affiliates to be closer to the home club. It's beneficial to the Yankees in that replacement and rehabbing players are relatively close at hand, and it's beneficial to the affiliates in that there's already a local fanbase.

It's a day late now, but yesterday Donnie Collins had an outstanding and in depth look at all the cons, and the few pros, that would come with promoting Jesus Montero in the wake of Jorge Posada's injury.

All the injuries at the Big League level are having a trickle down effect as the minor league clubs shuffle players around to fill the holes. To that end, the Yankees made two minor league signings yesterday, inking utility guy Jeff Natale and catcher Rene Rivera. Chances are these guys are around only as long as the injuries persist. The Rivera signing is a bit puzzling. It would appear P.J. Pilittere has fallen down some sort of rabbit hole.

In his pre-game media session yesterday, Brian Cashman said that were he not injured, outfielder Colin Curtis would have been considered for a recall. Loyal commenter Jimmy speculated as much yesterday. Curtis is not currently on the 40 man roster and has been out of action with a high ankle sprain since April 28th. Curtis was considered a middling prospect as recently as last year, but a torrid stay in the Arizona Fall League, an impressive Spring Training, and a hot start to the AAA season had his stock rising. We may see him before 2010 is out.

This is one specifically Yankee related, but Times of Trenton writer John Nalbone has a great interview with Chris Pittaro, Oakland's Director of Professional Scouting. Pittaro had a brief cameo in Moneyball and his role in the Oakland front office has grown in the years since. Check out the interview both at the Times and at Nalbone's BareBones blog.

We're a couple days late on this one, but Trenton has placed starting pitcher and 2008 supplemental first round pick Jeremy Bleich on the DL with a shoulder problem. His has returned to the Yankee complex in Tampa. His start in New Britain last week notwithstanding, Bleich has struggled over the past year. Whether the shoulder issue is the cause or whether it's an excuse to give him some downtime and try to get him back on track in Extended Spring Training, it's not a good sign.

Lastly, and not minor league related at all, but if you're near a TV right now turn on the MLB Network. My buddy Gripp informs me their currently showing this game from the Yankees' disastrous 1990 season, featuring Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and the notorious Andy Hawkins. I won't spoil the surprise, but this was an outstanding game, featuring some rare and impressive feats. Plus, it'll remind you that the events of this past week are nothing compared to what the Yankees suffered through twenty years ago.

Redding To Scranton

Good morning Fackers. As we mentioned yesterday, the recent spat of injuries and Tuesday's rainout have forced the Yankees to ravage their AAA roster. Romulo Sanchez was recalled in advance of his start Friday, forcing Kei Igawa to make a spot start. Ivan Nova was recalled in advance of his start Monday, forcing Amuary Sanit to make a spot start. Like the big club, a Tuesday rainout forced Scranton to play two yesterday, further fouling up the starting rotation, and they had to do it without Juan Miranda and Jonathan Albaladejo, both sequestered in Detroit in the event the Yankees needed them. Since Saturday the Yankees have also recalled Greg Golson and Kevin Russo, the only healthy players on Scranton's roster with experience in center field.

All of which is the long way of saying the Scranton roster is fairly decimated at this point. That knowledge should put the following news in context and soften the blow for you a bit: the Yankees have signed pitcher Tim Redding to a minor league contract.

Before you freak out, remember it's a minor league deal. This should end up little more than a footnote come season's end. Redding will provide some much-needed depth to the Scranton staff right now. That said, it's worth noting that Redding, who was released from the Rockies' AAA affiliate just yesterday morning, not only signed quickly, but passed up offers from the Dodgers (who are having some Major League depth issues) and from Korea. That Redding signed with the Yankees, so quickly and with other offers on the table, leads me to believe that he thinks he has a real opportunity with the Yankees or that he has an out clause.

Redding was Yankee property once before, acquired from San Diego along with Darrell May in exchange for what was left of Paul Quantrill in early July 2005. That season might have marked the low point of the Yankees' mid-decade dearth of quality starting pitching. When Chien-Ming Wang went on the DL with a shoulder injury two weeks after the deal, the Yankees brought up Redding to make a start in Fenway Park. It was an unmitigated disaster.

Redding completed just one inning, facing three batters in the second. His final line included four hits, six runs, all earned, and four walks. About the nicest thing that could be said is that he recorded two of his outs via strikeout. His trade-mate Darrell May relieved him and proceeded to pour gas on the fire, as the game ended a lopsided 17-1 Red Sox victory. Neither Redding nor May would appear as Yankees again; both were removed from the roster within days.

I feel a bit hypocritical even bringing that start up after I've spent the better part of this year railing against those that hold 2004 against Javier Vazquez. The difference, I suppose, is that Vazquez had a very good first half as a Yankee; Redding's disaster start represents the entirety of his Yankee career. Further, Vazquez has been a successful pitcher in the intervening years; Redding hasn't.

Either way, I'm belaboring the point. Redding is a good depth signing for Scranton. If he appears in the Bronx at all this year the Yankees will have far bigger problems than worrying about his start from five years ago.

