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So the rosters expand in 13 minutes and the Yankees plan on adding a total of two players. Not only that, but the two guys they are adding (Coke and Moeller) are not currently on the 40-man roster.
Melky Cabrera is remaining in AAA. That is not a vote of confidence and tells you that the Yankees have basically moved on from the idea of Melky as a regular. The interesting thing to watch from here on out is if they let Gardner play. 7 back, 26 to play, why wouldn't they?
The loss was bad enough today, but this story really bugs me. Cano has been terrible this year and that was another half-assed play in a season with too many of those from him. But, to not stick around and face reporters makes it even worse.
Girardi needs to put an end to this and get in this kids' face. I would bench him tomorrow and make sure everyone knows why you are benching him. It's pathetic to say, but Cano obviously needs a babysitter like Larry Bowa harping at him, the Yankees need to find someone for that role next season.
News abounds for the Red Sox. First off and most importantly, Josh Beckett's visit with Dr. James Andrews resulted in the righty being diagnosed with a strained right elbow. No damage, just a strain. The Red Sox were so pleased with the results that they have him scheduled to start this Tuesday but not before placing him on the DL retroactive to August 18th.
Also, Sean Casey was put on the DL retroactive to August 20th, Michael Bowden was called up from Pawtucket to make his major league debut today, Julio Lugo was transferred from the 15 day DL to the 60 day DL which usually means a player is done for the year and catcher David Ross was brought up to Boston as well.
The Ross transaction is puzzling as he could have been brought up when roster expanded, but I guess they wanted him eligible for post-season play. Kevin Cash, watch out.
So keeping tabs on the 25-man roster was a challenge on Friday.
Back to Beckett, obviously the news is great, but there must still be some doubt in his mind if the elbow doesn't feel right. Hopefully he is a go for Tuesday.
Joba is coming back to the Yankees this week and the big question is how many innings can he throw between now and the end of the season? The Yankees are going to bring him back as a reliever and build him back up the same way they did back in May/June. The problem is, they have less than a month to do it.
Joba has thrown 89 innings so far and the Yankees need to get him as many innings as they can over the remaining weeks of the season. Realistically, I think it is going to be hard to get him more than 25 innings and that is being very aggressive. That would leave him at right around 115 for the season and probably mean that Joba is going to have an innings cap of 145 next season.
Add in the fact that Phil Hughes has thrown a total of 51 innings this season and Ian Kennedy 109 and you basically start 2009 in the same place you did 2008- three young pitchers with innings limits. The Yankees could send one or all of them to the Arizona League, but would they risk that with these arms? I'm not sure what the right answer is here, but it is something to keep a close eye on over the last few weeks of the year.
Josh Beckett, originally scheduled to start Friday night, has been scratched and will instead visit Dr. James Andrews ESPN is reporting.
Andrew's name is so closely linked with Tommy John surgery that any mention of him sends chills down my spine.
Theo Epstein was quoted as saying that 'though the numbness in Beckett's fingers has subsided, the elbow "doesn't fell 100 percent."
According to Francona, "I think the best word I can use is we're just trying to get some closure. We never want to send anyone out there that's not 100 percent. We're no more pessimistic about him today than we were, but when he goes out there we want him to be able to pitch with peace of mind."
Just visiting Andrews requires that the Red Sox get ready for a playoff push without Josh Beckett. Not a good scenario by any means.
The optimist in me says that the Red Sox having been winning without Beckett's "A" game this year and have done well in his recent absence, but the realist in me says sure the Red Sox can win without him, but the job gets much harder.
The Red Sox have piled up the injuries this year with 3 regulars currently on the DL (Lowell, Drew and Lugo) and their ace looking for answers.
You have probably read the quote ("they sucked") but Newsday has a video of Hank giving his evaluation of the Yankees last night. You can't say he is wrong, this train is going off the rails fast and while there is still hope mathematically, that's about all there is.
