Kuzul

The Los Angeles Dodgers are desperately looking to add another starting pitcher prior to the MLB trade deadline and it looks like Matt Garza is their latest target.

Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com is reporting the Dodgers have now turned their focus to Garza and could look to bring him to Los Angeles to join their current ace, Clayton Kershaw, in order to shore up their rotation:

Multiple sources confirmed Saturday the Los Angeles Dodgers have shifted their focus to obtaining Cubs starter Matt Garza just one day after they tried to trade for Dempster.

The price for Dempster appears to have been too high for the Dodgers liking and that might have forced them to look elsewhere on the Cubs roster. Per the same report from Levine, it will take less prospects to land Garza than it would for Dempster.

One of those reasons is based on the fact that Dempster is having a career year this season. Dempster is pitching to an ERA nearly half that of Garza’s and that’s enough to send Dempster’s value sky-high.

Not to mention, Garza left the Cubs game with the St. Louis Cardinals early on Saturday night thanks to a minor injury, according to the Cubs official Twitter page:

Matt Garza left tonight’s game with cramping in his right triceps. X-rays were negative.

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 22, 2012

If the problems persist, however slight they might be, Garza’s price could come down even further and that would be a huge benefit for the Dodgers since they wouldn’t have to give up as much young talent to acquire him.

In turn, they could use their very best young pieces to bring in some much-needed offense.

Garza would be a great addition to the Dodgers stellar rotation. Currently, Los Angeles’ starters have the second-best collective ERA in the MLB. With the addition of Garza, the Dodgers would have one of the deepest rotations in baseball.

With experience pitching in the AL East and in the postseason, Garza has seen some of the toughest lineups in baseball throughout his career and flourished in the process. His 3.91 ERA in 2012 will no doubt be reduced upon entering one of the weakest hitting divisions in baseball.

To start the day on Saturday, the Dodgers were merely two games back of a wild-card spot and 2.5 games behind the division leader, the San Francisco Giants. Adding Garza and some offense would certainly help Los Angeles make up the ground they need to in order to make the postseason.

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Ty Hensley is the New York Yankees‘ newest first-round pick, and after signing the No. 30 overall pick, the Bronx Bombers will look to groom him for the long term as a pitcher, hopefully in the starting rotation.

Let’s take a look at the deal Hensley and the Yankees inked, according to Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game USA (via Twitter):

Confirmed: #Yankees ink first-round pick, RHP Ty Hensley, for $1.2 million. Full pick value for Hensley was $1.6M. #OleMiss #NYY #mlbdraft

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogersPG) July 13, 2012

With New York’s looking to cut payroll to $189 million in order to avoid paying a stiff luxury tax for 2014 and beyond, it will be vital that the team develop young starting pitching in order to stop forcing itself to overpay for starters on the free-agent market.

However, as the Yankees and their fans know, that isn’t easy by any stretch. As is the case with most young talent—namely pitchers—success is never guaranteed.

But putting that aside, Hensley could be a huge part of what the Yanks are trying to do.

Jason A. Churchill of ESPN.com believes that, while Hensley could become a reliever in the majors, the Yanks’ first-round pick has the potential to be a starting pitcher for a long time to come.

That belief comes from the fact that Hensley has starter’s stuff with a power arm and a solid breaking ball to go along with it. If he truly has what it takes, Hensley should be able to expand his repertoire by learning how to throw more pitches.

That would go a long way in making Hensley a viable starter for years to come.

Let’s just say for a second that Hensley doesn’t work out in the starting rotation. His stuff could easily allow him to translate into a solid reliever.

Under team control for several years, Hensley could give the Bombers a solid arm in their rotation or at the back-end of their bullpen for cheap. Both of those roles have become increasingly expensive over the years.

Clearly, the potential for Hensley to help this team in the future is great, and he can do it in a few ways.

However, no matter how he helps the Yanks down the road, Hensley’s talent will go a long way toward New York’s goal of avoiding the expensive luxury tax.

