Arizona Fall League opens Tuesday
The Arizona Fall League begins play Tuesday and seven Yankees prospects are playing for the Peoria Javelinas, who open up hosting the Surprise Rafters.
Here are the Yankees in action:
RHP Phil Hughes
OF Austin Jackson
1B Juan Miranda
RHP Humberto Sanchez
RHP Jeff Marquez
RHP Kevin Whelan
INF Kevin Russo
Chad Jennings has an excellent rundown on each player — though, if you don’t know who Phil Hughes is by now, thanks for tuning in. The AFL could be instrumental for guys like Jackson and Miranda, who would need to turn in excellent springs to have a chance at making the club.
Sanchez needs the innings at this point, and both Marquez and Whelan are trying to define their standing on the organizational chart. Marquez might have seen time in New York this year if not for a stint on the disabled list. Random thought: back in my magazine publishing days, we used to love the AFL because the players would wear MLB uniforms, making for great shots for that year’s prospect guide. Some quick Photoshopping and you could swap the AFL caps out for MLB versions and make a really snazzy cover.
Back in the present time, today’s my last day in New York for a while. I’m off to the familiar ground of Tampa on Wednesday to lend a hand with MLB.com’s coverage of the ALCS — and thanks to last night’s action, we could all finally book a few flights. It’s been nice hanging around, but it’s time to get back to work. So, Red Sox vs. Rays. Who are you all rooting for?
Bryan Hoch
By the way, the Yankees will pick at No. 26 and 31 in this year’s draft, 31 being the compensation pick for not signing Gerrit Cole.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2008/266992.html
David Justice tries his hand as Yankees’ GM:
http://www.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081006&content_id=1456637&oid=36019&vkey=4
Go Rays! Go Dodgers!
But more than that, anyone but Boston!
Am I right in assuming the Hawaii winter league is for rookie/ lower levels of prospects. How do they sort out the rosters for the teams considering they’re all from different organisations???
http://www.hawaiiwinterbaseball.com/teams/roster?team=Beachboys&year=2008
ABS
Anybody But SUCHS!
Bryan,
Justice makes the point about Burnett’s injury history. Why after Pavano, would we even consider this?
give Burnett a 4 year deal but make it a 2-1-1 with two one year options exercised based on performance (innings, starts,etc….)
Burnett will get his years somewhere else…the Blue Jays will probably make an effort to keep him
I think he is either Tampa or Miami bound but seriously if we give him a 4 year deal and he gets hurt, Cash will go down as a worse GM than Matt Millen.
Damon or Abreu? If Abreu is re-signed, Damon is gone, this year or next. Abreu should take tips from Gabe Gross on how to play the walls. I’ll take Damon for his leadership and ability to cover ground over Abreu’s consistent bat. Abreu is also limited to right field. Put Damon in center and ride. Torrii Hunter was dissed by this board but he was Anaheim’s most clutch playoff hitter.
The other thing is Matsui, we need to get out of this. He can’t play left despite what Justice thinks and we need the DH spot for Damon, Posada, Gardener to rotate or Hank’s ManRam possibly. Matsui costs too much to sit on the bench.
Watching the Red Sox this last series has shown exactly what makes a postseason winner. You know how Arod is so “not clutch” according to pretty much everyone? Well, the two guys on the team who’ll be fighting for the MVP both just hit .222 and .059 with a combined 0 home runs and 2 RBIs. Think about that production. That’s HORRIBLE! And then on top of that Varitek was nothing (.214), Ortiz was nothing (.235, 0 HRs, 1 RBI), and both Beckett and Dice-K was supbar at best. So what was the difference? They don’t NEED any of those guys to explode. They can win WITHOUT them (also remember the reigning WS MVP isn’t even playing).
When Arod or Wang or Moose or Jeter (last year) don’t cut it in the playoffs the Yankees have no shot whatsoever. The “other” guy certainly isn’t going to step it up. I’ve argued for so long here that the guys we as fans think are “unclutch” really aren’t that at all. These Red Sox just blew past the best team in the American League with the majority of their stars “choking.” However, when the OTHER guys (Bay, Ellsbury, Lowrie, and Kotsay) decide to step up, it doesn’t matter. Take notes Yankees! Depth and balance works wonders!
