Posted by: James
On the first day of summer, the Yankees sent Roger Clemens to the hill to try to avoid the three game sweep at the hands of the Rockies.
Unlike the last few days, the scoring started early and surprisingly enough, with the Yankees! In the second, Alex Rodriguez started off with a single and came around to score on a two-run bomb by Hideki Matsui. 2-0 Yankees. Unfortunately, that lead didn't even make it a full half inning as in the bottom of the second, the Rockies hit two solo home runs (Garrett Atkins & Troy Tulowitzki) to even up the score. At that point, the Yankees pretty much reverted to the form they were showing the last two games - very few hits and no real pressure on the pitcher. Rodrigo Lopez ran into a few trouble spots but he got out of all of them with minimal issues. It just seemed that every time that the Yankees mustered a couple of hits, it was with two outs and the next guy up would line out. Story of the series.
Colorado scored two more runs in the fifth when Kaz Matsui (wow, is he having a little resurgence - small sample size, I know but still) singled, stole second and came around on a Matt Holliday single. Man, can this Holliday kid hit. Fastball, splitter, off-speed - you name it, he gets the bat on it. In any case, Rocket was done at this point after 4 and a third. Mike Myers came in and promptly gave up a single to Todd Helton, putting runners on first and third. Scott Proctor came on at that point and got Atkins to fly out but Holliday scored; 4-2 Rockies.
The Yankees made it a closer game in the 7th when Robbie Cano led off the inning with ground-rule double. Miggy Cairo put down a very nice bunt and Melky Cabrera hit a LONG fly ball to score Robbie (any other part of the park and that fly might have been a HR - them's the breaks...at least this series, I guess).
All in all, a disheartening loss. I would have been okay with losing the series - I mean, this is a good Rockies team and hey, you have to lose sometimes. However, getting swept as you head into another interleague series with an unknown quantity starting...that doesn't exactly bode well. Think about it this way - for all the great feelings that the nice Yankees run created in the first couple of weeks of June - a loss in their next game puts them at a game below .500 for the season.
Final point of the night: someone put Damon on the DL. He can't play the OF and he can't get around on fastballs so what can he do? Well, they tried him at first for a little bit today...which makes no sense to me. Why would you put a guy with oblique/rib cage issues at first base where he will have to pivot and lean on any ground ball? I don't get it...but in any case, put him on the DL and play Kevin Thompson in left and DH Matsui. Is there anyone out there that thinks that Thompson won't provide more with the bat and the glove than Damon would right now? It wouldn't have to be much!
Unlike the last few days, the scoring started early and surprisingly enough, with the Yankees! In the second, Alex Rodriguez started off with a single and came around to score on a two-run bomb by Hideki Matsui. 2-0 Yankees. Unfortunately, that lead didn't even make it a full half inning as in the bottom of the second, the Rockies hit two solo home runs (Garrett Atkins & Troy Tulowitzki) to even up the score. At that point, the Yankees pretty much reverted to the form they were showing the last two games - very few hits and no real pressure on the pitcher. Rodrigo Lopez ran into a few trouble spots but he got out of all of them with minimal issues. It just seemed that every time that the Yankees mustered a couple of hits, it was with two outs and the next guy up would line out. Story of the series.
Colorado scored two more runs in the fifth when Kaz Matsui (wow, is he having a little resurgence - small sample size, I know but still) singled, stole second and came around on a Matt Holliday single. Man, can this Holliday kid hit. Fastball, splitter, off-speed - you name it, he gets the bat on it. In any case, Rocket was done at this point after 4 and a third. Mike Myers came in and promptly gave up a single to Todd Helton, putting runners on first and third. Scott Proctor came on at that point and got Atkins to fly out but Holliday scored; 4-2 Rockies.
The Yankees made it a closer game in the 7th when Robbie Cano led off the inning with ground-rule double. Miggy Cairo put down a very nice bunt and Melky Cabrera hit a LONG fly ball to score Robbie (any other part of the park and that fly might have been a HR - them's the breaks...at least this series, I guess).
All in all, a disheartening loss. I would have been okay with losing the series - I mean, this is a good Rockies team and hey, you have to lose sometimes. However, getting swept as you head into another interleague series with an unknown quantity starting...that doesn't exactly bode well. Think about it this way - for all the great feelings that the nice Yankees run created in the first couple of weeks of June - a loss in their next game puts them at a game below .500 for the season.
