New York Already One Up On Boston This Weekend

We're still about four hours away from the first pitch of game one of this weekend's series, but New York has already notched is first victory over Boston on the weekend. This morning, the annual media game was held at Fenway, with the New York writers laying a 20-3 beatdown on Boston.

Congrats go out to LoHud's Chad Jennings, the offensive star of the morning with a two run inside-the-park homer. The New York Times' Tyler Kepner hurled the first five innings, then Bryan Hoch of yankees.com/MLB Advanced Media played the role of Mo with a scoreless final frame. Friend of the blog Marc Carig had the hardest hit ball of the day, but flashed only warning track power. I've yet to see any reports on how old friend Peter Abraham did after pulling his reverse-Johnny Damon last year.

Kepner was the Times beat writer through last season, but was promoted to national columnist after shortstop Jack Curry took a buyout and joined the YES Network. No word on whether Boston will protest Kepner's eligibility.

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More links? Why not?

According to this tweet and this grainy photo, David Ortiz was grilling for students at my alma mater earlier today. I'm dubious about the picture, but if anyone should know when something is totally cooked, it's gotta be Big Papi, amIright?

After touching on the same topic twice already today, let's go for three. RAB passes along that AAA Scranton has activated catcher P.J. Pilittere, possibly indicating that Chad Moeller could be on his way up. Or since Posada is out taking earlier BP, maybe he's fine.

If you never want to think of Joe Torre in the same light ever again, read this story passed along by Deadspin's Drew Magary.

And with a tip of that to Moshe Mandel from TYU, Mystique and Aura has a post on 2008 first round pick Gerrit Cole, the one that got away.

Back with the preview in a bit.

Everyone Has An Opinion About A-Rod & Dallas Braden

Good morning, Fackers. You'd think that a game with a triple play would be the enduring topic of conversation stemming from the game yesterday afternoon, but alas it is not.

By now you've probably seen or read about what happened between Alex Rodriguez and Dallas Braden just before Robinson Cano grounded into an inning ending double play in the top of the 6th inning yesterday, but if not, here is Chad Jennings' breakdown (with audio) and the most complete video explanation I could find:

Let's see what people are saying about it:

A-Rod:

I thought it was pretty funny, actually.

Braden:

The guy was tasting himself too long to apologize.

Michael Duca (author of a book on baseball's unwritten rules):

It was very common (to observe the rule) in the '40s, '50s and '60s. Bob Gibson was very well versed in protecting what he called his office. He told people to say the ... out of my office. Had that been Gibson on the mound, A-Rod would have picked himself off the grass to get back to first. He would have decked him. No question about it.

#2: Alex Rodriguez is one of two types of player: A guy who’s profoundly ignorant of much of the Code, or a guy who actively disdains it.

Bill James:

I've never heard of such a rule. To be honest, people are always coming up with unwritten rules that you're not supposed to do something that they don't happen to like, but usually, it's some old manager who is upset about a kid bunting to break up a no-hitter or something. THAT'S annoying, but when it's a fairly anonymous player springing an unwritten rule on a 34-year-old Hall of Famer who has been on the All-Star team since Dallas Braden was in the 6th grade. . .well, what can you say?

Craig Calcaterra:

I've never heard of the unwritten rule about not walking on the mound, but I want to think less of A-Rod for it all the same if that makes any sense. Mostly I just want someone to recut the video of Braden jawing at Rodriguez with the audio from the "get off my f------ obstacle" scene from "Full Metal Jacket" because that would be cool.

Rob Neyer:

No, the Yankees won't be intimidated by Dallas Braden or anyone else. They're too good, too experienced, too confident. But Braden wasn't yelling at the Yankees. Not really. He was yelling at himself, and at his teammates. Players have won MVP Awards for such things.

Kevin Kaduk:

On one hand, it's nice for A's fans to see that one of their young guns won't cede any ground or be intimidated by one of the best players on the defending world champs. I'm also always up for any time a baseball player breaks cliche-mode and goes off the script.

But on the other, there's something to be said for knowing your spot in the game and earning enough capital to call out a perennial All-Star over something so petty.

Keith Hernandez:

“I don’t know if there is an unwritten rule, but I would never do that.”

SoSHially Unacceptable (commenter at BBTF):

Not having heard of this rule either, I called my buddy who pitched a couple years in the minors. I asked him what he would have done in this situation, and he basically said he would have reacted the same way as Braden. And, he added, he wouldn't have thought any player in the majors would even consider running across the mound, knowing how pitchers would react.