More Roster Speculation

AAA Scranton has a game in Norfolk this afternoon, and after a look at the lineups, you can pretty much disregard everything I said this morning. Chad Moeller is behind the plate in that game, so there's virtually no chance he'll be in the Bronx tonight.

Jesus Montero is not in the lineup today, but I wouldn't read too much into it. This likely a routine day off; he's hasn't had one in a week. (Insert joke about Jesus resting on the seventh day). Besides, there's virtually no chance that the organization wants to start Montero's arbitration and free agency at this point, particularly when he's struggled a bit through his first month at AAA.

Also of note is that usual center fielder Greg Golson is not in today's lineup. Perhaps he may be recalled after all. I don't know the specifics of Posada's situation right now, but I'd think having a third catcher around is more important than having a fifth outfielder around over the next few days.

[UPDATE 12:40 PM: Golson is already in NY and expected to be activated tonight]

Lastly, with Golson out of the lineup and Colin Curtis on the DL, Kevin Russo gets his first career start in center field. A second baseman by trade, Russo and fellow infielders Reegie Corona and Eduardo Nunez have rotated through the three infield spots this year. Russo made seven outfield appearances in 2008, but this is his first action in center. His presence there today could be nothing at all, or it could be part of turning him into a super utility player. He carries a .290/.371/.419 line on the young season, including a scorching .368/.400/.605 over his last ten games. If he continues swinging the bat well and is capable of playing all over the diamond, Russo could offer a compelling option to give the big club's bench a little more flexibility.

Minor League Round Up

Good morning Fackers. Full season minor leagues had their Opening Night last night, and the Yankees had their AAA, AA, high A, and A teams in action. The organization went four for four on the night, sweeping their slate of games.

• Jesus Montero made his AAA debut, catching and batting sixth. He doubled in his first at bat, then went 0 for 2 the rest of the way. Scranton beat Buffalo, the Mets' affiliate, 1-0 behind a David Winfree home run and a combined shutout from Ivan Nova, Mark Melancon, Boone Logan, and Jonathan Albaladejo. For Opening Night at least, the infield was Kevin Russo, Eduardo Nunez, Reegie Corona, and Juan Miranda from third to first. Colin Curtis, Greg Golson, and Winfree were the outfielders with Jon Weber DHing. Here's the full Scranton roster at present, courtesy of Pending Pinstripes.


• Recently acquired Chad Huffman was not in Scranton's line up last night, presumably because he hadn't arrived yet. Padres' assistant GM and Moneyball superstar Paul DePodesta had some comments on Huffman yesterday, and Rob Neyer extrapolated on them.


• Back to Montero, RAB's Mike Axisa, in his other gig over at MLBTradeRumors, took a look at Montero's status as a blocked prospect.


• Elsewhere in Scranton, Kei Igawa is heading to the bullpen. While Bronx Baseball Daily's Chris Barrows is in favor of the move, I don't like it. Igawa would be no better than the club's third best option for a lefty reliever, behind Boone Logan and Royce Ring. Behind them at AA are southpaws Wilkins Arias and Wilkin De La Rosa. Igawa is of even less value to the Yankees as a reliever. He's proven to be a successful starter at the AAA level, but a disaster in the Bronx. By no means should he be in the Scranton rotation ahead of more viable prospects, but if nothing else he can serve as an innings eater there. If he's of no value doing that, it's high time the Yankees flip him to a lesser club that has some use for him. He's not going to hack it in the Bronx; his posting fee and contract are sunk costs; the club might as well take a flier on a C-level prospect in exchange for him.


• Ivan Nova left his start last night after only four innings, but don't fret, he was pulled after a rain delay. Trenton wasn't quite so lucky with their starter, as their 4-o victory was marred by a sixth inning elbow injury to starter Christian Garcia. It's just the latest in long line of injuries for Garcia, and unfortunately the early returns are that it's pretty serious. Garcia has always had great stuff, prompting this glowing review from former scout Frankie Piliere earlier this spring. But since being drafted in 2004 Garcia has topped 65 IP just once - in 2005 - missed all of 2007, and threw just 25 innings last year. He's on the Yankees 40 man roster and since he was injured in minor league play, he cannot be transferred to the 60 day DL to clear a roster spot. If he is indeed out for the year the Yankees would either have to recall him and DL him, or DFA him to clear the spot.


• Prospects Austin Romine, David Adams, Brandon Laird, and Damon Sublett all made their AA debuts last night. Romine and Adams had a base hit apiece, Laird had two, and Sublett took the collar. Reid Gorecki, the odd man out in Scranton's outfield crunch, is also on the Trenton roster after seeing action in 31 Major League games for the Braves last year.


• High A Tampa also won via shutout, taking a 4-0 victory over Lakeland. Hector Noesi, added to the 40 man roster in the off season, went six strong innings, allowing two hits, a walk, and fanning six. He's the most likely candidate to take Garcia's spot in Trenton.