Consider that with last night's loss the Yankees fell seven games behind Boston in the wild card with 30 to play (they are also 4-1/2 behind the Twins). If Boston plays .500 ball the rest of the way, the Yankees need to go 22-8 to tie them. That's possible, just highly unlikely. So, the Yankees need to think about 2009 and there are a lot of big, big questions that need to be answered.
First and foremost is who will be part of the rotation in '09? I will assume Joba and Wang are back and healthy, but Pettitte and Mussina are free agents. It's time to bring Kennedy and Hughes back to the majors and let them have some on the job training. The games are essentially meaningless and the Yankees need to know if they can count on either of these guys for next year.
Next on the list is who will play center in 09? It's time for a daily dose of Gardener, he should play every game the rest of the way and we should see if he can handle the position.
How about the bullpen? Let's take the kids and put them in tight situations and see what happens. Maybe they will blow up like last night, but we need to maximize their opportunities.
Biggest on the to do list has to be waivers. Some of the Yankees' big contract players might have value for a team still in the pennant race. Passing a guy like Giambi through waivers and seeing if you can trade him for something of value makes sense at this point. If you can't hold onto him and take the draft picks, but at least find out.
This will be a weird September for some, anyone who was born after 1988 or so probably never remembers an October without the Yankees. Those of us a little longer in the tooth remember plenty. Speaking from experience, it isn't fun. The teams of the 1980's prolonged their postseason drought by never planning for the future, this team can avoid that mistake.
I am not one of the many who believed the Yankees had to sweep Boston this series to stay in the playoff hunt. But, losing the series would eliminate them in my mind. So, I definitely count the next two games as "must wins" Yes, even if they do that, four games back with less than 30 to play is a lot to overcome, but it is possible.
One interesting thing to keep an eye on is Sunday. The 31st is the last day teams can trade players and put them on postseason rosters. I found this little nugget burried in the bottom of this article, the Yankees have not put any of their "significant" players through waivers yet. If they lose another game to Boston I would expect that to change. I will leave it at that for now until we see what happens on the field.
Thanks to blmeanie for this link. Blmeanie gave us this site which is a hoot. This guy does some hysterical impressions of Red Sox batters. He actually has all teams covered and you can find them on his site.
The Youkilis impression had me struggling for breath. Good stuff.
Oh yeah, Peter Gammons, via ESPN, is reporting that the Red Sox are working on a deal to acquire Mark Kotsay. Kotsay is nothing special with the bat (.752 career OPS), but he does play good defense and is needed with J.D. Drew going on the DL today with a strained lower back as a result of a herniated disc (previously diagnosed).
A Kotsay deal reminds me of the Bobby Kielty signing last year. Let's hope he too can hit a game deciding home run in game 4 of the World Series. By the way, Kielty never made it back to the Majors this year having struggled in the minors.
Anyway, The Fielding Bible by John Dewan, says about Kotsay, "Kotsay covers a good amount of ground in center field. He combines good range with good reads on the ball, good routes and a strong, accurate arm. His 18 baserunner kills over the past 3 years (2003 - 2005) is second only to Jim Edmonds in center field in that time period."
So a defensive bench player. My question, if Coco Crisp is also good defensively (with the glove, not with the arm), what gives? If Drew comes back is Crisp or Kotsay a goner? Kotsay has hit better than Crisp. But, Crisp has another year left at $5.25mm or so.
Interesting development. Anyway, enjoy the batting stances. Mo Vaughn was great too. Also, glad to hear Yaz is back home after triple bypass surgery. Be well number 8.
The Red Sox open a 3 game set in New York tonight marking their last ever regular season visit to Yankee Stadium.
Of course it would have made far more sense to have flip-flopped the locations of the last 2 series meetings between Boston and New York (the 2008 regular season ends with New York at Boston), but some schedule maker was asleep at the wheel on that one. No matter, we can all expect a barrage of images and memories of all the great games played between these two teams at Yankee Stadium.
Ok, enough on nostalgia, let's talk baseball.
