Baseball Toaster: Bronx Banter : Still Fighting

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Players

Major Leauge Roster:

Infielders:
J. Giambi BR BP E MLB
R. Cano BR BP E MLB
D. Jeter BR BP E MLB
A. Rodriguez BR BP E MLB
W. Betemit BR BP E MLB mi
C. Ransom BR BP E MLB mi
J. Miranda BR BC mi

Outfielders:
B. Abreu BR BP E MLB
J. Damon BR BP E MLB
X. Nady BR BP E MLB
H. Matsui BR BP E MLB mi
B. Gardner BR E MLB mi
M. Cabrera BR BP E MLB mi

Catchers:
I. Rodriguez BR BP E MLB
J. Molina BR BP E MLB
C. Moeller BR BP E MLB mi
F. Cervelli BR BC mi

Starting Pitchers:
M. Mussina BR BP BC E
A. Pettitte (L) BR BP BC E
P. Hughes BR BP BC E mi
C. Pavano BR BP BC E mi
A. Aceves BR E mi

Relief Pitchers:
M. Rivera BR BP BC E
J. Chamberlain BR BP BC E
D. Marte (L) BR BP BC E
J. Veras BR BP BC E mi
E. Ramirez BR BP BC E mi
B. Bruney BR BP BC E mi
D. Giese BR BP BC E mi
C. Britton BR BP BC E mi
P. Coke (L) BR BC E mi
D. Rasner BR BP BC E mi
S. Ponson BR BP BC E mi
D. Robertson BR BC E mi
H. Sanchez BC mi

15-day DL:
C. Wang BR BP BC E
60-day DL:
J. Posada BR BP E MLB
J. Albaladejo BR BP BC E mi
A. Brackman BC

Coaches:
J. Girardi (Mgr) BR BP BC
R. Thomson (Bench) BC
Kevin Long (Hit) BR
D. Eiland (Pitch) BR BP BC
B. Meacham (3B) BR BP BC
T. Peña (1B) BR BP BC
M. Harkey (Pen) BR BP BC

40-man Roster:
AAA
S. Duncan BR BP E MLB mi
J. Christian BR BP E MLB mi
I. Kennedy BR BP BC E mi
C. Wright (L) BR BP BC E mi
J. Marquez BR BC mi

Designated for Assignment:
B. Traber (L) BR BP BC E mi

Select Minor Leaguers:

AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees:
B. Castro BR mi DL
C. Basak BR BP BC E MLB mi
E. Duncan BC mi
N. Green BR mi
B. Broussard BR mi
M. Carson BC mi
C. Stewart BR BP E MLB mi
J. Brown BC mi DL
K. Igawa (L) BR BP BC E JB mi
M. Melancon BC mi
J.B. Cox BC mi
S. Strickland BR BC mi
S. Jackson BC mi
E. Milton BR BC mi DL
V. Zambrano BR BC mi DL

AA Trenton Thunder:
K. Russo BR mi
R. Peña BC mi DL
C. Malec BC mi
M. Vechionacci BC mi DL
A. Jackson BC mi
C. Curtis BC mi
E. Gonzalez BR mi
P.J. Pilittere BC mi
J. Jones BC mi
G. Kontos BC mi
J. Nuñez BC mi
B. Smith BC mi DL
A. Claggett BC mi
O. Perez BR BC mi
M. Gardner BC mi
K. Whelan BC mi
W. Arias (L) BC mi

A Tampa Yankees:
E. Nuñez BC mi
C.J. Henry BC mi DL
T. Battle BC mi
K. Anson BC mi
J. Gil BC mi
A. Horne BC mi DL
Z. McAllister BC mi
W. De La Rosa (L) BC mi
C. Garcia BC mi

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:
J. Snyder BC mi
M. Cusick BC mi
B. Suttle BC mi
A. Romine BC mi
J. Montero BC mi
D. Betances BC mi
J. Heredia BC mi
J. Ortiz BC mi
C. Heyer BC mi

