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Jorge is back and the Yankees have sent Cash down to the minors.  So, Berroa still has a role with the team, though I can't figure out why. 

Cervelli is going to catch Sabathia tomorrow, but he probably will be headed to the minors soon- Molina is getting into a game tomorrow in the minors.  

Now we just need the rain to clear and we are ready to play.   

UPDATE: How's this for a stat via Kim Jones?  This is the first time the Yankees have had Posada, Matsui and A-Rod in the lineup at the same time since June 22nd of 2008.  

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So Melky "should" be ready to go after 5-7 days of rest.  That's the good news, the bad news is the Yankees are going to do nothing with the roster for now.  So, for the next week or so the Yankees are going to play with three outfielders- Damon, Gardner and Swisher.  That's it, so if someone gets hurt, like Damon almost did in tonight's game, you probably can expect to see Ramiro Pena trying to play the outfield. 

Now, add in the fact that Shelley Duncan has hit 15 homers in AAA and I don't get it.  Do we really need Angel Berroa clogging up a roster spot? Isn't the logical move to DFA Berroa and add Duncan to the Yankee roster?  I would guess that Berroa's time with the club is going to come to an end Friday when the Yankees hopefully activate Posada, but I am hopeful the memory of Damon crashing into that wall spurs the Yankees to change plans.  I understand wanting to keep three catchers on the roster right now, but how about this?

DFA Berroa, promote Duncan, activate Posada and DFA Tomko or Veras.  They can go with 11 pitchers until they feel Posada is ok.  Then DFA Cash and bring up another reliever.   Or, bite the bullet and DL Melky now, just don't fool around with only 12 position players- it's too dangerous. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Maybe it's because the game was in Texas, but Phil Hughes looked awesome today.  Personally, I was most impressed with his curve ball, but the whole thing looked great.  Yes, he has been uneven. But he struck out nine guys his last start and dominated the Rangers and their potent offense today. 

So the question is, how do you remove this guy from the rotation?  I don't think you do, at least not yet.  Wang didn't look great the other night and he was supposed to get one more minor league start.  I would keep him in the pen and see if he improves.  Give Hughes another start and see what happens.  If he keeps pitching like this, you have an interesting decision to make. 

My only gripe today was using Aceves in the ninth.  Bruney is probably gone for awhile and you need to develop someone for the 8th, why not try Aceves?  More to the point, why waste him in a game that is a blowout?  I don't get it at all. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Or should I say Bruney is back?  Thankfully, they put at least a temporary end to the Edwar era.  I like the kid, I wish him well, but he doesn't belong in a big league pen. Yes the strikeouts are nice, but 19 HR's in 93 IP is not good enough for the bigs. 

Now, the question is who is going to step up behind Bruney and Mo?  Coke has been bad in May.  Albie doesn't look like he wants to throw strikes.  Veras is the same way and Tomko just strikes me as a sucker's bet.  I would like to see Aceves get a shot, see him try some late inning situations.  The guy seems to have the nerves for it and he gets the job done.  Of course that leaves you without a long guy, but isn't that a role Tomko could fill? 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I find it fascinating Cal Ripken is going to "make it his business" to find out what Alex Rodriguez's motives were for using steroids.  After all, Ripken was a teammate of Rafael Palmeiro and as a lifetime Oriole, shouldn't Cal concern himself with that?

It's an odd comment coming from somebody who certainly had the standing to speak up years ago.  Can you imagine how different the steroids era would have ended up being if Ripken had stood up in 1998 and called foul on what was going on? 

I will give Ripken credit, he says the steroids era is a dark cloud that is "hanging and hanging" over baseball.  Are you listening Bud Selig?   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:23 PM | Permalink

There is a lot of chatter in the New York papers today about how Phil Hughes had better pitch well tonight or he will be back in the minors soon.  The thinking is that with Chien-Ming Wang almost ready, Hughes has to show the Yankees something to stick in the rotation.

But where is the spot in the rotation that Hughes can hold onto?  Even if he pitches a gem tonight, the Yankees are going to pick Wang over him.  Hughes isn't going to bump any of the other starters out of the rotation either.  And you can pretty much forget about the bullpen, Hughes is a starter and he will go back to AAA as a starter when Wang returns.

What Hughes is really pitching for is 2010.  We know the 2010 rotation will have Sabathia, Burnett and Wang in it.  We can be 95% certain it will have Joba in it.  What we don't know is if it will have Pettitte in it.  The Yankees could choose to give him another one year deal or they could decide that Hughes is ready to be a starter in the bigs.  I imagine they would rather go with Hughes, but that will be impossible unless he shows some success in the majors soon.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sabathia started the road trip and ended it with the same result: a huge win.  There are a lot of things not to like about the Yankees right now, but Sabathia rounding into form is a reason for hope.  The Yankees haven't had a pitcher with his ability in years and if he lives up to that potential, they will be right there throughout the summer.

For now a 4-2 road trip is pretty good and taking 2-of-3 in Toronto is a good sign.  I know the Blue Jays probably won't be there in the end, but they are in first and picking up ground is what it is all about.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:23 PM | Permalink

So Pete Rose thinks A-Rod belongs in the Hall of Fame.  What's next O.J. Simpson saying he is a great husband? 

A-Rod doesn't look like a Hall of Famer right now, but he isn't alone on this team.  The Yankees are 15-17 and can't seem to build any consistency.  When they hit, they don't pitch and when they pitch they don't hit.  Actually, it really isn't the hitters fault, the Yankees are 6th in baseball, scoring 5.4 runs a game.  It's the pitching that's killing them, 6.2 runs allowed a game, tied for worst in baseball.  

I don't know what the answer is for the pitching woes.  AJ Burnett isn't helping, CC has been mediocre, if they pitch to their ability things will be a lot better.  The bullpen is a different story.  I would send Edwar away, use Coke in the 8th (if his back is healthy-ugh) and hope Bruney returns soon.

It's early, but the Yankees need to put together a winning streak soon.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Reports out of Toronto have Derek Jeter scratched from the lineup because of an oblique pull.  Considering yesterday was an off-day and the fact that Jeter is one tough SOB, this leads me to believe he is hurting.  We will never hear him say it, but it's not a good omen.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The Yankees have added Brett Tomko and sent David Robertson down.  I haven't seen an official move for the 40-man, but since Ian Kennedy is having surgery this week it makes sense that he would be sent to the 60-day DL.

Tomko has been closing in AAA and he has 17 K's in 14 innings.  Very impressive numbers, but this is also a guy with a 4.68 ERA in almost 1800 innings of pitching in the bigs.  Has he reinvented himself?  At this point the Yankees might as well find out.  Worst case scenario, Tomko is released in a few weeks.

UPDATE: They have DFA'ed Eric Hacker.  Apparently Kennedy cannot go on the 60-day because he is in the minors. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 04:49 PM | Permalink