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Who said the New York Yankees couldn’t win a game without hitting a home run? It took them 64 games, but the Bronx Bombers finally managed to squeak out a win without the benefit of the long ball.

A timely hit by Mark Teixeira in the top of the 14th inning finally broke the deadlocked score between the Yanks and Washington Nationals. Mr. Low Average himself, Tex ripped an RBI double down the right field line to end an at-bat that featured home-plate umpire Tim Timmons stretching his strike zone.

Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News announced the Bombers’ achievement via Twitter.

Ballgame over. Yankees win. (without a home run!)

— Mark Feinsand (@BloggingBombers) June 16, 2012

The win gives the Yanks an eight-game winning streak, and the Bombers are playing their best baseball of the 2012 campaign by far having won 18 of their last 22 games. They also have the best record in the American League.

Not to mention, the AL East leaders are absolutely beating up on their NL East foes in the process. The Yankees are 8-0 against the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals combined.

Andy Pettitte pitched beautifully once again and continues to prove he was the answer to this rotation’s consistency problems. After today’s performance against the Nats that saw him go seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts, Pettitte’s ERA is an impressive 2.77.

And that’s not just because he turned 40 yesterday.

Along with Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and Hiroki Kuroda, the Bombers have gotten at least two consecutive quality starts from each of their arms in the rotation with the exception of CC Sabathia.

If that’s the least of the Yankees’ problems concerning their rotation, I’d say they’re in good shape.

New York’s reliance on the long ball certainly isn’t gone with this win. This just released the Bombers of this stigma streak; it didn’t cure their addiction altogether. No doubt, this team is still horrendous with runners in scoring position.

For example, the Yanks were 2-for-18 over the course of the 14-inning game with runners in scoring position.

Even when Brett Gardner does return to the lineup, there isn’t much wiggle room for manager Joe Girardi to work with. Gardner gives New York the ability to steal bases and move runners, but the Yankees’ lineup is built around power bats, and at the very least, solid bats not worth bunting with.

No matter what, it isn’t stopping the Bombers from winning now, and it looks like this team is taking form for a run at the postseason.

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If you haven’t noticed lately, Andy Pettitte is becoming a strikeout pitcher for the New York Yankees. That’s strange because on the cusp of turning 40, it’s the first time in the Yankee legend’s career he’s been known for such a distinction.

Sure it’s a small sample size for the 2012 season, but Pettitte has been fanning batters ever since he returned to the mound in Yankee pinstripes. His latest dominant start against the Tampa Bay Rays saw Pettitte record 10 strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched.

In five starts, Pettitte has notched 32 strikeouts, having totaled eight, nine and 10 big whiffs in three of those five outings.

Another thing that’s been noticeable has been the amount of innings Pettitte has been logging thus far. He wasn’t exactly known for going deep in games in 2010, so it’s surprising to see Pettitte doing the exact opposite after taking a year off and returning in 2012.

Pettitte has gone six innings or more in each of his starts and has gone seven or more in his last four starts. There’s no doubt the more innings aid Pettitte’s strikeout total as a result of the extra time he’s spending on the bump.

But the best thing about Pettitte’s pitching these days is his control. He’s always had good control, but the veteran left-hander has taken it to a new extreme this season.

Not only has Pettitte had great control, but he’s also enjoyed throwing first-pitch strikes.

There’s nothing better for a pitcher than getting ahead of hitter’s on a regular basis during any given start, and Pettitte has certainly done a great job of getting opposing hitters out of their comfort zones and in a better position to be struck out.

With a long way to go until the 2012 season is in the books, it’s doubtful Pettitte will be able to keep up this pace, but at least at this very moment, Pettitte is looking like a different pitcher than he has in the past.

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Phil Hughes was just about on the edge of being removed from the New York Yankees‘ starting rotation upon the return of Andy Pettitte tomorrow, but after a great start against the Seattle Mariners, Hughes will keep his spot.

Against Seattle, Hughes went 7.2 innings, allowing one run on six hits with four strikeouts and left two runners on in the eighth after being relieved by Boone Logan.