• Charleston was the only affiliate to allow a run last night, beating Lexington 5-2. Charleston's roster is comprised mostly of last year's draft picks who played at short-season Staten Island last summer. Slade Heathcott is not amongst them at present, as he'll begin the season in Extended Spring Training.

We don't do a ton of minor league coverage here, but with last night being Opening Night and the big club having an off night, today was a good day to go through this. For day-to-day minor league coverage be sure to check out Mike's nightly Down on the Farm post at RAB as well as Greg and Sean's work at Pending Pinstripes. Further, both Scranton and Trenton have excellent beat writers providing great coverage. Donnie Collins takes over for LoHud's Chad Jennings at The Times-Tribune, and Mike Ashmore maintains Thunder Thoughts.

Yanks Claim Huffman

Good morning Fackers. The Yankees filled the final opening on their 40 man roster yesterday, claiming Chad Huffman from the San Diego Padres, who had been DFA'd to make room for Matt Stairs.

Huffman is a soon-to-be 25 year old outfielder with four years of professional experience. He was San Diego's second round selection in the 2006 draft and rose to AAA for the first time last year. In 135 games at Portland, Huffman hit .269/.361/.469 with 20 HR. He's a career .289/.385/.474 hitter and has spent minimal time at first base in addition to the outfield corners.

Longtime San Diego GM Kevin Towers, now working as a special assignment scout for the Yankees, likely had a large say in making the claim. I'm sure Towers knows Huffman well, but I can't help but be a little a curious about the claim.

Despite being a right handed hitter, Huffman does not fair well against lefties, posting just a a .191/.308/.331 line against them last year according to minorleaguesplits.com. As such, he's not exactly a solid insurance policy should the Yankees decide to part ways with Marcus Thames. Further, his batting line last year, while impressive, is buoyed by the hitting friendly Pacific Coast League, and carries a Major League Equivalent of just .236/.310/.392 with 16 HR.

Huffman's presence also adds to the considerable log jam at Scranton. Jesus Montero will see the lion's share of playing time behind the plate, and may also DH on his days off. He's backed up by Chad Moeller, but P.J. Pilittere and Robby Hammock are also on the catching depth chart. Pilittere can also play first; Hammock can play both the infield and outfield corners.

In the infield, Kevin Russo, Reegie Corona, and Eduardo Nunez figure to rotate through second base, third base, and shortstop. Juan Miranda will man first, but Jorge Vazquez will see time at both infield corners and DH once he comes off the DL.

In the outfield, Huffman joins Jon Weber, David Winfree, and Colin Curtis as corner outfield options. Fellow 40 man roster member Greg Golson will be the center fielder. Outfielder Reid Gorecki is not listed any of the affiliates' rosters, but as of yet there has been no news of his release.

Scranton's season starts tonight against Buffalo, the Mets' affiliate. The official roster should be released at some point later today. Perhaps that, and these first few games will offer some insight as to how the line ups and playing time will shake out.

Saturday News, Notes, & Links

Tomorrow may be Easter, but I'm feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve knowing that Opening Day is just one sleep away. Here are some news, notes, and links on the one year anniversary of the first game ever played at the new Yankee Stadium. I had great seats for that game, my father, brothers and I were in the second row on the field level, directly behind the left field foul pole. Cody Ransom rang a dinger off that pole later in the game; sadly that was the high water mark of his 2009 season. Still, I'll never forget walking onto the concourse and getting my first glimpse of the new Stadium.

• As we mentioned earlier, the Yankees have essentially finalized their roster, and it's no different than what we thought a week and a half ago. Marcus Thames was officially added the 40 man roster this morning, and Boone Logan was optioned to AAA. All the players who have been nursing injuries: Posada, Cervelli, Aceves, Marte, and Johnson, should be ready to go tomorrow night.


• Also, as we mentioned earlier, the Yankees signed Chad Moeller to a minor league deal. Moeller lost out on the back up job in Baltimore and asked for his release rather than go to the minors. He's not as good offensively as Mike Rivera, but he has the reputation of a solid defender. He should be a good mentor to Jesus Montero. I'm hopeful that Moeller's contract does not include the opt out clause that many veteran players get on minor league deals. I think it's important the club have a good mentor for Montero all year, as well as a viable emergency option should Posada or Cervelli get injured.


• The Yankees added another player to the Scranton roster today, when they acquired Robby Hammock. Chad Jennings reported it as a free agent signing, but The Times Pat Borzi says Hammock was acquired via a trade with Colorado for a player to be named later. Hammock has 180 games of Major League experience over five seasons, but none since 2008. He's capable of playing behind the plate and at the infield and outfield corners. He's reportedly ticketed for Scranton, where Jorge Vazquez will start the season on the DL.


