Do They Really Need To Shuffle The Rotation?

As we mentioned in this morning's news and notes, the Yankees have opted to skip Javier Vazquez once again, pushing him back to start Friday night's Subway Series opener at Citi Field.

Joel Sherman does an excellent job of laying out the Yankees reasoning for all of this, and it's sound enough. But, there are a number of things I don't like about this:

• For the all the fuss the Yankees made about limiting the work loads of Sabathia, Burnett, and Pettitte in the wake of last season, and with concerns about Phil Hughes hitting an innings cap late in the year, they're completely punting on an opportunity to give all four pitchers an extra day of rest. Thanks to the doubleheader last week, Vazquez could have taken his regular turn tonight and everyone else could have had an extra day off.


• The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. If Sherman's right, the Yankees are trying to line up starters for a series that's taking place two weeks from now. Who the hell knows what will happen between now and then. Remember last week when a new Yankee was getting hurt everyday? If that happens once between now and then, or if there's another rainout, this whole plan goes to pot. Why not try to line up the post-season rotation now while we're at it?


• Furthermore, as we mentioned in the news and notes this morning, the team seems prepared to use Vazquez as a long reliever over the next few days. If they do, they jeopardize his ability to take the ball Friday, and then we have to go through this whole exercise once again of slotting Vazquez back into the rotation and transitioning Sergio Mitre back into the bullpen.
  


• This is the second time Vazquez has been shuffled around (really the third if you count him being pushed a back an extra two days in Detroit - one due to the Pettitte injury, the other due to the rainout), and both times one of the reasons cited has been getting Vazquez a start in an NL park so he can hit. I'm sorry, I'm not buying that. It's just not that important. Ditto for Sabathia. Yes these guys can hit a bit for pitchers, but where does that rank on the scale of importance as far as determining the rotation? Fifth? Tenth?


• I also think the Yankees are showing the Red Sox way too much respect at this point. I'm not writing them off, not at all. But as this stage in the season, there's no need to shuffle the rotation to play match ups against anyone, let alone a team that's had the Sox' struggles so far. I was ok with the team lining up their three best starters in Fenway late last August when it was officially pennant race time. This, however, seems a little premature.


• To that end, something's rotten about skipping Vazquez here. He had a very good start in Detroit last week. Now, not only are they risking that momentum by putting him on the shelf for a week, but they're having him avoid the Sox for the second time in ten days, and they're ensuring he doesn't pitch in front of a potentially hostile Yankee Stadium crowd. This doesn't sit right with me. It sounds far too much like the things Ed Whitson said happened late in his Yankee career, and there are already far too many fans already trying to draw as many parallels as they can between Javy and Eddie Lee.

All that said, I'm going to the game tonight (Batter's Eye seats no less), and I'm very excited to watch Hughes pitch. I just hope the plans for the rest of the rotation work out over the next couple weeks.

Today In Tabloid Hysteria

The Yankees have only played one game and there's not much in the way of meaningful conclusions to draw from it. Should we A) wait for the season to progress a little further and see which of the things we saw Opening Night actually develop into legitimate trends or B) start panicking because the Yankees bullpen is grossly inadequate and has an ERA of 13.50!?!1!??

Your move, George A. King III:

BOSTON - Could the Yankees regret Phil Hughes beating out four other arms to cop the fifth spot in the World Champions' rotation?

If you're asking if the Yankees will regret making the potentially catastrophic mistake of choosing the best pitcher for the open spot in their starting rotation, I think the answer is probably "no". Regardless of what happens this year, I think the Yankee brass is going okay with the fact that they picked the guy who was throwing the best during Spring Training. And of course, whether the decision turns out well or doesn't has nothing to do with how the bullpen performs and everything to do with how Hughes fares in the rotation.

But how good would Hughes have looked Sunday night out of the pen in that ugly 9-7 loss to the Red Sox in Fenway Park?

How good would True Yankee Set-Up Man™ Joba Chamberlain© have looked back there, with his blazing fastball and unhittable slider, back in his natural role as a reliever? Oh, that's right. He came out of the pen, needed 33 pitches to get through an inning and a third and gave up a run.

I've found that pitchers generally look better in your mind than they do on the mound. When you're just imagining them facing the other team, it's like "Pfffttttsssssssssss, zooooooommmmm, wooosssssshhhhhhhh! STRIKE OUT!!!"

/makes stupid faces and exaggerated pitching motions

Unfortunately, in real life, the batter has a say in what happens and he generally doesn't give a shit about how you think that pitcher should look or perform.

The "Argument That Never Ends" is supposed to be about Chamberlain's role. Now, maybe that same debate should center around Hughes.

Well, George, if you could take you own arguments to their logical conclusion, you'd realize that this debate still does involve Chamberlain. Both of them should be in the bullpen while one of two guys who are older and worse than them occupy a spot in the starting rotation? That's a terrible solution on two fronts because it's both ineffective and short-sighted. That's a tough trick to pull off. But what would you expect from the guy who said Aceves was "leading the race to be the 5th starter" three appearances into Spring Training?

It's a poor allocation of resources to put superior pitchers in the bullpen when they are capable of starting (not to mention the fact that neither Hughes nor Joba would even be the closer). They aren't going to get enough high leverage innings to justify their presence there. It doesn't make sense for the future of the franchise either, because the two pitchers who have the best chance of holding down spots in the starting rotation over the long term would be stuck in the 'pen. But other than that, the plan is GENIUS!

Joba Is Heading Back To The Bullpen

Joe Girardi wouldn't state it unequivocally when he talked to reporters this morning, but if you listen to the audio that Chad Jennings provided when it became official that Phil Hughes would be the 5th starter, it's pretty obvious what the plan for Mr. Chamberlain is.

At the 5:15 mark in the audio Girardi says, "Obviously, he's moving back to the bullpen, possibly, this year". Listen to it for yourself, but my read is that Girardi has already made up his mind. He awkwardly tags on that "possibly" because nothing has been officially announced yet, but the first part says it all.

As I laid out last Wednesday, I believe the best move for the future of the organization would be to send Joba to AAA to start the year if he wasn't given the 5th spot in the rotation. That way, he'd be able to work on skills specific to being a starting pitcher (controlling his pitch count, 3rd & 4th pitches, etc) and would be available on short notice in case of an injury to someone in the rotation. But that doesn't appear to be the plan.

Here are some relevant exchanges that I'm basing my conclusion on and my reactions to them.

Q (0:43): Joe, is Joba definitely going to be your 8th inning guy?

Girardi: You gotta earn it. And that's what I told 'em, you guys gotta earn your time and what you're gonna do. You don't just hand things over.