If the Red Sox want to hang on to their 1.5 game lead in the Wild Card, the starting pitching has to come around and get healthy. Josh Beckett is hurt, Tim Wakefield is hurt, Clay Buchholz was banished to Caribou Maine, Daisuke Matsuzaka remains quite painful to watch while winning, Paul Byrd is doing what he always does (allowing plenty of base runners) and Jon Lester has been good.
As we head down the stretch, I feel comfortable with Lester, Matsuzaka and Byrd. I say this only because those are the only health starters Boston has. I'm worried about Beckett as any kind of tingling in the hand makes me think of Tommy John. Buchholz is no longer an option in 2008 and Wakefield had to miss a big chunk of the 2007 playoffs with the same injury he is battling now.
Not a good place to be in. Bartolo Colon is doing well in his minor league rehab and should be an option in 7-10 days, but if the Red Sox want to lock down a post-season spot, they need Beckett healthy.
Beckett, Lester, Matsuzaka, Wakefield sounds much better than Lester, Matsuzaka, Bryd, Colon if the post-season were to start today.
As you'd expect, with these injuries creeping in, the Red Sox pitching has not been good over the past 28 days posting a 5.00 ERA, yet still going 14-10. Over the past 14 days a 6.25 ERA, but 8-4 and over the past week, 6.00 ERA yet 4-2. So while the pitching is not good, the offense is. 28 days, .283/.367/.462. 14 days, .297/.383/.507 and over the past week, .275/.361/.477.
A big contributor to the offense has been Jason Bay. Since being acquired at the trade deadline, he has gone .333/.385/.529 scoring 20 runs, 4 HRs, 18 RBI and 3 SBs. Bay hustles every play and seems to be actually thinking while playing baseball. It is refreshing to see. Add to it, he has played some good defense thus far. His range is well below league average but that tends to happen in left at Fenway.
Notice few if any have talked about Julio Lugo's return? Jed Lowrie has done a much better job as his replacement and I don't expect he'll lose his job even if Lugo were to return today.
Jason Varitek has shown some life, going .265/.375/.559 over the past 14 days. Good to see.
I have not given up on the Red Sox winning the AL East, but the Tampa Bay Rays need to lose a few now and again for that to happen. Boston has 6 games remaining against the Rays after all and can make up all ground necessary in a matter of days if they play well. With the injuries to Crawford, Longoria and Percival, I really expected them to falter a bit, but no such luck. They are good.
Where the Rays are not good is at having good fans. They drew just 19,157 for Sunday's game against the LA Angels? That is a joke. Tampa ranks 26 out of 30 teams in attendance at 21,303 per game or 51.1 % of capacity.
Attendance ranks based on capacity from ESPN:
Boston - 37- 104.1% capacity
Detroit - 39,896 - 99.4%
Chicago (N) - 40,728 - 99.1%
Philadelphia - 42,325 - 97.3%
New York (A) - 52,869 - 92.0%
Los Angeles (A) - 41,204 - 91.5%
Much baseball to be played, but this time of year tends to go by in a flash.
I am as likely as anyone to criticize Carl Pavano, but that doesn't mean I will root against him tonight. When you really sit down and think about it, Pavano is probably the worst signing in team history and the really sad thing is it should have been a good story. Remember the press conference and Carl and his family, all Yankees' fans smiling for the cameras? Remember that shutout he pitched in Seattle when the 2005 Yankees were getting off the mat and recovering from an 11-19 start with a ten-game winning streak? Carl Pavano had the fans on his side and then he got hurt and it all went downhill from there.
I like Mike Mussina and when he called out Pavano I noticed. I think Pavano decided at some point in his many injury rehabs that he had had enough and he didn't want to play baseball anymore. The honorable thing to do would have been to retire, but you don't earn $10 million a year in retirement. So, Pavano half-assed his rehab, didn't tell the team about his car crash and all the other things we have read about the past three years. Contrast that with the way Hideki Matsui basically willed his knee to get better this season. Mussina wasn't the only one who criticized Pavano for a lack of heart, some players posted insulting stories about him in his locker. So, it is fair to say that some of those players will probably not welcome him back tonight.