Low-A Staten Island Yankees:
D. Adams mi
P. Venditte mi

Rookie Gulf Coast Yankees:
C. Joseph mi
C. Smith mi
K. Higashioka mi

Key:
BR = Baseball-Reference
BP = Baseball Prospectus
BC = Baseball Cube (past mL stats)
mi = MiLB.com (current mL stats)
E = ESPN (current splits, game logs)
MLB = MLB.com hit charts
JB = Japanese Baseball.com

The Recently Departed

2008 Yankees:
R. Sexson BR BP E MLB
M. Ensberg BR BP E MLB CLE mL
A. Gonzalez BR BP E MLB mi WAS
K. Farnsworth BR BP BC E DET
L. Hawkins BR BP BC E HOU
S. Patterson BR BC mi SD

Nady/Marte Trade:
J. Tabata BC mi
J. Karstens BR BP BC E mi
R. Ohlendorf BR BP BC E
D. McCutchen BC mi

2008 Campers/mLers:
C. Woodward BR BP BC E MLB PHI mL
J. Lane BR mi BOS mL
G. Porter BC mi WAS mL
J.D. Closser BR mi SD mL
S. Henn (L) BR BP BC E mi SD
H. Phillips (L) BR BC mi TB mL
S. White BR BC mi

2007 Yankees:
J. Torre (Mgr) BR BP BC LAD
D. Mientkiewicz BR BP BC E MLB PIT
A. Phillips BR BP BC E MLB mi CIN
J. Phelps BR BP BC E MLB STL
M. Cairo BR BP BC E MLB SEA
K. Thompson BR BP BC E MLB mi PIT
B. Sardinha BC mi SEA mL
W. Nieves BR BP BC E MLB WAS
R. Clemens BR BP BC E mi
T. Clippard BR BP BC E mi WAS
L. Vizcaino BR BP BC E COL $7.5m/2yrs
M. DeSalvo BR BP BC E mi ATL mL
M. Myers (L) BR BP BC E LAD mL
R. Villone (L) BR BP BC E mi STL
S. Proctor BR BP BC E LAD
J. Brower BR BP BC E mi CIN mL
C. Bean BR BP BC E mi ATL mL

2007 Campers and mLers:
E. Durazo BR BP BC E MLB mi
A. Cannizaro BR BP BC E MLB mi TB mL
A. Chavez BR BP BC E MLB mi LAD mL
K. Reese BR BP BC E MLB mi
R. Chavez BR BP BC E MLB mi PIT mL
O. Santos BC mi BAL mL
T. Pratt BR BP BC E MLB
T.J. Beam BR BP BC E mi PIT mL
B. Kozlowski (L) BR BP BC E mi Japan

Molina Trade:
J. Kennard BC mi

Abreu Trade
M. Smith (L) BR BP BC E mi PHI
C. Monasterios BC mi PHI
J. Sanchez mi PHI

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Still Fighting

2007-07-17 20:35

by Cliff Corcoran

Andy Pettitte and Roy Halladay both entered yesterday's game trying to get on track after a series of ugly outings. After the first inning, it looked like this just wasn't going to be their night. Pettitte threw 25 pitches in the top of the first, allowed a run on a single, a walk, and a Frank Thomas double, and was fortunate to strand runners on second and third. Halladay threw 28 pitches in the bottom of the first starting with a five-pitch walk to Johnny Damon, who moved to third on a pair of groundouts. With two outs, Alex Rodriguez drove Damon home with a single and the Yankees proceeded to load the bases only to strand all three men when Robinson Cano grounded out.

To recap, that's 53 pitches, seven base runners, and a 1-1 score after a single frame.

Pettitte threw another 23 pitches in the top of the second, but avoided giving up a run when Reed Johnson's two-out double near the line in left bound into the stands, forcing Royce Clayton, who had singled, to hold up at third. Pettitte then struck out Alex Rios to preserve the 1-1 tie.

