Granderson Hit By Pitch, Broken Bone, DL...Deja Vu All Over Again

photo courtesy of northjersey.com

Curtis Granderson seemed to finally be getting his stroke back after missing a month and a half with a broken forearm. A three-hit game this past Wednesday night in Baltimore included a double and a home run, and was one of the few bright spots in a divisional loss. Now the Yankees will need other players to pick up the slack again as Granderson is headed to the DL for the second time this season with a broken bone.

This time around it was a pitch by Tampa Bay's Cesar Ramos that broke the knuckle on Granderson' left pinky finger. (Ramos also hit Robinson Cano with the bases loaded to force in a run.)

 Here we go again.

Granderson missed 38 games due to the broken arm he received in the very first Spring Training game after Toronto's J.A. Happ hit him. The 32-year old is set to be a free agent after the season, but you have to wonder where his value will be at after he misses at least one quarter of the season.

Nova Activated, Betances Back to Scranton

Hello..is this my agent..they're putting me in the bullpen!

Ivan Nova was activated from the 15-Day disabled list Friday night, and for the time being was placed in the bullpen. With Friday night's starter David Phelps outpitching Nova this season, and the Yankees wanting to take another look at Vidal Nuno, the bullpen move made sense.

Nova went on the DL on April 27 with an inflammed right triceps. He worked with pitching coach Larry Rotschild on Thursday to simulate situations a reliever would be in. Nova has appeared in just four games as a reliever in 70 regular season Major League appearances.

Joe Girardi plans to bring Nova in at the start of an inning, but of course sometimes game plans go out the window. After a 16-4 rookie season, Nova has struggled the last two years. He was 1-1, 6.48 with a 1.860 WHIP in four starts this season.

Dellin Betances was sent down to Scranton to make room on the 25-man roster.

Mark Teixeira and his Right Wrist are Trenton Bound

Mark Teixeira is ready to play some baseball and he's going to do it in central New Jersey. Teixeira will begin a rehab assignment with the Trenton Thunder this coming Wednesday and Thursday. No word as of yet on where Tex will be after that.

Those of you following the Yankees version of General Hospital know that the Yankees first baseman hurt the tendon in his right wrist while getting ready to represent the US in the World Baseball Classic.

Montero - Pineda: A Year Later

You can count me as one of the people that was ecstatic when the Yankees acquired Michael Pineda from the Seattle Mariners for the organization's top prospect, Jesus Montero. Sure, I was sorry to see Montero go...after hearing of all the promise and seeing some of the potential when he was called up in September, 2011, I was anxious to see what he could do with 400-500 at-bats. (Click here to read my take on the night of the deal.)

However, Pineda's success in 2010 tempered my feelings about losing Montero. The hard throwing right-hander was only 23-years old when the 2012 season began. He went 9-10, 3.74 in his rookie season with the Mariners, wtih 173 strikeouts in 171 innings pitched. His 2.9 walks per nine innings wasn't bad for a rookie either.

Pineda built up most of his success in the first half of the season in the Seattle, when he held opposing hitters to a .198 average. His ERA over his first 18 starts was 3.03, but soared to over five in his last 10 starts when he appeared to have worn down. The Mariners limited Pineda to just seven starts over the season's final two months and tried to keep his pitch count under 100 to keep him healthy.

Pineda's previous high of 139.1 innings pitched occurred in the minor leagues the prior season. Perhaps the extended innings, though less than a 25% increase, played into what unfolded during Pineda's first Spring Training with the Yankees in 2012. More on that in a moment.

Meanwhile, Montero got the chance to get his 500+ at-bats in the Major Leagues and an opportunity to catch on a semi-regular basis. While the Mariners limited Montero to 56 games behind the plate, the 22-year old showed potential in the batter's box. He belted 15 home runs and drove in 62 runs in 515 at-bats and struck out 99 times, not a bad total for a rookie. It was accompanied by a .260 batting average and though his OPS of .698 was less than stellar, it still showed promise. It also enraged those Yankees fans who hated the additions Brian Cashman made to the team and the subtraction of Montero from the roster.

That rage got an early start when Pineda showed up to camp overweight and then had to walk off the mound in his last Spring Training start due to tightness in his right shoulder. What was first diagnosed as tendinitis turned out to be a torn labrum that required season ending surgery and put Pineda's future in doubt.

With one-quarter of the 2013 season gone by, quite a bit has changed since the end of the 2012 season. Things have not gone well for Montero. Seattle manager Eric Wedge prefers to use veteran Kelly Shoppach behind the plate and Montero has done poorly with the bat. So poorly, in fact, that the Mariners sent Montero down to Triple-A on Thursday.

Montero has just 3 HR and 9 RBI in 101 at-bats and and just two other extra-base hits. That adds up to a .590 OPS, a number that used to be his slugging pct. alone in the minor leagues. The Mariners hope Montero can recover his stroke and his confidence playing for Triple-A Tacoma.

