The Yankees start their climb

"If we have to, we'll hoard everybody. We'll do what we've got to do in the U.S. and in Latin America to get all the best young talent we can. That's what the Yankees used to do."

That's what the Yankees HAVE to do. Stop signing injured prospects you idiots. Come over to Puerto Rico, we've got great talent here, especially at the AA and AAA levels!

Hey and I think it's abou time we put a hefty winning streak together. We've got a three count so far. Let's take it game by game, day by day and see how far we get. A simple approach takes you a loooong way.

Ah well, Moose just gives back his 4 run lead. Now we need some more runs.

At least we will have Chaimberlain for about 3 innings today.

YANKEES MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD May 23, 2008

Indianapolis (Pirates) 4
Scranton/WB 5 (10)
W: J. Cox (1-0, 0.00); L: J. Bayliss (0-2, 5.92)
HR: IND: J. Wilson (3). SWB: J. Lane (10), E. Duncan (4).
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_23_indaaa_swbaaa_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Trenton 4
Altoona (Pirates) 5
W: J. Mateo (1-0, 2.84); L: S. Jackson (0-1, 6.48); SV: J. Shortslef (1)
HR: TRE: A. Jackson (3).
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_23_treaax_altaax_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Tampa 12
Daytona (Cubs) 8
W: W. Arias (2-0, 3.68); L: M. Phelps (1-1, 6.14)
HR: TAM: B. Blumenthal (1), L. Nunez (1). DAY: B. Lalli (1).
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_23_tbyafa_dbcafa_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Charleston 6
Greenville (Red Sox) 5
W: W. De La Rosa (2-1, 2.32); L: J. Craft (0-3, 8.44); SV: J. Ortiz (14)
HR: CHA: B. Laird 2 (4), A. Krum (2). GRE: L. Exposito (6).
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_23_crdafx_capafx_1&t=g_box&did=milb
You may also see http://www.yankeesdaily.com for details.

YANKEES MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD May 24, 2008

Indianapolis (Pirates) 1:30p
Scranton/WB
---------------------------------
Trenton
Altoona (Pirates) 7:05p
---------------------------------
Tampa
Daytona (Cubs) 7:05p
---------------------------------
Charleston
Augusta (Giants) 7:05p
---------------------------------
You may also see http://www.yankeesdaily.com for details.

Chamberlain is holding up so far, he walks two and then gets the third out. Way to go!
Lets keep this streak going...

Isn't it great finally getting good hits from Giambi & Cano. The difference w/ Big G is he is now going to left, Sui still going strong. Jeter is not hitting, I wonder if his hand is bothering him more than he is admitting. (9_ 4) It's good being ahead for a change..
"GO YANKEES"

Ok, well for those that have said the offense was suffering, I agreed. But now, I would say that although the Yankees are still in last, offense is producing and pitching has revved up. Cano is coming/out of his slump and Duncan has proven that he should be able to stay at the major league level. Last night came the three run home run, and the night before with his sacrifice fly it counted for half of our offense!
Betemit can leave and never come back for all I really care. He wasn't worth what we gave away.
Even tonight with Molina's single and no outs it seems that the Yankees have come alive and decided not to let this year slip away, even though there is still a long way to go.

Perfect time to start stretching Chamberlain out with Mussina starting. Dude can't go more than 5 or 6 anyway so why not. I still prefer that Chamberlain goes down to minors and get stretched out properly as a starter in the minors, but seeing that this team doesn't have a replacement for him there's no real choice.

Also glad to see this offense finally posiibly waking up. Just wonder if they can keep it up against better competition.

Wouldn't be surprised if Chamberlain replaced Mussina in rotation down the road.

Hoarding young prospects is just as bad as making bad choices. IF you have holes in the team, then use them as trade bait to acquire talent to fill those holes. This team definitely needs position players, especially at 1B.

Good win today, good to see the offensive production. The M's have to be a disaster this year. Too bad as they do have one the best parks to view a game at. Is it only me but is Farnsworthless the absolute worse reliever in the AL?