The Jays are already working on an extension offer for Burnett. It’s not a bad deal.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080927&content_id=3561849&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Like I’ve said all year, this team doesn’t lack baseball talent. “One more bat” wouldn’t have made one wit of difference. We’ve proved it and the SUCHS proved it and the White Sox proved it with a lineup that batted collectively below ours. Scott Brosious was a career .257 hitter but in the 98, 99 and 00 WS he hit .471, .375 and .308 respectively. Aaron Boone is a career .260 hitter who hit .250+ for us in ’03. ManRam left the SUCHS and hit .400 for the Dodgers but the SUCHS are on their way to a WS reunion. “One more bat” is not our answer.
The Jays are already working on an extension offer for Burnett. It’s not a bad deal.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080927&content_id=3561849&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
By bombersbeat on October 7, 2008 3:23 PM
I heard they were going to do this. On one hand it makes sense but I think he wants to play in Florida.
Bryan,
Is there a way to stay logged in? I used to have no trouble but now if I close my browser, I have to log in again.
Maybe we need to remind him that we pay in greenbacks, not looneys???
I still say Fuentes should be our main target. Joba’s in the rotation. Veras and Ramirez cannot go a full season without falling apart. Philly Coke pitched well but he is an unknown. Giese is better as a long reliever/starter. Bruney is injury prone/wild/partial season greatness. Farnsworth was the veteran and he’s gone.
Thats lunacy, thats more than Pavano got coming off a WS wing.
BP,
The Pettitte to Houston thing was not voluntary! And I wonder if his decline would have been slowed if he never swung a bat and needed surgery!
Burnett may be a health risk but a better one than Sheets. He seems to be the only high-level alternative other than Sabathia.
And speaking of Sabathia, being close to home is still not being at home. There is little difference in playing for a team 100 miles away and 2,500 miles away! He’ll likely get enough $$$ to buy a personal jet !!! How close is his home to SF Bay or Seattle? Also look how Andy Pettitte’s going home worked out!
Teams without high draft picks will always be taking chances on FA pitchers as long as they can afford the $$$. Pavano gets the most attention because of the length and amount of the contract, but it still was only money. We took a lesser gamble on Dotel and Lieber and lost. Boston took chances on Clement and Colon, but again it was only money!
G27,
Pena has always been a solid defender, but he didn’t stick with the Red sox or Yankees because of his bat. The Rays took a huge leap and did not get the same production in 2008 as they did in 2007. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see Boston make a strong run at Teixeira considering Lowell’s injury and age.
MLBTradeRumors says ManRam wants 4-5/$85M? He’s 37. Anyone that gives him that kind of change should be jailed for behavior unbecoming baseball. He’s going to have to come back to the AL to DH or find someplace he can play 1b. He’s not going to be a left fielder for the next 5 years at 37. Junior he is not.
All of which bodes well for us not going for him. We have more DH candidates than you can shake a stick at. We have enough outfielders and outfield candidates to field two teams. And management has said it wants to find a true 1b-man otherwise we have plenty of in-house 1b candidates.
BP,
The Pettitte to Houston thing was not voluntary! And I wonder if his decline would have been slowed if he never swung a bat and needed surgery!
Burnett may be a health risk but a better one than Sheets. He seems to be the only high-level alternative other than Sabathia.
And speaking of Sabathia, being close to home is still not being at home. There is little difference in playing for a team 100 miles away and 2,500 miles away! He’ll likely get enough $$$ to buy a personal jet !!! How close is his home to SF Bay or Seattle? Also look how Andy Pettitte’s going home worked out!
Teams without high draft picks will always be taking chances on FA pitchers as long as they can afford the $$$. Pavano gets the most attention because of the length and amount of the contract, but it still was only money. We took a lesser gamble on Dotel and Lieber and lost. Boston took chances on Clement and Colon, but again it was only money!