The reporter pretty much skips over whether or not Joba will be in the bullpen and asks what Joba's role will be in it. If his role was still up for debate, then would have been a good time to bring it up, but Girardi doesn't.

Q (5:24): Is there a chance [Joba] could go to the minors to start and keep him on the starting path?

Girardi: Umm... We gotta see how he does here, in the bullpen. And I said, there's no guarantees that if you were in that 5 man race that you are automatically going to the bullpen; in a sense you've gotta prove yourself.

So ironically, the better Joba pitches, the more likely it is that he will stay in the bullpen. I'm sorry, but that is ass-backwards.

Q (5:44): Joe, do you still see Joba, long-term, as a starter?

Girardi: You know, I think Joba could do either one. I really do. But now we think Phil's a little bit ahead of him as a starter.

Right now, Hughes is probably the better starting pitcher between them. However, I don't think Hughes being a better option than Joba all of a sudden means that Joba shouldn't be a starter. Girardi didn't address the "long term" aspect of the question and that's not a trivial consideration. I can understand the manager of a team only being concerned with this year, but I'm surprised Brian Cashman would be so short sighted.

Q (7:14): What's going to determine how you are going to fill out the rest of your bullpen?

Girardi: Well, we wanna take the 12 best guys. I think it's important to be best equipped. We're in a very difficult division, we're in a very difficult league.

And that's pretty much what it comes down to. Joba is clearly one of the 12 best arms in the system and the Yanks aren't willing to stash someone in Scranton who could be helpful to the Big League club now. That's a valid viewpoint. With both the Red Sox and Rays in legitimate contention for the division title, the Yanks don't think they can afford to leave one in the chamber. But how much is Joba worth to the Yanks in the bullpen?

In theory, removing Joba from the bullpen should cost the Yanks about one win this year. Is anyone willing to argue those 8 runs above replacement are worth sidetracking his development as a starter for?

The Yanks are certainly putting a lot of faith in the notion that a pitcher's career high in innings pitched is more important than how many they threw in the previous season. Hughes' career high in IP is 146, but that came in 2006. His cap for this year has been estimated at around 170, despite the fact that he threw just 105 last year.

Joba on the other hand, threw 167 last year and would have been free to throw upwards of 200 in 2010, if he could stay healthy and go deep into games. Now, if he stays in the bullpen for the whole season, it's unlikely that he'll end up with more than 70 or 80 IP. It's also unlikely that he'll be utilizing his curveball or changeup very often. He certainly won't be working on the very tough task of being efficient with his pitches over the course of a start, one of the things that held him back during his time in the rotation.

So where does that leave Joba for 2011? What if Javy Vazquez and Andy Pettitte are both gone and there is another opening in the rotation? Joba will be in a worse position to fill that spot than he was this spring.

Why not put Joba in the rotation in Scraton? He'd be a call-up away if the team needed a spot start or someone got hurt. Even if it goes well in AAA and there isn't an opening for him in the Bronx, they could call him up after the All-Star break and put him in the bullpen then. At least he would have a good amount of innings and some valuable starting experience under his belt.

Or perhaps, if/when he's called up, they could insert him into the rotation and shift Hughes to the bullpen. That way, Phil wouldn't run into his innings cap during the season like Joba did last year. Sure, they could stretch Joba out during the season if they needed to, but that didn't go too well for them last time, did it? (nods to the right)

We are still a week and a half away from the beginning of the season and a lot of things can and will change as the pages of the calendar turn. But I can't help but think that the Yankees are making the wrong decision.

Is Vazquez A One Year Rental?

Good morning Fackers. It's been a week now since the Javier Vazquez trade. Aside from the non-sensical talk of "he can't pitch in NY!!!11!1", "home run Javy", and the focus on the small role he played in a team wide failure that resulted in the greatest post-season collapse in baseball history, the post-trade talking point that I'm most tired of is the presumption that this is a one year pick-up.

Yes. Javier Vazquez is only signed through the 2010 season. Yes, Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett, Brandon Webb, and others are slated to hit the free agent market following the 2010 season. Heck, maybe the Mariners are willing to shop King Felix at that point, or the Royals Zack Greinke. But at this point there's no telling who will be shopped or who will sign an extension by this time next year.

What we do know is that by this time next year, Andy Pettitte will be 38, a free agent, and doing the will-he-or-won't-he retirement dance for the fifth consecutive off-seeason. CC Sabathia will have one year left before before he has the right to opt out of his contract, and A.J. Burnett will be nearly 34 years old and either coming off his third consecutive injury free season or facing health concerns for the umpteenth time in his career.

So why do we just assume that the Yankees are going to let Vazquez walk? Sure the draft picks would be nice, but so would a pitcher who could give you 200 above average innings each year. Maybe the club wouldn't want to commit even a three year deal to the then 34 year old Vazquez, especially considering that he'll have about 2,700 ML innings on his arm by then.

But presuming that 2010 is the last year of Andy Pettitte's career, allowing Vazquez to walk would leave the Yankees with two openings in their rotation. One would go to the loser of this coming spring's Joba/Hughes competition. The other? If the likes of Lee or Beckett fail to hit the market or land in the Bronx the next tier of free agent pitchers is no better than Vazquez, and the same is likely to hold true for any of the in-house options (McAllister, Nova, Bleich).

I'm not saying the Yankees should sign Vazquez at the conclusion of next season. But before we presume that this will be another one and done stint in the Bronx, I think should consider some of the pitching situations the Yankees may be facing at this time next year and let the 2010 season play out.

How Good Is Too Good?

Good morning Fackers. Yesterday, when I first heard about the Javier Vazquez trade, I had an inescapable, reluctant sort of a feeling. I knew the trade was one that would make the Yankees a better team next year without question, but I wasn't excited about it by any stretch.

It was unfortunate to see Arodys Vizcaino get sent to Atlanta just days after he been placed in the top half of the Yankees' top 10 prospects by both FanGraphs and Baseball America, but that wasn't what was bothering me. I had no particular attachment to Mike Dunn, so his loss certainly wasn't it. You don't want to part with a homegrown switch-hitting center fielder like Melky Cabrera who is only 25 years old and has already put in four years for the Yanks, but I don't think I'm going to miss him that much either.

Who we got back wasn't the issue. I don't expect Vazquez to have a year that in any way resembles his dominance in Atlanta, but he'll go a long way towards rounding out the Yankees rotation. What happened during his previous tenure in Pinstripes doesn't bother me at all.

The Braves were looking to unload payroll and the $11.5M Vazquez was making was the next best thing to dumping Derek Lowe. Regardless of what Mark Feinsand's source told him yesterday, this trade was a salary dump to some extent and I think that's what made the deal seem so uncouth. It's not to say that it wasn't a move that made sense for both teams - the Braves had six starting pitchers and the Yankees had four center fielders - but something still feels wrong about it.