I wouldn't go so far as to call him the worst reliever in the AL but he has to be right up there. Today proved that he can't be trusted in an important role such as setup man or closer. He's never been able to handle such roles mentally, just ask any Cubs fan. He is nothing more than a middle reliever where there is less stress involved with that role. IF the Yanks insist on keeping him, they should not even think about making him into a setup man.

If Jose Veras can keep things up we may use him in the 8th, he looks a lot sharper so far than he did at any point last year. Keys to this win IMO, Cano 4-4 (3 doubles), Giambi hitting the ball to left in two consecutive games, Sui is locked in, and our pitchers doing exactly what we need, enough to keep us in ballgames. Moose gave up the lead but didn't blow up afterwards and gave us two more solid innings. Joba was good, not great the strike to ball ratio was less than to be desired, but thats a little nit picking right now, but when he's a starter not as much.

And on Farnsworth he's been decent thus far for us this year and pitched some really good innings for us. He's not trustworthy, and cannot be the 8th inning guy, just doesn't have the mental fortitude but he's a far cry from the worth reliever in the AL. He's a good 6-7 inning guy for us. I can think of two people we've had on this team already I'd put Frany in over: Hawkins and Britton (not with the team now but has made appearances). He's earned a little slack from me, I've stopped calling him Farnsworthless.

PARTIAL YANKEE MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD May 24, 2008

Indianapolis (Pirates) 6
Scranton/WB 3
W: L. Munoz (3-1, 5.04); L: D. McCutchen (0-1, 5.68); SV: R. Sanchez (2)
HR: IND: A. McCutchen (7), A. Boeve (2). SWB: W. Betemit (1).
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_24_indaaa_swbaaa_1&t=g_box&did=milb

McCutchen Interview:

http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.com/Blogs/SWBYankeesBlog/tabid/552/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3624/McCutchen-Im-a-better-pitcher-than-that.aspx

Farnsworth has been "decent" only because he hasn't been put in high pressure situations. He is only a middle-inning reliever, and nothing more. He will continue to be "decent" as long as he isn't put in those situations. This team is loaded with that type of pitcher, if this team traded him today, I doubt anyone would miss him. In other words, a pitcher like him is a dime a dozen. It's going to take more than 22 innings in which he has allowed 26 hits to convince myself, and others that he is anything more than an average relief pitcher who can't be trusted. I just hope this team does the smart thing, and not make him a setup man.

Spoke to Giambi, he plans on coming back, he doesn't believe his option will be picked up but he plans to play 2-3 more years if he stays healthy. He mentioned that if they went and got a first baseman, he'd have no problem DH'ing but his preference is to play in the field.

On Wilson Betemit, the Yankees could release him on tuesday, if not, bad news for Ensberg.

Ensberg has not hit as good as Betemit has in his small frame of playing time. So I doubt that he will be cut, either way, they're both pretty much the same type of player. Although I think that Ensberg is the better fielder.

Joba is showing some good signs and some signs that he's not ready to start yet. The good outweigh the bad by a ton. He's still striking hitters out, he hasn't changed his approach, and he delivered a good two inning performance. The bad is that his control can sometimes become erratic as shwon by the two walks in the seventh. Looking closely at it, I think that's mostly due to his stamina then anything, because he was always missing up. Up and away or up and inside, that's a clear sign that he's not properly conditioned physically yet. Mentally, he's got this game down pat.

Well, if you're going to blow a perfect game, I guess hitting Varitek is the way to do it.

At least Ensberg has shown he can produce offensively, and that he is far superior than Betamit, which isn't saying much since it is Betamit. Yanks should just cut him, since he has no value, but I doubt they will do it as soon as Tuesday. Ensberg has nothing to fear from Betamit.