The 25-year-old threw 112 pitches on the afternoon, and it was clear manager Joe Girardi was trying to help Hughes build some confidence with his longest start of the 2012 season. It was clearly his best start of the season.

This was Hughes’ second straight solid start and while both were against the likes of the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners, it’ll be enough momentum to keep him in the starting five.

That would mean David Phelps will move back to the bullpen and according to Thomas Boorstein of MLB.com, that is exactly where the rookie is going.

“After two turns in the Yankees’ rotation, David Phelps will return to the bullpen ahead of Andy Pettitte’s return Sunday.”

Phelps’ return to the bullpen will be a much-needed move for this team. Since losing Mariano Rivera, the Yanks can use all the bullpen depth they can get and having had success this year, Phelps will be a great boost and could now see a more prominent role.

Hughes’ possible value to this team continues to outweigh anything he’s done in the past. At this point, it’s what have you done for me lately, and lately, Hughes has done his job.

That will keep the former Yanks top prospect a part of the rotation for the time being. But that certainly doesn’t mean he’s untouchable.

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You would’ve thought Freddy Garcia of the New York Yankees would be able to at least last until Andy Pettitte comes back, but he simply doesn’t deserve to stay in the rotation after another horrible start against the Detroit Tigers.

Garcia went 1.2 innings and allowed six runs on five hits, bumping his ERA to 12.51. The veteran starter looks like a shell of the pitcher Yankee fans saw in 2011.

In turn, the Bombers are taxing their bullpen every time Garcia takes the ball and that’s a problem even for a team with a solid bullpen. Starts like Garcia’s wear down a ‘pen and can turn the most effective relievers into jello arms.

So what should the Yanks do?

The most immediate solution would be to swap Garcia and David Phelps, the Yanks’ current long-man in the bullpen. Phelps has been almost perfect out of the bullpen, with a few bad outings against the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers.

In the loss to the Tigers, Phelps pitched three scoreless innings. It doesn’t guarantee the 25-year-old will be be a reliable, effective starter for New York, but he couldn’t possibly be much worse than Garcia has been.

Pettitte’s return can’t come soon enough. It’s simply incredible how things always seem to work themselves out when a team like the Yankees has a supposed over-abundance at a certain position.

Instead of manager Joe Girardi having to make a tough decision, the Bombers’ skipper can’t pull the trigger fast enough.

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The New York Yankees flat-out embarrassed the Boston Red Sox with a nine-run comeback that turned a 9-0 deficit into a 15-9 win for the Bombers and sent the Sox to rock bottom.

It finally seemed like the Red Sox were going to get their 2012 campaign against their arch-rivals going in the second game of the first series of the season.

The Red Sox were in a bad way going into this game with their players not taking kindly to a loud-mouth manager and a poor start. To add to that, it was the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park and the Yankees had just smacked five homers the day before.

New York was about to allow its rivals to gain some kind of momentum and blow them out of the water. Boston’s 9-0 lead looked insurmountable.

And then the sixth inning came. And then the seventh and the eighth. Before they knew it, the Yanks were in the lead and completely demoralizing a team that was already in trouble.

Talk about kicking them when they’re down. The Bombers did that to the Sox and then some.

A chorus of boos followed Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine and had to put some semblance of a grin on the collective faces of Yankee fans. This cringe-tastic moment was more evidence of a team and fan base in turmoil.

Funny how on the weekend when they’re celebrating the history of their ballpark, the Red Sox collapse against the Yankees was one of the most memorable (positive or negative) games in Fenway Park’s history.

Normally you’d feel bad for a team that looks so bad, but this is the Red Sox and as a Yankee fan, that thought process doesn’t exist.

If the Yanks can leave Boston with a sweep, they will be able to put the Sox in their rear-view mirror and into further misery as they spiral into what is looking like an inevitably poor season.

The Yanks and Red Sox are going in completely different directions with the Bombers going in the right one and the Sox going in the wrong one. Such a prospect couldn’t be better for the Yanks hopes of winning the American League East.