The Yankees just won the World Series and they added a pitcher who was among the four or five best in the National League last year to be their third or fourth starter. With CC Sabathia making $23.5M, A.J. Burnett $16.5, Andy Pettitte $11.5, and now Vasquez another $11.5, their top four starters will make $62.5M in 2010, or more than the A's, Pirates, Padres and Marlins spent on their entire teams last year. Sure, the Yanks' total payroll bill for next year will probably come in somewhere near $200M, but staying close to that massive, arbitrary number isn't exactly something to be proud of.

Spending a ridiculous amount of money is nothing new to the Yankees - in 2005, they paid out $85M more than their closest competitor - but it's not as much the dollar amount as it is the players. Now that the Bombers are allocating those resources efficiently, it's hard not to understand how much money $200M actually is. Throughout the middle of this decade, the Yanks were continually paying the likes of Jason Giambi, Randy Johnson, Gary Sheffield, Jose Contreras, Jaret Wright, Carl Pavano and Hideki Matsui far more than they were worth. Now survey the current roster. It looks pretty damn lean by comparison.

I know that it's borderline irrational for a Yankees fan to feel any sort of guilt about the amount the team spends. They make a ton of money - some of which comes from me - and if they don't spend it on players, it's just going to be sucked up into a corporate vacuum, never to be seen again. The more they spend on payroll, the more enjoyable it is going to be to watch them on any given day during the season.

And perhaps that's the issue. Maybe this is just an offseason problem. As the summer moves along and the season develops, it's likely that the Yankees won't actually be as good as they are on paper right now and it won't seem as unfair that they have assembled an absolutely ridiculous collection of current and former All-Stars and future Hall of Famers. Even if they win 110 games next year, they are still going to lose at a 32% clip. Given that a 94 win team loses 42% of the time, it doesn't seem all that different over the long run - one game out of every 10.

Everyone wants their team to be awesome. But I think people want to see their team come together and exceed expectations rather than attempt to live up to impossibly high ones. Ideally, you'd like your team to be better than others by virtue of something other than their relative willingness to shell out tens of millions of dollars. Being a bona fide Goliath doesn't take away from the satisfaction of winning a World Series, but it tempers the enjoyment of every step along the way.

As it stands, the 2010 season will end in one of two ways: an expected victory or a major failure. So while the moves the Yankees have made this offseason have ensured they have a better chance to win a World Series coming into the season than they have had in quite some time, they have also guaranteed that they will have more to lose than ever before.

Lessons In Advanced Hindsight, With Mike Lupica

Good morning, Fackers. I think most rational people understand that one of the fundamental concepts of decision making is that you have to make your choice based on the information which was available at the time. Of course, Mike Lupica doesn't fall under the umbrella of "most rational people".

You surely know Lupica from his columns in the Daily News, his Matt Christopher-esque children's sports books, or as the wildly-gesturing smarmy douche on The Sports Reporters who sits on the edge of his seat partially because he feels that he's far too important to be seated in a semi-circle and partially because if he leaned back, his feet wouldn't touch the ground.

Anyway, in today's Daily News, Mike conveniently smothers Joe Girardi's decision to use only his three best starters in the World Series in a thick coating of hindsight, two days after any other course of action could have been chosen:

Joe Girardi knows the deal as well as he knows his way out to the mound. He's right about using only three starters in the postseason if the Yankees win, tonight or tomorrow night.

I love how Lupica sets up the scenario by saying "Girardi knows the deal". Yeah, he knows that if the Yankees lose, he's going to get second guessed by assholes like Lupica who were so convinced that the Yankees should throw Chad Gaudin in Philly that they... didn't write a word about it despite having a column in a newspaper dedicated to writing about sports.

He's right if Andy Pettitte does the job in Game 6 on three days' rest that A.J. Burnett didn't do Monday night. Or he's right if this thing plays all the way out and CC Sabathia carries everybody across the finish line. Girardi just better be right about three days' rest for these guys after being up three games to one.

So was Charlie Manuel right for holding Cliff Lee back to give him his normal rest even though he gave up 5 earned runs because the Phillies won Game 5? Of course! What did you want to judge the outcome based on his "performance" or "availability in a possible Game 7"? Fools.

Because if the Yankees blow this Series, if the Phillies come all the way back, then Yankee fans are going to wonder how the Yankees could spend $206 million on baseball players and not have enough left under the bed to buy a reliable fourth starter.

No, Mike, they're not. That's what they'd be wondering if the Yankees missed the playoffs. Like they did last year. When they spent $209M.

The Yankees have had a payroll over $184M since 2004 and that year none of the 4 guys who started more than 20 games for them had an ERA under 4. In 2005, their 4th starter was either Jaret Wright or Kevin Brown who both had ERAs over 6 and they needed Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon to patch together their rotation. The following year it was Cory Lidle. In 2007, it was Roger Clemens and we all remember how well that worked out in the playoffs!

You have to be a special kind of stupid to wait until the team is one win away from their first World Series in 9 years to start complaining about their lack of a #4 starter.

Oh by the way, the reason they don't have a #4 starter isn't because they "didn't have enough money left under the bed". It's because Chien Ming Wang, who had been their best pitcher over the previous three years, suddenly decided to suck. And Joba Chamberlain, who everyone wanted to go back to the bullpen (including Lupica, obviously), is back in the bullpen.

They will wonder at the same time about how much they think they could get for a copy of "The Joba Rules" on eBay about now.

How much are your books selling for on eBay, Mike? Let me check. One dollar.

There are still a lot of smart, passionate, grudge-holding Yankee fans who want to talk about all the pitching mistakes that Joe Torre made when the Red Sox started to come back on the Yankees in 2004. But when Torre came home in that American League Championship Series, the way Girardi's Yankees come home now, here were Torre's starters:

Jon Lieber, Game 6.

Kevin Brown, Game 7.

Right, so why are you complaining about the rotation this year?

Josh Beckett went on three days' rest in Game 6 of the 2003 Series, Marlins against the Yankees. Everybody screamed that Jack McKeon was making a huge mistake, that he should wait and pitch Beckett on full rest in Game 7 if it came to that. The Marlins manager went all in with Beckett and he pitched one of the most dominating close-out games in the history of the World Series.

He made McKeon right because he won.

Mike Lupica's decision making rubric: Win = Right, Lose = Wrong.

So Mike Lupica's son is dribbling down the court in a CYO game two minutes into the game and decides to fire up a short from half court. It goes in. From the stands, Mike yells "GREAT DECISION, BUDDY!"

Mike Lupica is playing in a poker tournament. Someone raises in front of him. He looks down at the 2 of hearts & the 4 of clubs and pushes all in. His opponent calls with pocket aces but the board reads 3-5-6-K-8. Mike sees that he made a straight and screams "I OUTPLAYED YOU!"