Final point of the night: someone put Damon on the DL. He can't play the OF and he can't get around on fastballs so what can he do? Well, they tried him at first for a little bit today...which makes no sense to me. Why would you put a guy with oblique/rib cage issues at first base where he will have to pivot and lean on any ground ball? I don't get it...but in any case, put him on the DL and play Kevin Thompson in left and DH Matsui. Is there anyone out there that thinks that Thompson won't provide more with the bat and the glove than Damon would right now? It wouldn't have to be much!
Posted by: Patrick
Peter Abraham posted a list of draft picks that the Yankees have announced as signed. They are:
184. RHP Adam Olbrychowski, Pepperdine University
244. 2B Damon Sublett, Wichita State University
304. CF Austin Krum, Dallas Baptist University
394. RHP Manuel Barreda, Sahuarita High School
424. RHP Nicolas Chigges, College of Charleston
454. 3B William Pruitt, Stetson University
484. RF David Williams, Rutgers University, New Brunswick
544. RHP Ryan Zink, University of Illinois at Chicago
634. SS Ryan Wehrle, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
664. 2B Justin Snyder, University of San Diego
694. RHP Craig Heyer, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
784. RHP Jason Kiley, Florida Gulf Coast University
814. CF Gary Gattis, Yavapai College
844. 3B Brandon Laird, Cypress College
874. RHP Jeffrey Livek, Carthage College
904. RHP Matthew Pilgreen, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
934. 2B Christopher Carrara, Winthrop University
992. SS Brian Chavez, University of San Francisco
1,021. RHP Fred Jones, University of Evansville
1,269. 1B Christopher Rader, Coastal Carolina University
1,453. C Lawrence Day, University of Connecticut
They also included the following undrafted free agent signings:
SS Robbie Minor, University of Evansville
C Frank Lonigro, San Diego State University
RHP Alexy Still, Rowan University
RHP Mike Hyde, Florida State University
C Freuny Parra, Connors State College
184. RHP Adam Olbrychowski, Pepperdine University
244. 2B Damon Sublett, Wichita State University
304. CF Austin Krum, Dallas Baptist University
394. RHP Manuel Barreda, Sahuarita High School
424. RHP Nicolas Chigges, College of Charleston
454. 3B William Pruitt, Stetson University
484. RF David Williams, Rutgers University, New Brunswick
544. RHP Ryan Zink, University of Illinois at Chicago
634. SS Ryan Wehrle, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
664. 2B Justin Snyder, University of San Diego
694. RHP Craig Heyer, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
784. RHP Jason Kiley, Florida Gulf Coast University
814. CF Gary Gattis, Yavapai College
844. 3B Brandon Laird, Cypress College
874. RHP Jeffrey Livek, Carthage College
904. RHP Matthew Pilgreen, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
934. 2B Christopher Carrara, Winthrop University
992. SS Brian Chavez, University of San Francisco
1,021. RHP Fred Jones, University of Evansville
1,269. 1B Christopher Rader, Coastal Carolina University
1,453. C Lawrence Day, University of Connecticut
They also included the following undrafted free agent signings:
SS Robbie Minor, University of Evansville
C Frank Lonigro, San Diego State University
RHP Alexy Still, Rowan University
RHP Mike Hyde, Florida State University
C Freuny Parra, Connors State College
Posted by: Patrick
From Peter Abraham:
Wang has become the ace of the Yankees despite the presence of Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and Roger Clemens. He does not accept that designation, saying only that he is a starter.
"Everybody pitches their game," he said. "Nobody is No. 1. Me, Moose, Andy and Clemens all the same I think." ...
"My coach used to get tapes, and we would watch those," Wang said. "Clemens, Clemens, Clemens, I used to watch all his games."
"Everybody pitches their game," he said. "Nobody is No. 1. Me, Moose, Andy and Clemens all the same I think." ...
"My coach used to get tapes, and we would watch those," Wang said. "Clemens, Clemens, Clemens, I used to watch all his games."
Posted by: Patrick
Coming into this series, there was some talk of the 2002 series and all of the runs that were scored and how we could score a ton of runs in this 3 game set. Well... there goes that. Josh Fogg held us to 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk in 7 innings. Once he left, we didn't get anything off the pen, either (0 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk).
Moose pitched a good game (not as good as Fogg, but still good), allowing 3 ER on 6 IP and a pen of Vizcaino, Myers (who walked the only batter he faced) and Bruney failed to allow any more runs to score. Moose's record falls to 3-4 and his ERA is 5.10. Vizcaino's ERA is below 6 (5.94) for the first time since May 3.