YANKEES MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD May 24, 2008

Indianapolis (Pirates) 6
Scranton/WB 3
W: L. Munoz (3-1, 5.04); L: D. McCutchen (0-1, 5.68); SV: R. Sanchez (2)
HR: IND: A. McCutchen (7), A. Boeve (2). SWB: W. Betemit (1).
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_24_indaaa_swbaaa_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Trenton 11
Altoona (Pirates) 2
W: G. Kontos (2-4, 3.29); L: D. Hankins (0-2, 4.50)
HR: TRE: E. Gonzalez (2). ALT: A. Webster (3).
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_24_treaax_altaax_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Tampa 2
Daytona (Cubs) 4
W: A. Harben (2-5, 5.71); L: R. Pope (4-4, 2.81); SV: C. Lambert (9)
HR: None.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_24_tbyafa_dbcafa_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Charleston 1
Augusta (Giants) 4
W: M. Bumgarner (5-2, 2.18); L: J. Stephens (1-2, 1.95); SV: D. Otero (12)
HR: AUG: G. Baker (4).
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_24_crdafx_augafx_1&t=g_box&did=milb
You may also see http://www.yankeesdaily.com for details.

Looking at the Yankees right now, they seem to be dominating every aspect of the game. Their playing good defense ( nice stab by A-Rod ), never mind the hitting ( 25 runs in two games? what is this, playstation? ) but the pitching is what's surprised me the most. Our talent has been homegrown, we're talking Veras, Ramirez-- who's been a surprise -- Ohlendorf, Joba is coming along sweetly as a starter. The Yankees really are on a good track when it comes to producing powerhouse pitching. We need to start scouting for position players though, because our farm system is dry past Tabata and Gardner, though Justin Christian is interesting. Alberto Gonzalez has proven to be useful but doesn't really show a good approach at the plate.

WOW. The Bad Mouth Brigade got in their two cents but not much more! Or would they prefer to be called the Trash Talking Contingent? Hell, we haven't had a good utility man since Randy Velarde left us!Anyone agree?

In other news, GM Mark Shapiro of the Cleveland Indians says he's ready to get something done early, and is open to all possibilties. Asdrubal Cabrera seems interesting, but I see no space for him. How about a good reliever or two? Rafael Perez, Betancourt seem interesting, but I imagine the asking price would be high.

What do you guys think?

I'm hoping Gonzalez learns plate presence because he's such a smooth fielder. Right now he's fast enough to come in late and pinch run and be a good defense sub but hopefully he can do more for us with the bat. We definitely need to look for fielding players, but you can never have too much pitching, we should not be satisfied with this bullpen at all. With Joba gone we are void of a stud 8th inning guy. I think Veras can do it but he's still unproven. Hopefully the offense can saty hot, maybe not 12-13 runs a game though I wouldn't complain but 5-6 runs wouldn't be so bad.

I would try and nab C.C from them, if it's a possibilty at this point. Unless they plan on trying to negotiate with him in the offseason, which I doubt because -- me as GM -- would have extended C.C. by now. I think Cleveland is ultimately going to let him go, but I don't think it would be smart for them to talk trade NOW. At the deadline is where I see it most fair to think so, because that's when every team will come knocking and Shap can weigh his options. I don't see what's wrong with a mid-May Hot Stove Thriller though. Then again, Cleveland want to retain C.C. just to see if their in contention by July.

Any takes?

BD,

I think it's clear that internal options will be explored before any trading. But, it would be nice if trade partners no longer require a higher price from the Yankees than anywhere else!

Bryan, good bless you and your family, enjoy the time off.

I am glad Big G is hitting again, I knew he would.

Kramer, any word on Aussie B?

Also, I hear we are trying to finangle CC, we're not stupid Boston wants him too but like us, they don't want to give up prospects. BD is right, we are trying to make it happen but Miranda is not an option for Cleveland.

At this point though, it is more likely Detroit is out of contention than Cleveland and therefore, Sheffield is more likely on our bench as a pinch hitter than CC starting for us THIS YEAR. Neither is very likely.

BP,

No. I haven't communicated with him since he left. Let him recover from being away from his business and family for two weeks.

I'm sure we are constantly looking for ways to improve the team! Let the Red Sox overpay this time! A left handed power pitcher is perfect for Fenway! NOT!

