Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Yanks (Cairo) Put Together Win

Good article on Posada on Yahoo Sports titled Steady As He Goes: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb

Tyler Clippard went 5 innings. And as with his other wins, was not great, but kept coming after the White Sox and found a way to get out of jams. His record now stands at 3-1 with an ERA of 3.60 - if he can cut down on the walks, I'd say so far, this prospect looks to have the goods.

Miguel Cairo used his uniform last night. Turned a pair of key double plays and went 2 for 4. More importantly, and something not in the stats is when he got caught stealing 2nd base. It was perfect timing - 2 outs, Damon was down 0-2 in the count, and Cairo's attempted steal ended the inning allowing Damon to lead off the next, who promptly started with a double and the Yanks went on to their big game winning inning.

The hitter's are actually hitting again - Abreu has found his onions, and Cabrera seems to be a much better player when in the field everyday. The Sox are sinking (mildly but I'll take what I can get at his point) losing 5 of their last 6. We've got Wang, Mussina, Pettitte, and Clemens going for us the next four games - who knows, maybe we can string together our first serious winning streak of the season.

20 comments:

old professor said...

With their win last night, the Yankees did gain ground on Boston and Baltimore.

Clippard is showing that he is not afraid of contact and that he can pitch out of trouble. Some people call his style effectively wild. At 22 he may have proven he can be effective as a number 5 starter or he may be used as trade bait.

Still no word yet on whether Pettitte will be able to pitch on Friday or whether Clemens will be able to go on Saturday.

Yankees made some minor moves which could signal something is in the trade winds. Henn has been brought back (DeSalvo goes down), Basak comes up to assume the utility role for the infield (Thompson goes down). In Triple A, Henn was put into a starting role again versus just relief. His arrival could mean the end of Vallone's tenure with the team (he could be Philadelphia bound or even headed to Texas), Basak being brought up to fill the utility role could mean Cairo at first for a good deal of the rest of the season (Phelps will find himself on the bench and as a pitch hitter). With Clemens scheduled to pitch and become active roster on Saturday, someone one the staff will be heading out.

The Chicago GM has definately nixed a Dye for Abreu trade.

Anonymous said...

NY radio all about the Yanks Acquiring D-Train or Mark Tex.

Villone has done OK since being back - he really only had one bad outing (Toronto).

Jeter needs a rest to recharge the batteries.

old professor said...

Anon,

Those two names are mentioned in ever trade by just about every team. Neither the Marlins nor Texas will part with those individuals unless the person is a top shelf prospect (insert the name of Phil Hughes on the dotted trade line)or current front-line major league starter. The Yankees will not give up any of their young top pitching prospects especially Hughes.

Texas wants to unload their first baseman because he has had issues with Ron Washington over hitting. Apparently he was not thrilled with the idea of taking more pitches and following advice contrary to his batting coach.

D-train has been mentioned for two years now and nothing has come to pass. Too many teams with the capability of putting together better trade packages will pursue the Marlin's Ace.

Anonymous said...

I used to love Dontrelle, but his numbers have consistently been on the slide for the last year and a half. He's not a great pitcher anymore...just a very good one. But he is proven. I only like that trade, if it is expanded to include Cabrera. That is the only way you even consider giving up Hughes.

Teixiera can be had for less than Hughes. Proctor and whichever one of the young arms is ranked right behind Hughes would do the trick. With the emergence of Bruney, the Yankees should not let Texas off the phone until they accept that deal.

I also heard rumblings about Farnsworth for Xavier Nady.....

Anonymous said...

After seeing Dye's performance in the field, I now realize that he plays worse than Abreu...

Wang saving the bull pen.

old professor said...

Where exactly would Xavier Nady play. I believe he tried to play right field for the Mets at one point and that didn't really work out. Or do I have the wrong Xavier Nady. If your bullpen has struggled it does not seem to make sense to trade a power arm (true there is some concern that when he releases the ball only God knows where it is going) for another bat. Specifically if your rightfielder - Abreu - is starting to hit.

Wang pitched an outstanding game on Wednesday - baserunning made the game closer than it should have. Posada thought he had the speed of Micky Rivers (twice).

Cabrera's arm also saved a run. Damon made a very honest statement that for a ballplayer is remarkable - regarding Cabrera - "it is great to see someone do things out there that I am not capable of doing out".

Anonymous said...

Big game by Wang. He is truly an ace. I guess I should give Cashman his due on that one....although I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Stick Michael pushed for his signing.

I'm not going to make a big deal about all the base running errors (and there were many). Most of them came from the runner's being overly aggressive. I have no problem with that. Sometimes you get thrown out.