And for what it's worth, he's a big Yankee fan.

Dan Reiner from Bronx Baseball Daily:

Now, being a pitcher myself, I’d understand if Braden got slightly upset. But for him to scream at Alex and proceed to throw a Carlos Zambrano-like tantrum in the dugout is a little much in my opinion.

Lisa from Subway Squawkers:

Dude's played in a grand total of 65 MLB games, and all of a sudden, he's the enforcer of all the unwritten rules of baseball? Please.

Denton from Surviving Grady:

Add it to the list of lowlights for A-Rod. He will never get it. The two teams don't face each other again until July, but pitchers seem to remember these things.

In regards to the last one, Braden is 6' 1", 190 and throws 85 MPH. It would likely not be in his best interest to retaliate.

I think this boils down to two points. A-Rod probably shouldn't have run over the mound. It probably takes less effort just to jog around it. There is a disembodied voice in the clip above (Barry Larkin?) that suggests there's some sort of gamesmanship involved on A-Rod's behalf, but I tend to doubt that. I think it was just a thoughtless mistake. If he was trying to intimidate him, I doubt he would have just played dumb afterwards. The dismissive hand waive in the clip above says it all.

The other half is that Braden threw a complete temper tantrum over this, kicking stuff on the way back to the dugout after already having said his piece at A-Rod. We get it buddy, you feel disrespected. But it was CC Sabathia's mound for the other halves of the innings too. It's a purely symbolic thing and it's your problem if you let yourself get all worked up about it.

If that was A-Rod's goal, he certainly succeeded, but the end result was Cano's double play ball, so it backfired in the grand scheme of things. Let's just hope this is a dead issue. I don't want there to be an injuries or suspensions that result from this the next time the teams meet in July.

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.

Injuries And Auditions: 4 More Days 'Til Opening Day

Good morning, Fackers. Yesterday wasn't a particularly good one for the Yankees, injury-wise. It was announced that Alan Horne, who already endured Tommy John surgery now needs surgery to repair an 80% tear in his rotator cuff. He hasn't been fully healthy since 2007 and considering that he'll be at least 28 by the time he pitches again, this looks like the official end for him as far as being a prospect is concerned.

More germane to the Big League club, word came out that Alfredo Aceves is day-to-day with a sore back, something that has been bothering him since last September. This comes on the heels of a poor outing against the Orioles during which he gave up 6 runs in 2+ IP. It's possible that the issue could keep Aceves off the Opening Day roster and make way for Boone Logan, but as of now it appears Alf will get another tune up this Spring and be ready for Sunday.

Most startlingly, Mark Teixeira was hit in the elbow by Jeremy Guthrie. He was in obvious discomfort and was removed from the game immediately after it happened. While the pitch hit Teix directly on the bone, tests revealed that the result is only a contusion and he should be back in the lineup later this week. He opts not to wear protection on his elbow because he's never felt comfortable with an elbow pad and feels like he stands far enough away from the plate, but this was one of the rare times that decision came back to bite him.

Franciso Cervelli was hit by Guthrie later on in the night but was able to stay in the game. However, that didn't keep Joe Girardi from angrily yelling at Guthrie from the dugout after the incident occurred. He explained later, "If you’re having a hard time commanding the fastball inside, I don’t think this is the time to work on it". Not in his back yard, apparently. BANANA, others might say.

Girardi will have something to take his mind of his ailing squad today, however. Switch pitcher Pat Venditte will make the trip to Big League camp and pitch against the Braves in a split squad game at 1:05 tomorrow. Eat your heart out, Tony LaRussa.

The manager said he's wanted to see the ambidextrous reliever "all spring". It's as if Girardi has looked over his entire kingdom and commanded, "Bring me this Janus-armed freak so I can see him for myself!" The manager also likened this clip of Venditte maneuvering for the platoon advantage with a switch-hitting Mets prospect to a "Laurel and Hardy thing" revealing that he is either A) significantly older than he claims, B) a huge nerd or C) both.

Venditte is considered a fringe prospect at best but has had unquestionable success at every level of the minors he's been asked to pitch in. He's currently slated to begin the season in High A-ball (where he finished 2009) but as Neyer points out, if Girardi likes what he sees, Venditte might find himself climbing through the farm system faster than he would have otherwise.