That was another good win for us. Joba got his 40 pitches and is on his way to a start. Everyone is starting to hit, that's good! The last 2 games all in the lineup except for Derek has a least 1 hit, I still believe his hand is giving him problems, he rarely goes more than 1 game without a hit. Looking for a sweep today with Wang on the hill, and we'll get #5 if we can continue improving our offense. Cano & G are starting to hit, I'd also like to see better ABs from Gonzalez, I think that will happen when he can get more ABs.
"GO YANKEES"

Ouch, Wang is running into trouble here in the 4th. We need the offense to kickstart itself again if we are going to get back to .500 today.

In Scranton Dan Giese is completely beasting.
He's doing better than Rasner did so why aren't they calling him up?
Even though IPK had one good start doesn't mean he's gonna be consistent as we all know. I say send the kid down, let him work his sh*t out, and bring up Giese.
Also how's Melancon doing? And when's J.B. Cox gonna make his debut?
Thanks Bryan.

Please send Duncan to AAA. He makes errors and outs. Ensberg, Betemit and Duncan is just an awfull awfull trio

Good work, Wang. Now you can't even hold up the Mariners. =(

Keep walking those guys, it's the best way to lose a game.
Please use your slider or changeup more when you are ahead of the count. And for heaven's sake, stop trying to jam batters with those inside pitches, it isn't working.

I love you, Wang. But you haven't been pitching very smartly lately.

wow. JJ Putz. hah!

Aussie Bryan has returned safely to Australia. Thanks to robert Kramer fpr obtaining 9 fabulous tickets to games while I was there although they did go 4-5 in that period. Seems apparent that with the last 5 being 5-0 they are starting the climb back Tampa have just won 5-4 though. I had the most fabulous time in NYC. You should all be proud of your patriotic country I was impressed with American flags everywhere and the passion displayed by the crowd and playes bduring the National Anthem and God Bless America . It was a very moving experience and only makes me more determined to come back soon.
Thanks Robert and James, Have you had a chance to watch the Australian Football DVDs.
Just watched the last Seattle game and the comeback Hopefully more is gained from the comebback and solidifies this group going in to a road trip against the orioles and the twins followed by a homestand against the Blue Jays and Kansas City. No reason they can,t go10 and three in the next 13

Watching the games on MLB is just not the same as being there.

The never say die attitude is back again. This win means so much more than the 12 and 13 run win games. The clubhouse must be brimming with confidence now.

Plus we are back to .500. And best of all, we are out of the cellar.

The chase is on. It would have been nice not to be in this position, you'd think we would have learnt from last year, but no matter.

Next up, Blue Jays, one game ahead of us. The Sox are 4.5 up, down from 7.5 a few days ago.

Then of course we have the best team in the notorious AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays.

YANKEES MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD May 25, 2008

Indianapolis (Pirates) 6
Scranton/WB 4
W: B. Bullington (3-6, 5.68); L: J. Marquez (3-6, 5.98); SV: T. Beam (3)
HR: None.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_25_indaaa_swbaaa_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Trenton 1
Altoona (Pirates) 0
W: A. Aceves (1-0, 0.00); L: J. Barthmaier (2-4, 4.86)
HR: None.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_25_treaax_altaax_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Tampa 3
Daytona (Cubs) 2
W: K. Whelan (1-0, 1.80); L: B. Petrick (1-2, 4.09); SV: J. Schmidt (1)
HR: None.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_25_tbyafa_dbcafa_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Charleston 4
Augusta (Giants) 9
W: T. Brewer (3-3, 3.98); L: Z. McAllister (6-3, 2.45)
HR: None.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_25_crdafx_augafx_1&t=g_box&did=milb
You may also see http://www.yankeesdaily.com for details.

Giese is nothing more than a 31 year old career minor leaguer with average stuff. He only has 9 career innings in the majors and they weren't very good. Tere's a reason why he hasn't didn't pitch in the majors before last season, he's just not that good. I would be very leary of pitchers who don't do anything in their careers, and then start putting up numbers like Giese has out of nowhere. The Yanks have younger, more talented pitchers with beter stuff than Giese. The Yanks will give those guys a chance before they even look at Giese. Why settle for less (Giese), when you could get more (White, Cox, MCCutcheon).