Then everything changed. Halladay retired the Yankees in order in the second. Pettitte did the same to the Blue Jays in the third on just nine pitches, including a three-pitch strikeout of Thomas. Suddenly it was the top of the eighth and the scoreboard still read 1-1.

Halladay and Pettitte matched each other almost exactly:

Halladay - 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 112 pitches
Pettitte - 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K, 116 pitches

With Pettitte staring down 120 pitches, however, Joe Torre needed to bring in someone else to pitch the eighth. Luis Vizcaino would have been the obvious choice based on recent performance, but he had pitched in each of the last two games and in four of the last five. Scott Proctor pitched two innings on Monday and has allowed eight base runners in his last 2 2/3 innings. Ron Villone's last outing was a blown save. Edwar Ramirez hadn't pitched since before the All-Star break and remains an unknown quantity. Mariano Rivera, having closed each of the last three games and four of the last five, was not a candidate to go two innings. Mike Myers is a specialty guy whom Torre is now refusing to use even for that purpose (more on that below). That left supposed "eighth-inning guy" Kyle Farnsworth and Brian Bruney, both of whom were fully rested. Torre chose the wrong guy.

I doubt there was a Yankee fan watching who didn't assume the Blue Jays would take the lead when they saw Farnsworth taking his warmups in the top of the eighth. Indeed, Frank Thomas led off with a single. Toronto manager John Gibbons pinch-ran with Howie Clark, and Aaron Hill doubled Clark home to give Toronto a 2-1 lead.

It was actually a bit more interesting than that. Farnsworth, who made a wild throw to first in the 11th inning of a 1-1 game against the Angels just before the All-Star Break, yanked a pickoff throw past Andy Phillips to send Clark to second base. The best part is that Clark was standing on first base when Farnsworth threw over; he hadn't even taken his lead yet. Curiously, Lyle Overbay then lined out directly to Phillips, who was playing back because he didn't have to hold on Clark, but it was all rendered meaningless by Hill's RBI double.

The Yankees staged another two-out rally in the eighth against lefty reliever Scott Downs. Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada both singled to put the tying run on second base with two outs, but Downs threw Robinson Cano six straight looping curve balls, and Robinson missed badly at the first two and the last to end the inning.

Having burned through Farnsworth, Joe Torre then called on Brian Bruney in the ninth. Bruney retired the heart of the Blue Jay order (Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, and Troy Glaus) in order on 11 pitches, seven of them strikes. Here's hoping Joe noticed.

Andy Phillips, who had the game-winning hit in each of the previous two games, lead off the bottom of the ninth with a single against Jays closer Jeremy Accardo. Torre then pinch-ran for Phillips with Miguel Cairo, and Cairo stole second on a 1-0 count to Melky Cabrera to put the tying run in scoring position. Melky then attempted to bunt Cairo to third (as he should have), but bunted foul for strike two (he had purposely swung through the pitch on which Cairo stole second). Melky then followed that failed bunt attempt with a single through the hole into right field. Larry Bowa sent Cairo home as Alex Rios fired to the plate. Cairo slid to the outside of the plate as Gregg Zaun lept for Rios's throw. As Zaun came down with the ball, he collided with Cairo, who was reaching in for the bag. Having received a hip-check to the head, Cairo was stopped cold and tagged out. Had Cairo headed directly for the plate, he would have been safe easily, but there was no way for him to anticipate that the play would unfold as it did.

Fortunately, Melky moved to second on the play, so, after all of that, the Yankees still had the tying run in scoring position with one out. With a 2-1 count on Johnny Damon, Cabrera stole third as Accardo appeared to have forgotten about him. Accardo then walked Damon and, as Cabrera and Damon danced of third and first respectively, Accardo came set, bent his back knee, and stepped off the rubber, balking home the tying run. Suddenly the Yankees had the winning run on second with one out, but Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu, who were a combined 0-for-10 in the game, both grounded out to push the game into extra innings.

