Fifth best Yankees prospect poll

We finished the poll for the 5th best Yankees prospect. Dellin Bettances won with three votes. Carmen Angelini also got one vote. Andrew Brackman got none. I voted for Bettances. He`s still very raw but he has great potential. If we don't get more votes for the next poll then I`m going to end this series of polls but I`d like to get to at least ten. I`ll take Andrew Brackman off as an option because he`s getting TJ surgery. I`ll add Austin Jackson, Alan Horne, Juan Miranda, Ross Ohlendorf, and Kevin Whelan. Also consider that Alan Horne is 25. I think I`m going to vote for Carmen Angelini.

1 Phillip Hughes
2 Joba Chamberlain
3 Ian Kennedy
4 Jose Tabata
5 Dellin Bettances
6 ?

Random thoughts on Ian Kennedy.....

Kennedy's pitching in a few days so I might as well write something about him.

Kennedy was the Yankees first pick last year, even before Joba Chamberlain. He was the 21st overall pick, taken out of USC. A lot of people wre killing the Yankees on that pick for taking a a "soft tosser" like him in the first round. He was considered a safe pick with an excellent shot at making the majors one day but with a low ceiling. Baseball Prospectus predicted that he not only had a ceiling of a #5 guy but he also would be out of baseball in three years. Kennedy only pitched 2.2 innings for Staten Island last year. He started 2007 in A Tampa. He dominated with a 1.29 ERA in 63 innings. His K/BB was an unbelievable 72/22. He was then called up to AA Trenton with Joba. He didn't do as well as Joba but they gave Trenton an amazing 1-2 combination. His ERA was 2.59 in 48.2 innings with a 57/17 K/BB. Again he was called up with Joba to AAA Scranton. He pitched well in his three starts there. He had a 1.06 ERA and a K/BB of 19/5.

He`s mainly a finesse pitcher and usually throws in the high 80's or 90 mph. He has an okay curve and an average 2 seam FB. His best pitch is his changeup which is Edwar esque. Don't be fooled by Kennedy's numbers he isn't an ace. I think he`ll be a solid middle of the rotation guy that can eat innings. Of course we were saying similar things about Tyler Clippard last year and he`s dropped off a lot. Only time will tell.

First place

Its always nice to get a sweep. The fact that its the Red Sox makes it even better. Wang came up huge today and you really have to wonder if him or Pettitte is really the ace of this staff. Cano also had a great game. He`s getting hot at the right time just like seemingly everybody else on the team. I don't think Chamberlain was trying to hit Youkillis. The Joba rules might be being changed.


Here Come the Yankees.......

I`m Back

Lake George was great and they had a TV there so I caught the ends of most of the Yankees games. I like what they`ve done since then. Calling up Ian Kennedy was definitely a good idea. I`m excited about the possibility of having an all homegrown 2008 rotation. Today's the last day of voting for the poll so hurry up and vote. The Yankees have some tough decisions to make. Giambi at first is a bad idea especially in the playoffs if they make it. His defense is terrible and it will cost them. I think a Betemit/Phillips plattoon is the best idea and keeping Giambi on the bench and occasionally DH'ing is the right move.

Going on Vacation until Thursday

I`m going to Lake George on vacation until Thursday so I won't get a chance to post here. Last night's game was to late for me, what an awful loss. They really need to call up Chris Britton. This game also shows why Chamberlain should remain a starter. His pitching one inning can't have as much impact as what Clemens did for better or for worse. A reliever can't decide a games outcome as much as a starter and I`d rather have a great starter every 5th day then an amazing reliever every other day. Also, Mussina is definitely on thin ice. The Yankees are slowly falling behind in the race and they can't afford to be giving up 6 or 7 runs every time Mussina pitches. I like the idea of Kennedy coming up to replace him. He won't need to pitch in the playoffs even if we make it there and we might need him in the majors next year.