I don't think the Yanks will try to trade for Sabathia at all. Even though this team has a surplus of talented pitching, and this team should try to swing a trade using that surplus, it will be very expensive to try to swing a trade for Sabathia. However, the smart thing to do is try to tap into that surplus, and try to swing a trade or two. It would be foolish to sit on all that talent and not make a trade knowing you could improve the team.

robert,

Maybe I should call you Mr. Mediocrity since you like mediocre players on this team like Betamit, Farnsworth etc. Why don't you keep your two cents to yourself 'cause they aren't even worth that much. People can say whatever they like about whatever players they want without your snide comments. Based on your postings here, it doesn't seem like you know much about baseball yourself so I could make make the same type of comments as you do, but I don't 'cause I know I'm better than that. Good thing you're not the GM of this team.

Matt, one player that's most likely to be moved this season is Matt Teixeira. The Braves are posted up on the wrong side of the NL along side the Phillies, Mets and Marlins-- the Marlins being the most surprising to me-- I think come July when the Braves are just about out of contention, they'll be shopping Teix to see what they get in return. The asking price should be high, but Cashman should be able to ante up anything the Braves want. As long as Cano, Cabrera, Joba and Hughes aren't touched; Heck, I don't mind giving away a good package of our pitching prospects. Our position playing prospects should not even be touched though.

These players are expendable, as I see it

1. Ian Kennedy ( especially if he keeps building his value with solid outings. )
2. Alan Horne
3. Mark Melancon ( I've faced him before, good comman and his movement is great, you'l see him in the big leagues very son. )
4. Daniel McCutcheon ( though I think we'll see him in the bigs soon as well. )
5. Giese
6. Kontos

and all the other guys.

The only sticking point to this is that Teixeira is a Boras client. He may look for an extension right on the spot, thoguh Id on't see what the difference would be in giving up the prospects in July and signing him in the offseason.

Of course, this is all speculation on my part and I'm assuming the Braves will not be in contention at this time.

Opinions welcomed.

Girardi announced today on his YES show that Farny is the 8th inning guy. I've been impressed with Edwar, a pitcher who I really liked last year and was high on all off season despite a few beatings he took. Jose Veras has put together a very nice start to this season as well. I'd love to see the Yankees make some moves especially at the 1B area. Duncan is the type of hitter who needs to see regular ABs, you saw what happened when he went down to AAA and played every game, he tore the cover off the ball. He's a quality hitter, needs to work on fielding but I believe he's a better OF (RF) than 1B anyway. He's good trade bate, as I equate him to a Willy Mo Peña type player who has some thump and someone Boston was able to move. Joe G also said Jorge is projected back in 2 weeks, that's awesome news because as much as Molina has done for us thus far he's not a starter and we sorely miss Jorge's bat in the lineup. There have been only 8 games that Jeter, Posada, and Arod (arguably are three best hitters) have been in the same lineup and we're 1/4 of the way through the season. It's time we put the jets on and take it to Baltimore in their park (which is one of my favorites in the MLB) and start moving up in the hotly contested AL East. It was so sweet to see Boston get swept by Oakland this weekend, almost as sweet as watching the Yanks so some sweeping of their own, but the Sox get the Mariners now and thats almost a gimme three games seeing as the Mariners can't do anything right right now but get other teams going. The Yanks have to win this series and make it three won series in a row.

Even if the Braves aren't in contention this season, they are going to try to hold on to Tex. He is a young, super talened player. They would be far more likely to deal away a veteran with a large contract. Even if they deal Tex, which they would only do if they felt they couldn't sign him, the price would be massive.

But assuming Tex is available, and not overpriced, and we are the ones to trade for him, we have to sign him to a long extension anyway. No way we can risk losing him to free agency. We aren't going to give up the kind of players Atlanta would want for a rent-a-player.

