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Another Yankees’ Game Ends in a Walk-Off, This Time They’re on the Wrong End

Another Yankee game ended in a walk-off, but unfortunately it wasn’t the Yankees doing the walking as they blew a 4-1 lead to lose to the Rangers 6-5 in 13 innings last night in Texas.

Here are some highlights:

  • The Yankees really made Texas starter C.J. Wilson work has he needed 76 pitches to get through 3 innings. He allowed 4 earned runs.
  • The Yankees then scored 1 run off of reliever Matt Harrison in the 6th, but failed to score another run off a Texas reliever through 7 innings (9 relievers).
  • Javier Vazquez was unimpressive to say the least, allowing 4 runs in 5 innings with just 1 strikeout.
  • Joba Chamberlain got credited with a blown save for allowing a game tying 8th inning homer to Nelson Cruz.
  • Chad Gaudin sucks and the Yankees probably would have been better off with Jonathan Albaladejo in the 13th inning. Gaudin surrendered a game winning home run to Cruz.
  • The game featured an AL-record 19 pitchers, including Phil Hughes in relief.
  • The Rangers’ first run probably shouldn’t have scored; Ian Kinsler stole second, but replays showed he was out. He eventually scored during the inning for Texas’ first run.

Alternate headline and image:

Yankees Blue Themselves

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Brian Cashman: Yankees Playoff Rotation Based on Merit, Not Money

Via ESPN:

General manager Brian Cashman said every Yankees pitcher not named CC Sabathia or Mariano Rivera is “auditioning for a role” in the postseason.

The size of a player’s paycheck, he said, will have no bearing on how or if he is used in October.

That means rookie right-hander Ivan Nova, with all of 24 innings pitched in the major leagues, has as much of a chance of starting a playoff game as A.J. Burnett, who is in the second year of a five-year deal that pays him $16.5 million a season.

“Everything will be decided in these last three weeks,” Cashman said Wednesday night. “The guys who we think give us the best chance to win are the guys who are going to pitch.”

[snip]

The GM refused to speak about individual pitchers and their status for the postseason. He did say if Nova pitches well over the final 22 games of the season, in which he is likely to make four starts, Cashman would be inclined to trust him with a postseason start.

“Aside from CC, nothing is guaranteed for anyone,” Cashman said. “Some guys who are starters now may wind up pitching out of the bullpen. We’ll make that determination based on how well they perform down the stretch for us.”

This is exactly as it should be. Burnett and Javier Vazquez make about $27 million combined, and Nova isn’t even earning half a million, but if Nova is the better pitcher, he should start in the playoffs. Period.

This is great to hear because it wasn’t long ago that the Yankees former manager, Joe Torre, would use inferior players based almost soley on their salary and cite experience as the reason for playing them. Experience is good and can make the difference, especially in the playoffs. But you have to back that experience up with results.

Both Burnett and Vazquez have had stretches of strong performances this season, but neither pitcher has even come close to anything that resembles consistency. For that reason, they shouldn’t just be handed roster spots.

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New York Yankees Notes: Pettitte, Cox, Towers and Matchups

The Yankees are back in action tonight as they take on a possible playoff opponent in the Texas Rangers.

Here are some notes:

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New York Yankees DFA De La Rosa, Sign Garrison

The Yankees DFA’d LHP Wilkin De La Rosa in order to make room on the 40-man roster for LHP Steve Garrison, whom they claimed off of waivers from the San Diego Padres, according to Mike Ashmore via twitter.

Garrison is not considered a top prospect and has struggled in the minor leagues recently. Former Padres’ GM and current Yankee executive Kevin Towers must have liked him though for the Yankees to risk losing De La Rosa. The Yankees likely want to keep De La Rosa, but risked losing him to add Garrison.

De La Rosa, 25, has struggled in Double A this season and is under investigation by MLB for illegally injecting teammate Ivan Nova with a B-12 shot (B-12 is legal, but must be administered by a doctor). In 72.2 innings this year he has only managed a 5.33 ERA and has a 56-41 strikeout-to-walk-ratio.

Garrison, 24 in two days, is younger and already has experience at the Triple A level. His numbers are bad, a 8.87 ERA in 22.1 innings, but his BB/9 is less and he’s had success at the lower levels.

Essentially what the Yankees have done is swapped one lefty reliever for another with slightly more upside. It is possible that they can keep De La Rosa as well.

 

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Jesus Montero: New York Yankees Catcher Has Minor Surgery

Via the NY Post:

Yankees top prospect Jesus Montero will miss the remainder of Scranton/Wilkes Barre’s playoff series against Columbus after undergoing a procedure on his ankle Wednesday night.

The heavily-hyped catcher suffered a bone bruise and decided to have the discoloring scraped out. The injury is not considered serious and Montero could possibly return if the Yankees Triple-A affiliate can get past Columbus in the best-of-five International League series, which they trail 1-0.