Over the last couple of days I have seen some pretty shocking articles about Pavano. Some suggested that the Yankees shouldn't start him out of spite. Some, like this one, suggest that Pavano will kill any momentum the team has by setting foot in the locker room. Both are silly points to try and make.
The Yankees cannot play the spite game with Pavano. When they decline his option at the end of the season both sides will move on from this unhappy marriage, but until then they owe it to everyone to see if they can wring out some value from him. To deliberately keep him out of the majors as some have suggested is silly. If it helps Pavano get a deal from another club next season, so be it. The Yankees can't care about that right now and there fans shouldn't worry about it. If Pavano wins all his starts and is brilliant on the mound that is great for the Yankees. If some club sees that and gives him a big deal as a result, that is there problem And, while there are some Yankees who can't stand Pavano, all of them are professionals and they want to win.
As for the fans, we are free to boo if we want. If Pavano ever takes the mound at the Stadium I would imagine his reception would be very, very cold. He deserves all the boos he gets and while I would never tell someone they can't boo, ask yourself before you do so, does this help my team win? Instead of booing, I would recommend just sitting silent, turn your back even, it would be much more powerful. But hopefully, Pavano gives us something to cheer about because like it or not, we need pitching right now.
If you haven't heard, the Yankees announced that Carl Pavano will start Saturday. If he takes the mound it could mean the world is ending, so take steps to prepare now.
If you are keeping track, the Yankees have gotten 19 starts and 111 innings with an ERA of 4.77 from Pavano in exchange for $40 million. If this were Hollywood, Pavano would now go 7-0 the rest of the way and then lead the team to a World Series title. Since it isn't I am going to head for higher ground.
Just in time for the stretch run, the Yankees get a boost tonight with Matsui back in the lineup. While he won't be able to play the field, his return should be a boost for the offense. Girardi just said on the pregame that the plan is to play Damon in center with Nady in left and Matsui at DH. That also means Giambi is back at first.
This should be interesting to watch. I am somewhat surprised that Christian got sent down because it means Gardner is now on the bench, but I guess he would not have started in AAA with Melky there. I just wonder if Damon will hold up in center every day and Giambi will hold up at first. I imagine Girardi will do a lot of shuffling of the lineup with Abreu sitting against lefties and maybe we will see some Damon at first?
I do wish the Yankees would get back to 11 pitchers, but they seem to feel the need for 12 right now. It was nice seeing Billy Traber pitch 2 innings the other day, but do we really need him?
While the news is that Hideki Matsui is rejoining the team on Tuesday, I am more interested in a potential move for Saturday. The Yankees will need a starter then and heading into tonight there were two probable candidates. The first, Phil Hughes, did not pitch well tonight at Scranton. I think he gets another shot at AAA before the Yankees recall him.
The second guy is...wait for it...Carl Pavano who pitched very well in Trenton tonight. I know, he will probably get a paper cut tomorrow that ends his rehab, but he probably the guy who will get the call for Saturday. Think about that for a minute, how weird a year has this been? It will get stranger on Saturday if I am right.
The Yankees finally realized what has been obvious for awhile, Melky Cabrera isn't an everyday centerfielder right now. Sending Melky to the minors is a good move because the Yankees have some big questions heading into 2009 that they need to answer and centerfield is a big one.
Maybe Gardner can play there and the next few weeks will give us a good idea if his bat is ready for the majors. The Yankees are not going to commit to a centerfielder in free agency because Austin Jackson has had a good year in AA, and he looks on track to make the club in 2010. Damon can certainly cover the ground out there, but he is better suited to left right now. That's fine too, because Matsui doesn't seem capable of playing left everyday anymore either. I would imagine next year's club will have an outfield of Damon-Gardner/Melky-Nady (Nady has been great btw) with Matsui at DH.