We would probabaly have a better shot at dealing for some postion prospects rather than established players. Seeing as we are rich in pitching talent, which happens to be the game's main currency right now, you would think Cashman would have the ability to make some really good trades.

We can restock our farm with postion players, and wait for them to develop. We can slowly replace our veteran lineup with young talent and build a dynasty. Or Cahman could make stupid trades and be forced to overpay in the free agent market. Our club is in his hands.

Yes, the yankees are now on a 5 game winning streak, now knowing the yanks will not give up, after being behing 5-2 in the 8th, and pulling through for a 6-5 win. That made me feel a lot better, knowing the yank's will keep on fighting for now on. (not that they havent ever before) but basically around the first time this season.

But my question...Shelly Duncan.
I like him, and i like his enthusiasum he brings to the team (which is why im questioning my own question) but does anyone think he should trade him to get a good long reliver in the bull-pen?
If not, we should deffinatly get this guy Yu Darvish from Japan, supposetly supposed to be good as Dice-K, lets not let the sox steal from us again huh?

Yu Darvish has drawn comparisons to Daisuke, with a very big difference-- or two-- I should say:

1. He's 6'5'' and very lanky, he puts alot of movement on his changeup, two seamer and curveball because of his loose frame.

2. He has pinpoint control, far better than Matsuzaka.

3. He is only 21 and RIGHT handed ( I don'twant anything to do with lefties from Japan. Igawa? )

4. His fastball clcoks around 92-94 mph, so he's not blowing anybody away BUT his 1.21 ERA last season doesn't lie; nor does his 2.00 era from the two seasons before last, which tells me that not only does he have a great work ethic, but he knows what he's doing. Clearly he as a strategy on the mound. I hear his curveball is devastating, and his changeup is Santana-like. His changeup I have seen on videos, very good.

It would take a good amount of money just to buy the negotiation rights and then another ton of money just to sign him.

IF I were Yankees management, seeing that this guy is only 21 and will be 22 next year ( the year that the meat company that owns the team Nippon ham Fighters may choose to sell his rights, should he choose to migrate to the US ) I would not even try to make the mistake in rushing him to the big leagues. We should take a more patient approach to him and start him off in Triple A, let him get his feel for american players and then send him up possibly that same season or the following season.

Igawa is a mistake we don't want to make... again.

A man in scoring position already. DANG! This offense is going to scorch that youngster out there. Kinda feel sorry for the guy.

BDSouth,

Like I said before, I don't think the Yanks will be able to get Teixeira period. I think the Braves will resign him since, other than Chipper Jones who is an old and banged up player, Teixeira is the only legit offensive threat in their lineup, plus they gave up a lot of very good minor league talent to get him, they didn't do that just to keep him for 1+ season. IF anything, this whole thing with Teixeira could be an exact copy of the Santana episode, except it could be more difficult with Boras in the mix.

The Yanks shouldn't waste time trying to get Darvish, Japanese players are overrated, and overvalued, plus the Yanks already have pitchers in the system who potentially are just as good if not better than him. Yanks shouldn't waste their time on him possibly making the same mistake they made with Irabu, and Igawaw. Yanks should look at what's available in the upcoming draft before they even look at Darvish or any other Japanese pitcher.

I was away for the weekend (I decided I love when holidays fall out on Monday) and I still watched a couple of the games and I just love Rasner. Once Hughes comes back and Joba is a starter there is lots of possible senarios with some not involving Rasner…
1)A rotation of Wang, Pettite, Mussina, Hughes/Kennedy/Rasner, Joba. The issue with this one is which one of the 3 young guys do you keep as a definite starter and which one goes?
2)Rotation of Wang, Pettite Mussina, Hughes, and Joba. And you could keep Rasner or Kennedy as a long reliever because God knows this team has needed them in the past.
This is just two possible things…I’m too lazy to think of other ones but this is pretty complicated already. Which one do you do?
Okay, Go Yankees! One loss yesterday but I’m ready for another five game winning streak!