He throws over-the-top in the low 90's from the right - which is his naturally dominant side - and takes a lower arm angle from the left, topping out in the mid-to-high 80's. There are plenty of guys that have his stuff like that in one arm at a time and being able to pitch both ways doesn't mean anything if you can't get Major League hitters out, but tomorrow could be a turning point in Venditte's career. There's no guarantee that he makes it into the game, but with CC Sabathia being limited to 75 pitches and Joe Girardi's self-proclaimed interest in him, there's a good chance. (The game will be on MLB.tv). Let's hope Venditte faces a few batters, does well and Girardi likes what he sees. If all of those things happen, we might be one step closer to seeing "The Freak" in The Bronx.

Tourney Time

We're not big basketball fans here at Fack Youk, but it's hard to ignore the magnetism of the NCAA Tournament. If nothing else, it's a good excuse to waste time at work during the early games and fill out a bracket (strictly for bragging rights of course). It's nice to have something in the sporting landscape to waste our time until baseball starts, as the remainder of the tournament will carry us clear through to Opening Day.

We're smack in the middle of two of the best days of the sporting year, with sixteen more games on tap for today and tonight. D.J. Mitchell's Clemson faces Chad Jenning's Missouri at 2:35, Mark Teixeira's Georgia Tech has prospect Neil Medchill's Oklahoma State at 7:15, and Nick Swisher's Ohio St. tips off against UC Santa Barbara at 9:35. And of course Big Willie Style's beloved "Sycasuse" plays Vermont at 9:30.

Not wanting to expose how little we know about college hoops, Jay and I decided against having a public pool here. But we are both in a pool with some friends of mine, and we both had a rough first day. I went a measley 9 for 16 yesterday, good for a three way tie for fourth place, while Jay (and his aptly-named 'Aggressively Mediocre' bracket) hit just .500, is in last place, and lost one of his Final Four teams when Georgetown spit the bit last night. I narrowly avoided the same fate when 'Nova pulled it out against the Robert Morris School of Cosmetology and Hair Dressing.

How about the rest of you Fackers out there? Anyone go perfect yesterday? Anyone's bracket completely busted already? Did anyone else spell "Syracuse" incorrectly?

Meanwhile, at 5 PM tonight a tournament in which I am far more interested will continue, as the Hockey East semi-finals take place at Boston's TD Bank Garden. In the early game, two seed BC will take on eight seed Vermont. The Catamounts upset number one seed New Hampshire in a best of three series last weekend. Last month, Vermont dismissed second leading scoring Justin Milo, who happens to be a 2009 Yankee draft pick and turned in a decent season at Staten Island last summer. In the nightcap three seed BU will take on four seed Maine. You all know who I'll be pulling for in the first game. A meteor could drop on center ice in the second game for all I care; I can't decide which of those teams I like less.

Whichever your sport, enjoy the games.

Happy Trails, Shelley Duncan

(Forearm bash to The Sports Hernia for the picture)

Shelley Duncan elected to become a free agent a while back and he signed a deal with the Indians yesterday, according to Chad Jennings. Jennings also wrote a great feature on him over the summer when he was still working for the Scranton Times-Tribune that you should check out. This is our send-off post to a guy who might have been over-appreciated by Yankee fans, but deserved it.

Shelley Duncan waited a long time to make his Major League debut. Six years and three days after being signed, to be exact. We wasn't much of a prospect of that point, but his big, looping swing produced some huge home runs (and some embarrassing strikeouts) for the big league club and his infectious enthusiasm endeared him to any Yankee fan who was paying attention.

Duncan came up on July 20th, 2007 and did his best Shane Spencer impression, emerging from the AAA and surprising people with bombs into the left field seats. He hit 5 HRs in his first 8 games as a Yankee. Those included two blasts in a 21-4 blowout of the Devil Rays and a pinch hit shot in a 16-3 victory over the White Sox in which seven Yankees went yard but A-Rod, who was stuck on #499, did not. It's not that he put the Yankees on his back by any stretch of the imagination. He just happened to be there when things started going right.

The Bombers were sitting at 49-46 when Duncan made his debut and they promptly began a six game winning streak one game later. Although none of his 5 home runs were game-changing and the league caught up to him after his hot start, he served as a sort of mascot for the revitalization of the Yankees that summer on their way to a Wild Card berth. He showed up at the right time, forearm bashing his way through the dugout with reckless abandon.

Maybe that's why Shelly Duncan attained such a cult following among Yankees fans. Because there isn't any other rational explanation why a fanbase would adore a guy who is pretty much the definition of replacement level.