• With the addition of Hammock, Scranton's roster is jam packed with guys who should be playing nearly everyday. Juan Miranda will be the first baseman, but Vazquez will see some time there as well. Kevin Russo, Reegie Corona, and Eduardo Nunez will make up the remainder of the infield, and they should be rotating through the positions to increase their versatility as utility options. But Vazquez and Hammock will also presumably see time at third. In the outfield, Colin Curtis, Jon Weber, Greg Golson, Reid Gorecki, and David Winfree all figure to be on the roster, and Russo may also see time in the corners. Monetro and Moeller will be the catchers, and P.J. Pilittere may also see time behind the plate.


• The Yankees have officially lost both their Rule Five picks. Kanekoa Texeira used an impressive spring to win a spot in the Mariners' bullpen. The Diamondbacks waived lefty Zach Kroenke, but he went unclaimed and accepted an assignment to AAA in exchange for keeping his spot on the 40 man roster. By right, the Yankees could have brought him back for $25K once he cleared waivers, but as a two time Rule 5 pick Kroenke had the right to declare free agency if that happened. By going unclaimed on waivers and keeping a 40 man spot with the Dbacks, he likely got the best possible deal for himself.


• For the second time this spring, things got a little heated between the Yankees and Orioles yesterday. As Marc Carig points out, these two clubs have built up a bit of a history over the last year, from Aubrey Huff's fist pumps to A.J. Burnett gesticulating in the general direction of Felix Pie. The Girardi Yankees haven't been shy about coming inside over the past two seasons; this will be something to watch as 2010 unfolds.


• Jack Curry of the YES Network has a story on Andy Pettitte in which Pettitte drops some more retirement hits. Nothing to see here folks. Firstly, Pettitte says nothing definitive. Secondly, this is no different than anything Pettitte has said each of the last four off-seasons as he's done the Brett Favre dance. Thirdly, there's no reason to believe that it won't continue. The guy can still pitch, and if he didn't want to go out on top after winning each of the three clinching games in the 2009 post-season, there's no reason to believe that this year is any more likely to be his last than 2009 or 2008 or 2007 was. Let's wait until a few pitches are thrown first.


• Finally, Fangraphs has completed their organizational rankings series, with the Yankees taking the top prize. Here's Fangraphs' look at both the current talent and future talent.

That's it for today Fackers. We'll be back in the morning with all sorts of Opening Day goodness.

Minor League Run Scoring Environments

Over at the Hardball Times, Justin Inaz put together an excellent piece on the run scoring environments throughout the various minor leagues. If you pay attention to minor league ball, you know that the Pacific Coast League is notorious for being a "hitter's league", while the Florida State League is a much tougher run scoring environment. Thanks to Justin's work, we now have a snapshot of what the differences were in aggregate from 2007 to 2009.

The Yankees have teams in the Florida State League (High A Tampa), Gulf Coast (Rookie - also Tampa), International (AAA Scranton) and NY-PA (Short Season Staten Island) Leagues, which are the four lowest scoring leagues in the minors. They also have teams in the Eastern (AA Trenton) and South Atlantic (Low A Charleston) which are in the lower half of the bunch as well.

This means that Yankee pitching prospects who put up excellent numbers generally aren't quite as impressive as a hitting prospect who is doing the equivalent on the other side of the ball. And also that a pitcher in the Pacific Coast League with the same numbers as a Yankee farmhand in Scranton is likely to be pitching a whole lot better.

The difference between the Gulf Coast and Pioneer Leagues, which are both Rookie circuits is over 1.2 runs per game. Part of the reason is location. While the Gulf Coast League plays its games at or near sea level in humid conditions, the Pioneer League calls cities like Casper, Wyoming; Helena, Montana; and Idaho Falls, Idaho home, each of which is situated in the arid Northern Rockies at over 3,500 feet of elevation.

Of course, the size of the ballpark is also a major factor. Many clubs try to match their Big League parks to their minor league ones. This helps teams determine what kind of talent they have both offensively and defensive in the minors and eases the transition a bit when they finally call up their prospects.

The article at the Hardball Times also has a more detailed chart that includes the slash stats, home run rates and other pieces of data from the different leagues along with an explanation of the right column in the chart above - Base Runs. Check it out.

Yanks Get Another September Call Up

Except this time, it's not a player. As we originally speculated the day after Peter Abraham announced he was leaving The Journal News, Chad Jennings, the Scranton Yankees beat writer of The Times-Tribune, has been hired as Pete Abe's replacement.

First and foremost, congratulations to Chad; this is a well-deserved promotion from AAA to the Big Leagues. Secondly, though I'm no newspaper expert, this is probably the best move The Journal News possibly could have made. As we discussed in the aftermath of Pete Abe's announcement, The Journal News is a relatively small player in the newspaper industry, particularly amongs the papers that cover the Yankees. Their blog on the other hand, is far and away both the best and most widely read amongst those of the Yankee beat-writers. In hiring Jennings they've brought on an impressive journalist who has maintained a great blog on the Scranton Yankees for the past couple seasons.

I admit that I didn't read Jennings' Scranton work nearly as often as I should have, but I'm very pleased with this decision. As a fan, LHYB is the best place to go for Yankee information as it happens. It has also been an invaluable resource for Jay and me to get information regarding injuries, line-ups, roster moves, etc. so that we can do our thing here. Hiring Jennings should keep the LHYB going seamlessly.