Called in for emergency duty, Luis Vizcaino, despite missing a few miles per hour off his fastball, pitched around a one-out single to send the 2-2 tie to the bottom of the tenth. Casey Janssen, in for Accardo, opened the inning by plunking Alex Rodriguez on the elbow pad with a 0-1 pitch. Janssen then threw a 2-2 pitch to Hideki Matsui in the dirt and Rodriguez alertly moved to second as the ball squirted into fair territory and Zaun stumbled attempting to corral it. Earlier in that at-bat, Matsui missed a game-winning home run by mere feet, pulling a ball about three seats foul into the front row of the upper deck in left. Janssen rallied to strike out Matsui on a bad pitch up in the zone that was such a miss that it fooled Matsui completely. With first base open, the Gibbons then walked Jorge Posada to pitch to Robinson Cano, who had twice failed to deliver the hit that could have made the difference in the game, leaving five men on base in the process. This time, Cano laced Janssen's first pitch into the corner in deep left, plating Rodriguez and winning the game, 3-2 in ten innings.

It was a great win for the Yankees, and puts them in a great position as most had assumed that with Kei Igawa starting for the Yankees on Monday and Roy Halladay starting for the Blue Jays last night, the Yankees would lose at least one of those games. The game also comes with a lesson.

After Farnsworth allowed the go-ahead run in the eighth, Gibbons pinch-hit with lefty Matt Stairs. Rather than countering with LOOGY Mike Myers, Torre elected to intentionally walk Stairs with first base open and two outs. The move worked. It was also the second time in two days that Torre opted not to bring in Myers to face Stairs with a man in scoring position and two outs, preferring instead to stick with a righty pitcher who had already allowed a run in that game. It worked both times, in fact. With that, Mike Myers, against whom lefties are hitting .327/.406/.473 this season, has officially become dead weight. With Farnsworth and Proctor struggling and Torre threatening to pitch Vizcaino's arm off as he appeared to have done in April, the Yankees need to cut Myers loose (just as they did Mike Stanton and Paul Quantrill two years ago), and bring up Chris Britton, who has allowed just two base runners in his five major league innings this year, had a 3.35 ERA in 52 major league games last year, and has posted the following line in triple-A this year: 2.45 ERA, 44 IP, 40 H, 2 HR, 12 BB, 48 K, 3-1, 8 SV.

At the very least, Myers, not Edwar Ramirez, should be the pitcher taken off the roster when Matt DeSalvo is called up for his spot start on Saturday. Ramirez, meanwhile, should be given a chance to contribute and, if he struggles, should be replaced by Britton. Myers is cheap (he's making $1.25 million this season, which means the Yankees owe him less than a million bucks over the remainder of the season) and, in addition to Ron Villone, the Yankees have lefties Sean Henn, Ben Kozlowski, and Charlie Manning all pitching well in relief for Scranton should they feel the need for a specialist. The Yankees need better relief pitching, but they have the talent on hand to improve their pen. The problem is that the best relievers in the system aren't necessarily the men in the major league pen. Deleting Myers and shifting responsibility from Farnsworth and Proctor to Vizcaino (which seemingly has been done), Bruney, and possibly either Britton or Ramirez could completely change the Yankees late-inning outlook for the better.

Comments (124)

Show/Hide Comments 1-50

2007-07-17 22:02:26

1. yankz

Ah, I love Cliff's night owl posts.

"Here's hoping Joe noticed."- I'm not feeling too lucky.

2007-07-17 23:19:17

2. rilkefan

"Mike Myers, against whom lefties are hitting .327/.406/.473 this season"

I suspect this is misleading. What is the OPS of the lefties he has faced? Even the right-split of those batters? Last I saw Myers had 7 RSAA.