The best decisions are the ones that are most likely to succeed if the scenario is played out over and over again. And guess what. Feeding Chad Gaudin - who lefties have hit .293/.389/.433 off in his career - to the Phillies in Citizens Bank Park isn't one of those decisions.

World Series Game 4: Gimme Three Steps

After dropping the first game of the World Series to the untouchable Cliff Lee, the Yankees have ridden a brilliant pitching performance by A.J. Burnett and Mariano Rivera in Game 2 and a breakout offensive effort in Game 3 to a 2-1 series lead. Having lost the edge of homefield advantage by splitting the two games at Yankee Stadium, the Bombers have wrestled it back. They hold the better hand in tonight's game as well because CC Sabathia is available to make his start on short rest, but the man who handily out-dueled him in Game 1 is not.

The Phillies and Charlie Manuel have decided that instead of asking Cliff Lee to start on three days rest for the first time in his career, they will ask Joe Blanton to make only his second start since October 2nd. Lee said he was willing to give it a shot, but Manuel passed. Going to Blanton also means that Cliff Lee won't be able to start a potential Game 7 either. In fact, it's tough to find any level on which this decision makes any sense.

As Will from IIATMS points out, they Yankees match-up quite favorably with Blanton's pitch repertoire. The righty has a marginal fastball that sits in the high-eighties or low-nineties, and the Yankees are an excellent fastball-hitting team.

Blanton was slightly above league average in the regular season this year, which is valuable, but doesn't make him a particularly strong option to start a postseason game. He showed this in the NLCS against the Dodgers, when gave up 4 runs (3 ER) and walked as many as he struck out in 6 innings. The Phillies ended up winning that game, but needed a two run double by Jimmy Rollins with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning to do it. And in that Game, they were facing Randy Wolf, not CC Sabathia.

CC's start in Game 1 of the World Series didn't look very impressive. He walked as many batters (3) and gave up more home runs (2) than he did in his previous three postseason starts combined. But the end result his performance wasn't nearly as bad as those tidbits would seem to indicate.

I think most fans would cheerfully sign up for 7 innings of two run ball from Sabathia tonight given who he is opposing, but I think the Big Fella is aiming a little bit higher. Regardless, the fact that he is capable of pitching on short rest - which is easy to take for granted at this point - means that the Yankees don't have to support Chad Gaudin against a lefty heavy line up in a park known for its tendency to give up the long ball. The value of that is difficult to understate.

Cliff Lee has never pitched on short rest in his career, which surely played in Charlie Manuel's decision to go with Joe Blanton tonight. But unless Manuel has a specific reason to think that Lee isn't able to pitch effectively four days after his last start, and he's pretty damn sure of it, this seems like a mistake.

Just as we learned in Game 2, not all bad decisions are doomed to fail. Should the Phillies steal this one from the Yanks whether it be by a solid start from Joe Blanton, a poor one by CC Sabathia or a failure by the Yankees bullpen, the advantage will shift right back to Philly with the series tied a fully-rested Cliff Lee waiting for the Yanks in Game 5. As is always true in baseball, it only takes a couple of pitches, bounces or swings of the bat to change the complexion of the game.

As a team works it way through the playoffs, each game almost always becomes more important than the last. The Yanks took advantage of a favorable pitching match-up in Game 3 but that will soon be forgotten if they fail to capitalize in Game 4. But Manuel and the Phillies have given the Yankees the opportunity to get their third win in this Series which is precisely the break they were looking for.

Time to take advantage. Go Yanks.

And that's the break I was looking for.
And you could hear me screaming a mile away
As I was headed out towards the door.

Won't you give me three steps,
Gimme three steps mister,
Gimme three steps towards the door?
Gimme three steps,
Gimme three steps mister,
And you'll never see me no more.

The Loudest Yankee

Yesterday, Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger referred to A-Rod as the "Quietest Yankee" so his relatively humble campaign and effort to evade the spotlight, something which he has failed miserably at doing ever since he became a Yankee. Carig relayed the fact that A-Rod has limited his interview sessions in the clubhouse to 3 minutes and been more willing to accept walks from pitchers.

This made me think of the guy who has been sort of the opposite of that for the Yanks this year. The one who draws more media attention, hype and debate than his performance would indicate. The guy who, if he was a 30 year old journeyman with the same stat line, wouldn't merit much attention. The dude whose innings management generates enough keystrokes to fill 1,000 bibles.

I'm of course talking about Joba Chamberlain. It's not that Joba is loud persay, but I think we can agree that he inspires a lot of other people make a whole lot of noise on his behalf.

Well, yesterday Joba made the Yankees task of choosing 25 players for the ALDS roster a little more difficult with only 7 pitches.

The rational fan in all of us attempts not to be swayed by one inning of work in a meaningless game. But the nostalgic, overly optimistic one can't help but to be taken back to Joba's dominant days of late 2007, lighting up the radar gun and setting the Bronx on fire coming out of the 'pen.

Which ever decision the Yanks make, I don't think we have much of a right to complain. If Joba makes the ALDS roster, he'll likely be called upon to get some important outs and there's a pretty good chance he'll get them. But he might bump out Chad Gaudin or an extra position player in the process. If not, he'll get some work in down in Tampa and likely be added for the ALCS if the Yanks take care of business against the winner of the AL Central.

Cashman and Girardi gave him the opportunity to pitch that one inning yesterday and Joba passed that test with flying colors, even if it was only three questions long. How much more could they have expected? Why give the guy one inning if you're not going to take it into consideration? As always, the upside with Joba is tantalizing.

What's the right move here, Fackers? A separate consideration: What do you think the Yanks are going to do? Your guess is as good as mine.

"The Yankees Are Doomed"

Like we were anticipating, there has been an bloom of ignorant Yankees articles and blog posts of late foreshadowing their postseason demise, and since I don't have anything better to write about, here we go again.

This one comes from a writer who thinks he is blogging because he posts the first thought that comes to his mind on a website. I guess no one ever told Jeff Pearlman that even though it's a "blog" you probably should still be concerned with "reality" and attempt to do some "research" instead of spouting off pitching clichés that Walter Johnson would probably think were outdated and citing irrelevant facts that tenuously fit your argument.

(Headline:) The Yankees are doomed

OK, maybe doomed is too strong.

Then you probably should have changed the headline, huh? You didn't write this on a typewriter, did you?

But, once again, I don’t think Brian Cashman has built a team made for the playoffs. Mainly, the problem is pitching. Starting pitching.

You're right. What the fuck was Brian Cashman thinking when he acquired the two best starting pitchers on the market this offseason and brought back a solid veteran lefty in Andy Pettitte? What a collection of terrible moves that was!