After this report was issued by the New York Post, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman appeared on ESPN 1050 to say that Montero would not play again this season no matter his condition. That can only mean that the Yankees have faith in Jorge Posada to be 100 percent come  playoff time because that seems like a pretty definitive statement.

Posada’s injusry is minor stuff, though, compared to some of the injuries of his fellow players. His ankle surgery could only potentially be a problem if there really is a problem that he isn’t being forthright about. Posada had concussion symptoms after taking a foul tip on the head, but has been since cleared by doctors. Had a he experienced a serious concussion, they would not have cleared him.

There is no word yet on whether or not Posada will miss any time, or if he’ll be in the lineup tonight against Texas.

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New York Yankees: Not Getting Cliff Lee Could Be Great Non-Trade for Team

The first week of July the New York Yankees nearly landed Cliff Lee in a deal with the Mariners in exchange for a package surrounding top prospect Jesus Montero.

The Yankees were aggressive in trying to land Lee because despite the fact that they had five starting pitchers, a few of them were question marks and they thought adding Lee would have settled some of those questions.

Two months later, Montero had an amazing finish in the minor leagues, and Lee is a huge question mark for the Texas Rangers heading into the playoffs.

Montero hit .342 with a 1.072 OPS and five home runs during the month of July, .330 with a .985 OPS, and seven home runs in August, and a .370 average, a 1.222 OPS, and three home runs in just six games in September.

There are still questions surrounding Montero’s defense, but at this point he looks like he’ll be an extremely solid offensive major league player.

Lee has been on the exact opposite track.

He has pitched in 11 games since joining the Rangers with a 2-5 record and a 4.69 ERA. The team’s record during his starts, 3-8. He’s also missed one start and is questionable going forward.

Now all of this could change if Lee rights himself and pitches well in the playoffs.

And if he had been traded to the Yankees and contributed in a big way to them winning the World Series than the trade could have been worth it, but that is far from guaranteed right now.

Lee has pitched very poorly against possible playoff opponents like the Yankees, Rays, and Twins, allowing at least four earned runs in each start and only making it out of the seventh once.

Some scouts and front office executives have called Montero’s bat generational, as in he could end up being very good.

It sure wouldn’t have been worth it to trade him away for yet another question mark in the starting rotation. That non-trade could be the best thing that has happened to the Yankees since last October.

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Phil Hughes To Be Skipped in New York Yankees Rotation

The New York Yankees announced yesterday that right-handed Phil Hughes will be skipped in his next turn in the rotation.

His command has been observably terrible over his last several outings, as he’s allowed 11 earned runs, six walks, and 13 hits in 9.2 innings pitched in his last two starts against Toronto (Aug. 25, Sept. 5), while against Oakland he allowed only two runs but still walked five batters in only five innings pitched on Aug. 31.

His struggles extend earlier than his last three starts, extending into July. He just hasn’t been the same dominating pitcher for quite some time that he was at the start of the season.

I wrote a piece earlier about the struggles of the Yankee rotation, and here is an excerpt on Hughes:

Phil Hughes (16-7, 4.29), who emerged as a top of the rotation starter earlier this season, has just not been the same of late.

Before the All-Star break, Phil was 11-2 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Since the Midsummer Classic, he has been 5-5 with a 5.47 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.

Lately, his location has been horrendous, and John Flaherty a few days ago mentioned that his arm slot has dropped, perhaps as a result of fatigue.

“He has never thrown this many innings in his career, and perhaps skipping a start would pay dividends for Hughes.

“Some may suggest that his struggles began when the Yankees skipped that start in June, but this is September. They will need Hughes come October, and a tired arm cannot be an excuse for losing a potential big playoff game.”

He is approaching his unknown innings limit, and Hughes has even stated that he doesn’t even know his innings limit.

The Yankees also said that skipping Hughes this time around is all part of his overall plan for this season, which is understandable.

The biggest issue with Hughes is fatigue in my eyes. Phil has flatly denied that fatigue has been an issue in his recent struggles, but his performance says otherwise.

Skipping Phil Hughes may pay dividends for the Yankees come October, since they will be counting on the young righty in the postseason.

If one remembers, the Red Sox skipped ace Josh Beckett late in the 2007 season because his arm was tiring, and they wanted him fresh for October.

He dominated in the postseason, notably the ALCS, going 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA, also earning himself ALCS MVP honors.

Phil Hughes is not at the 2007 Josh Beckett level, at least not yet, but the logic behind skipping Hughes makes tremendous sense.

They will be counting on Hughes in October to win games, and as I said in my last post, a tired arm in October is not an excuse.

Skip him now, allow his arm and head to rest, and reap the benefits in October.