This of course leaves a hole for Scranton coverage, which Jennings has done so well for the past two seasons. Perhaps Mike Ashmore, beat writer for AA Trenton, will get promoted a level as well. As Yankee fans, we've been lucky to have outstanding coverage of the organization's top two minor league affiliates over the past few years. I hope that trend continues in 2010.

Today, I believe, is Abraham's last day covering the Yanks. Sam Borden and Josh Thompson will finish out the regular season until Jennings comes aboard October 7th. Once again, best wishes to Pete at the Boston Globe, and congratulations to Chad Jennings.

Morning Round Up

Good morning Fackers. So the Red Sox won last night, keeping the Yankees magic number at five, meaning that the Yanks will need to sweep in order to clinch this weekend.

But the Yankees did get some good news late yesterday. Jerry Hairston Jr saw a hand specialist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital yesterday, and his MRI revealed nothing more serious than tendinits. He was given a second cortisone shot and is listed as day-to-day. Hairston certainly isn't out of the woods yet, but all things considered it's about the best news he could have received. With any luck he'll be good to go come the post-season, because as we explored yesterday and RAB echoed, his versatility would be difficult to replace.

Freddy Guzman would be a potential candidate to replace Hairston if his injury prevents him from being part of the post-season roster. Guzman was added to the 40 man and Major League rosters a week ago at the expense of Anthony Claggett. Claggett became the third young Yankee pitcher to be designated for assignment this season, and yesterday he became third to be claimed by the Pirates, joining Steven Jackson and Eric Hacker. I hope Claggett can get his career ERA under 30, but he may have a difficult time getting to PNC Park thanks to G20 Summit.

At the end of the 2006 season, the Yankees announced they were ending their 28 season affiliation with the Columbus Clippers to move their AAA affiliate to Pennsylvania so that it would be closer to New York. The affiliate is supposed to located in Dunder Mifflin country, but it's looking more and more like it's further west in PA.

As many have pointed out since yesterday's claim, seven men on the Pirates 40 man roster are former Yankee properties: the three aforementioned pitchers, as well as Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, Daniel McCutchen, and Jose Tabata - the entirety of the Pirates haul from last year's Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte deal. Also in the Pirates system are Eric Fryer and Casey Erickson, who were acquired from the Yankees system in June in exchange for Eric Hinske. That's enough former Yankee farmhands to field an entire team. As bad as the Bucs have been for the past 17 years they might as well be a minor league team anyway.

Replacing PeteAbe

Over the next two weeks, the Westchester Journal News will have the unenviable task of trying to replace the Blogfather of the Bronx Bombers, Peter Abraham. I published a tribute to his work this morning and other Yanks blogs have weighed in as well, including Bronx Banter, River Ave. Blues, IIATMS, Heartland Pinstripes and The Yankee Universe.

They are going to be some big shoes to fill, but we have put together a couple of candidates for the job. The list is woefully limited to due to our outside perspective in terms of the newspaper world. However, since LoHud is relatively small, circulation-wise, we believe that it would be in their best interest to fill the position while placing the online readership as the main consideration. The way that the newspaper industry is going, they would be wise to try to support an employee solely by their online presence if at all possible. With the traffic PeteAbe drew that is a very attainable goal. As a result have focused our list mainly on internet writers.

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The Minor League Guys

Chad Jennings - Jennings does a bang up job of covering the AAA team for the Scranton Times-Tribune. He's been at it for about two and a half years so he has dealt with the Yankees organization pretty extensively. PeteAbe himself has said in the past that some newspaper would be wise to scoop him up. He's as close to a "name brand" that is available in the Yankee blogosphere and probably the best hope LoHud has for keeping people around.

Mike Ashmore - Author of the Thunder Thoughts blog and current employee of the Hunterdon County Democrat, Ashmore has been on the Trenton beat for four years. His blog has been around since January of 2008 and is far and away the best resource for the Yankees AA affiliate.

Robert Pimpsner - Former keeper of Baby-Bombers.com, Pimpsner has moved his coverage of the New York baseball to Gotham Baseball. Another great contributor to the excellent coverage of the Yankees' minor league system that we fans have been spoiled by, he would be a dark horse candidate, but a great choice to take on of the spots vacated by Ashmore or Jennings should they be chosen by LoHud.

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The Yankee Bloggers

The River Ave. Blues Guys - This one is a little outside of the box, but let's be honest, newspapers could use some outside of the box thinking. If LoHud is serious about their online presence, they would be wise to work out something with the biggest and best independent Yankees blog out there. Ben, Mike and Joe have done great work without any real access and it stands to reason that it would only get better if they were credentialed. They already have a content sharing agreement with the YES Network site and attended the Winter Meetings last December, so it's not as if they are some fly-by-night operation.