The Fourth Best Yankees Prospect Poll is finished. Jose Tabata won. I expected him to go earlier (3rd) but this is good to. His lack of power this season has a lot to do with his wrist injury. Brackman might need TJ surgery so I don't think you can put him ahead of Tabata yet. I completely forgot about Dellin Bettances because I`m an idiot so I`ll add him. I`ll be voting for Bettances for this one.

See you Thursday

1) Hughes
2) Chamberlain
3) Kennedy
4) Tabata
5) ?

Andy Pettitte

Last week the Yankees had been on a small slide losing three games in a row. They "needed" a win against one of the better teams in baseball, the Tigers. Andy Pettitte pitched a gem going 8 innings and never really giving the Tigers a chance to win. His next turn around the rotation came yesterday. Again, the Yankees had lose two straight and were on the verge of being swept by the Angels. Pettitte again delivered last night with 7 innings of one run ball. He`s now won five straight games. His ERA for the season is 3.69. His K/BB is 2.07 and he now has 114 SO's. His GB% is at about 50% to. He`s also eaten up 173.0 IP with an FIP of 3.60. He`s been arguably the Yankees ace this season, even better than Wang. He has a players option for next year and if he doesn't use it he`ll be missed.

Why isn't Chris Britton in the ML's?

People will say that this rule is a result of the Joba rules and that they should be gotten rid of. Just remember that Joba is a starter and will be helpignt he team more later on. In AAA Chris Britton has been blowing hitters away all season. He also did this with the Orioles last year in the ML's. He can do better than Ron Villone and Sean Henn can't he? Also, just a weird not but when the 10th inning started it was past midnight here in New York so technically Joba had all of Monday off and should have been available right? :D We probably can't call this a Joe Torre loss though....

Wilson Betemit

Yanks won again yesterday taking three out of four from the Tigers. Wilson Betemit has been playing well and had a great day yesterday. Edwar Ramirez had a 2 IP save. Joba pitched the 7th. If they can come through AND Farnsworth can come through we have an unstoppable bullpen. Wang was solid but not great. Seeing the young guys that you`ve followed in the Yankees system for all year prove themselves on the ML team is great. Its a lot better than watching guys like Mike Myers desperately trying top get one guy out when you "know" that he won't do it. Anyway, with Joba throwing 98 and then Edwar coming in with his change that has be really annoying for batters. It doesn't matter as much when they`re in relief but when Joba's starting next year......

Why Not play Damon at first?

The Yankees are getting little production from first lately and with Giambi hitting well they have no spot for Damon in the OF or DH. So why not go back to the Damon at first base experiment? Next year they don't have any other room for him anyway. According to this post at RLYW Damon at first is the best lineup the Yankees can put out their so why not do it?

Two great articles

Apparently Scooter might have been 90

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/sports/baseball/19chass.html?ref=sports

And maybe the Yankees do play to win and not for themselves....

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyside125329708aug12,0,7105607.story

We Love You Kyle Farnsworth!!!!

Yeah, Krazy Kyle Farnsworthless actually got cheered yesterday. He has some streak of 1-2-3 inning now I think. If Farnsworth can be effective than he could really help in giving us a solid bullpen. Clemens pitched great and I loved that double play they had to get out of that jam. The offense really came through to again. So in the past few series the Yankees have swept the Indians and if they win today then they will have taken 3 of 4 from the Tigers. They can't beat good teams?

Seattle and Boston both won to so no ground is made up. Seattle is really annoying. They aren't this good that they should be in this race.

Catching Up

I haven't had a chance to post lately. I`m sure you know by now that Tabata is out for the season. This might explain his lack of power all season. I personally think that right behind Hughes and Chamberlain he`s their 3rd best prospect.

Update on Prospect list

I`ve decided to redo the #4 poll including the newly signed Yankees prospects like Brackman or Angelini. I`m surprised Heredia has so many votes. He`s not as high as Tabata IMO

Karstens, Brower, Farnsworth, and Villone

These guys have no buisness being on a ML roster.