 

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New York Yankees: What Happens in Playoffs if Jorge Posada Goes on DL?

There seems to be quite a bit of panic since the Yankees made the announcement yesterday that Jorge Posada was suffering from concussion symptoms. What happens if his concussion lingers and the Yankees are forced to use Francisco Cervelli and Chad Moeller?

Well, the sky will fall. Or will it?

The playoff roster eligibility rules state that the Yankees are only allowed to use players in the playoffs that were on the 25-man roster as of midnight August 31 ,with the exception of players on the DL, on the bereavement list, and suspended players.

There is another exception that would allow the Yankees to call-up Jesus Montero and use him in the playoffs if Posada lands on the DL.

The rules state that if a player goes on the DL, a team is allowed to use any player in their system. That goes for players in the minor leagues, including those not on the 40-man roster. So, in the unlikely scenario, Montero could be activated and play in October.

Obviously the Yankees don’t want to do this for two reasons. The first is that they would prefer a healthy Posada. Say what you will about his defense, but in the playoffs, his experience outweighs anything Montero could do for you. Montero is shaky defensively to start, and if he’s thrust into the pressure of the playoffs, he’s prone to a rookie mistake that could end up costing the Yankees everything they’ve worked for.

Also, the Yankees want to keep Montero off the 40-man roster. The reason for this is because they have a lot of players that need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft this offseason.

Montero doesn’t have enough service time in the minors, so he is automatically protected. Putting him on the 40-man now would mean that there would be one more player susceptible to being plucked by another team.

Those are the biggest reasons. There are others, but keeping Montero out of a big spot where his defense could be exploited and keeping him off the 40-man roster are the two biggest.

Still, if needed, the Yankees could turn to him instead of being forced to go with a Cervelli/Moeller combo in October.

 

(Thanks to The Detroit Tigers Weblog for help with this post).

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New York Yankees Notes: Streaks, Jesus Montero, and MiLB Playoffs

The Yankees have an off day after finishing up a 10-game home stand with a victory against the Orioles to avoid their first sweep at the new Yankee Stadium. They were 7-3 during the home stand.

They will fly into Texas, with Jorge Posada, to start a nine-game road trip.

Here are some notes:

  • Alex Rodriguez went 3-for-8 (.375) with a home run after returning from the DL.
  • Lance Berkman is 8-for-16 (.500) with a pair of doubles since returning from the DL.
  • Francisco Cervelli, who is likely to get a lot more playing time with Posada’s concussion, is 8-for-32 (.250) over the past 30 days.
  • Nick Swisher is 9-for-33 (.273) with a .970 OPS and three homers in 10 games since fouling a ball off his knee.
  • Derek Jeter went 5-for-32 (.156) in eight games during the latest home stand.
  • Boone Logan has 22 consecutive scoreless appearances. That ties Mariano Rivera for the Yankees’ third longest streak since 1920.
  • Jesus Montero missed last night’s game with a lower leg infection; he’s day-to-day.
  • His team, the Triple-A Scranton Yankees, lost 6-4 against Columbus in the first game of the playoffs.
  • The Double-A Trenton Thunder won 2-0 behind a 5.2 IP, 0 ER performance by Dellin Betances. He had eight K’s and one BB.
  • The High-A Tampa Yankees beat Dunedin 7-0 yesterday to advance to the FSL Championship Series starting Friday.

That’s all for now. We’ll have more updates throughout the day though, so keep checking back.

 

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Jorge Posada Day-to-Day with Concussion Symptoms

When Francisco Cervelli came up in the seventh inning today with the Yankees trailing and a runner on it seemed like the perfect spot for Jorge Posada to pinch hit. However the batter that stepped into the box was Cervelli, not Posada.

Why? Because Posada was not in the stadium, he was in New York Presbyterian hospital being checked out for concussion symptoms. He suffered the injury Tuesday night on a foul tip off the bat of Nick Markakis.

After the game the Yankees received news that neurologists have cleared Posada to play and he is day-to-day. Initially there was some fear that Posada wouldn’t be able to fly with the Yankees to Texas as they take on the Rangers, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

The Yankees have an off-day tomorrow and could give Posada more time off this weekend to rest. The important thing is they need him to be 100 percent for the playoffs. Their other catching options are Cervelli and Chad Moeller and neither of their bats even come near Posada’s. So even though he has been cleared to play he may see some time off as concussion symptoms tend to linger, see Jason Bay in Flushing.

If doctors are wrong about Posada and this injury lingers it is possible that the Yankees could call up Jesus Montero. Not that they will, but they can. Even in the playoffs. Players who are not on the major league roster before September cannot be placed on the playoff roster, unless another player at that position is placed on the DL. That means if Posada goes on the DL, Montero is eligible. Right now though it doesn’t seem like it is that bad.

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