But, sending Melky down is not going to fix the 2008 club and in some ways it weakens it. For everything Melky isn't, he is still a good pinchrunner and defensive player. I doubt he would have gotten picked off last night and I think the team is stronger with him on the bench instead of in Scranton.
I know the Yankees won't admit it, but I think the Melky move was more about waking up Robinson Cano than anything else. Cano looked lost on the road trip and his bat has been terrible this year. I don't know what the reason for his regression is, but the Yankees have to figure it out.
I am not ready to give up on the 2008 team, but the math is daunting. if the Red Sox simply play .500 the rest of the way, the Yankees need to go 27-14 to tie them. They still have six games left with Boston, so there is hope, but it is waning. At some point, if things continue on this track, the Yankees will need to focus more on 2009 than 2008, but we aren't quite there yet.
What can you say about that road trip other than it was painful to watch? It isn't the losses (well, it could be the losses) but the way they played, just stupid baseball. Sitting here on August 14th and looking at the standings, it is hard to get excited. The one thing the Yankees have going for them is that they still have games against Tampa and Boston to play. They will need to win almost all of them to have a shot, but there is still a chance.
Unfortunately, the news off the field is bad. Giese is hurt and headed to the DL and the Yankees are not going to sign their #1 pick according to this. That's a real shock because Cole was reportedly a huge Yankees' fan and you know it wasn't money that caused this. We'll see if it is still true at the deadline, but it is bad news if turns out to be true.
A few weeks back a rumor popped up that the Yankees might make a run at Paul Byrd. I scoffed, as is my way, at the idea of it. Peter and I engaged in a slight back and forth and I left that discussion thinking the move would be ok, but not really an impact move befitting the Yankees.
Byrd has made some news in the past year most notably his use of HGH which he said was in full compliance with MLB, but turned out it was not. For some reason, no action has been taken against him as of yet.
No matter, now that Byrd is a member of the Red Sox, to me he is the best pitcher ever. All kidding aside, as I mentioned yesterday, it is a good pick-up for this time of year. Is Byrd great, no, far from it, he is probably average in at best.
I was listening on the radio today (WEEI which has little credibility when it comes to evaluations of anything from their hosts) and they said Byrd was the hottest pitcher since the All-Star break. True? You tell me.
In his 4 starts since the break he is: 4-0, 1.24 ERA, 29 IP, 25 H, 4 ER, 7 BB, 12 K. Ok, he has been good, check that, great. But consider prior the the All-Star break, the same pitcher was 3-10, 5.47 ERA in 102 IP. That is an extreme and there is no reason to believe Byrd will continue to pitch at the level of a sub 2.00 ERA pitcher the rest of the way or a sub 4.00 pitcher either.
Byrd eats innings, can keep you in games for the most part, but needs a strong offense behind him because he does allow runs. With Mike Lowell likely headed to the DL (finally), the Red Sox will find scoring runs a bit more difficult, although last night's game was a poor indicator of that.
Other questions on Byrd. Why didn't the Yankees or the Rangers make a play for Byrd? How did he slip to the Red Sox? Perhaps that is an indication that yes he is a veteran, but just isn't the best pitcher in the world. Regardless, Byrd goes Friday night at Fenway. With all this action, Charlie Zink, rough night last night, has already been demoted and it seems Clay Buchholz has dodged the minor league bullet for now. I'm not sure he belongs up here now and think keep him up here but not using him might be worse than sending him to AAA to work things out.
In a blockbuster move, the Red Sox overhauled their starting rotation with the acquisition of Paul Byrd in return for Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester.
Which part of the above is false?
I'll quit playing around, the Red Sox did trade for Paul Byrd today for cash or a PTBNL. Beckett and company are safe.
Byrd is a throwback and is capable of a decent workload. He has made 31 starts in each of his previous 3 seasons and is on pace to do so again this year. In 22 starts, he is 7-10 with a 4.53 ERA. Far from terrible, but not overwhelming. Bryd doesn't strike anyone out (56 in 131 IP) but instead tries to keep hitters off-balance (don't all pitchers) with an array of off-speed stuff and a deceiving delivery.