95-mph...that's what the radar gun read recently for a Pineda fastball at extended Spring Training in Tampa. He's been consistently hitting 93 on the gun and lo and behold, he may start a rehab assignment soon. Potentially, Pineda could be the starter the Yankees might have looked elsewhere for at this year's trade deadline.

A trade that was clearly in Seattle's favor last season, but has now evened out and could swing in the Yankees favor before the year is over.

The Other Guys

Nope, not referring to the Will Ferrell-Mark Wahlberg movie, but the other players that were involved in the Montero-Pineda deal. Jose Campos, a 6'4" right-hander came over with Pineda and had the infamous word "potential" tagged to him as well. Just 19-years old at the time, Campos was 3-0, 4.01 in five starts for the Charleston RiverDogs (Single-A) when he was placed on the 7-day disabled list on May 3 due to discomfort in his right elbow.

Campos ended up missing the entire season, but was able to avoid Tommy John surgery through physical therapy and rest. He's back at Charleston this season, where has made seven starts and a pair of relief appearances. He's struck out 29 batters in 29.2 innings pitched and has a 3.94 ERA and 1.213 WHIP.

Hector Noesi did solid job in the two starts and 28 relief appearances he made for the Yankees in 2011 and the Mariners were counting on him to continue his rise in status on the left coast. Noesi struggled with his control though - 3.3 walks per nine innings - and pitched to a 5.82 ERA in 18 starts and a couple of relief appearances. His strikeouts per nine innings (5.7) also dropped by one and a one-half from the previous season.

Noesi didn't make the Mariners out of Spring Training, but was recalled in mid-April and made four relief apperances before he was sent back down to Tacoma. He was recalled for an emergency spot start against his former club when scheduled starter Aaron Harang was scratched on May 16. Noesi didn't figure in the decision, but came through for the M's when he allowed one unearned in 4.1 innings in an eventual 3-2 Seattle win. He was sent back to Triple-A after the game.

Rain Out Theater - Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was just one of the many A & B movies or TV episodes that WPIX (Channel 11) would show back in the 1970s when the Yankees got rained out on a Sunday afternoon.

The YES Network generally shows Centerstage or a Yankees classic.  Childhood is gone.

The Yankees finished the homestand 3-2 and take the road for a big trip through the AL East against the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays. Then it's back home for the Mets and Boston Red Sox.

CC Sabathia, Sunday's scheduled pitcher, will start the series out in Baltimore against a yet to be named starter. Sabathia is 17-4, 3.00 in 26 career starts against the Orioles.

Phelps Shows He Belongs

The Toronto Blue Jays haven't exactly been tearing the cover off of the baseball in a season in which many picked them to win or place in the AL East horse race. David Phelps' performance against them on Saturday should not be diminished by the fact that the Blue Jays record fell to 17-26 and they are the current owners of the AL East basement.

Phelps shook off some early inning control issues and threw a career high seven innings to improve to 2-2 on the season. Phelps will never be talked about in the same sentence with Stephen Strasburg or Justin Verlander, and that's all right. Phelps may get compared to a Mike Mussina; a guy that can dominate without firing upper 90s fastballs (He was around 90-91 mph all day Saturday) to the catcher's mitt.

While Robinson Cano (two) and Travis Hafner provided 2-run home runs in the 7-2 win, Phelps was steady and followed his plan just about to the letter. He's a guy that knows what he's doing on the mound, clearly a pitcher and not a thrower.

The University of Notre Dame product started out by facing five hitters in the first inning without one putting the ball in play. He struck out lead off hitter Melky Cabrera on a curveball that broke so hard in on the former Yankee, that it hit Cabrera in the ankle as he couldn't check his swing. His curveball and slider broke too much for right-handed hitters Jose Bautista and Edward Encarnacion, both of whom he walked.

Phelps came back and struck out catcher J.P. Arencibia, then spun around to pick Bautista off a second base with Adam Lind in the batter's box. Phelps scattered six hits the rest of the way, walked just one more hitter and finished with eight strikeouts.

The Yankees didn't take Phelps until the 14th round of the 2008 MLB amateur draft, and while some of the top tier prospects in the organization have been slow to rise up through the ranks, Phelps has quietly gone about his business and succeeded.

Yesterday was his fourth straight start since Ivan Nova was put on the disabled list. The two competed in Spring Training for the fifth spot in the rotation and though Phelps performed better, Nova won the job based on his track record and Phelps' ability to fill the Ramiro Mendoza swing man role.  Nova has been fragile and inconsistent the last two years though and Phelps is doing his best to stake a claim in the rotation. With Andy Pettitte out, Nova should join Phelps in the once he returns from the DL. What happens when Pettitte returns will be determined at that time.