2007-07-18 04:14:14

3. Jim Dean

If you're interested Cliff, someone needs to give you a job as a beat reporter. Just a great recap. And with all of your experience and knowledge, you'd step in and immediately be better than three quarters of the guys in the market.

2007-07-18 04:47:44

4. Raf

2 He's been effective against righties, going .164/.235/.295 (61 AB's). This year and last, he was more effective against RHB.

2007-07-18 05:13:43

5. Murray

Ha!

2007-07-18 05:55:48

6. Sliced Bread

0 "I doubt there was a Yankee fan watching who didn't assume the Blue Jays would take the lead when they saw Farnsworth taking his warmups in the top of the eighth."

Girardi and Singleton took it a step further and called Farnswacker's errant throw to first before it happened.

Kyle ditched his spectacles, but it was Torre who was flying blind.

Girardi observed that the Jays are not a team that runs, while Singleton suggested Farns should remain focused on the batter... d'oh!

I have a softspot in my heart for Farnswacker, I mean, the guy's not trying to f-up, took less money to come here, and all that -- but the big palooka has the baseball IQ of, I dunno, Danny Bonaduce.

Until they trade him, I'll keep rooting for him, but Joe has to recognize that Rivera and Bruney are his Gossage and Tidrow, the only relievers he can rely on in close games.

Farnswacker and Proctor are 7th and 8th inning losses waiting to happen.

- Am I mistaken or did Joe yell "Cookie!" at Posada before they intentionally walked Stairs? I don't think I've ever heard an intentional walk referred to as a cookie.

Is DeSalvo truly our best option for the doubleheader? I guess recent evidence suggests otherwise but I prefer Clippard.

Go to Edwar! Free Britton! Cut Myers! Sounds like a fine idea, Cliff.

2007-07-18 05:57:17

7. Sliced Bread

6 Oh, and get a Joba!

2007-07-18 06:02:53

8. tommyl

2 That's not really the point though. His sole job on the team is to get out tough lefties, if he's not doing that as Cliff said he's deadweight. There are plenty of other guys around who can get lesser righties out, and lefties out at at least that rate.

2007-07-18 06:10:28

9. Jim Dean

From Neyer's blog (apologize for the length but Insider isn't that this morning, and well it's hard to know if it will go back behind the firewall):

Yanks use stats to find a gem
posted: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry

Fellow Travelers, we have a new catchphrase: "Statistics found him."

It will forever be associated with Yankees reliever Edwar Ramirez, but Billy Eppler deserves the lion's share of the credit, for both the catchphrase and for Ramirez's being a Yankee. I hope you'll pardon the long extract, but the Newark Star-Ledger's Ed Price tells this story so well...(http://tinyurl.com/2ja5z4)

NEW YORK -- If anyone deserves credit for the Yankees' discovery of Edwar Ramirez, it's a computer.

"Statistics found him," Billy Eppler, the team's director of professional scouting, said yesterday.

Ramirez has pitched twice since his July 1 promotion to the Yankees, going 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA.

It was early July last year when the Yankees needed a reliever to fill out their roster at Class A Tampa.

While Eppler looked for players who had been recently released by other organizations, Troy Caradonna -- the assistant director of baseball operations in the team's Tampa offices -- checked statistics of the independent leagues.

Caradonna found Ramirez in the United League: 1.07 ERA, 46 strikeouts and 10 walks in 25 1/3 innings for Edinburg (Texas).

"We didn't send anybody in to look," Eppler said. "I looked at a few old reports, didn't see anything [negative], and made a couple of phone calls checking on [mental] makeup."

People from the Los Angeles Angels, who had released Ramirez twice, didn't bring up any red flags. Nor did his injury history. So the Yankees signed him, paying the United League in the range of $1,500 to $3,000.

What the Yankees never found out until they got Ramirez is that he had taught himself a wicked changeup while he was out of baseball in 2004. He pitched in 19 games for Tampa, going 4-1 with a 1.17 ERA, 47 strikeouts and six walks in 30 2/3 innings.