With this trade, I bet we see Clay Buchholz sent down, especially since Charlie Zink has already been named starter for tonight's game.
Byrd represents an approximate $2.5mm rental (if I have my facts straight, Byrd signed a 2 year deal after the 2005 season with Cleveland that contained an option year which he is playing out right now). If the Red Sox make the playoffs, I doubt Byrd would make the post-season roster, unless Tim Wakefield remains injured and even that isn't a certainty.
Good pick-up, an average arm, about the best you can expect this time of year, to add some depth to the starting ranks.
The Red Sox suddenly find themselves short on starters. With Tim Wakefield on the DL and Clay Buchholz ineffective, Boston has some decisions to make.
Bartolo Colon isn't going to be ready until later this month. Justin Masterson was just converted to a reliever and I doubt they'd risk it and switch him back.
Beckett, Matsuzaka, Lester and Buchholz are the current healthy starters. My guess is that Buchholz gets sent down in the next 48 hours and the Red Sox make a call to Pawtucket for help. With no scheduled day off in the next 10 days, management will have to work some magic.
Options for the 4th and 5th rotation spots.
Buchholz - I doubt he is a viable option right now. When you read his quotes in the paper, this kid has lost all confidence and is thinking way too much. Go figure it out for the rest of the season (i.e. rest of this month) in the minors.
Charlie Zink - A knuckleballer, he makes the most sense as he's pitched very well at Pawtucket. 13-4, 2.89 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 152.1 IP, 129 H, 43 BB, 94 K. Kevin Cash has proven he can catch the knuckle and the old concern that a team would never carry 2 knucklers at the same time is moot with Wakefield on the DL.
David Pauley - Pauley is no stranger to Boston having made 4 starts over the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He was lit up overall, but has pitched well in Pawtucket this year. 13-4, 3.32 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 135.2 IP, 132 H, 40 BB, 94 K.
Davern Hansack - He started poorly this year at AAA, but has done well of late, posting 3-2, 2.45 ERA in his last 10 starts covering 66 IP. Overall he is 5-10, 4.10 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 125.0 IP, 112 H, 36 BB, 118 K. This BB/K ratio and K/9 are the best of the bunch, so he has a good shot at being called up and pitched fairly well in his brief MLB appearances.
Edgar Martinez - The converted catcher started his pitching career as a reliever, but was converted (again) to a starter earlier this year. So far so good although his control hasn't been good enough. Over his last 10 games (9 of which were starts), he has gone 4-1, 3.75 ERA in 50.1 IP. Overall Martinez is 6-2, 4.03 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 96.0 IP, 77 H, 45 BB, 77 K.
Those are the internal options. Of course we could see a waiver deal or even a Freddie Garcia type acquisition. Given Wakefield's injury doesn't seem too serious and Colon might be helpful later this month, my guess is they go with the AAA players, that's what I'd do.
If it were up to me, I would take Zink and Hansack as Zink has earned a shot and Hansack has pitched for Boston before and didn't stink the place up.
Yes, I lifted that title from a classic line in "Stripes" but it seemed appropriate tonight. Joba is on the DL and the word is he has rotator cuff tendenitis. What exactly does that mean? Kim Jones reported on YES that he will rest for a week and then begin a throwing program and he will be "monitored closely".
I don't know what that means, but I don't think we will see Joba soon. All three of the Yankees' young guns have now gone on the DL this year and Wang as well. That's four starting pitchers and when you factor in the injuries to players like Matsui and Posada you just have to wonder, is it too much to overcome?
Ian Kennedy is now Friday's starter and seeing him pitch well this year would go a long way to restoring some confidence in this corner.
Clever me, worrying about Joba and his innings limit. Well, that doesn't sound like it will be a problem. Not a ton of details yet, but he is on his way to Dr. Andrews. That doesn't mean he is done, but it means that the MRI showed "something". What that is remains to be seen and the Yankees aren't going to say tonight.