In the meantime Phelps will just keep trying to get better as he has done with each of his four starts. He allowed four runs in 5.2 innings against a weak hitting Houston Astros team, but didn't figure in the decision as the Yankees won. He didn't come out with a win his next time out either in the Yankees 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies, but he limited the opposition to two runs and three hits in six innings.

Phelps was a hard luck loser when the Cleveland Indians won the opener of this past Monday's twinbill, 2-1. The five walks Phelps issued were unusual, but he struck out seven and allowed one run in 6.2 innings. The Yankees will certainly take three wins out of every four of Phelps' starts. (His other win came in a four inning relief apperance, also against the Blue Jays.) Now they just need to let him take the ball every fifth day.

Yankees Acquire Reid Brignac from Rockies

The revolving door continues in the Bronx..Jon Heyman reports that.utility infielder Reid Brignac has been acquired by the Yankees for cash considerations.  Alberto Gonzalez, reacquired on May 9, was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

Brignac was once considered a solid prospect as he climbed the ladder of the Tampa Bay Rays organization, but his bat never caught up to his glove. He played parts of five seasons with the Rays with the 2010 campaign his Major League best. He hit 8 HR and drove in 45 in 326 plate appearances, but his .692 OPS was less than stellar.

Brignac stock fell drastically after that when he was beset with injuries and put up a .448 OPS in 2011. The Rays shipped him to Colorado prior to this season for cash or a player to be named later. His slash line of .250/.294/.375 made him expendable.

The highlight of Gonzalez's brief second stint in New York was the chance to take the mound. He retired the one batter he faced when the Seattle Mariners drubbed the Yankees on Wednesday.

Score First, Ask Questions Later

Scoring first in the 6th game of the 2009 World Series was muy bueno.

Interesting stat from the Elias Sports Bureau. With the Yankees and Hiroki Kuroda's 5-0 blanking of the Toronto Blue Jays last night, the Yankees became the first team to go 17-0 at the start of a season when they take the first lead of the game.

It's the longest streak since the 1992 Mets started 18-0 in "score first" games under manager Jeff Torborg. Unfortunately for the Mets, they only won 54 other games that year. The Yankees hope to avoid a similar fate.

Pettitte DL Bound

The speculation is over, Andy Pettitte is going on the 15-Day DL and Vidal Nuno is doing an about face and coming back to the Bronx.

Pettitte felt discomfort in his trapezius (upper back) muscle during Thursday night's start with Seattle and left before the end of the 5th inning.  Nuno will take Pettitte's turn in the rotation, at least until Ivan Nova returns. (Nova could take the place of Nuno or David Phelps.)

Chris Stewart will be on the bench tonight and can play in a pinch. Alberto Gonzalez is the emergency third string catcher (which means he's praying not to have to catch.)  No word if Brian Cashman is looking around for a suitable back up if Stewart doesn't feel better soon.

Everybody Hurts...All the Time

"Can someone untie my shoes?"

If REM had been singing about the Yankees the lyric would not have been "Everybody hurts sometimes." The Yankees not only lost a game to Seattle last night 3-2, which caused mental anguish from losing two of three to the Mariners, but Andy Pettitte and Chris Stewart both had to leave the game early.

Pettitte felt spasms in his upper back that wouldn't go away no matter how much he stretched between batters and pitches. He left the game after 4.2 innings pitched and saw his record fall to 4-3. He's already missed one start due to a balky back so there is a definite reason for concern.

His battery mate, Stewart, left the game after he felt pain in his groin running the bases. He went for an MRI and could land on the DL, which presents a problem. There are only three catchers on the 40-man roster - Stewart, Francisco Cervelli already on the DL, and Austine Romine, who has served as Stewart's back up.

Scranton has two catchers- veteran Bobby Wilson (decent glove/no bat, 191 games with the Angels) and Jeff Farnham, a 25-year old that has played just seven games at the Triple-A level. If Wilson were added, someone on the 40-man roster would have to be designated for assignment. It likely would be the end of the line for Ben Francisco, who has just five hits in 40 at-bats.

Pettitte is the bigger concern right now. The Yankees need a healthy, consistent Pettitte taking the mound every five days if they are to compete. The Texan has become much more of an injury risk the last few years. He missed chunks of time with a groin injury in 2010 and a broken ankle last season. It would be no surprise if, at the very least, Pettitte missed his next start.  It's possible Ivan Nova will be ready to rejoin the team by then.

The Mariners also had to deal with an injury last night when Pettitte's opponent, Aaron Harang, was scratched from his start due to a stiff back. Former Yankee Hector Noesi, a piece of the puzzle in the Jesus Montero-Michael Pineda deal, stepped in and stepped up. Though he didn't figure in the decision, Noesi limited the Yankees to one unearned run and three hits in 4.1 innings pitched.