Karstens this year has an FIP of 7.30, a K/BB of 0.56, and a GB% of 29.8%. His BABIP is abnormally high but he has a 11.20 ERA. He`s not as bad as his ERA says he is but he`s still terrible. His stuff is terrible. He throws mid to high 80's with his fatball which he can't control. He has a nice curve but thats it. Send him back down and call up Edwar. Edwar definitely has the numbers and when given regular work in the majors can definitely get outs with that filthy changeup.

Brower isn't pitching well. I know I wanted him called up earlier but I was wrong on that. His stuff isn't good enough for him to pitch in the ML's with success. Britton did very well with Baltimore last year. He deserves a call up.

Villone actually has a solid K/BB of 1.83 but his GB% is a terrible 35.8%. He also has a low HR/FB%. Kyle Farnsworth has a much worse K/BB of 1.36. His GB% is 29.9%. I wouldn't mind seeing at least one of them replaced especially Farnsworth if somebody would take him.

Phil Rizzuto

I never heard Rizzuto or announce or saw him play but I`ve heard great stories about him. He lived his dream and lived until he was almost 90 years old. I could be wrong here but just from hearing Yogi and others talk about Rizzuto it seemed more like they were celebrating his great life than mourning his death.

Walk Off Win

Awesome win today. Wang had some trouble and gave up 5 runs in 6 innings but he gutted it through. SG at RLYW wrote a great post on Wang here. Joba's a beast but everybody knew that. He pitched a perfect 8th and K'ed two. After the last batter struck out the crowd went nuts. Again, I just hope the Yankees keep him as a starter. They won it in the 9th on a walk off dribbler by Jeter. The sam thing happened against Pittsbugh earlier in the season. Today will probably be a loss with Karstens but at least they`ve seen Daniel Cabrera before.

I missed yesterday's game to go to the beach. Its always great to get a sweep especially against a team like Cleveland with a tough stretch coming up. Before we started this series I said somewhere the Yaqnkees needed to shoot for 12-8 during the next tough stretch off games. Now thanks to the sweep they need to go 9-8 for the rest of this set of games. Anyway, so much for the 6 inning games for Boston. Eric Gagne has been terrible and Okajima blew yesterday's game. Only four games back now in the division and we're still tied for first with the annoying Mariners in the Wild Card. I like our chances

Hughes-Chamberlain-Rivera

Yesterday we had a glimpse of the future with Joba and Hughes. Hughes started the game pitching 6 innings, giving up only a solo homer. He struck out 6 and walked only 1. Next came Joba. He pitched two shutout innings striking out 4 and walking nobody. He actually threw only 21 pitches. In the 9th Rivera came in to get some work in and worked a perfect inning with a SO. Unbelievable, when was the last time the Yankees had a complete game using completely homegrown players? I know the idea of using Chamberlain in relief permanently is becoming popular but its not worth it. He can throw mid to high 90's into the 7th or 8th inning as a starter with what looks like no effort. A-Rod had a HR to dead center to get the Yankees on the board. Abreu also had a good night with two RBI's. I`m beginning to think maybe we should resign him to a 1-2 year deal. Mattingly also did pretty well as manager.

Yankees Schedule

The Yankees just finished the easy part of their schedule and made up a ton of ground. This is the part that will either kill the Yankees or vault them into the playoffs. Starting tonight they have a stretch of games were they play 5/6 series against playoff contenders. They also play 8 games against Detroit the rest of the month. If they can take 5-6 of those games it will go a long way for their WC hopes. They also have a 3 game series against Boston coming up. If they can sweep and make the defecit 4 games or less going into September then they still have a shot at the division.