It would also represent a major stride for bloggers in general, something we obviously have a vested interest in. The two weeks before Pete vacates his position might be too tight of a window to figure out a working arrangement, but RAB comes with its own large, vibrant online audience, something that none of these other candidates can claim in comparison.

Cliff Corcoran - Cliff's writing at Sports Illustrated and Bronx Banter is always thorough and insightful. I don't know if the position would be something he is interested in considering he has infant daughter at home, but judging by what I have read from him, I'm guessing he would do a great job. BB's founder Alex Belth would probably do good work as well, but he didn't seem interested when he wrote about Pete's departure.

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The LoHud Guys

Sam Borden - You probably recognize the name from the times they he has filled in for Pete on his blog. He is currently a columnist on LoHud, and while it's customary for a beat writer to aspire to be a columnist, but the Yankees beat that PeteAbe has carved out is a pretty high profile spot.

Kevin Devaney, Jr. - Devaney also works for LoHud and at the moment, has filled in for PeteAbe before and maintains a blog on high school sports called Varsity Insider. He's been with the paper for over 10 years and is another guy primed for a promotion to the Big Leagues.

Josh Thompson - Another occasional fill-in for Abraham, Thompson has been at LoHud since 2003 covering sports from the high school to pro levels. He currently maintains an ironically-titled blog on girls basketball in the lower Hudson called the The Sixth Man.

Scranton Swept, Miranda Recalled

Crash Davis and the Durham Bulls completed a three game sweep of the Scranton Yankees last night, winning the Governor's Cup as International League champions and thwarting Scranton's attempt at going back-to-back.

Scranton jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Durham tied it the seventh off starter Ivan Nova (who we'll likely hear and see more from in 2010). It stayed tied until the top of the 12th, when Durham pushed the eventual winning run across. For those out there who like to blame Cody Ransom whenever possible, he went 1 for 5 and according to RAB's Mike Axisa, fanned to end the bottom of the ninth, with the winning run on third. He did however have the only two Scranton RBI on the night.

Also, check out durhambulls.com for the highlights from Game 2. The Bulls' keystone combination of Sean Rodriguez and Elliot Johnson (Francisco Cervelli's buddy from spring training 2008) turn a sweet double play.

After the game, the Yankees recalled first baseman Juan Miranda. He'll likely join the team in Seattle today. The Cuban expatriot was signed in December 2006 and hit .290/.369/.498 with 30 doubles and 19 homers in 502 PA this year. In a brief September call up last year, he hit .400/.500/.500 in 14 PA. Miranda was up for a day in April when Hideki Matsui's knees were acting up, but did not get into a game. As I speculated in our look at potential September call-ups at the start of the month, I expect the Yankees to showcase Miranda as much as possible this month and flip him in the off-season as he has very little chance of a future with the organization.

Miranda's recall puts the Yankees' Major League roster at 36. The only members of the 40 man roster not with the big club right now are Andrew Brackman, Wilkins De La Rosa, Christian Garcia, and Ian Kennedy, all of whom are some combination of injured and/or not ready for prime time.

According to SWB beat reporter Chad Jennings, Austin Jackson and Zach Kroenke were told nothing and will head home for the time being. The Yankees would have to make room on an already full 40 man roster to add either player.

Minor Matters

Congratulations to the Tampa Yankees and Staten Island Yankees, who respectively won the high A Florida State League and short-season NY-Penn League Championships last night.

Meanwhile, the AAA Scranton Yankees are on the brink of elimination, down two games to none against the Durham Bulls. If there's any silver lining, it's that Ian Kennedy started last night's game, tossed three perfect innings, and fanned three before Kei Igawa came in to take the loss. The series now shifts back to Scranton for the final three games. If the Yanks pull back even they'll have to face top prospect Nuke LaLoosh in the deciding Game 5.

As always, Chad Jennings has all the coverage you could possibly want on Scranton.

The Big League Yanks have pretty well decimated Scranton's roster with September call-ups. Once Scranton's season is over, we could see Juan Miranda recalled as well, and if the Yankees get creative with the 40 man, possibly Kevin Russo or Austin Jackson too.

Minor League Round Up

We don't give as much attention as we should to the minor league system here. With today being a slow day for us and the minor league seasons winding down, here's a look at a few things going in the Yankees system:

• AAA Scranton won their semifinal playoff series against Gwinnett County (Braves) three games to one and will now face Durham (Rays) for the Governor's Cup. Despite having half their roster in the Bronx right now, Scranton is looking for their second consecutive International League title, as they beat Durham in the final last year. Top pitching prospect Zach McAllister made his AAA debut in Game 4 of the semis, and picked up the win in the clincher. The best of five championship series begins tomorrow.

• AA Trenton fell short in their push for a post-season berth, getting eliminated Labor Day weekend during the final series of the regular season. Trenton's elimination is somewhat functional for the organization though, allowing them to redistribute Trenton's roster to other levels, particularly AAA, where help is needed.

