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Peter - I feel for ya, not being able to watch the game. Luckily, I was able to watch on the local Bahstan station.

ManBan looked really good - the best part was that he "pitched" his way through the lineup and some rough spots - he didn't try to blow by guys when he got jammed up. He was trusting his off-speed stuff with runners in scoring position and full counts, that's poise/guts - no other way to put it. Dropping slow curves into the strike zone and using his changeup to good effect. He was "corner flirting" for a while (hence the walks) but settled down after a mound conference. He then looked like a mid-30s pitcher who trusted his (good) stuff. Impressive.

Betances looked like Wild Thing (pre-glasses) tonight - throwing hard and wild and scaring the absolute hell out of everyone that had to step into the box against him. He even crossed Montero up a time or two as well. He did not, however, give up, he gutted it out.

Montero showed his flaws as a C in the game, backhanding some balls in the dirt instead of moving to block them and even missing a high fastball from Betances by moving his big mitt too slowly. He's not worse defensively than Posada was last year - but still, you could see, clearly, what the scouts have been reporting as concerns for a while.

My guess is that ManBan and Dellin go back down - as Cashman has repeatedly said - and Brackman winds up in the pen. My second guess is that ManBan has the highest ceiling of the killer Bs unless Brackman can rigiidly control his mechanics and hit his spots. Betances? I can't tell what he's really about just yet.

We'll see how this plays out.

Mitchell - you had the luck of enjoying Remy on the local feed?

ESPN2 was more about showing the three announcers and constant guests in the "booth" vs the game. Orel looked disgusted at times with the conversation that Bobby V was spewing out there.

Boring game though.

Mitchell

You think Brackman will make the pen out of camp? That would be a fairly big surprise in my mind.

Totally agree on the other two B's. I saw Manny pitch last week and the guy has a presence. Betances will be more of a project, but the raw stuff is impressive.

BL - Yep, Remy and Orsillo were having their usual fun time in the booth yakking about the game. I find Remy to be fairly objective when it comes to the Yankees, plus he's a funny guy so it's a pleasure to watch "his" games. He had a good time watching Betances mangle the screen behind home plate and pitch behind guys. And yeah, the game did drag at times didn't it?

Peter - I think that if there is an opening in the pen, that Brackman will either break camp or be the first callup. He's the "most ready" guy from the minors righ now, IMO. But hey, like I said, I'm just guessing and I've been wrong before so put no money on it. I love Brackman's newly found steady control and his stuff so count me a fan of the kid.

I just don't think they will give up on him being a starter yet but I agree that he is on a much faster track than the other guys.

Sometimes a good way to make a kid a starter is to have him "apprentice" from the bullpen. Builds confidence, etc..

Totally agree and it worked well with Hughes in 09 and Joba in 07, but I don't think the Yankees make that move until the ASG or later with Brackman. He threw 140 innings last year, I bet they look to get him to 175 or so this season, which means starting for at least a few months.

I could be way off base, but I am willing to bet a Mrs. Stahl's....

Well amigo, had I been a betting kind of guy (yeah, I know, we still have an open wager involving Nathan's at the ballpark about Cashman's employers in 2012), you would have gotten your knishe with no problem cause (drum roll please) Brackman is now back in AAA. (sigh, wrong again Mitchell)

Buuuuuuut, what we could do is wager a Mrs Stahl's that Brackman is called up sooner rather than later - I say he returns before the ASG, you still thinking he's after the break? We gotta a bet?

Hmmmm...the stakes are high on this one. Well, I agree because unless the Yankees get hit with the injury bug in their rotation, I think Brackman stays in the minors trying to be a starter. However, come late July or August, he becomes Joba 2, so the bet is on!