Feel free to use this as your open thread for the evening. There’s certainly plenty to talk about; here’s some baseball links for your reading pleasure:
- The Yankees were scheduled to play their fourth game of the season against the Rays tonight. Unfortunately the game canceled due to rain. You know what that means — a gazillion 16 more games to go against the gentlemen from Tampa (and the majority of those games will occur down the stretch).
- Speaking of the Allstar break, CC was snubbed! I’m disappointed (but secretly delighted… let the man rest). Apparently, and are also sitting the game out with hopes of recovering from their respective physical woes. As for Cano, he’ll be participating in both the Allstar game (this time it counts!) and the Homerun Derby contest.
- Nick Swisher had the game been played. He’s out with a sore left quad.
- After having lost four of the last five games, the Yanks now find themselves trailing the dreaded Red Sox in the standings by 0.5 game. Their current record stands at a very respectable 51-35 (Pythag: 55-31) with a 449/330 run differential. Who’s on pace to achieve 100 wins? I could definitely see this group winning 97-98 games; I’ll definitely be surprised by triple digits though.
- continues his quest for 3,000 hits. He needs two more hits to join the elite club. I’m guessing he’ll get it done tonight tomorrow. Also, if I were a gambling man, I’d wager Derek surpasses Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline, Wade Boggs, Rafael Palmeiro, Lou Brock, Rod Carew, Rickey Henderson, and in the Alltime Hits list by season’s end. If that were to be the case, he’d head into the 2012 season as the player with the 20th most all time hits in MLB history.
- The Yankees were linked to Nationals LOOGY, (no relation to AJ). According to Buster Olney (via Twitter), there’s no real interest from the NY organization. So there’s that.
- Brian Gordon’s time in pinstripes has come to a rather abrubt end. The former Philly minor leaguer is . We hardly knew ye.
- Teixeira was released from the Yankees!!! Go ahead and verify.
- Brien from IIATMS, argues the case for a Jesus Montero promotion to The Bigs using The Captain as a point of comparison. Interesting read although I can’t say I agree with his conclusion.
- Fellow RAB writer, Joe P., wrote a great piece on the Yankees connection to Mike Trout (former elite prospect recently promoted by the Angels).
- The Hardball Times examines catchers and their ability to frame pitches. The Yankees backstop gets high praise (as does former Yankee catcher, Jose Molina). TYA’s, Moshe, contemplates further.
- Tragedy strikes in Texas after a fan fell from the stands. The victim, Lieutenant Shannon Stone, was trying to catch a ball tossed into the stands by when he fell 20 feet onto the concrete below. At the time of the fall, Stone was still conscious (although bleeding badly from the head) and was asking that his child, who was also in the stands, be looked after. Sadly, Stone eventually passed away while in intensive care at the hospital. RIP.
So there you have it! Let’s hope for clear skies for tomorrow!
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A funny thing happened on the way to the blog this evening.
I commented yesterday on the Bronx Baseball Daily blog, after an article reporting on Phil’s game that the Yanks should see if Baumgarner or Porcello could be had, cheaper, possibly because the dead arm cloud still hangs over them. Rob said they were not available.
Remembering that people devalued Hamels and Verlander in their year of Verducci effect deadarm, and hearing some disparaging remarks about both Porcello and Baumgarner..
So, on MLB Live this evening, Matt Vaspergian, Mitch Williams, Tom Verducci and Jerry Manuel bring out that Brian Sabean let it be known that he is willing to deal from his pitching wealth for a bat, a summer rental. I think it was Verducci that alluded to Madison Baumgarner.
Funny, hunh? Baumgarner, who pitched beautifully last year, through the WS, has had a 4 – 9 season, and his stats are stable to improved, except for babip and strand rate. I’d say he would fit the Yanks very well, short term and long.
Apparently, Brian wants a good bat badly, and the obvious candidates from the Yanks would be Swisheroo, who is red hot right now, or Curtis. (He ain’t getting Robbie or Tex.)