The Yankees cannot, cannot compete with a rotation including Rasner, Giese and Ponson. Cashman needs to come up with an answer, maybe it's Kennedy, maybe a trade, but something has to be done.
Perusing the lineup tonight I see that Justin Christian is playing center in place of Melky. I am sure that Joe Girardi is just doing this as a reward for Christian's base running yesterday, but he should give a long thought to making some change in center. Simply put, Melky isn't cutting it.
In 387 AB's, Melky has put up a line of .243/.297/.341. Yes, very nice defense in center, but that doesn't make up for that production offensively. You never want to write off a young kid, but Melky has gotten worse every year in the majors numbers-wise and it seems fair to say after almost 1500 AB's that he looks like a spare outfielder and not a starter.
The Yankees don't really have many options here. Damon seems too banged up to play center and his arm is not an asset when he does. If Matsui returns, you put Damon in center and grit your teeth, but for now that isn't the way to go. Gardner showed he wasn't ready in his tryout in July so the options are limited. One thing the Yankees could do is make center into a platoon. Cabrera has never hit lefty pitching and Christian is a righty, so why not let them split the spot? Or, if Christian gets hot just ride him until he cools off.
The good news is that the future in center looks bright. It is one of the few positions where we can identify a prospect in the upper levels who is on track to fill it. Austin Jackson had a slow start in April, but he is hitting in Trenton now and he is quickly becoming the Yankees' #1 prospect. He still has to get through AAA, but he will probably be in the mix for a spot in 2010.
Until then, the Yankees have to hope Gardner comes on. He has shown a pattern of getting to a level, struggling and then doing well. He will probably never hit for power, but a guy who can put up a .400 OBP in the majors isn't a bad thing. Problem is, he won't help until 2009. Christian can now, the Yankees should let him take a shot at some semi-regular playing time.
********
Interesting decision with the Yankees going with Dan Giese starting Friday. Not sure why they didn't turn to Kennedy, but it might be to protect him. As many have noted in the comments, Kennedy doesn't lack confidence, but the Angels are a tough team to beat. The Yankees can try Giese for a turn and then see what happens. Hughes is on his way to Scranton, where he will make his next start, so the Yankees will have some choices to make in the near future.
As the Yankees try and build some momentum from a nice comeback and try to start a long stretch of road games off on the right foot, it's nice to have Joba on the mound. The guy is transforming into the starter we hoped he would be and if Phil Hughes can get going (nice start in Charleston today) the Yankees could really have a dynamic 1-2 punch. But, Hughes is a topic for a later date, today I am wondering about Joba and specifically his innings limit.
The Yankees never came out and gave you a number, but the whisper has always been "140" since the season began. And, with Joba right around 85 innings, that poses a bit of a problem. Assume Joba makes ten more starts this season and he would need to average just over 5 innings a start to stay under that number. And, that doesn't factor in the playoffs. I don't know about you, but my money is on Girardi tabbing Joba as his starter in Game 1 if the Yankees make the playoffs.
So, is the whisper number wrong or are the Yankees going to run into a problem over the final weeks of the season? They certainly won't announce their intentions either way, but it is something to watch closely over these final two months.
August 2nd will always mean one thing for me and that is the day we lost Thurman Munson. It's been 29 years, but I still remember vividly exactly where I was when I heard the news.
So, it is entirely fitting that today is Old Timer's Day at the Stadium and the Yankees will honor Munson and Bobby Murcer. Problem is, the weather looks like it won't cooperate. Come on rain, get out of here so we can get this ceremony in!
So the Yankees stayed quiet at the deadline, except for a trade of Alberto Gonzalez for a pitching prospect. (Side note, not a bad deal there for the Yankees because Gonzalez isn't going to hit in the bigs so his value is limited) The thing is, there is work to be done, the rotation needs some help.