It's not as unusual for a high school draft pick to spend six years in the minors, but if a college player is going to make it to the Majors, it usually occurs faster than that. Duncan might be the definition of the fabled "AAAA player" - a guy who can mash International League pitching but struggles as MLB learn his tendencies. He might be the perfect example of Yankees fans overrating their prospects. But if you were watching that team in 2007, he surely left an impression on you, and that's not an easy thing for an unheralded minor leaguer to do while wearing pinstripes.

As Jennings explained last night, the only two left fielders on the Indians' depth chart above Duncan have combined for 34 home runs in their minor league careers while Duncan hit 3o last year alone. Progressive Jacobs Field seems like it would be a good home park for Shelley as well, with a tall (19') but fairly close (325'-375') left field wall that might find itself in front of a few of his high fly balls.

Even with the semi-vacancy in left field the Yankees have at the moment, he still wasn't going factor into the equation, despite winning the International League MVP last season. Hopefully he'll get the shot he's earned with the Tribe.

The Indians visit the Bronx for a four game set starting May 28th. Hope to see you there, Shelley.

Montero To Scranton

Good morning Fackers. When we profiled top prospect Jesus Montero two weeks ago, I speculated that he could start 2010 at AA Trenton before moving up to AAA Scranton some time around midseason. Yesterday, Chad Jennings reported that Yankees Vice President of Baseball Operations Mark Newman stated that the organization plans to have Montero start the year at Scranton as the regular catcher.

This serves as further evidence of the confidence the Yankees have in Montero. To have a 20 year old in AA is very rare, to have one in AAA - with less than a full season's experience at either AA or high A is nearly unheard of. Offensively at least, Montero hasn't encountered anything remotely resembling a challenge in his professional career. It will be interesting to see if that holds in the International League next year.

As we covered last week when Baseball America announced their top ten Yankee prospects, there is tremendous depth at catcher in the Yankee system. Starting Montero at AAA allows number two prospect Austin Romine to be the regular catcher at Trenton while highly regarded Kyle Higashioka slots in at low A Charleston. Other top prospects JR Murphy and Gary Sanchez will stay in extended spring training before being farmed out later in the season.

The one potential negative to Montero starting the year at AAA is that the organization will likely find it exceedingly difficult to stash a Major League caliber emergency catcher at Scranton. With the #3 prospect in all of baseball there and playing nearly everyday, no fringe player with Big League credentials is going to want to play back up / mentor to Montero. This is a minor point relative to Montero's development, but as we saw last year, it's tough enough for the Yankees to convince a decent emergency catcher to sign a minor league deal. Montero climbing another rung on the ladder will make this even harder.

With any luck the Yankees won't face a similar situation this year. But with Francisco Cervelli graduating to the back up job and Jose Molina presumably elsewhere, the Yankees likely won't have any sort of veteran back up plan in the event of an injury to either of their Major League catchers. If that were to occur, minor league veterans Chris Stewart or P.J. Pilittere would likely be first in line. Either that, or perhaps the Mets could loan them one of the seven back up catchers they've inked this off-season.


[UPDATE: Just after I finished writing this last night the Yankees signed Mike Rivera to a minor league contract. So just ignore those last two paragraphs]

Rule 5 Draft: Who Could Be Coming?

Good morning Fackers. Today is the final day of the Winter Meetings, culminating with the Rule 5 Draft. As we know by now, the Yankees have wrangled the top overall pick from the Nationals as their return from Monday's Brian Bruney trade.

As we mentioned earlier this week, this is unique territory for the Yankees. They've made just two Rule 5 picks since 1995. Their roster isn't usually constructed in a manner where they can afford to fulfill the Rule 5 requirement and carry a fringe player on their Major League roster all year. For that reason, I'm inclined to think there's some validity to the rumors that the Yankees may in turn flip whoever they have the Nationals choose for them today.

That said, it's not inconceivable that the Yankees could find a usable part for themselves. While it's nice to dream about finding the next Johan Santana, Joakim Soria, Dan Uggla, or Shane Victorino - all former Rule 5 picks - the reality is that finding such diamonds in the rough are few and far between. A Rule 5 pick is generally left unprotected for a reason, and the best a club can realistically hope for is a nice complimentary piece.