By RobertGKramer@AOL.Com on October 7, 2008 3:47 PM
I watched Pettitte cry at the newsconference, he hated leaving NY. We blew that.
Pettitte and his family also consider NY home.
Burnett could end Cashman’s career as a GM.
We needed to take the gamble on Santana and not Sabathia or Burnett. We could have gotten Santana without giving up Hughes and we should have.
G27,
Pena has always been a solid defender, but he didn’t stick with the Red sox or Yankees because of his bat. The Rays took a huge leap and did not get the same production in 2008 as they did in 2007. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see Boston make a strong run at Teixeira considering Lowell’s injury and age.
By RobertGKramer@AOL.Com on October 7, 2008 3:48 PM
Lowell got a 4 year deal, so unless he or Youkarliss moves to DH, what do you do? Bump Lowrie from short? I think Ortiz will DH. Can anyone play RF for them?
MLBTradeRumors says ManRam wants 4-5/$85M? He’s 37. Anyone that gives him that kind of change should be jailed for behavior unbecoming baseball. He’s going to have to come back to the AL to DH or find someplace he can play 1b. He’s not going to be a left fielder for the next 5 years at 37. Junior he is not.
By rcngolf99 on October 7, 2008 3:56 PM
2 teams Mets and Dodgers, maybe Anaheim will pay him.
Also, Florida could be a darkhorse candidate for Manny.
Out of Posada, Nady, Sui and Damon, I would trust Damon the most to play first because I have seen him do it. As I said before we need Damon back in center and Gardener on the bench.
Miranda may get every oppurtunity to play 1st.
BP,
I’m pretty sure Lowell got only three years through 2010. They lose nothing with Youkilis at 3B and could relegate Lowell to part time or put him on the market!
Miranda will need to show a lot this fall including hitting left-handed pitching! He could platoon with a right-handed bat like Nady or Ransom.
argh Burnett leads the league in pitches thrown??? Stay well away then, he is definately going to break down next season
I agree, they should ship Lowell out. Don’t know about Ransom yet.
Thank goodness this bpark guy is not the GM. It is fairly clear that this guy has no idea what he is talking about. This is not difficult. Guys like Damon and Matsui are not going anywhere. They make to much money and no other team will pick up those contracts. On top of that, they are still productive and can help this team. After next year, 26 million off the books. Damon will play left, Matsui will DH. Posada will catch and do some DHing. Depending on what happens with Teixeira will depend on what happens with Abreu. If Teixeira becomes a Yankee, Abreu is gone and Nady is the new rightfielder. If Teixeira goes somewhere else, Abreu stays in right and Nady or Damon play first. The bull pen is fine without a high priced guy like the colorado guy. Teixeira and Sabathia are going to be the main guys. If the Yankees get both these watch out. I do agree with bpark about Burnett. High risk, Sheets is the same. Get Jon Garland from the Angels. Younger, more durable. I don’t think the Angels bring him back.
Hopefully Cashman is thinking slong rayfe’s lines. It’s more logical to acquire an innings eater like Garland to have in the middle of the rotation ( number three of four ) than a potential injury risk at the top. Wang, Pettitte, Garland, Joba, Hughes, and maybe a Byrd type to spot start for Chamberlain. This is all in a situation where we miss out on Sabathia, who is said to like N.Y. and looks at the new stadium as a plus. CC, Wang, Pettitte, Chamb and Hughes seems great, especially considering the we have two future TOP of the rotation guys in at the bottom end. Joba and Hughes are both very strong on the mound when healthy.
Hughes dominated in his start for the Peoria Javelins. He threw 86 pitches in five innings, struck out ten and allowed one hit. He walked five, which he attributed to ” rust “. Understandable, but he may not want to add to that total.
Teixeira will also be a Yankee, in my opinion. It just seems that he would be a perfect fit for us. He lives close by, and is very used to the spotlight. The deal breaker may be the years he wants, but I don’t think Cashman will let that get in the way of acquiring one of the best in the league at firstbase. He showcased his defense and offense in the playoffs this year and– contradictory to those who say he’s un-clutch– hit very well with RISP and took alot of walks; He didnt hit a homer, though it was only four games he played anyway.