• High A Tampa is tied 1-1 in the best of five Florida State League Finals against Charlotte. In a surprise move, Ian Kennedy was activated to pitch Game 1 of this series. He was due to throw a simulated game that day anyway, so apparently the organization decided to let him face live hitters instead. He went two scoreless innings, giving up a hit and recording a K. Next stop for him is the Arizona Fall League as he returns from his aneurysm.

• Low A Charleston did not qualify for the post-season.

• Short-season Staten Island is in the New York-Pennsylvania League finals. The best of three series against Mahoning Valley (Indians) begins tomorrow.

• The Rookie League Gulf Coast Yankees lost their one game semi-final against the Marlins.

Yanks Make Minor Move

Midnight last night/this morning marked the deadline for teams to acquire players and have them eligible for post-season play. While the Dodgers made two fairly big deals, the White Sox officially gave up, and the Rockies were tricked into thinking Jose Contreras would help their rotation, the Yankees made a minor move, acquiring outfielder Freddy Guzman from the Orioles organization for a player to be named later.

This is not a move made with an eye towards the post-season. Guzman was not added to the 40 man roster, nor will he be, so he will not even be eligible for post-season play. And that's a good thing, because Freddy Guzman is a career .213/.263/.281 (47 OPS+) hitter in 95 career MLB PA and has hit a miserable .219/.261/.289 in three AAA stops this year covering 355 PA.

However, there may be some value in this move in as much as Guzman is a warm body to occupy the Scranton roster for the final week of their season and their playoff run. Guzman's presence will make it easier for the Yankees to recall Ramiro Pena, Shelley Duncan, or maybe even Austin Jackson if they so choose.

A Few Pitching Moves

The excitement is building as we head towards the first pitch of Yanks-Sox Round 4. Jay will be back in a bit with the preview, meanwhile I'll be hitting the road momentarily so I can watch tonight's action in person.

In the meantime, here are few notes regarding the pitching situation:

The Yanks signed Russ Ortiz to a minor league contract yesterday (I'd link to Tyler Kepner's original Tweet on this, but apparently Twitter is being destroyed by cyber terrorists as we speak). I'm hopeful that this move is only to provide some depth for the beleaguered Scranton rotation. Ortiz was once a good pitcher, but hasn't been for quite some time now. Over the last five seasons, he's posted an ERA+ of 67 over 312.2 innings, almost all of which were spent in the weaker hitting National League. I'm no fan of Sergio Mitre, but if this is the alternative, I say keep running Sergio out there.

In another move yesterday, Paul Byrd, who we pegged as a target Tuesday morning, signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox yesterday. Byrd finished last season with them and Ken Rosenthal has indicated Byrd could be Big League ready by September 1. Knowing Rosenthal, that probably means September 1st of 2010.

Old friend Brett Tomko, who I jokingly identified as a 5th starter candidate Tuesday, signed a minor league deal with Oakland. I'm sure Billy Beane and Bob Geren will treat him far, far better than then mean old Yankees.

And just for the hell of it since I forgot to mention them Tuesday- Tom Glavine and El Duque are both available. Neither has thrown a Major League pitch this year (El Duque hasn't since 2007), but these are two guys I've thoroughly enjoyed watching through the years. Unfortunately either would get lit up like a Christmas tree pitching in the AL East.

Slam Duncan

[Image via The Sports Hernia]

Chad Jennings, who does a fantastic job of keeping tabs on the goings on down in Scranton has a great feature story on Shelley Duncan for the Scranton Times-Tribune.

Everyone seems to know Shelley. Or they think they do. They think they know him because he arrived in New York two years ago hitting home runs and bashing the forearms of his teammates with something bordering on recklessness.

That's not even the tip of the iceberg, so if you've got some time, click through and give the whole thing a read.

I was hoping to see Shelley get some at bats this weekend against the Sox, but the trade for Jerry Hairston, Jr. sent him back down to the minors. With his brother Chris now in the Red Sox system, Shelley returned to the SWB Yankees just in time to play against him on Sunday, something that hasn't happened since they were both in A-Ball.

Perhaps Duncan is the perfect example of a AAAA player, a guy who mashes in Scranton but whose power doesn't quite translate to the MLB. He's the kind of player that should be frustrating to watch, with a giant cut that far too often produces pop ups and strike outs, but he's not. Chad's article does a great job of unpacking exactly what it is that makes Shelley the likable character he is. Read it.

Checking In On AJax

Chad Jennings of the most excellent Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees blog has a story on and a Q&A with Austin Jackson.

The story leads in with a quote from Keith Law in an ESPN.com chat in response to a question about Slade Heathcott, that was rather unflattering towards Jackson:

"He'll sign," Law wrote. "Five-tool guy, chance to be the player that Austin Jackson ... well, that Jackson probably isn't going to be now."

Jennings went around to various members of the organization including teammates and coaches who of course were more than happy to sing Jackson's praises.

Funny that Law would pick this year, when Jackson is hitting .320/.385/.421 in International League play to give such a lukewarm forecast. The reasons for the sentiment behind Law's statement are that Jackson hasn't hit for power, he strikes out too much and his BABIP indicates he's gotten lucky with the placement of his hits.