What do you think? Nick or Curtis would be a huge loss to the lineup, but Baumgarner is in his second year of team control.
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smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:03 am
ps. Sabean is probably thinking of Reyes, but I’d offer Swish, and see if he bites. Swish is hitting 350 righty, and his left side is coming on strong.
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YankeesJunkie Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:07 am
Montero and Warren?
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smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:12 am
Montero hasn’t been tested at the majors, and Sabean must want a proven bat to win the division. Doesn’t need pitching tho I suppose it would sweeten. Wants a big bat.
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YankeesJunkie Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:14 am
Yeah, but Swisher only has 1.5 years left before he is an FA and Montero still has six years, but I get where you are coming from.
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smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:17 am
Yeah, immediate help. Swish’s contract is up this year, except for a $12 mil option, as I remember. But they said, “rental.” Again, probably thinking Reyes.
He might do it for Curtis, but I don’t know…
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T.O. Chris Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:21 am
Montero is a terrible fit for the Giants. They have a great all around catcher in Buster Posey, and a top prospect in Brandon Belt playing first. Add on the fact that the NL has no DH and they have absolutely no place for Montero. We’re really just a terrible match altogether for the Giants. We have no short stop with a bat that could be a real threat, and most of our top prospects are arms or catchers.
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YankeesJunkie Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:28 am
Forgot about Belt.
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T.O. Chris Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:48 am
Reyes is really the only player that makes sense for them as far as a trade for Madison goes, and then only if they get an extension done. They need Short Stop production, and he would fit that park like a glove.
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smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 2:10 am
yeah, I came to that conclusion in the middle of this.
smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:33 am
They have Torres in center, Huff in right? Or is it Rowan and Torres? Either way, we could offer a clear offensive upgrade.
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T.O. Chris Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:37 am
I’m not trading Granderson for Bumgarner. I also think his value drops quite a bit to the Giants compared to the Yankees, there park would add triples but take away a lot of HRs from his arsenal.
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smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:41 am
Good center field with smack-bang power, but Bumgarner, I might do it.
You’re probably right that it would cut his homers, but that’s the kind of pop they’d want, still.
T.O. Chris Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:43 am
Today they played Rowand in LF, Torres in CF, and Schierholtz in RF who splits time with Huff.
If they Giants want an outfielder though they can get Beltran for next to nothing in comparison to Granderson or even Swisher. There is no way they trade Madison for Nick either, he’s simply too valuable a commodity to trade for an average right fielder. Even Granderson isn’t going to be a straight up deal, a cost controlled under 30 arm who hasn’t even hit arbitration yet is just too valuable. Especially when you consider he would probably be their number 3 starter for the post-season right now.
“Good center field with smack-bang power, but Bumgarner, I might do it.”
There’s no way it would be straight up. So you would be trading a 40 HR centerfielder and prospects for Bumgarner, who won’t pitch as well making that move. Going from an extreme pitchers park and league, to an extreme hitters park and league.
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smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 1:51 am
Great point on Beltran. That probably dashes any hope.
But that guy, Bumgarner, is worthy target. Alrighty, then, how about Porcello? He’s real good, and the base thinks he’s bad. Those guys are pretty close, need some help… but you’re gonna tell me they want pitching, not hitting, right?
If the Yankees made a move Bumgarner I would wet my pants.
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Bumgarner is a good pitcher for sure, and fills the role we want perfectly but the cost to get him probably cancels out the worth. We really couldn’t be a worse matchup for a trade with almost anyone, and the only way the Giants deal him is if they really win the deal. They still need him for this years playoff rotation. They would probably be much more apt to trade Jonathan Sanchez, and I am no where near as crazy about him. He would probably be much more like a left handed AJ than anything.
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smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 2:03 am
yeah. I’m tired and going to bed, try to dream up something else. I’ll check back tomorrow to see if you had something else to add. G’Night!