As the Atlanta Braves showed us throughout the 1990s, having a load of B+ starting pitchers is fantastic for 90-plus regular season wins … but doesn’t really work so well in the post-season. Generally speaking, the teams in the best shape have two ass-kicking starters with rubber arms and angry demeanors (think Johnson-Schilling, ‘01).

That's one team. Do you have any other examples? I have one, the 2002 Diamondbacks. Same two guys... how did that work out for them? Oh yeah, they got swept in the NLDS.

In '98, the Yanks best two starters were Cone and Pettitte, not exactly "angry". In '99 & '00, The Yanks were exactly the Braves teams Jeff is talking about, with a bunch of B+ starters and no real standout "ass-kickers". In fact, in 2000, only Clemens had an ERA under 4.00 and their 4th starter was Denny Neagle in October.

How about 2002? The Angels started Jarrod Washburn, Kevin Appier, Ramon Ortiz and John Lackey. Any ass-kickers in there? And 2003? The Marlins had Josh Beckett and Brad Penny, only one of those guys is perceived as "angry" and neither is "rubber-armed".

Schilling and Pedro in '04? Okay, sure. That's two in the last 10 years.

In 2005, the Astros were the ones with Clemens and Oswalt, but they get smashed by the White Sox. Chris Carpenter and Jeff Weaver were the best pitchers for the Cardinals in the '06 WS. Beckett was around again in '07 but by all accounts, Jon Lester pretty mild mannered. Brett Myers beats his wife, but Cole Hamels posed with his lady in these ads with kids that he doesn't even have. He's no ass-kicker.

Or he could have just said, "Generally speaking, the more good pitchers a team has, the better shape they are in".

Okay, so I just spent way too long parsing one offhanded remark, but there's more dumbassery, I promise.

CC Sabathia: Great starter. Elite starter. Worth the big bucks thus far—but in five postseason games with Cleveland and Milwaukee, the man has a 7.92 ERA over five starts. Please, read that again—

Five starts?

...seven point nine two.

Oh. The part that can be dismissed as an extremely small sample size.

Can he be masterful? Of course. Will he be? Seems sort of unlikely.

That's some strong language, Jeff. They're DOOMED!

A.J. Burnett: I’d argue (as would many) that, come playoff time, Burnett has the chance to be New York’s stud. He still throws extremely hard, still possesses lightning stuff—plus, he’s already won a World Series with the 2003 Marlins.

Yes, he "won" a World Series with the Marlins in 2003, the year in which he made a grand total of four starts before getting Tommy John surgery and missing the rest of the year, including the postseason. Extremely relevant... the guy knows how to win!

Joba Chamberlain: [...] I mean, seriously, what they’ve done to this kid is, in a baseball sense, criminal. If I’m a Yankees fan, and it’s Game 7, do I want Jona[sic] or Phil Hughes starting?

Me, I take Hughes.

You'd take Hughes, the guy who has been in the bullpen since June and before that had a 5.45 ERA as a starter? So you'd somehow stretch him out in the major leagues over the last 11 games from a one or two inning pitcher and have him make a start in the postseason? If you were a Yankee fan, or knew anything about the team, you'd be choosing Chad Gaudin over Joba because he's the only other viable option.

Another Perk Of Home Field Advantage

One of the ancillary benefits of having the best record in either league is that the team gets to select which of the two schedules it plays its ALDS on. Both of the options have their final 4 games scheduled for October 9th, 11th, 12th & 14th, but the ALDS "A" schedule begins on October 7th, while "B" starts on the 8th. The upshot is that "A" allows for the participants to use only 3 starting pitchers on regular rest if they so choose.

The implications for the Yankees are pretty obvious. Their top three starters are pretty clear-cut: CC Sabathia and then, in whatever order, Andy Pettitte and A.J. Burnett. It's the guy who slots in for the fourth game that makes the decision a little more complicated.

Steve from the Yankee Universe says it depends on how Joba Chamberlain pitches down the stretch and who the Yankees are playing (almost certainly the Tigers). Since both teams will be operating on the same schedule, if the Yankees have a bigger advantage over the Tigers when comparing their top 4 starters as opposed to their top 3, Steve thinks that would be the optimal choice.

David Pinto of Baseball Musings suggests that the Yankees should opt for the extra day of rest, and as a result the 3 man rotation, almost always, unless the opposition has a very poor fourth starter.

The Tigers top four are Edwin Jackson (147 ERA+), Justin Verlander (139), Jarrod Washburn (124) and Rick Porcello (107). Although Washburn has been terrible since joining the Tigers (6.81 ERA in 6 starts), I'm guessing his postseason experience would bump him ahead of the rookie Porcello. Verlander will probably start game one as well, but that's beside the point.

Either way, they match up favorably against the Yankees' quartet, Sabathia (131), Pettitte (109), Burnett (107) and Joba (101).

Minor detail, however: the Tigers staff is going to be facing the best offense in all of baseball: 1st in runs scored, 1st in OBP and in 1st in SLG. Conversely, the Tigers offense is 10th, 10th and 9th in those categories, respectively. I'm not sure there is a scientific way to account for that, but it would seem to tip that equation on it's head completely.

Given the choice, I would probably opt for the early start and the extra day of rest. Given that the Yankees will be able to align their rotation however they choose when the season closes down, they might as well bank that extra day of rest. Regardless of how Joba pitches throughout September, he will still be a major question mark as a starting pitcher in the postseason.

And of course, since one team is going to be down 2-1 if Game 4 does indeed occur, they could just choose to throw their ace anyway.

Game 137: What Really Goes On

The Yankees will take the field in Toronto today looking to cap off a road trip which they've begun 5-1. They rebounded from that one loss nicely yesterday after facing Roy Halladay on Friday night, although they struggled mightily to drive home the runners they put on base.

The Yanks lead the AL in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, RBIs and runs scored and are second in batting average behind the Angels. Surprisingly, they are also second in BA w/RISP (also behind the Angels) although it seems like games similar to the one last night in which they can't drive in runs have been all too common this year. This might go back to our sushi theory which states that bad experiences are far more memorable than good ones, tainting your overall recollection.

The Yanks will remember Brain Tallet, the converted reliever with the trailer park 'stache they've faced twice this year as a starter and once in relief. He's pitched pretty well in both of his starts against the Yanks, going 6 innings each time and giving up two runs in May and three in July. Tallet has been in and out of the rotation this year, being asked to start in place of some injured Jays early in the year and sent back to the bullpen when they called up Marc Rzepczynski. He returned to the starting role in the second half of a double header on Tuesday and looks to be back until the end of the season since they Jays have shut Rzepczynski down for the season.