That was last season. This season, Ramirez's numbers in the minors were simply phenomenal. With Double-A Trenton, he struck out 33 batters in 16 innings. With Triple-A Scranton, he struck out 47 batters in 27 innings. Now he's in the majors, and he's struck out four batters in two innings. In his debut he struck out three straight Twins, all with that nasty changeup.

For all the talk about the Yankees' financial advantage, it's worth mentioning that any other team in baseball could have picked up Ramirez. If only they'd let the statistics do their work for them."

2007-07-18 06:24:52

10. Cliff Corcoran

9 Indeed, the Yankees have made some great "small" moves in picking up Ramirez, Bruney, and Rasner, all for nothing.

2007-07-18 06:44:05

11. Shaun P

2 Myers has also pitched more innings so far this year than he did last year, and is on pace to pitch more innings that he ever has before. Couple that to dominating righties, and I'm not surprised by his RSAA total.

FWIW, Myers' WXRL is -.480, good for 550th out of 581 MLB pitchers. Time for him to go.

2007-07-18 06:56:59

12. Jim Dean

10 Makes you wonder who's "running" that part of the operation, huh?

I know my "Cash bash" doesn't give me credibility on these fronts, but I have a hard time imagining him behind these moves. The spending outlay is so small that it seems there's really no need for him to be involved. Indeed, it would probably would have taken more money to send a scout (airfare and hotel) than it did to just pay the league. Would this then fall under Oppenheimer or Newman then?

Other teams have similar successes (Jenks comes to mind) but it's good to see the Yanks competing on all fronts (draft, international, Rule 5, independent leagues). Cashman does deserve some of that credit (yup, I just said it). The only area they've really gotten screwed up is in free agency.

2007-07-18 07:02:39

13. mehmattski

There was some question yesterday why, despite his role in the game-tying run, Melky had an overall negative value for WPA yesterday. The play log is now up and should give some clues. Melky's at bats:

Bottom 2, One out, Runner on first: Melky bunts back to the pitcher. WPA: -0.017.

Bottom 5, One out, none on: Melky singles to center. WPA: 0.035

Bottom 7, One out, Runner on first: Melky singles to center. WPA: 0.054

Bottom 9, No outs, Runner on second; down 2-1: Melky singles to right, Cairo out at the plate. WPA: -0.167.

So despite going 3 for 4, Melky had a negative WPA because of a player gunned down on the basepaths. This, to me, seems like a huge flaw in WPA for hitters. It is not a hitters' fault if a baserunner (or in this case, third base coach) makes a blunder that costs the team a chance to win the game.

2007-07-18 07:04:26

14. 51cq24

12 indeed you have no credibility on this issue. everything good was because of someone else, everything bad was because of cashman. you have a feeling cashman is stupid, so every good move must be someone else's. maybe you're right, but you're only guessing.

2007-07-18 07:12:11

15. Jim Dean

14 Read the last part. But thanks for sharing, 51cq24!

2007-07-18 07:30:42

16. Shaun P

13 I personally have no use for WPA. I just don't see the value that it adds, despite that being explained to me many times.

0 Roster moves . . . (this is long, sorry.)

DeSalvo needs a spot. Igawa can't be sent down; Hughes won't be ready the next time the Yanks need a 5th starter (July 26th at KC; Hughes's next rehab start is July 23rd). So Myers is almost certainly gone. DeSalvo takes his spot on the 25-man, pitches the first game, then gets sent down, dropping the pitchers to 12. But what "bat" gets called up?

Shelley Duncan is the obvious (long overdue) choice, but he isn't on the 40-man. He could take Myers's spot, but then Hughes needs a spot too.

This is where it gets tricky. Is room made by a trade? Does Villone follow Myers out? Does Kevin Reese or Colter Bean get removed? I don't know.