Poll Results

Ian Kennedy won the title of third best Yankees prospect in our poll. He got six votes to Jose Tabata's five. I voted for Tabata but thinking about it more I probably would have voted for Austin Jackson. Dellin Bettances and Jairo Heredia both got one vote and Jackson got two. Ian Kennedy was drafted last year with Joba Chamberlain and he`s rose up the ranks with him. He`s earned the nickname "Mini-Moose" because he's put up even better numbers than Chamberlain or Hughes mainly with control rather than great stuff. The Texas GM demanded either him or Melky for Gagne and Cashman rightly refused. Kennedy might actually be our 5th starter next year.

Clemens and Torre are suspended

Clemens has been suspended for 5 games and Torre for one game. Personally I think this is ridiculous. The Blue Jays do all of that and face no suspensions? I guess it doesn't really matter to them. Anyway in other news the NY Post is reporting that El Cambio is making his return. Thanks to Jim Johnson at the Bronx Block for posting it on his blog. I`m guessing Brower will be sent down unless Farnsworthless can be traded.

Krazy Kyle Farnsworthless Clears Waivers

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08082007/sports/yankees/joba_security_yankees_joel_sherman.htm

Farnsworth has been terrible all season. I bet that we eat about 5 million of his contract and get a very young A prospect probably a reliever. Interesting that Rivera said that Proctor, Farnsworth, and Bruney all threw hard but couldn't really pitch well. All of them are now gone. I think Britton or Ramirez will be called up for Farnsworth. I`m happy with the teams recent moves. I`d also like Villone to be gone though.

Win with a lot of side stories

The Yankees won today on the strength of a great performance by Roger Clemens. He struck out six, walked one, and gave up one ER in 6 innings. The reason he didn't pitch more innings was that he got ejected after hitting the first batter he faced in the 7th. Earlier in the game Josh Towers hit A-Rod with a pitch on the knee that was obviously retaliation for something that happened months ago. The benches emptied and Shelley Duncan got between A-Rod and Matt Stairs. They went back but almost immediately afterwards Towers shouted something to Tony Pena. The benches emptied again but nothing happened. The Yankees also scored three in that inning which was more than enough. In the 7th Roger hit a guy and got ejected. Joba Chamberlain also made his debut pitching 2 shutout innings. Clemens will be suspended now so Chamberlain might actually start for him. Also Bruney was sent down yesterday, Cairo was DFA'ed, and Giambi and Chamberlain were called up. Boston lost so now we're only a half game back in the WC and 5 back in the division. This team may not be dead after all ;)

Joba Chamberlain is being called up to the majors to pitch today. Jeff Karstens will probably be sent down as a result. I don't like the move because it could really screw up his development and we might need him in the rotation next year but he`ll add a power pitcher to the bullpen. I think Chamberlain might be the piece that vaults us into the playoffs. Also, I don't care how dominant he is or how terrible he is. He better stay as a starter.

The Yankees won again on the strength of another solid performance by Pettitte. Melky had a great day going 3-4 with an RBI. We saw Jim Brower finish the 6th innning for Pettitte but he came out after giving up a leadoff hit in the 7th. Insert bad joke about Torre only trusting Brower because he`s 34 here. Vizcaino, the new Scott Proctor, went two innings and almost gave up the lead. The "old and unintimidating" Mariano Rivera struck out the side in a perfect 9th inning.

Joba and Brower up?

I`m hearing that Joba Chamberlain and Jim Brower are being called up for Mike Myers and someone else. Hoepfully that someone else will be Basak and/or Cairo. Brower is just up for today and then Giambi will probably be activated off the DL. I hate the fact that Chamberlain is getting called up. Its just not worth the risk to put him in Joe Torre's bullpen. In the short term he`ll probably help and might be the missing cog that puts us in the playoffs and WS but I don't want him to hurt his arm. If that happens we just have another reason to fire Torre and Cashman.

Getting all Caught up

I haven't posted much lately because I`ve been on vacation.I got back and I`m happy to see that they're only a half a game out now and have DFA'ed Myers. I`m actually surprised that they DFA'ed him. Giambi looks like he`s ready and I`m sure that Chamberlain will follow him soon.