Now the Yankees can approach this two ways. The first is a trade, maybe the Mariners put Washburn on waivers, the Yankees can claim him and then either work out a deal or just assume his entire salary if Seattle decides to dump him on them. There are some other pitchers who will certainly go through waivers that could become trade targets.
I would prefer that they go back to the minors and see if the guys they started the season with can carry them into the playoffs. We know Ian Kennedy was a disaster in the bigs, but since returning to the minors off the DL he has been very good. In July he compiled an ERA of 2.61 and his control seems to be back. Why not give him a shot instead of Ponson?
And, Phil Hughes went three innings the other night. He will be stretched to 50 pitches his next start and assuming it goes well, you can probably say he has three more starts in the minors before being ready. That would put him in line to come back to the team somewhere around August 22nd.
There is also the chance that Chien-Ming Wang will comeback, but I would put those odds much lower.
So, what do you think? Do the Yankees keep looking for a trade or use Kennedy and Hughes to fill out the rotation?
Some final notes on the Jason Bay deal.
Sean McAdam on Sports Tonight said the following:
- The Red Sox Front Office received and solicited feedback from the players on Manny. Most of the veteran players said it was time for a change. They weren't sure they could count on Manny or trust Manny.
- Jason Bay will be playing his first meaningful game of his career at the MLB level Friday night.
- McAdam says Bay will hit 5th in the line-up if for no other reason than to limit the comparison to Manny Ramirez as a # 4 hitter. At least for the time being. Either Lowell or Youkilis will hit clean-up in the meantime.
- The inclusion of Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen was interesting. They both had value, but to move Manny, were necessary to include.
Sports Tonight showed a clip from David Ortiz commenting on Manny Ramirez.
Ortiz Quote: "Always I had people asking me questions about Manny, you know, like I'm Manny Part 2. You know, he wore me out, I mean, you know, because I know everyone is going to ask 'hey David, what do you think about what Manny's thinking?' I don't [expletive deleted] know, you know?"
- Super (or former Super) agent Scott Boros represents both Ramirez and Bay (and Hansen). McAdam believes Boros convinced Manny to agree to refuse arbitration to any team that got him thus making sure Manny would not accept arbitration, and thus a mega payday, for the acquiring team.
- The Florida Marlins were in on a deal but wanted the Red Sox to add an additional $2 million dollars on top of the Red Sox paying all of Manny's salary. The Red Sox said no and the Marlins eventually said goodbye.
- By making this deal, the Dodgers essentially gave up Andy LaRoche and Adam Morris for a FREE Manny and 2 compensation draft picks (sandwich between round 1 and 2) in the 2009 draft. A steal for the Dodgers which makes you wonder why other teams out there didn't get involved. Why? (caution, Andy opinion) Because they knew that Manny is potentially the biggest headache in baseball.
- In answering how desperate Theo Epstein was to move Manny, McAdam said there was a "mandate" from the veteran players to move Manny in order to avoid a sinking ship even if they couldn't get full value for Manny.
Final thoughts:
Are the Red Sox a better team after this deal? Well, not to anger anyone, that is a difficult question to answer. With a Manny Ramirez actually trying hard, the Red Sox are a worse team than they were at 3:59pm Thursday. By far. So on paper, the Red Sox lose big.
But, Manny wasn't going to try hard. Or at best, the risk of Manny tanking was too great to ignore. Jason Bay and the $10mm the Red Sox paid (approx. $7.5mm for Manny's contract for the next 2 months and the $2.0mm they owe Bay) and Hansen and Moss were what it took to rid themselves of a malcontent.
With Bay, the Red Sox have a good hitter who finally has protection. Consider he hit behind Ryan Doumit and in front of Doug Mientkiewicz in Pitt. Some protection, eh (Bay is Canadian, so I threw in the local talk). Now he gets Ortiz, Youkilis, Lowe, Drew or Pedroia protecting him. A better selection, no?
The age of Manny has passed. On to the Back Bay Basher. I guess Fenway isn't in the Back Bay, but rather the Fens. But Back Bay Basher sounds better.