Coming off his best start as a Yankee, Sergio Mitre takes the hill today. Mitre cruised through 6 1/3 efficient, scoreless innings against the White Sox his last time out before being hit in the forearm by a line drive. The Yanks gave him a little extra time off in between starts, but the forearm shouldn't be a factor this time out. If he morphs back into his very hittable self, it won't be because of that.

The Yanks have a good chance to win the series against the Jays, complete the road trip at 6-1 and extend their record to 6-2 when Mitre starts if he just puts together something in between his last excellent outing and everything else he's done this year. Whatever happens, we'll have a better sense of who Sergio Mitre really is after today.

Can you explain that? I doubt that very highly,
We got jewels and mo' and the life is type rowdy,
Everybody lookin' shitty like a toe down committee,
Let's make these institutions, body slam for the smitties,
I got girls with plenty tails, smarts and big titties,
And they all stressin' me, yo, really?

The Fight For The Two Spot

I'm aware that assigning numerical values to the Yankee starting pitchers is largely an exercise in futility. Aside from determining the order they begin the year in (which isn't always the case), the hierarchy is largely meaningless throughout the regular season. Every team's rotation gets jumbled up based on off days and suspensions and rainouts over the course of the season, so relatively early on you're getting match ups where one team's "#1" squares off against another's "#4" and so forth.

Once the postseason nears though, the ranking takes on a whole new importance. Questions arise about the postseason rotation and who will start what game in the ALDS. Max Kellerman used to argue that Game 2 was actually the most pivotal game of a 5 game series because it always swings the series between 1-1 and 2-0, either pulling one team back to even or putting them on the brink of elimination.

Since Kellerman's theory is a bit radical, I think we can safely assume that Joe Girardi is going to attempt to line up his rotation with his best pitcher starting Game 1 and so on. Since only three games are guaranteed, it also matters who the top three pitches are. It's clear that CC Sabathia slots in at the top of the rotation and Joba Chamberlain would be their 4th starter. So the question comes down to Burnett vs. Pettitte for the number two slot.

NoMaas makes the case for Pettitte and it's hard to argue against it. Pettitte has been on a better run recently and his numbers for the season are stronger as well. Both have made 27 starts and you might be surprised to learn that Burnett has pitched only 2 1/3 more innings than Pettitte with each averaging just under 6 1/3 each time out. Pettitte has a better ERA, WHIP, FIP, K/BB, HR/9. Burnett leads in quality starts 18 to 15 (fairly significant) and has struck out more per 9 IP while allowing fewer hits, but has walked one more per 9 (which is how his WHIP is worse).

It's worth noting that on June 20th, their ERAs were almost exactly the same (4.24 and 4.26) but Burnett proceeded to go on a run that saw his drop to 3.53 at one point while Pettitte's rose as high as 4.85. Burnett's great stretch was better than anything Pettitte has done this season and the reality is that upside is always tantalizing in sports.

Burnett has never pitched in the postseason (he was injured with the 2003 Marlins) and Pettitte has thrown 218 1/3 playoff innings to a 3.98 ERA over the course of 25 series.

Moshe at the Yankees Universe introduces another interesting factor: home/road splits. Oddly, although Burnett is the righty of the two, he has better numbers at Yankee Stadium while Pettitte has done his best work on the road, with a roughly 1.3 run difference in ERA in both directions. If the Yanks hang on to win the division, Game 2 will be at home. Jason from Heartland Pinstripes would prefer to give Burnett the start if this turns out to be the case.

It will be interesting to see how heavily Joe Girardi weights September performance into the equation. With about 5 or 6 starts remaining for each, much can change. If the ALDS started five days from now, I'd probably go with Pettitte. If Burnett has a decent September I'd probably choose him. Either way, every start in the postseason is important and the Yanks are lucky to have guys as good as those two jockeying for position.

The Obligatory Joba Post

Yeah, Joba Rulez!!1!

Apparently the editors at the Daily News aren't capable of calculating that two runs in three innings equates to a 6.00 ERA. That's not good.

Actually, lost in all the discussion about his innings limit is the fact that since throwing 8 shutout frames against the Rays on July 29th, Joba hasn't been good at all. He's allowed four or more runs in every game (with the exception of yesterday of course) and hasn't made it into the 7th inning once. He's watched his ERA rise from 3.58 to 4.38 over that time and even though the Yanks scored an average of 8 runs a game behind him, he only walked away with one victory.

Joba is now at a level of innings pitched that he's never reached before, so perhaps he's running into a natural limit of sorts, without regard the one that the Yanks are placing on him.

Although I was critical of the fact that the Yanks keep changing their plans for Joba, the latest version does seem to make the most sense of the options available. What I didn't know before noting that 35 pitches seemed a little low in last night's recap was that the Yanks plan to start Chamberlain off slowly, and sort of re-stretch him out so that he's ready to go as deep as necessary when the postseason rolls around.

It makes more intuitive sense than having him start on extended rest and still allows him to contribute to the team and be tested against Major Leaguers, as opposed to shutting him down or sending him to the minors. They got away with the tightest restriction in the only start Joba will make before the rosters expand so it's much less risky to the bullpen from here on out.

At this point, Joba is slotted for the 4th game of a postseason series only by default. Everyone is getting worked up about the way the Yankees are handling him (without providing a reasonable alternative), but they should probably be more concerned about the fact that he hasn't been a good pitcher of late. Let's focus not on how many innings he pitches, but how well he pitches in those innings.

When Is A Plan Not A Plan?

In the car yesterday, I was listening to the radio pregame and heard Joe Girardi tell John Sterling on "The Manager's Show" (since confirmed by others) that Joba Chamberlain will now be starting on his regular 5 days of rest, but as Girardi said "may not always factor into the decision". This obviously means that instead of allowing him fewer starts, they are going to limit his innings per appearance.

Joba only has one start left before September call-ups are made, so hopefully Joe Girardi will utilize the resulting extra arms available to him to cushion the blow on the more valuable members of the bullpen. I have my doubts though, because Girardi, like Joe Torre before him, has real trouble putting any reliever that he doesn't trust into a game that isn't a totally one-sided. Much will depend on the standings, of course.

I wasn't sure why, but listening to Girardi deliver that piece of news, I felt a little miffed. Just like they did with A-Rod and his supposed "one day off per week" plan the Yankees immediately deviated from their stated intentions, which sort of defeats the purpose of, you know, having "a plan". That is their right, but at what point to do we stop listening to what the Yankees claim they are going to do?

Cashman and Girardi use of "plans" as a tool to convey their message to the media with a degree of certainty that stifles the speculation that can sometimes get out of hand in New York. It certainly is an effective tactic, because when they say something, it gets reported in multiple places as fact, only to be redacted and updated at the shortest possible interval in which it could be changed.

