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Just another night in Yankeeland as Chad Moeller is back, Stewart is sent to AAA, Sean Henn has been DFA'ed and Phil Hughes is on the DL.  Oh yes, Chris Britton was recalled in place of A-Rod.

The Yankees could have put Bruney or Cervelli on the 60-day DL to make room for Moeller, so I have no clue why they simply DFA'ed Henn.  Then again, Henn isn't exactly the second coming of Sandy Koufax. Still it seems odd to give up on a 27 year-old lefty when you don't have any in the big league pen. 

Hughes on the DL is simply bizarre.  The Yankees are obviously making up an injury here, but what is the point?  (And I say that because Joe Girardi said he was healthy before tonight's game) Why pretend he is hurt when everyone knows what is going on?  You can send him to Tampa on a rehab assignment, but why wouldn't you simply demote him and let him try at AAA?  Now he can't appear in any games which makes no sense to me.  

And, the Yankees now have to make a move to replace Hughes spot on the roster.  Just to review, Mo, Farnsworth, Hawkins, Ohlendorf, Albie, Britton, Ramirez and Joba make up the bullpen with four starters in the rotation.  Do the Yankees promote a batter the next few days in place of Hughes (and Betemit is apparently unable to go) or do they just recall Rasner at this point to pitch Sunday?  Talk about needing a scorecard to identify the players!

And, please let me know if you see the Yankees' offense.  It is missing and presumed to be dangerous, but hasn't proved to be yet.  

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Thanks to Mitchell for pointing out that Phil Hughes can't see.  Reading the story immediately made me think of the movie "Major League".  Vaughn, played by Charlie Sheen, is a top rookie pitcher, but his blurry vision makes him wild.  He gets fitted for glasses and goes on to dominate. If you think about it, the Yankees have a lot of similarities with that movie. Shelley Duncan could be Cerrano and A-Rod certainly has some Roger Dorn in him. 

 
But I digress, the real point is how do the Yankees fix this problem? If the guy can't see the catcher's glove or the signs, it would explain a lot.  One thing, for his career and the sample size is small, his ERA in the day is almost twice that of his ERA at night so the numbers don't back up the claim.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Yankees announced after the game that A-Rod is headed to the DL with a grade 2 quad strain, no word yet on a callup, but Wilson Betemit could be activated if he is healthy.  Beyond that it is hard to guess what way the Yankees would go.  Juan Miranda is the only healthy position player on the 40-man roster who isn't already in the majors. 

Without A-Rod and Posada, the Yankees are missing two huge parts of the offense.  Apart from hoping that Cano's homer tonight will wake him up the Yankees don't have a lot of options.  I would activate Betemit and let him loose against righty pitching.  Matsui in the lineup every night is a must.  Giambi and Duncan can split first with whoever is hitting getting the nod. 

My bigger question is what is going on with the Yankees' doctors?  Both Posada and A-Rod came back from injuries too soon and were then forced to the DL.  Last year Marty Miller walked the plank for the injuries the team suffered in April, is someone going to pay the price in 2008? 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I am not saying it had anything to do with Hughes' dud tonight, but why did the Yankees choose to put Chris Stewart in at catcher?  Stewart joined the team yesterday, apart from the guys who played this year at AAA he doesn't know the pitchers.  Molina has caught the bulk of Hughes' innings this season and while the results haven't been good, at least they have a relationship.  Stewart gets put into a tough spot and Hughes has to work with his fourth catcher of the season.  Add in the fact that Hughes pitched well last time out and Molina caught him then, and I really don't get the move. (And someone should tell Stewart to pick a different #.  # 38 reminds me of Matt Nokes, which is not what you want in a catcher.)

The Yankees now have a big decision to make about Hughes.  He has made six starts, pitched 22 innings and given up 22 earned runs.  The Yankees can't afford to keep sending him out there if he isn't going to be at least competitive in his starts and you would have to be generous to say he has been that in half his starts this season.  He is scheduled to pitch against Seattle Sunday and if he doesn't do well in that start, the Yankees have to strongly consider sending him to AAA. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 09:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Yes, 14-13 doesn't sound that great after 1/6th of the season, but when you consider that the Yankees have played 18-of-20 on the road it isn't that bad.  Throw in the fact that it is good enough for one-game out of first and you have to be happy with things so far. 

Let's recap some of the challenges so far.  Jeter was lost for a week, same with Joba.  Hughes and Kennedy have been awful and the Yankees have lost Bruney for the year and Posada for an uncertain amount of time.  Robinson Cano is hitting .153 and Jason Giambi is hitting .167.  Derek Jeter has an OPS of .660.

On the plus side, Wang is 5-0 and striking guys out at a higher rate than usual.  Melky has five HR"s and Matsui is off to a great start.  Joba and Mo have given the Yankees a devestating 1-2 punch at the back of the bullpen.  