3 guys (Posada, Phillips and Damon) saw time at first in this game. Posada started at first with Nieves catching. Andy Phillips pinch hit for Nieves in the top of the 7th and stayed in the game to play first with Posada moving to catcher in the bottom of the 7th. However, in that same half of the inning, with two outs, Damon was sent out to play first base as part of a double switch with Bruney coming in to pitch.
Melky hit lead off and was the only Yankee to collect 2 hits. Jeter, Abreu, Rodriguez, Posada and Matsui also collected hits with the Yankees lone run being scored by A-Rod when he was driven in on a Matsui ground out in the 2nd. To make matters worse, the Red Sox beat the Braves 4-0. So, we're 9 games back in the division now.
Tonight, at 9:05 ET, we have Pettitte (4-4, 2.93) going against Jeff Francis (6-5, 3.61).
Moose pitched a good game (not as good as Fogg, but still good), allowing 3 ER on 6 IP and a pen of Vizcaino, Myers (who walked the only batter he faced) and Bruney failed to allow any more runs to score. Moose's record falls to 3-4 and his ERA is 5.10. Vizcaino's ERA is below 6 (5.94) for the first time since May 3.
3 guys (Posada, Phillips and Damon) saw time at first in this game. Posada started at first with Nieves catching. Andy Phillips pinch hit for Nieves in the top of the 7th and stayed in the game to play first with Posada moving to catcher in the bottom of the 7th. However, in that same half of the inning, with two outs, Damon was sent out to play first base as part of a double switch with Bruney coming in to pitch.
Melky hit lead off and was the only Yankee to collect 2 hits. Jeter, Abreu, Rodriguez, Posada and Matsui also collected hits with the Yankees lone run being scored by A-Rod when he was driven in on a Matsui ground out in the 2nd. To make matters worse, the Red Sox beat the Braves 4-0. So, we're 9 games back in the division now.
Tonight, at 9:05 ET, we have Pettitte (4-4, 2.93) going against Jeff Francis (6-5, 3.61).
Posted by: James
E.J. Fajan over at Pending Pinstripes has finished his Top 30 list of the Yankee farm system and it's more than worth your time. He's taken the time to put together really good scouting reports on each of the thirty players and there's a lot to learn there. One thing does jump out immediately from the list though - pitching depth in the minors...yeah, even with all the injuries, the Yankees still have it.
The top five are: Joba Chamberlain (SP, 22, AA),
Jose Tabata (OF, 18, A+),
Ian Kennedy (SP, 23, AA),
Dellin Betances (SP, 19, SS/A-),
and Tyler Clippard (SP, 22, AAA/MLB).
The top five are: Joba Chamberlain (SP, 22, AA),
Jose Tabata (OF, 18, A+),
Ian Kennedy (SP, 23, AA),
Dellin Betances (SP, 19, SS/A-),
and Tyler Clippard (SP, 22, AAA/MLB).
Posted by: Patrick
From ESPN:
Via Yahoo!
Facing a Thursday deadline to agree to meet with steroids investigator George Mitchell or else face possible discipline from the commissioner, Jason Giambi has finalized the parameters of negotiated Q&A testimony about his personal use of performance-enhancing drugs and his grand jury testimony in the federal BALCO case.
Via Yahoo!
Posted by: James
If you are, here's some bad news: he's hurt. Again.
Hey, Ross, Alberto and Steven Jackson (okay, at this point, esp. Steven Jackson) might not have been the best haul we could have gotten...but we got something for a old, injury prone curmudgeon so that ain't too shabby.
Randy Johnson has a herniated disk in his surgically repaired back, making the timing of his return to the Arizona Diamondbacks' rotation unclear. Johnson went on the 15-day disabled list June 11 with a tight glute.
Johnson said the disk is the same one Watkins repaired in an operation last October. Johnson said the injury can be treated with rest and medication, but it can be unpredictable.
Johnson said he had felt pain in his legs after most of his starts, and it turned out to be a symptom of the herniated disk. He didn't know what caused the latest injury.
Johnson said the disk is the same one Watkins repaired in an operation last October. Johnson said the injury can be treated with rest and medication, but it can be unpredictable.
Johnson said he had felt pain in his legs after most of his starts, and it turned out to be a symptom of the herniated disk. He didn't know what caused the latest injury.
Hey, Ross, Alberto and Steven Jackson (okay, at this point, esp. Steven Jackson) might not have been the best haul we could have gotten...but we got something for a old, injury prone curmudgeon so that ain't too shabby.
06/19: Andy's Back
Posted by: James
Pete A. reports that Andy Phillips is getting a call-up and that Josh Phelps will be DFA'd. That seems kind of counter-intuitive to me. Looking at the active roster, why would you let Phelps go when you can drop never used Chris Basak? If you keep Phelps, at the very least, you would have a decent bat on the bench. If you keep Basak, you gain...absolutely nothing.