So next time we hear the Yankees claim that they have "a plan" for something, let's realize what that is has more to do with PR than it does with baseball.

What About Next Year?

Mike from River Ave. Blues took a look at the under-utilization of Phil Hughes in the past month or so. Mike issue is with the fact that he hasn't been called on as of late, but I would like to add that the decision not to pitch him echoes into next season as well.

Hughes has pitched 70 1/3 innings for far this year and has been nothing short of excellent since being transitioned from a starter to a reliever. He's thrown about 35 innings in each role so far, but had an ERA of 5.45 as a starter as opposed to 1.26 out of the bullpen. He has great strikeout rates in both, but whiffs almost 3 1/2 more batters per nine when he's used in relief.

It would seem that the transition to high leverage reliever was just what the doctor ordered, but the downside is that Hughes doesn't figure to collect much more than 100 innings this year (if that), including the postseason. So when next year rolls around, he's going to be in almost the exact same spot innings-wise that Joba Chamberlain was in this year. Roughly 100 IP with a cap of 150-160 as a member of the starting rotation.

This reality makes the fact that Girardi has only used Hughes for 8 innings this month all the more puzzling. It's one of the reasons we were hesitant to jump on board the "Hughes to the bullpen" train to begin with. Were he in Scranton or in the rotation, this probably would be a non-issue.

The Yankees will probably tell you they have a plan for Hughes, but I don't think using him for 8 or 10 innings over an entire month despite a clean bill of health was part of that grand scheme. Granted, the Yankees have been involved in a lot of lopsided games both for and against them, so there weren't a lot of obvious occasions for Hughes to be called upon.

However, as manager Joe Girardi should be cognizant of the amount of innings the Phranchise has(n't) thrown and what that is going to mean if he and Brian Cashman truly want to make him a starting pitcher next season. If this means putting him in for an inning or two when the game is out of hand, then so be it. The kid should be on the hill one way or another.

More Marte Machinations

Prior to Tuesday's game, Joe Girardi said there was a possibility Damaso Marte could be activated for tonight's game. This took me by surprise, since the news came just three days after the Yankees announced Marte, whose rehab assignment had expired, was being excused indefinitely for "personal reasons". I speculated at that point that the timing was somewhat dubious. Because of their rotation shuffling with Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin, the Yankees didn't really have a roster spot to open for Marte. This latest possibility of Marte being activated tonight is even more suspect, almost as if the "personal reasons", which haven't been expounded upon by any media, were concocted to buy the Yankees some time to make a move.

This morning on RAB, Joe Pawlikowski wondered if a Marte return would mean the Yankees would carry a 13 man pitching staff until rosters expand on September 1st. In my eyes, such a move would be a big mistake.

As a matter of principle, I'm totally opposed to the 13 man pitching staff. I don't even like a 12 man pitching staff, but I concede that it's pretty much a necessity in today's game. But given the Yankees current roster construction and upcoming schedule, moving to a 13 man staff right now would be a very poor strategical move.

Joe rightly points out that if the Yankees do bring Marte back as part of 13 man staff, the only possible roster move would be to demote Ramiro Pena, which would have his ten day minimum minor league stay expiring conveniently on September 1st. However, demoting Pena would leave Jerry Hairston Jr. as the lone utility player on a three man bench. While Hairston is certainly capable of the job, this would make him the only back-up at 3B, SS, 2B, CF, and potentially even LF. With Brett Gardner still on the DL, Hideki Matsui's knees potentially being day-to-day, and A-Rod still being promised a day of rest weekly, I'm just not comfortable carrying that inflexible of a bench for ten days. This roster alignment nearly burned the Yanks just over two weeks ago.

More than the needs of the bench, the Yankees schedule and rotation make a 13 man pitching staff completely unnecessary right now. With the off days yesterday and Monday, the Yanks rotation is set for the next week, with a fifth starter not needed again until Saturday that 29th. As such, both Mitre and Gaudin are in the pen until the Yankees announce who will get the nod for that game, leaving them with a virtual eight man pen already. Furthermore, the bullpen is well-rested at present. In addition to the off days, a complete game from A.J. Burnett on Monday, eight innings of work from CC Sabathia on Tuesday, and Alfredo Aceves eating up half of the 4.2 innings the Yanks needed out of the pen Wednesday, the Yankee relievers should be ready to go. With Andy Pettitte, Burnett, and Sabathia slated to start this weekend the Yanks could get lucky and not have to tax their bullpen too much anyway.

Further, Girardi's bullpen usage patterns, particularly in big games like these next three will be, makes carrying an extra pitcher completely useless. In Mariano Rivera, Phil Hughes, Phil Coke, and Alfredo Aceves, Girardi has four relievers he trusts implicitly. In the rising David Robertson and the apparently rejuvenated Brian Bruney, he has two more relievers he can confidently deploy. Ditto for Gaudin once he has another day or two of rest. Activating Marte tonight would leave him no better than seventh in the bullpen pecking order. That, combined with his spotty track record this year and underwhelming rehab assignment, means he'd see nothing more than extended mop-up work. And it was exactly that sort of outing that started his downward spiral to begin with.

Lastly, Marte is currently on the 60 day DL, meaning someone would have to go from the 40 man roster in order to activate him. While Anthony Claggett and Juan Miranda, and maybe even Edwar Ramirez could be cut, I don't see any particular advantage in losing any of them just to add Marte. If the Yankees insist upon adding Marte for tonight's game, then Sergio Mitre should be the guy to go. DFA'ing Mitre would open the necessary spots on both the 40 and 25 man rosters, leave the bench the flexibility it needs at present, and not hamper the bullpen in any way.

In the end, we're really discussing a move that would affect the 24th or 25th spot on the roster. Chances are whatever is done won't have a major impact anyway. But I'll be tremendously disappointed and will feel that the Yanks have put themselves at a competitive disadvantage (however slight), if they go to a 13 man pitching staff for the rest of August.

Upcoming Rotation & Potential Roster Moves

Yesterday the Yankees announced their rotation for the next week plus:

Today: Mitre @ SEA
Sunday: Chamberlain @ SEA
Monday: Burnett @ OAK
Tuesday: Sabathia @ OAK
Wednesday: Gaudin @ OAK
Thursday: Off
Friday: Pettitte @ BOS
Saturday: Burnett @ BOS
Sunday: Sabathia @ BOS
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Chamberlain vs. TEX

This deviates somewhat from the plan that was rumored heading into the road trip, which would have had Mitre and Gaudin closing out the Seattle series with Chamberlain held back until the getaway game in Oakland. The Yankees apparently thought better of having Mitre and Gaudin going in back-to-back games, fearful of overtaxing the bullpen.