To that end, several folks have parsed the hundreds of available players and put together short lists of potential Yankee picks: Mike Axisa at River Ave. Blues, Greg Fertel at Pending Pinstripes, Steven Schwartz at Bronx Baseball Daily, and Chad Jennings at the LoHud Yankees Blog. I won't pretend to know much about fringe minor leaguers from other organizations, but I will share a few thoughts on the possibilities.

First, I think it would be a major, major mistake to use the pick on Arquimedes Caminero unless the Yankees are going to flip him. Fanhouse's Frankie Piliere, a former scout, is big on Caminero, and I respect his opinion. Caminero's career K/9 of 10.4 is enticing, but his career BB/9 of 5.1 is very off putting. For my liking, that's far too similar to the guy the Yankees traded just to get this Rule 5 pick. The fact of the matter is Caminero will be 23 next year, has thrown just 138 innings in four professional seasons and has topped out with just 2.1 IP in A+ ball. To think he can make what amounts to a four level jump, overcome his obvious control problems, and last a full season in the Major Leagues - let alone in the AL East - is a monumental leap of faith.

There are a few OF/1B types who can also catch in Chad Tracy, Matt McBride, and Brian Jeroloman. I'm not necessarily advocating that any of them be the pick, but I am intrigued by the prospect of adding another player to the roster who can catch. I have the utmost confidence that Francisco Cervelli will be a capable back-up, but if Jorge Posada is going to see semi-regular time at DH, or if Posada or Cervelli gets dinged up, it would be very valuable, if not necessary, to have another catching option at hand. And as we saw with the Kevin Cash debacle last year, it will likely be difficult for the Yankees to convince a capable veteran to take a AAA deal - especially with Jesus Montero and Austin Romine charging up the ladder. The Buck Showalter era Yankees had success with a catching triumvirate of Mike Stanley, Matt Nokes, and Jim Leyritz, aided by the fact that all three were capable of DHing or subbing elsewhere in the field.

There are several rumors that the Yankees may use the pick on one of their own eligible players. This would virtually ensure they keep the player, because if he doesn't stick on the Major League roster the Yankees would be returning the player to themselves. Both Zach Kroenke and Colin Curtis have been mentioned. I like Kroenke and given my doubts about Mike Dunn, I'd like to keep Kroenke all the more with Phil Coke gone. Curtis is virtually a non-prospect, but he had a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League and would provide AAA OF depth, something the Yankees are virtually devoid of with Austin Jackson now gone.

Despite all that, I find it very unlikely that the Yankees swung such a deal just to take one of their own players, who they chose not to protect just two weeks ago - unless that was part of the plan. That is, knowing they were going to have to include Coke as they negotiated the Granderson trade, they made the Bruney trade as a way to retain Zach Kroenke, who is far less expendable with fellow lefty Coke now gone.

That's what the Yankees stand to gain. We'll be back shortly with a look at who the Yankees stand to lose today.

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.

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.

Odds And Ends

Hey there Fackers. We're in the homestretch heading towards the holiday weekend. Here's a few things to chew on before you punch that clock.

• Today's the 16th anniversary of Jim Abbott "single-handedly" no-hitting the Indians (terrible joke, I know). With the Yankees in Toronto this weekend, it may be worth reminding our friend eyebleaf that 1993 was a happier time for the Jays. Much like the 1985 season that we talked about with Mike Pagliarulo, the 1993 Yankees spent the summer chasing the Blue Jays. The Yanks spent a record nineteen days tied for first with the Jays without ever being able to take sole possession of the lead. The Yanks would move into a tie for the final time the day after Abbott's no-no, but that would be as close as they got, as they faded down the stretch and finished seven games back. The Blue Jays won their second consecutive title when Joe Carter hit a Game 7 walk-off against Mitch Williams, and became the first team since the 1977-78 Yankees to go back-to-back.
  
  Still, the team finished the year at 88-74, good for the third best record in the American League during the final season of the Wild Card-less two division format. Interestingly, the Abbott no hitter against the Indians featured two teams on the rise, as the Yanks and Tribe would be the dominant forces in the AL for the remainder of the 1990s.

• Speaking of the 1990s, Alfredo Aceves' win last night was his 10th of the year. All of them have come in relief. Alf's ten relief wins are the most by a Yankee since Lee Guetterman had 11 in 1990. How bad was that 1990 team that had the worst record in the AL and second worst in MLB? Guetterman, a set-up man, led the team in wins. The franchise record for wins by a reliever is 15, done by Luis Arroyo in 1961.

• CC Sabathia was named American League Pitcher of the Month for August after going 5-0 with 2.64 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in six starts.