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Phillip Humber is now the 21st pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw a perfect game and the seventh ex-New York Met to throw either a perfect game or a no hitter with a different team.

The Mets have never thrown a no-hitter in the history of their franchise.

Now, the occurrence of just a few instances could be seen as coincidence. But the fact that we’re now up to seven different former Mets etching their names into baseball history is simply too much to ignore.

Let’s count them, shall we? Thanks to NoNoHitters.com for this one.

Nolan Ryan pitched seven no-hitters during his Hall of Fame career, but they all came after he was traded by the New York Mets. And Tom Seaver finally got his sole no-hitter as a Cincinnati Red during his first season away from the Mets. In fact, seven former Mets pitched no-hitters after leaving New York. Mike Scott (Houston Astros), Dwight Gooden (New York Yankees) David Cone (Yankees), Hideo Nomo (Boston Red Sox) and Philip Humber (Chicago White Sox) round out the list. Alejandro Pena (Atlanta Braves) participated in a three-pitcher no-hitter in 1991 less than a month after being traded by the Mets to the Braves.

So, bottom line: if you’re a major league pitcher who wants to accomplish a no-hitter or perfect game at some time in you’re career, or hell, even right away, play for the New York Mets and leave.

The curse continues, 49 years and counting. There’s a good chance it’ll be half a century by the time the 2012 season ends.

Hey, at least it isn’t a World Series drought that started in 1908.

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The New York Yankees shut Michael Pineda down today after the young right-hander suffered a setback during his start in an extended spring training game. This will almost certainly end Pineda’s chances of making the rotation in 2012.

According to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger, Pineda experienced weakness in his throwing shoulder after his latest start. GM Brian Cashman is concerned because Pineda, “still isn’t healthy.”

Pineda went on the 15-day DL to start the season and has been in Tampa ever since. He was slated to return to the team around early June, but now, that date will undoubtedly be pushed back.

The Bombers will take their time with Pineda, as they have a lot invested in him (Jesus Montero) and there is simply no rush to bring him back.

New York is infamous for being overly-cautious with their young starters as is the rest of the MLB nowadays and Pineda’s case will be no different. And although their starters haven’t been pitching well this season, the Yanks still have enough depth to make up for injury moving forward.

After being given a two-month timetable after his first injury to start the season, Pineda will be out until well after that, and that could be best-case scenario. In fact, he may not even see the majors this season.

Let’s just hope, for the Yankees’ sake, that this isn’t the early signs of something more serious, like surgery. Pure speculation, of course, but it is something to watch moving forward.

This is the worst possible start for Pineda in pinstripes.

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In two starts this season, Phil Hughes has yet to show the New York Yankees that he belongs in the team’s starting rotation and in turn, could be sent packing to the bullpen when Andy Pettitte returns.

Hughes pitched worse than he did in his first start against the Tampa Bay Rays when he went 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits while walking two and striking out five.

Against the Los Angeles Angels in his second start of 2012, Hughes went 3.1 innings and allowed six runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out six.

When Pettitte does make his inevitable return, it will be either Hughes or veteran Freddy Garcia that will get the boot since, at the moment, they are the Yanks’ two worst starters.

Hughes has the advantage over Garcia because of his age and upside, but if Garcia can prove that he can help New York win better than Hughes, the Yanks won’t hesitate to stick with the vet and move the young right-hander to the pen.

Garcia wasn’t that impressive in his first start, much like Hughes. However, if Garcia can come out in his second outing of 2012 and pitch well, he could instantly have a leg up in the battle to keep his job.

All Hughes had to do was be competitive and give the Bombers some quality starts. Even if his numbers weren’t necessarily better than Garcia’s, the Yanks would still stick with their former top-prospect for the reasons I mentioned above.

But so far this season, Hughes hasn’t looked competitive and is giving the Yankees all the reasons they need to justify sending him to the bullpen come May.

With a little over two weeks left until the Yankee legend returns to his rightful spot in the Bombers’ starting five, Hughes must do much better if he wants to prove he belongs in the Yanks’ rotation for the remainder of the season.

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