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I still think at this point if the Yankees are going to trade for a starter it has to be Liriano, everyone else is more of what we already have. I’m fine either way really, but if we do trade for a starter Liriano is the man for the job. He has longterm risk attached to him, but what he could offer this season and next, coupled with his upside is hard to pass on. I wouldn’t go crazy in trying to get him, but if you can make it reasonable I do it and not think twice.
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smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
I get your thinking, I think: everyone locks up great pitching, so you’ve got to take a chance somewhere, if you want to get some, and win.
My line of thought is similar: see if you can find great young talent that has struggled, their team is down on. Bring ‘em back. Love to have a Dave Duncan to do so.
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It’s a longshot, and would cost a pretty penny but I wonder if there is anything that could make the Rockies trade Ubaldo. If they would ever be willing to do it (and I highly doubt they would) it would be this year, because of the fear of his velocity. Something like Montero, Betances, Slade, and Hughes possibly. However they need Ubaldo for that pitching staff to be competitive, and they usually make a second half run, but on some levels it makes sense. Montero could play C until Helton retires, and Hughes could go into their rotation right away. I actually think I’ve talked myself out of them doing that deal just writing this. I suppose if they just loved Montero, and really believe in Hughes, but even then they would be giving up one of the potentially best starters in baseball for a load of question marks.
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T.O. Chris Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 2:44 am
Thinking about it more we would probably have to throw in Banuelos even with Hughes, and then you still may get turned down. Though they would certainly entertain a deal with that much talent coming back for one player. At that point though we may lose out in the end depending on how each player pans out. They would almost certainly out WAR Ubaldo collectively, unless Betances and Banuelos don’t stick in the rotation. I’d probably still do it though, as I just couldn’t pass up a rotation of Sabathia, Ubaldo, Colon, AJ, and Garcia. Especially once/if Ubaldo starts averaging 95 again.
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smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
I wouldn’t do that, without knowing everything about these guys, and see some characters of delivery and mentality to drive the thinking.
Ubaldo, just heard him talk once, seems a standout, but so does Phil. You may be right, that Phil is not advanced at “pitching” having relied on velocity. Velocity is also Ubaldo’s game, right? Banuelos, I saw pitch several innings in spring training, and his delivery knocked me for a loop. I likened his smoothness to silk. Betances didn’t impress me, that is, I don’t recall his style or force.
To sum it up, I don’t know enough to drive me past denying support for such a deal: the potentials of Phil and two touted prospects weighs more than Ubaldo’s. Just the movemnt on Phil’s fastball 1st half 2010 insures I would not give upon him. I’d rather see out the potential of our home growns.
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T.O. Chris Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 10:24 pm
The difference in Hughes and Ubaldo is light years. If the hang up for you in that deal is Hughes, there is no hangup, you do it without thinking. Hughes can never be what Jimenez is. Hughes is a guy who relies on 2 pitches, Ubaldo is a true swing and miss ace, the gap in talent is pretty wide.
You can’t judge anything off of a few spring training innings. Banuelos and Betances are great prospects, but that’s what they are, prospects, Betances’ ceiling isn’t even that if Ubaldo averaging the 93.5 he is averaging now, and Banuelos projects to be a number 2. Both have potential, but given Jimenez’ age I trade that potential for what Ubaldo is.
With Ubaldo we become the favorites for this years world series, and a contender for next years. The hangup really becomes what you see Montero doing, and while I love his ability I don’t see him as a hall of fame player. I see him like Ortiz light, which is great, and I would love to have, but I’m not risking Ubaldo for it. Ultimately I would trade Hughes, Montero, Banuelos, and Betances for Jimenez.
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T.O. Chris Reply:
July 10th, 2011 at 8:51 am
MLB Rumor has stated today that the Rockies have fielded phone calls for Ubaldo Jimenez, and the only 2 players they wouldn’t be willing to trade are Carlos Gonzalez and Tulo. The Yankees need to seriously consider making that call. Ubaldo is team controlled through 2014, and is still closer to the begining of his best years than to the end. I know that Hughes, Betances, Banuelos, and Montero is a real talent pool, but Ubaldo has the ability to give us one of the best rotations in baseball for years. We would have Sabathia, and Jimenez at the front of our rotation for at least the next 3+ seasons. Longer once we sign both to extensions. We would also still have Nova for the back end, and depending on how Colon does the rest of the year he could be back next season as well.