• Derek Jeter on the other land, lost out to Kendry Morales as the American League Player of the Month, despite hitting .377/.403/.574 in August with 6 HR and 15 multi-hit games. This just serves as further evidence that Jeter is not the player he once was. (yet another bad pun).

• As you may recall, Josh Towers spent a day with the Big Club last month before heading back to Scranton. With the bullpen having to work 5.1 innings last night, Joba Chamberlain starting today, Sergio Mitre Sunday, and a doubleheader Monday, Towers may be on his way back. He was pulled from his start at AAA last night after just two innings, and Chad Jennings reports that it was not injury related.
  
  Towers was DFA'd when he was sent out last time, so he'd have to be added back to the 40 man roster first. Kevin Cash, Anthony Claggett, Juan Miranda, and even Shelley Duncan are the only guys I think the organization would consider DFA'ing to make room. What is interesting however is that if they add Towers for the next few days, they likely won't need him beyond that, in which case they could DFA him again, opening up a spot to add Austin Jackson to the 40 man and call him up.
  
  That said, I doubt any of that will happen. The bullpen already has four extra arms with Mark Melancon, Edwar Ramirez, Mike Dunn, and Jonathan Albaladejo, who was recalled yesterday. Even with the extra work last night and Mariano Rivera's sore groin, they should have enough pitching to make it through the next five games.

We'll be back in a bit.

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.

Bullpen Help Coming

As we noted in yesterday's recap, Joe Girardi burned through five of his seven relievers yesterday - but boy, he sure matched up well in doing so. Trotting out a spot starter with a 65 pitch limit is a recipe for a long day for the bullpen, but needing five pitchers to cover 5.2 innings seems a bit much to me.

Regardless, the Yanks head to Anaheim tonight and send Joba Chamberlain to the hill. Chamberlain has averaged less than five and a third innings over his last six starts and has needed an unmanageable 17.3 pitches per IP this year. So this isn't exactly the best night to be carrying a fatigued bullpen, particularly when the only rested pitchers in the pen are a struggling Brian Bruney and a Brett Tomko-like Brett Tomko. I didn't think it was possible to be short on arms with a seven man pen, but apparently it is.

To that end, Girardi hinted during yesterday's post-game that an arm might be on the way. Last night, indespensible Scranton beat writer Chad Jennings reported that Mark Melancon will rejoin the Yankees today (h/t RAB).

Melancon was up briefly earlier this year, making four appearances covering 3.1 IP. He wasn't good, allowing two hits, five walks, and two earned runs. In his final outing he walked all three batters he faced. That said, this move is long overdue. Melancon has been dominating the International League, with a 2.50 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 39.2 IP. His K/9 is 9.5 while his BB/9 is just 2.0.

Unfortunately the pitcher who should go is one of the few fresh arms in today's pen, so Tomko gets yet another stay of execution. Jonathan Albaladejo and David Robertson both have options, so they would seem likely candidates for demotion.

However, between his 43 pitches Sunday and his 65 yesterday, Alfredo Aceves is spent until after the All-Star break. He too has options. While his performance certainly warrants continued presence on the Major League roster, he may be the best choice to farm out at present. Whoever is optioned out will have to stay down for at least ten days. Aceves is spent for the next three, then comes the three day All-Star break, followed by an off day next Thursday. Sending Aceves down will really only cost the Yankees his presence for three games while keeping the bullpen at full strength for this weekend's series. Plus, it looks increasingly likely that Aceves will be the new fifth starter. Sending him down today will allow him to make another minor league start or two to build endurance before the Yankees need him on the 21st.

We'll update on you the official move once it happens, which likely won't be until just before game time.

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. 

-----

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. 

The commenters say: (...leave your thoughts below)

The Jackson Report: 5/19/09

The heroics of Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner have been throughly enjoyable, but I think most (informed) Yankee fans are hoping that they are just stop-gaps. This is of course due to the presence of Austin Jackson at AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre. It's been a while since we checked in on the prized farmhand, so shall we?

Late last week he was moved up in the batting order from sixth to second. He was originally placed further down in the order to acclimate him to the AAA environment, but he has shown a consistent ability to get on base, although he hasn't shown the power he displayed at times in High-A and AA. He recently told Chad Jennings that he was working on trying to get base hits and avoid striking out, which begins to explain why he still hasn't gone yard in AAA. AJax seems to be succeding in one of those pursuits at least. 

Don't be surprised if the power comes around this summer.