Oliver Perez, the former Met, picked up the win after he struck out three batters in 1.1 innings pitched. Mike Morse hit his 10th home run if the season (off of Shawn Kelley) and scored twice. Yankees rookie David Adams picked up his Major League RBI when he doubled home Curtis Granderson in the 2nd inning to tie the game at one apiece.

Robinson Cano singled in a run in the 7th, but couldn't come through in the clutch in the 9th inning against closer Tom Wilhelmsen. Brett Gardner reached first on a single and stole second and third. But with one out and the tying run 90 ft away from home plate, Wilhelmsen struck out Jayson Nix and retired Cano on a game ending ground out.

Betances Joins Bullpen Shuffle

Yankees fans have heard about Dellin Betances' potential ever since the 6'8" hard throwing right-hander was selected in the 8th round of the 2006 MLB amateur draft. Unfortunately, he has struggled to meet the expectations and was recently converted from a starting pitcher to a full-time reliever. Despite pitching just twice in the pen this season, Betances has been recalled by the Yankees to join their bullpen.

The Yankees needed another reliever after Brett Marshall threw 108 pitches and Preston Claiborne pitched 2.1 innings in mopping up the mess Phil Hughes created against Seattle on Wednesday night. The Yankees were hopeful that Joba Chamberlain would be ready to come off the DL, but his oblique injury is apparently still an issue.

The decision to move Betances to the bullpen for good came after the 25-year old allowed 16 earned runs and walked 16 batters in 24 innings (six starts) at Triple-A Scranton. In his two relief appearances since then Betances has allowed one run in 4.1 innings pitched, walked just one batter and struck out four.

Despite his control issues, Betances worked his way up the minor league chain. I was at his Double-A debut for Trenton in 2010 and saw the good and the bad of his game. I recall him missing the catcher's target, his ability to blow his fastball by batters, an awkardness that led to two throwing errors on pickoff attempts, and an intimidating presence on the mound. But his ability and the sound of his pitches popping in catcher Austin Romine's glove sent an electricity through the crowd, quite a few of whom were friends and family of the Big Apple native.

Betances got a late September call up in 2011 and made a less than an impresssive debut against Tampa Bay. He allowed a pair of runs and walked four in just two-thirds of an inning. Six days later he faced the Rays again and pitched two scoreless innings with a walk and a hit allowed and struck out two.

Adams Coming to the Rasta, Mon

No, David Adams isn't Jamaican, but I am tired.  Per a tweet Trenton Thunder beat writer Josh Norris (@jnorris427), Mr. Adams is headed to the Bronx today, the first day he was eligible to be recalled from the minor leaguers.

The Yankees front office has always like the second baseman's bat and they moved him over to third base to  have a better chance of helping the big ball club.

Adams was designated for assignment this spring to make room for Vernon Wells on the 40-man roster and then he was re-signed to a minor league deal. MLB stipulations state that in such cases the player may not be recalled until May 15.

Today is May 15 so Adams is on his way. Now a 40-man roster space needs to be opened up for him. It's likely that either Chris Nelson or newly reacquired Alberto Gonzalez will be designated for assignment. Nelson is more likely to get the boot since Gonzalez is the only player other than Jayson Nix right now that can play shortstop and a Nelson plays the same positions as Adams.

Adams was quickly making his way through the farm system until he badly broke his ankle in 2010. Through 27 games at Triple-A Scranton this year, Adams has an .897 OPS with 3 HR and 12 RBI.

To learn more on Adams, click here to read the interview I did with him in 2009.

Grandy Ready to Clean Up, Nuno Demoted

Curtis Granderson is back in familiar surroundings, though not as familiar as they once were. Penciled into the lineup as the clean up hitter in his return against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, Granderson is in left field instead of his accustomed center field spot.

It's not surprising that Joe Girardi decided to keep Brett Gardner in the middle of the outfield since he's the better defender. It's just the 23rd game of a nine year career for Granderson in left field. Offensively, he's 5-20 with two extra base hits when positioned on the left side.

To make room on the 25-man roster Vidal Nuno was sent down to Scranton in an expected move. Since he was not going to be available for five days it made sense.

There may be another roster spot opening up soon; it was bound to happen at some point, just like it did with Kevin Youkilis. The injury bug has taken a bit out of Travis Hafner. The Yankees DH has struggled of late and it may be in part due to soreness in his right shoulder. He's headed for an MRI and further examination.

Grandy is New York Bound

Curtis Granderson let the Yankees fans on Twitter and Facebook know tonight that he's headed to the big ball yard in the Bronx.

Curtis Granderson ‏@cgrand1417m

Just finished 5 games with @swbrailriders now in the car on the way back to NY #RoadToRecovery

Here comes some more offense.