True, Jackson is averaging more than a strikeout per game, and has only two home runs on the season. Sure, his BABIP is .433, but that isn't quite as high as it seems, since his career average is .366. Furthermore, the increase in strikeouts decreases the denominator in the BABIP equation and the absence of home runs not only inflates the numerator, but also means that his hardest hit balls are landing in play. So perhaps that number isn't as inflated as it seems.

His line drive rate is also quite high at 24% and perhaps some of those balls that are hit hard enough to be home runs are falling into the gaps for doubles. Jackson also has four triples and is 12 for 12 on stolen base attempts.

Jackson made the leap to triple A this year and responded by increasing each of his slash statistics to this point, even if the home runs aren't coming. That would be impressive, even if he weren't just 22 years old.

It seems the Yankees are going to be patient with Jackson and give him time to develop, or so says Joel Sherman:

Interestingly (to me at least), the Yanks are in no rush to bring Austin Jackson to the majors in 2009. They feel he needs the full season of Triple-A experience and might even need some more minor league seasoning next year.

Matt and I had a discussion about whether or not to bring Jackson up to the big leagues if Melky Cabrera needed to spend time on the DL after he ran into the wall in Texas. Matt though he should stay down in Scranton and it appears that is the Yankees' plan, at least for the time being. It's commendable that the Yanks are taking the patient approach, but I think a large part of it is due to the fact that he is essentially the same type of player as Brett Gardner. He's fast, can get on base but has hardly any power. There are clearly some parts of his game that still need to come together, and it seems like Jackson is well aware of that:

Q (Jennings): On the whole, we're about halfway through the year, how do you think it's gone so far?

A (Jackson): I'm happy with how it's been so far. I'm not satisfied. I still think there's always room for improvement and I feel like I could always be doing better.

The Jackson Report: 5/27

(Picture via Chad Jennings)

After Melky Cabrera was taken out in the first inning of last night's game, Matt and I pondered the implications of a DL stay for Melky. Obviously, one of the first courses of action that we discussed was whether or not the Yankees should call up Austin Jackson.

(Click to enlarge) 

Jackson has had a great deal of success against AAA pitching this year. His BA, OPB, and SLG are all higher than his minor league career numbers (which all of, save for one game, were accumulated at AA or lower). He's hit safely in 34 of 41 games, had 15 multi-hit efforts and is currently riding an 8 game hitting streak.  Since we last checked in, Jackson has raised each of his slash stats and tacked on 5 more doubles and 5 more RBIs. His numbers are better with men on base than with the bases empty, and better yet with runners in scoring position.

There are some glaring holes in his game, however. During that stretch, he struck out 11 times (more than once per game on the year) and still has yet to register a home run at AAA. Both of those weaknesses project to be exacerbated by a jump to the Bigs. 

Being that a couple weeks without Melky would leave Brett Gardner as the only competent defensive CF on the roster it seems as though Jackson would at least have to be considered for a promotion. Matt and I agreed on this assessment but differed on the course of action. 

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Jay says: I'm favor of the promotion, provided that it would only last until Melky was able to come back. Just in terms of a roster move, the alternative would be keeping only one capable CF on the 25 man roster, thus hamstringing Joe Girardi pretty severely. Damon or Swisher could play center in a pinch, but neither have manned the position at all this year and represent significant defensive downgrades. Jackson's offensive numbers project to be better than Gardner's at the MLB level and it would be had to imagine someone this side of Little League hitting worse that Swish is right now. 

In terms of Jackson's development, I feel like in most aspects of life, taking on a challenge is usually a positive thing. I wouldn't want him to languish on the bench, but one would assume that making his debut on the big stage and getting some at bats against major league pitching would probably make AAA seem a little easier by comparison when he went back down. 

Matt Says: I'm opposed to a promotion. There's no question Austin Jackson has been playing well at AAA. He's 4th in the IL in AVG and 2nd in OBP. However, he has not yet accomplished what he needs to in AAA in order to move on. While his slugging percentage is good, he's yet to homer. He's shown continued improvement with his BB rate (up to 11%), but his K rate has also jumped up to 28.4% after being under 22% each of the last two years.

I agree with Jay in that you need to challenge players, but Jackson is already being challenged. He's been fast-tracked through the system. This is only his fourth year of full-season pro ball and he is one of the youngest players in the IL. Give him the full year in AAA and don't make another ill-advised knee-jerk reaction.

Further, 40 man roster spots are in short supply right now (more on that later). I'd hate to DFA another player to add AJax for a quick fix. If a CFer is needed in Melky's absence, add Todd Linden. AJax needs to play everyday; Linden could be a usable bench piece. If he isn't, there's no harm in cutting him loose and adding someone else. Once AJax is added though he isn't going anywhere. And once he's called up that arbitration clock starts ticking.

In Melky Cabrera, the Yankees already have a CFer whose development may have been stunted by rushing him to the Big Leagues. I hope they don't repeat that mistake with AJax. 

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