And that's not all. Karstens needs a 40-man spot too. So does Rasner (if he's back before the season ends). (I'm ignoring Veras and Sanchez for now, 'cuz they'll be added after the season ends.)

But who else could they bring up besides Duncan? Reese and Basak (the only AAA hitters on the 40-man) aren't "bats". Sardinha just got demoted to AA. The Attorney General isn't a "bat". That leaves . . . Juan Miranda?

However they figure this out, I guess I expect to see Shelley Duncan in pinstripes on Sunday.

2007-07-18 07:33:53

17. Shaun P

16 The more I think about it, the Yanks can't cut Reese, because who would they call up then if Damon ever gets his butt placed on the DL where it belonged two months ago? Not that Damon will ever be put on the DL, but still.

2007-07-18 07:37:46

18. 51cq24

15 i read it before i wrote 14. just because you say he deserves "some of that credit" doesn't take away from the point of your post, which is seemingly that if they are doing something good, cashman must not be the one doing it. and while everything you say may be true- cashman may be behind every disaster and may not even be trying to make the team better- you are just speculating annoyingly. some things are inexplicable to me also, but you don't really give him much credit, even if you say he deserves "some" right after saying you have a hard time imagining him making good moves. all i know is that he insists he is rebuilding the farm system and will not trade any of the top prospects. if that means we have to suffer through a disappointing year, i'm fine with it. it would be nice if he had guessed right on every free agent and guys like pena, but he isn't the only one who guesses wrong. i'm more interested in the direction of the team than whether he was heavily involved in a couple of really thin free agent markets. and i don't trust his replacement to be as devoted to maintaining the farm system, especially since his firing would indicate to everyone that the only priority is to win now. what stops the next gm from trading chamberlain for richie sexson?

2007-07-18 07:45:13

19. williamnyy23

Edwar may very well be a find, but I don't think you can pat Cashman on the back just yet. After all, he is also responsible for the Yankees employing a manager who refuses to use him.

16 If Myers survives the next roster move I'll be shocked...and then angered. I'm sure not having a roster spot is costing Duncan a shot with the big club, but there really is no reason not to move Colter Bean off. I see no point in having a 30-year old minor league reliever that you never intend to use.

Also, do the Yankees already have a full 40-man? The list on the left seems to only have 38.

Regardless, maybe the Yankees could put Igawa on waivers with the intention of taking him off the 40-man and sending him to the minors. He'll serve no use once Karstens and Hughes come off and would be better served down in the minors anyway. I think I might make that move right now...I'd much rather have Hughes and Karstens form a tag-team starter (3+ innings a piece) right now instead of wasting pitches rehabbing the minors.

2007-07-18 07:48:00

20. williamnyy23

18 That's a great point...unless you completely disagree with Cashman's philosophy, then there is no reason to fire him. Unless the Yankees can sign a Billy Beane type to a long-term deal, I don't want to have to worry about the instability that comes with new GMs without a tie to the orgainzation trying to make an immediate splash.

2007-07-18 07:49:48

21. Raf

12 WRT free agency, had they paid attention to the stats, in several cases, they wouldn't have made as many mistakes as they have.

2007-07-18 07:50:02

22. rilkefan

Note that part of my point in 2 was that Myers has pitched a lot to not average lefties but elite ones. His OPS-against only makes sense in the context of the OPS of the batters he faced. Imagine he only pitched to Ortiz - an OPS-against of 0.850 would likely be pretty good.

2007-07-18 07:58:06

23. 51cq24

22 except that his "job" is to face the tough lefties. he's bad at it.

19 karstens is not good.

2007-07-18 08:00:32

24. williamnyy23

22 I picked up on your point and think it is a good one. However, Myers job is to get the very good lefties out. He has lived off his repuation as a Bonds slayer, so if he can longer perform that roll, he becomes a guy who can be effective in mop up type outings, which can skew stats and be very deceiving. The Red Sox had one of those guys in JC Romero, but smartly let him go inspite of very good composite numbers.