Garland is not the Ace level player the yankees seek but may be a fine addition for the back end of the rotation along with the often mentioned Derek Lowe. These are just the candidates that may reach free agency. But, if we don’t land Burnett or Sabathia, a trade must be made for a Jake Peavy or someone like him!
And the only knock I have with BP is that his logic is a little unconventional. He at least has ideas and is not afraid to blog them. Rather that than spouting insults!!!
BK,
If I read the situation correctly, Hughes domination of the AFL will not guarantee a spot in the 2009 rotation. He is only getting innings that he missed because of injury so that he will be capable of starting for a full year. He may be in the SWB rotation to begin 2009, unless he completely dazzles us in spring training, waiting for a call to NY as an injury replacement or an otherwise failing starter. He could also spot start when we decide to skip Chamberlain. Just my gut feeling!
Robert, I just list the rotation presuming that Hughes will be the fifth starter. But you’re right, a guy like Lowe could be at the back of the rotation, even with a CC acquisition. I would just like to see Hughes finally be his best. No injuries to stop him and no dang innings limits. But I guess next year will be somewhat similiar to this one in that he’ll need to stay below 150-160 innings, just like Joba. I consider the back end of the rotation a more convenient place to do that, but then again, they would be in place to pitch only 5-6 innings a start for about 20-25 starts. That’s obviously not a whole year of starting ( or maybe it is, minus playoffs ). I could see the spot starting thing working out for Joba, but not for both Hughes and him.
On another note, if A-Rod were to do this: http://www.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081007&content_id=1456716&oid=36019&vkey=4
he’d easily hit fourty to fifty home runs a year. That leg kick needs to come down in length and it needs be down BEFORE the pitcher releases the ball, not during. With his physical prowess, man. He could be the HR King a lot earlier than anybody expected.
BK,
I agree with that assessment of A-Rod. He has so much natural power the leg kick adds little or nothing. It is fine for someone like Mattingly to replace leverage stolen by a balky back but not a healthy natural power hitter. I was surprised to see Nady use it and now know why he is a career .280 hitter available in the middle of a .320 year.
A-Rod should have a better year with the divorce experience behind him but not if we let Abreu walk!!!
Garland? Really? Ummm, has anyone noticed that his career ERA is 4.5???? And in 7 full seasons as a starter, he’s only had ONE with an ERA below 4??? He’ll get lit up in the AL East. Abreu will come back on a 2 year extension. I think he likes NY. Nady stays in LF. Cabrera and Gardner will do CF. Damon can slot to first and still lead off. It’s a no brainer.
I do not see Abreu back, he wants a multi-year deal and there are way too many risks with a player his age. He’s 34! I doubt he’ll be as productive as he is now at the 35-39 age seasons, where bat speed slows and OBP diminishes because of it. Let some other team bite that bullet. We also forget that his defense has erroded as well and that he’s not as fast as he used to be; I’d sign Abreu to a two year deal at most. If he’s not happy with that offer, than it’s most likely he’ll fool another team on the market. I see Abreu ending up somehwere else, not here. It has been said that we’ll offer him arb. and let him walk, considering he declines.
I read that the Yankees want two of CC, Burnett and Lowe. If you want my two cents, I’d sign CC and Lowe. An ace and a stable at the back end. With Pettitte’s return, that would be a rotation of Sabathia, Wang, Pettitte, Lowe and Chamberlain. I’m not sure what spot we’ll see Joba pitching in, but with those innings limits, I see him no higher than four. We need the top three to be able to go seven plus in any event that we compete with the likes of Boston or Tampa.
Another advantag for the organization is the economy bust. While other teams are left to cut down on costs, and the Yankees having all the reveue set to come in next year ( 400 M+ ) it leaves a very distinct advantage that we’ll be able to offer what other teams cannot. Things seem to be going well. I just hope the economy rebounds. MCCAIN for President!