06/19: Deja Vu
Posted by: Patrick
With the Sox loss yesterday to the Braves, we gained a half a game, cutting the lead to 8 games even. We'll open a 3 game set with the Rockies today. It's the first series we've played at Coors since 2002. Mark Feinsand points out that the starters for that series were Mussina, Pettitte and Clemens. The starters for this series? The very same.
Posted by: Patrick
This is my weekly recap of the performance of the YanksBlog.com teams in the Yankees Bloggers Fantasy Baseball League.
Last Week
Coming into their match up, James and EJ (Pinstripe Potentials and Pending Pinstripes) were tied for 3rd place. With a 6-2 victory, James was able to step ahead and claim 2nd for his own. His offense played the biggest role. Led by Mark Teahen (7 R, 8 RBI, .375 AVG), they were able to win 4 out of 5 categories. EJ's squad put up a .339 batting average, allowing them to win that category. The most credit probably has to go to Carlos Pena, who hit .400 with 3 runs, 3 home runs and 9 runs batted in. Reggie Willits hit .583 while Bill Hall hit .529. EJ's pitchers put up an impressive 56 strikeouts, with that being the other category that he won. Javier Vazquez gave him 12 of those with Johan Santana chipping in 9. James and EJ tied in wins (3) and saves (2). EJ got his wins from Ian Snell, Jeremy Bonderman and Joe Blanton while his saves came from J.J. Putz and Eric Gagne. James' wins came from Kelvim Escobar, Jake Peavy and Brad Penny and his saves were recorded by Billy Wagner and Jose Valverde. Escobar put up an incredible 22 K's - almost as much as the rest of the staff put together (25).
It makes sense that when the Yankees do well - I do well (being that I have 6 of them). I swept the pitching side and was able to defeat Jen (NoSenseWorrying.com), 9-1. My offense was led by A-Rod, who scored 9 runs, hit 3 home runs, drove in 10, stole a base and hit .429. Matsui also hit .429 (with 4 R, 1 HR, 8 RBI) and Jeter hit .478 (with 5 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB). Shane Victorino led Jen's side with 6 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 SB and a .346 average. His 4 stolen bases were double of what my entire team came up with. Carlos Guillen hit .500 for the week. Pitching wise, I certainly benefited from Justin Verlander's no hitter, with him picking up a 2 win, 18 K, 1.80 ERA, 0.87 WHIP week. My other wins came from Scott Kazmir (16 K's), Alan Embree, Mark Buehrle and Andy Pettitte. Joe Borowski and Octavio Dotel each had 2 saves while Mo added 1 of his own. Not to be outdone, Chien-Ming Wang was also fantastic for Jen, coming up with 2 wins, 12 K's, a 1.72 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. Other wins came from Randy Wolf and Roy Halladay. Her lone save came from Trevor Hoffman.
First place Mike (River Ave. Blues) topped Seamus, 7-2. Both teams had pretty weak offenses (24 runs, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 8 SB and a .262 average were the category leaders - all wins for Mike except for RBI, which was tied). The best of Mike's group was Adrian Gonzalez, who hit .364 with 2 home runs, 6 runs and 8 runs batted in. Sheff was Seamus' guy, scoring 4, driving in 4 and hitting .350. Seamus' pitching was pretty good (3 W, 1 S, 24 K's, 2.23 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, with the last two being Seamus' two category victories), but Mike's pitching was flat out awesome. 6 wins, 6 saves, 64 K's, 2.84 ERA, 1.07 WHIP. The wins were spread around evenly with John Smoltz, Cole Hamels, Joe Nathan, Fausto Carmona, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Derek Lowe picking up one each. Carmona and Lowe each turned in 11 strikeouts. F-Rod picked up 3 saves, Kevin Gregg picked up 2 and Jeremy Accardo had 1. For Seamus, Brandon Webb, Jered Weaver and Mike Mussina each had a victory and Todd Jones picked up the single save.
Top 3 teams in the league:
1. Mike (70-36-4)
2. James (55-49-6)
3. Ben (River Ave. Blues) (56-52-2)
Mike is a full 14 games up on James with a .655 winning percentage. Here are the percentages of the teams following him: .527, .518, .509, .500, .491, .491, .486, .423, .400. So, Mike is way ahead and then most of the rest of us are just kind of bunched together, fighting for scraps. It's Mike's world - we just live in it.