2007-07-18 08:10:27

25. williamnyy23

23 Karstens wasn't that bad in 40 innings last year. Regardless, he, alone, is better than Igawa, not to mention a cocktail of equal parts Karstens and Hughes.

2007-07-18 08:13:00

26. Start Spreading the News

20 There is a Billy Beane type available -- Paul DePodesta. He is young and smart. Billy Beane raved about him. LA Dodgers are benefitting from his work now that they fired him.

Note on yesterday's game, the Yanks tried to bunt a few times and both times they failed miserably. If they are going to use the bunt as a tool to eke across one run, then shouldn't they know how to bunt???

Who gets the blame for this? The hitting coach? How does Andy Phillips a career minor leaguer not know how to bunt?

2007-07-18 08:13:11

27. 51cq24

25 but if you're making a cocktail of equal parts, why not get joba up here? personally i'd just let hughes pitch.

2007-07-18 08:13:59

28. 51cq24

depodesta and steinbrenner what a team that would make

2007-07-18 08:18:23

29. rilkefan

23 'except that his "job" is to face the tough lefties. he's bad at it.'

Show me the stats.

24 If you argument is that Torre won't use Myers full stop, and we don't anyway need a reliever with 7 RSAA (either because he's good or because he has faced the bottom of the order when not pitching to the elite lefties of the league), then fine.

2007-07-18 08:25:28

30. Raf

26 Easy; he's a career minor leaguer who has slugged .516 over his MiL career.

2007-07-18 08:29:46

31. rilkefan

"your argument", blah.

2007-07-18 08:30:14

32. 51cq24

29 are you serious? this is the first i've seen anyone argue on bahalf of myers. he does not deserve it.

2007-07-18 08:30:50

33. 51cq24

behalf

2007-07-18 08:33:47

34. tommyl

29 Mike Myers against lefties:

.327/.406/.473

to quote Cliff above. He's allowing over 40% of them to reach base. Isn't that bad?

2007-07-18 08:36:25

35. mehmattski

29 Here's the career statistics of Mike Myers versus some "tough lefties":

Barry Bonds: 33 PA, .320/.485/.520 1 HR
Shawn Green: 23 PA, .222/.391/.278 0 HR
Todd Helton: 20 PA, .286/.500/.357 0 HR
Ryan Klesko: 20 PA, .200/.400/.600 2 HR
Carl Crawford: 19 PA, .333/.368/.722 1 HR
David Ortiz: 18 PA, .313/.333/.563 1 HR
Rafael Palmeiro: 18 PA, .333/.389/.400 0 HR
Ken Griffey Jr: 17 PA, .294/.294/.529 1 HR

This season, David Ortiz is 3 for 5 against him with a double and a strikeout in 6 PA. Carl Crawford is 3 for 4 with a homer. Todd Helton singled and walked in two plate appearances.

However Myers has done a good job of getting out: Darrin Erstad, Tom Glavine, Endy Chavez, David Dellucci, Dave Roberts, and Lyle Overbay...

2007-07-18 08:40:46

36. OldYanksFan

From Pending Pinstripes:
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times reports that the MRI on Dellin Betances' elbow did not find any structural damage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/sports/baseball/18pins.html

"The Yankees were relieved to learn yesterday that Dellin Betances, one of their top pitching prospects, has only inflammation in his right elbow. Betances, 19, left his start on Sunday for Class A Staten Island after three innings because of elbow stiffness, and his velocity dropped from 94 or 95 miles an hour to 90 or 91."

2007-07-18 08:51:41

37. pwicked

Would all you "stat heads" here invent a new one that, when shown to the Yankees brass, would make it all but impossible not to can Farnsworth... Yeah, thats it, the Can Farnsworth Factor (CFF). And oh, start working on the Can Proctor Factor (CPF) too...

2007-07-18 08:52:14

38.&nbs