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Banuelos had a bad start today going 5.0 innings, 8 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), 1 walk, and 3 K’s. This is the second straight game Banuelos has allowed 7 or more hits in a game without going more than 5 innings.
On the other hand Betances had a fantastic start yesterday in the opening game of a double header. Pitching 6.0 strong innings, allowing only 4 hits, with 1 run, 2 walks, and 9 K’s. If he can start throwing together more consistent starts like this he could see himself in Scranton soon. On the season now Betances has 75.2 IP, with a 10.23 K/9, and 4.76 BB/9 ratio. To go along with a shiny 2.62 ERA/3.69 FIP.
The Yankees may want Betances to throw a full 100 innings at Trenton this year, but I really want to see what he does against triple A hitters. He certainly has the stuff to compete at that level, but the strikezone control will be better from the batters.
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First off, I’d just like to say I am both pleased and proud to see every single post in this thread is time-stamped after midnight. So I trust everybody, like myself, consoled themselves with appropriate beverages or another worthwhile endeavor following the rainout.
Secondly (and I would hope to see an article or at least something dealing with the topic tomorrow): Can anyone recall the last time a rainout occurred where there were two day games remaining in the series and the teams DIDN’T play a double header before one left town? I didn’t think so.
One team voted to play. One team didnt. Case closed. The third-place bush leaguers are just covering their pitchers’ azzes so they don’t go into the record books on the wrong end of Derek’s 3k. And if anybody from Tampa or elsewhere pretends the Rays don’t care about such things, just read the many many MANY quotes from Neimann and his teammates prior to last night’s game referencing how much he hated being in the books as Jeter’s Gehrig-total-tying pitcher. Talk about small ball – this is bush league.
Player rep Longoria just looks silly trying to explain things otherwise — especially when he plays for a franchise that would play in a snowstorm outdoors at the North Pole if it meant selling an extra row of tickets to their weak-azz fan base.
The Rays owner has cut and cut their payroll and screwed his team’s fans and took a world of grief for doing it — and at the end of the day his players wind up justifying why he did. He’s not the one who’s bush league; his players are. It must grate on him to sign checks to spoiled young crybabies who have yet to do anything for him but come close to the promised land — and vote to do to another team what would give him a heart attack if the situations were reversed.
Can anybody spell contraction? The time for admiring the low-rent Rays has ended. It turns out “small’ applies to more than the style of ball they play in the field. Sheesh.
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nyyankeefanforever Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 3:40 am
P.S. Sorry my above post went off topic, but it did say “open thread” at the top.
FWIW, I hate the idea of dealing Curtis in any package for a SP of any caliber below what would project as a definitive #2 behind CC in our rotation (yes, that would mean no to dealing him for practically anybody that wasn’t another ace, and I know that ain’t happenin’). However, if I woke up tomorrow and read Brian C had worked a menage a trois (ala the Curtis deal) that dealt Brett, Swish, one killer B and any of our catching prospects but Jesus for a solid #2 or #3 SP and a big Vladimir-type bench bat, I sure wouldn’t lose my appetite for breakfast over it.
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smurfy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
I’ll trade you two strips of bacon and a sausage link for two blueberry pancakes.
I have thrilled to Curtis’ fast bat and faster liners. Would miss him badly, as he has strengthened the lineup tremendously this year. Bumgarner, though, would probably be worth it, to me. He’s not ready to be called a #1 or 2, but he is young, and if he develops, that can be worth more.
I felt guilty today, having traded away Swisheroo in the night, and realizing with him out of the lineup how much fire, and the last month, heavy hitting he brings.
But I figured he would LOVE San Fran.
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