This Week
James (2nd, 55-49-6) vs. Aziz (Pride of the Yankees) (8th, 53-56-1).
Patrick (T6th, 51-53-6) vs. Mike (1st, 70-36-4). Just when I get out of the basement - I'm headed right back in!
Seamus (10th, 41-63-6) vs. Dave (Pride of the Yankees) (4th, 53-51-6).
Last Week
Coming into their match up, James and EJ (Pinstripe Potentials and Pending Pinstripes) were tied for 3rd place. With a 6-2 victory, James was able to step ahead and claim 2nd for his own. His offense played the biggest role. Led by Mark Teahen (7 R, 8 RBI, .375 AVG), they were able to win 4 out of 5 categories. EJ's squad put up a .339 batting average, allowing them to win that category. The most credit probably has to go to Carlos Pena, who hit .400 with 3 runs, 3 home runs and 9 runs batted in. Reggie Willits hit .583 while Bill Hall hit .529. EJ's pitchers put up an impressive 56 strikeouts, with that being the other category that he won. Javier Vazquez gave him 12 of those with Johan Santana chipping in 9. James and EJ tied in wins (3) and saves (2). EJ got his wins from Ian Snell, Jeremy Bonderman and Joe Blanton while his saves came from J.J. Putz and Eric Gagne. James' wins came from Kelvim Escobar, Jake Peavy and Brad Penny and his saves were recorded by Billy Wagner and Jose Valverde. Escobar put up an incredible 22 K's - almost as much as the rest of the staff put together (25).
It makes sense that when the Yankees do well - I do well (being that I have 6 of them). I swept the pitching side and was able to defeat Jen (NoSenseWorrying.com), 9-1. My offense was led by A-Rod, who scored 9 runs, hit 3 home runs, drove in 10, stole a base and hit .429. Matsui also hit .429 (with 4 R, 1 HR, 8 RBI) and Jeter hit .478 (with 5 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB). Shane Victorino led Jen's side with 6 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 SB and a .346 average. His 4 stolen bases were double of what my entire team came up with. Carlos Guillen hit .500 for the week. Pitching wise, I certainly benefited from Justin Verlander's no hitter, with him picking up a 2 win, 18 K, 1.80 ERA, 0.87 WHIP week. My other wins came from Scott Kazmir (16 K's), Alan Embree, Mark Buehrle and Andy Pettitte. Joe Borowski and Octavio Dotel each had 2 saves while Mo added 1 of his own. Not to be outdone, Chien-Ming Wang was also fantastic for Jen, coming up with 2 wins, 12 K's, a 1.72 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. Other wins came from Randy Wolf and Roy Halladay. Her lone save came from Trevor Hoffman.
First place Mike (River Ave. Blues) topped Seamus, 7-2. Both teams had pretty weak offenses (24 runs, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 8 SB and a .262 average were the category leaders - all wins for Mike except for RBI, which was tied). The best of Mike's group was Adrian Gonzalez, who hit .364 with 2 home runs, 6 runs and 8 runs batted in. Sheff was Seamus' guy, scoring 4, driving in 4 and hitting .350. Seamus' pitching was pretty good (3 W, 1 S, 24 K's, 2.23 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, with the last two being Seamus' two category victories), but Mike's pitching was flat out awesome. 6 wins, 6 saves, 64 K's, 2.84 ERA, 1.07 WHIP. The wins were spread around evenly with John Smoltz, Cole Hamels, Joe Nathan, Fausto Carmona, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Derek Lowe picking up one each. Carmona and Lowe each turned in 11 strikeouts. F-Rod picked up 3 saves, Kevin Gregg picked up 2 and Jeremy Accardo had 1. For Seamus, Brandon Webb, Jered Weaver and Mike Mussina each had a victory and Todd Jones picked up the single save.
Top 3 teams in the league:
1. Mike (70-36-4)
2. James (55-49-6)
3. Ben (River Ave. Blues) (56-52-2)
Mike is a full 14 games up on James with a .655 winning percentage. Here are the percentages of the teams following him: .527, .518, .509, .500, .491, .491, .486, .423, .400. So, Mike is way ahead and then most of the rest of us are just kind of bunched together, fighting for scraps. It's Mike's world - we just live in it.
This Week
James (2nd, 55-49-6) vs. Aziz (Pride of the Yankees) (8th, 53-56-1).
Patrick (T6th, 51-53-6) vs. Mike (1st, 70-36-4). Just when I get out of the basement - I'm headed right back in!
Seamus (10th, 41-63-6) vs. Dave (Pride of the Yankees) (4th, 53-51-6).