By the way, if anyone is interested in helping me write here then please post in the comments section. I could really use the help.

Wang pitched another great game and the offense backed him up to make it a blow out. In other news Hughes makes his return today. If he can pitch well down the stretch the Yankees are going to have a tough rotation.

I missed this game so I don't really have any comments

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spdamon025316932aug02,0,5153308.story

Damon doesn't really like his role to much then. I`d love to trade him. He`s getting paid a lot and can't play CF anymore. He can't play RF with his arm either. DH, 1B, and LF are all filled also.

Shelley Duncan!!!

Pettitte pitched brilliantly again and we had some more HR derby. Shelley Duncan joined in with another HR. He doesn't deserve to be sent down. Posada and Cano also HR'ed. We're only two back now in the WC and getting more healthy every day.

Torre might be a lame duck

http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/graziano/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1185942036132290.xml&coll=1

This can only be good news

A Trade Deadline Review

The trade deadline has passed now and obviously their have been a few trades that will impact the Yankees playoff chances but as usual their weren't any major changes. Their were probably three important trades made this deadline.

1) Scott Proctor (to Dodgers) for Wilson Betemit (to Yankees)

The general reaction to this trade seems to be negative but I like it. Proctor was abused by Torre both this season and last season and was probably a big injury risk. Also, if you look at his defense independant stats you can see he`s really not pitching well. He has a K/BB of 1.28, a GB% of 25.4%, and an FIP of 5.52. I think a big part of that comes from the face that Proctor pitched so many innings. Wilson Betemit plays more positions than Miguel Cairo and hits a lot more. He has a terrible BA but he's walked a lot this season and has some power. I`m not sure if he`s 25 or 27 but either way he`s fairly young. I think he could play a pretty good first base and plattoon with Phillips. Overrall I like this move by Cashman.

2) Eric Gagne (to Boston) for Kason Gabbard, Engel Beltre, and David Murphy

Obviously this is bad for the Yankees but it doesn't matter a ton. We had a very small chance of catching Boston anyway and they gavc up a couple decent prospects. What annoys me about this trade is that the Rangers demanded either Melky Cabrera or Ian Kennedy for Gagne but the Red Sox got away with this package. Nice job by Cashman to not cave into the demands of an idiot. The Red Sox now have Jonathan Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, and Eric Gagne all in the bullpen. All of them could be closers on almost any team but the Red Sox have to get Gagne to shore up that "weak" bullpen with an 8 game lead in the division. I guess you can't blame them for taking advantage of that idiot in Texas but its still annoying.

Kenny Lofton (to Indians) for Max Ramirez (to Texas)

I think I have to say that the Rangers were by far the biggest winners at the trade deadline. Lofton is still a pretty solid player and will help Cleveland but it doesn't really hurt us to badly. It probably means less of Trot Nixon and Lofton is an improvement but its not really a huge deal.

Outlook: Overall the Yankees playoff chances probably stayed about the same. The Gagne deal doesn't matter since the division race is basically over anyway. Kenny Lofton isn't going to change anything. Wilson Betemit should help but not much more than Kenny Lofton will. The Yankees still are getting Jason Giambi, Phil Hughes, and Joba Chamberlain coming up soon along with possibly a few other pitchers. We need to figure out a way to dump Farnsworth still. We won't be sticking with a 5 man bench much longer either. Basak and Cairo should go for Hughes and a reliever but Torre loves Cairo and we might actually have to lose our hero Shelley Duncan instead. That would indeed be a tragedy. We're only 3 out in the WC and 7 out in the division. We're not dead yet.

Huge win last night. The Yankees tied a franchise record for HR's in a game with 8. The great Shelley Duncan chipped in with a pinch hit HR as well. A-Rod is still just one HR away from 500 but he`s having trouble getting it. Mussina pitched solidly going 6 IP allowing only 3 runs. We need to see more of that from Mussina to come back. The Indians lost so now we're only 3 back in the WC.