This set up is probably best. It allows them to line up their three best pitchers against Boston. Chamberlain still gets skipped, giving him some necessary shutdown time, but by starting him tomorrow the Yankees have a little more flexibility with the bullpen today should Mitre turn in another stinker.

I know that save for Brian Bruney the bullpen is at full strength tonight and Alfredo Aceves is Girardi's long man of choice, but the Yankees would be wise to get Chad Gaudin some work today. Since his final start with the Padres on August 5th, he's thrown all of two innings, both coming in Wednesday's game. He's thrown just seven innings since July 26th. Giving him two or three innings today will allow him to sharpen up a bit and still be well rested for his start Wednesday.

Since the Joba Rules v2.0 have been mostly revealed I like the Gaudin deal more and more. That of course could change you know, once he actually starts pitching. But in theory, he gives the Yankees a viable spot start option who is more stretched out than Alf. When not starting, he could prove to be a valuable bullpen arm as he was with Oakland in 2006, as he's holding RHBs to a .229/.294/.348 batting line this year.

As for Mitre, I'm starting to think more and more that today will be his final appearance as a Yankee. He has not pitched well by any stretch of the imagination. Given the off days and the Gaudin spot start, the Yankees will not need a fifth starter again until August 29th. Meanwhile Damaso Marte's rehab assignment expires on Monday, and since he was transferred on the 60 day DL last Saturday, the Yankees will need to make room for him on both the 40 and 25 man rosters. DFA'ing Mitre would accomplish both. There is also the possibilty that the Yanks could discover a "new" Marte injury resetting the clock, but he's now pitched 11 AAA innings to the tune of 2.45 ERA. He's as ready as he's going to be. [UPDATE: Tyler Kepner implies Marte isn't coming back any time soon, h/t to our friend Joe P at RAB]

Gaudin could make the August 29th start, then with rosters expanding three days later, the Yankees will have a lot more flexibility to rest Joba, deal with the Labor Day doubleheader, etc. As Jay pointed out this morning, by that point a comfortable lead, while not a sure thing, will allow them further flexibility in setting up their pitching down the stretch.

Rob Neyer Grants Yankees Postseason Berth!

Great news isn't it? Here's Neyer responding to a tweet from Tyler Kepner proclaiming that Teixeira is the AL MVP, "no question":

No question? Honestly? Maybe Kepner just means that Teixeira will win, rather than that he should win.

What inspired this particular post? An essentially meaningless home run, hit well after midnight (back in New York). I mean, I'm sorry, but the Yankees aren't exactly in the middle of a pennant race anymore. They've got a huge lead over the second-place Red Sox. And if the Red Sox should somehow mount a late charge, the Yankees have a huger lead over the Rangers for that other postseason berth.

I guess what Neyer is trying to do here is gauge the impact this will have on the MVP voting, not give his own feelings on who should win the award, which he does later in the post. He goes both ways on it, though. The same people who weren't paying attention because it was past their bedtime are going to think it doesn't count because the Yankees were too far ahead? Right or wrong, the better the Yankees are, the more it helps the MVP chances of Teix or Jeter, who Neyer apparently doesn't consider a "viable candidate" either by oversight or purposeful omission.

"Essentially meaningless"? I don't care that the Yankees have a 98.9% chance of making the playoffs right now, a game winning shot in the top of 9th inning is still pretty significant. A bigger lead will give the Yankees more flexibilty coming into the postseason, allowing them to skip Joba's starts freely and align their rotation, if they are in fact fortunate enough to still hold the lead when the season comes down to the wire. Which is a major presumption at this point. As good as the Yanks have looked, I don't think you're going to find too many people in that clubhouse who think it's a forgone conclusion. They are one major injury away from looking awfully vulnerable.

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.

Off Night Links: Monday, Monday

Here we are on another off night, the first in 17 days. There will be another 16 games before another break for the Yanks and at least as far as the starting rotation is concerned, this one is a welcome relief.

While Joba Chamberlain was originally supposed to start tomorrow night against Roy Halladay, he will now be pushed back to Thursday for the first game against the Red Sox and oppose John Smoltz. This means Andy Pettitte and Sergio Mitre will pitch against the Blue Jays and Mitre will be the only starter the Sox don't get to see, which is obviously the best case scenario. The extra two days will also help to keep Chamberlain's innings total down, a factor that will make for some tough decisions as the season wears on.

Meanwhile, here are a batch of links to keep you busy on this relatively quiet night in the MLB. See you tomorrow morning. Enjoy.

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Oh, you thought the price for Roy Halladay was high? Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says that the Red Sox offered the Mariners 5 of the following seven players for Felix Hernandez and they turned the offer down: RHPs Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Justin Masterson & Michael Bowden, LHPs Nick Hagadone & Felix Doubront, OF Josh Reddick or SS Yamaico Navarro. As Matt said earlier over GChat, "That means the Yankees would have had to exhume Ruth and Mantle for King Felix". Click through to see the alternate 3 team deal that almost happened including the Padres and Adrian Gonzalez.

This guy? Steroids? GTFO! The man to the left, son of Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy, was one of two former security guards fired by the Red Sox for connections with steroids. Remy and Alex Cyr (a part time assistant of Manny Ramirez) had connections with a paid employee of David Ortiz and openly discussed steroid use with him. Once again, how about a round of applause for George Mitchell, ladies and gentlemen? Boston had it's own Kirk Radomski and Brain McNamee right under their noses and mysteriously had no idea. But then again, who would have ever thought the man pictured in a fucking Gold's Gym man-tank, looking like a body builder might have been taking steroids?

Well, bully for Youk. It appears that the our anti-namesake had himself quite the weekend down in Baltimore and has emerged from a two month long slump that saw his OPS drop as low as .952, but is now back over 1.000.

Here is a raffle for a good cause. The prize is 10 seats atop the Green Monstah for the August 20th game between the Yanks and Sawx. It benefits the Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation, started in honor of a former BC Hockey player and NHL Assistant who was killed aboard Flight 175 on 9/11. Tickets are $2 and there is a minimum purchase of 5. If you win, don't forget who told you about it.

This is a pretty sad sight. (h/t NSI, who alternatively called today "Moldy Monday")

Will Leitch makes the case for Billy Beane as the next GM of the Mets over at New York Magazine. My favorite quote:

If every general manager in baseball thought like Minaya, Beane would still be in top form; as it is, he had to forage for newer, more elusive inefficiencies.

John Heyman also weighs in with his thoughts on GM candidates from around the league.

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In New York Football Giants news, it appears that Antionio Pierce will not be indicted by the Grand Jury for his involvement in the Plaxico Burress fiasco. Perhaps this fucking mess will finally start to go away?

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If you've got anything else, leave it in the comments.