Glad to see Joe stick with Wang for the complete game...can we give the manager a little praise when he comes up roses?

Torre said he would like to try to get Jeter out of the lineup tonight as he is a little banged up...wonder if that means Cairo at short and Phelps back at first, or if we will see the debut of Basak.

Props to the Ducks of Anaheim.

Does ANYONE care about the NBA Finals? Not me.

Anonymous said...

Prof, thats the right Nady. I'm not saying I agree with the move...just saying that I heard it in the rumor mill. That being said, there are worse fourth outfielders/Pinch Hitters in the world than Xavier Nady.

Nice job bringing up Melky's throw...I had almost forgotten about that. Damon, is true team player. It's obvious that all he cares about is winning. He impresses me whenever I see him being interviewed...and the fact that he has started to hit helps too.

Anonymous said...

Anyone think it was odd they didn't bring up Andy Philips when Minky went down?

He's batting .325 in Scranton. - possible trade bait?

- Mid

Anonymous said...

The New York Yankees capped the first round of the MLB draft by selecting North Carolina State 6-foot-10 right-hander Andrew Brackman.

I'll try to find stats on him.

Anonymous said...

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/
article.jsp?ymd=20070607&content_
id=2011635&vkey=draft2007&fext=.jsp

Here's an article about Brackman. He's a Boras client so that's why he dropped so far in the draft. They continue their recent trend of taking right handed hard throwers with their first pick.

old professor said...

Brackman is one very large pitcher. He is 6'10" and 235 pounds. Played basketball for NC State for a year or two before going full-time baseball.

Mid - as for why they didn't bring up Phillips, Torre indicated he didn't want to bring him up without the possiblility of playing everyday. Basak gives the team more options - he has played third, short, second and both corner outfield positions. At 28, this is his first call to the major leagues.

Mussina looked sharp until pitch number 79 (which fortunately came in the seventh inning) bullpen almost melted down again.

Against the Pirates, the Yankees are looking to do something they have not done all year - win four straight.

Damon looks healthier as a DH than he has all season.

Anonymous said...

I have a few thoughts on the heels of the Yanks series win in Chicago

1 - Farnsworths days are numbered if he doesn't improve dramatically. Not sure how much they're paying this guy, but if they can't work a trade, they may just drop him.

2 - With Melkey as an everyday player - the team seems more relaxed

3 - A-Rod - is it April again?

Mid

Anonymous said...

Kyle Farnsworth: 2007 Salary: $5,666,667

No way will they just cut him. Somebody desperate for bullpen help (and isn't everybody desperate for bullpen help?) will take a chance that they can "fix" this guy and he will bring something back in a trade come the deadline.

Melky with another great catch in center late in the game. Not sure Damon gets to that ball.

Congratulations to Mr. Torre for 2,000 wins....the Hall of Fame awaits.

Anonymous said...

Not a lot of chirping coming from our favorite Met fan lately, is there?

57 said...

First off all.. the Mets are injured... second of all.. Its June... thirdly, Xavier Nady was tremendous for the Mets last year before he was traded; a move that I still disgree with. I disgree with Profs assessment that it "..didn't really work out"..false, it did. His bat would have been crucial in the playoffs..not Shawn Green's.

Pedro is right around the corner. Who is your daddy?

57 said...

Oh, and NO props to the Ducks of Anaheim. The Sabres should have won it this year, but they will next year... you heard it here first. They just had a case of the cocky players this year and they have learned. They were not the #1 team in the NHL by luck. they just got cocky at the wrong time.

Anonymous said...

could've, would've, should've - the Sabres did not do what they had to do to get to the cup (kind of like the Mets watching a third strike to end your season).

I'm interested to see how effective Pettitte and Clemens will be and if they're 100% over their hurts.

old professor said...

If Pettitte pitches well, the Yankees will be poised to win four straight for the first time this year.

Here is a name to watch for - Juan Miranda. Cuban defector signed by the Yanks - allegedly he is 24 years old. Currently playing at Trenton and is hitting fairly well and with power.

Also watch for the KC Royals reject Runelyvis Hernandez still only 28 and seems to be doing well in AAA with Scranton. Pitching in relief.

Anybody know what has happened to Brent Cox - Yankees signed him in 2005 was thought to be the next big closer out of Texas (followed Houston Street). Broke his hand in January and is not on any of the Yankee's minor league rosters.

Anonymous said...

Miranda - playing in Tampa not Trenton, batting .274 for the season, hitting .450 over the last ten games.

It may be too big of a leap to go from single A to the Bigs.

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