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Connect the dots back to Scranton with the Posada injury and you would guess that Chris Stewart will soon be on his way to the Yankees.  Who is the guy and what do we know about him?

Stewart was originally a 12th-round draft choice of the White Sox and he just turned 26.  He bats and throws righty and was once considered the top defensive catcher in the White Sox organization.  Baseball America liked his "quick release".  Stewart had cups of coffee the past two seasons with Chicago and Texas, hitting .200 in 45 plate appearances.  

Baseball Prospectus has Stewart projected to actually out-hit Molina by a bit (.237/.287/.370), with both providing above-average defense.  But here's the interesting thing, because he is only 26, Stewart has a much higher upside and if he hits at the top of their projections, they have him at .277/.332/.463.  For the Yankees, anything approaching the league average at catcher .274/.332/.408 from Molina and Stewart will be a bonus.  For now they will have to hope that both continue to play stellar defense and the other eight guys in the lineup get the offense going. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

It sounds like the one guy the Yankees cannot afford to lose is headed to the DL. 

As Jimmy wisely said in the commments of another post, "that decision to DFA Moeller doesn't look so smart now".  And that is what has me scratching my head in this story.  How do you explain the fact that the Yankees knew Posada had a tear in his shoulder yet didn't send him to Dr. Andrews sooner and DFA'ed Moeller?   It seems to me like the Yankees totally blew it here.  Posada is way too valuable to take chances with, but the Yankees did exactly that. 

Now, what are they going to do?  Molina should be able to catch every day, but he won't hit.  Currently, there is no one to backup Molina and Moeller was only DFA'ed on Friday which I believe means he would not be available to be brought back until at May 5th.  So, the Yankees are going to need another catcher for at least a week and that assumes Moeller makes it through waivers.  

Plus, the team simply isn't hitting.  Ok, I am depressed now, I will be back after the game.   

UPDATE: Posada said on the postgame "I am going on the DL".  Interestingly, his manager wasn't sure.  According to Jorge, there has been no evidence of a tear in any of his MRI's, so that's a positive I guess but he is going to visit Dr. Andrews.

Gotta love Jorge, he apologized to the Yankees because he signed a big deal in the offseason and now he is hurt he called it "the biggest dissapointment of his career".   

Wang pitched a beaut today on a day the Yankees sorely needed one.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Yankees have reversed course and DFA'ed Chad Moeller while DL'ing Bruney.  Bruney is having surgery so who knows when we will see him again.  In their places are Albie and Chris Britton.  In addition, Shelley Duncan is not in Scranton, so it sounds like he will be activated soon. 

Nice to see the Yankees becoming smarter with their roster management and I am excited to see Britton get a shot. I don't know who Britton pissed off last year, but the guy pitched 57 innings last year with a 2.51 ERA and a K per inning.  Why he didn't get more of a chance makes no sense to me, but maybe this time will be different.

And that is an interesting question, who do the Yankees send down when they activate Duncan?  Ohlendorf is certainly a candidate and none of the pitchers promoted are long relievers, so things may still be fluid.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Bad luck and bad planning contributed to this debacle of a fourth inning tonight.  The bad luck was the rain, forcing the Yankees to pull Hughes after two innings.  You can't do anything about that and you can't question the decision to pull him, you don't mess around with franchise pitchers.

But, Brian Bruney was seen by multiple reporters wearing a knee-length boot in the clubhouse today and went for a MRI at some point Thursday.  He is going to NY to see a specialist tomorrow.  Why would the Yankees mess around with that and not put him on the DL to get another pitcher up to help out the pen?  Or, would this have been a smart time to DFA Chad Moeller for another reliever? (I am nodding yes as I type that)

This game is far from over in the fifth, but I don't understand the thinking here.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Caught part of the pregame tonight and heard that Joe Girardi wants to keep all three catchers on the active roster through the weekend.  Chad Moeller has been great filling in, but considering that he is 33, do you believe his 20 AB's this year represent his ability or the 1198 that came before this year?  Moeller has produced career #'s of .226/.287/.351 and that means he has no value with his bat. 

Keeping him around while Shelley Duncan languishes in AAA is just stupid.  Jason Giambi may have hit a home run last night, but he is hitting .120 this season and some smart writers have suggested it may by time to say goodbye to him.  I am not ready to go there yet, but sitting him down isn't a bad idea. Plus, the Yankees are scheduled to face Sabathia this weekend in Cleveland, so having a power-righty bat for the lineup would be a plus.   

But, the Yankees will keep Duncan in the minors and Moeller in the majors.  It's only five games, but the Yankees need every advantage they can get in 2008 and this one seems to be a no-brainer.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)