Jays Mightier Than The Pen

Blue Jays left fielder Travis Snider stepped to the plate in the 10th inning last night mired in a 4-40 slump and had struck out three times in his prior at-bats. Snider was highly touted by Blue Jays scouts and was selected as the 14th overall pick in 2006, but has yet to "put it all together" at the Major League level. For one at-bat Tuesday night he did; Snider doubled off Ivan Nova in the 10th inning to score Edwin Encarnacion from 1st base with winning run in a 6-5 victory over the Yankees.

The game had gone extra innings after Mariano Rivera had his first blown save in eight chances. Yuniel Escobar led off the 9th with a double and moved to third on a Snider ground out. Rivera then committed a double whammy when he walked Jose Bautista and threw a run scoring wild pitch on ball four. Adam Lind single Bautista to third and John McDonald brought him home with safety squeeze bunt hit. Jose Molina singled to load the bases, but Eric Chavez temporarily saved the day. He stabbed Corey Patterson's grounder, stepped on third and threw to first to complete the double play.

The Yankees had taken a 4-2 lead in the top of the 6th inning when Mark Teixeira belted a Kyle Drabek pitch for a 2-run home run. But A.J. Burnett, who earlier gave up (what seemed like the 700th) home run to Bautista began a full melt down in the home half of the inning. The Blue Jays picked up a run on an Encarnacion double and had the bases loaded with just one out. Joe Girardi sent for David Robertson, who would have been the hero last night had the Yankees lead held up. "D-Rob" struck out Escobar and Snider to end the threat and the inning to preserve the 4-3 lead.

The Yankees final run came courtesy of a Curtis Granderson solo home run in the 7th inning.

Hang 'em Javy Keeps Yanks Looking Up

You know you had your doubts coming into tonight's Yankees-Blue Jays game when you saw that Javier Vazquez would make the start in place of Andy Pettitte. Joe Girardi talked before the game about how Javy was still in the mix for the post-season roster, blah blah blah.

Vazquez gave up three home runs on a night that the Blue Jays honored retiring manager Cito Gaston. The Yankees gave Gaston their own present, an 8-4 Blue Jays win. Vazquez should be joining A.J. Burnett on the sidelines during the division series since he has done nothing to gain Girardi's confidence.

The Blue Jays are a home run hitting monstrosity and Vazquez was happy to oblige them. Travis Snider, wearing a fake lamp black mustache in tribute to Gaston, homered to lead off the bottom of the 1st and you know things would only get worse from there. Aaron Hill and John Buck also went deep, with Buck reaching 20 home runs for the first time.

One of the few bright spots for the Yankees was the continued hot hitting of Alex Rodriguez. He homered for the fifth time in six games and reached the 30 home run mark for the 13 straight season and 14th overall. (I had predicted he would finish with 28; thankfully I didn't make any wagers on that.) He also added an RBI ground out to increase his team leading RBI total to 123.

The game started a half hour later than usual as the Toronto organization brought back some of Gaston's former players, such as 1992 World Series hero Joe Carter, and presented Gaston with a painting done by outfielder Vernon Wells' father, Vernon Jr. (the ball playing Wells is the III). Gaston then gave a very heartfelt speech.

The Yankees remained a half-game back of the Tampa Bay Rays thanks to a stellar pitching effort by the Baltimore Orioles staff. Kevin Millwood, who has had a horrendous year, limited the Rays to two hits over seven innings in the 2-0 O's win. The victory gave the Orioles the series victory with all three games being shutouts. The Rays now travel to Kansas City for their final four games of the regular season.

The Yankees have Thursday off and travel to Boston for a final three game set with the Red Sox beginning on Friday night.

Yankees Go Down With a Fight

Yankees Show Fight, But Lose

Written for Baseball Digest Online

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Adam Lind • Jesse Carlson • Jorge Posada • Roy Halladay • Sergio Mitre • Toronto Blue Jays • Travis Snider • Yankees 9/15 recap • Yankees vs. Blue Jays

The final score was lopsided with the Yankees on the wrong end, but the Bronx Bombers showed plenty of fight in last night’s 10-4 loss. Reacting to Mark Melancon hitting Aaron Hill with a pitch, the Blue Jays Jesse Carlson threw behind Jorge Posada in the 8th inning. Posada quickly told Carlson and catcher Rod Barajas that “You don’t want to be doing that”. The benches emptied, but order was quickly restored, both sides were warned, and played resumed.

But when Posada scored on Brett Gardner’s double, he threw an elbow in Carlson’s direction and was immediately ejected. The two mouthed off to one another, then went at each other as the benches again emptied. When it was all over, Carlson was sporting a large knot on his forehead and had been ejected, and Joe Girardi had a cut on his ear thanks to a wild swing from Blue Jays infielder John McDonald. It was no small coincidence that McDonald had been hit by Melancon earlier this season. There was a bit of comic relief too, provided by scrawny Edwar Ramirez, who restrained the beefy Barajas.

The game itself wasn’t much of a contest after the Yankees had taken an early 2-0 lead against Doc Halladay. Sergio Mitre was pounded by the Jays for four of the five home runs they hit on the night. Travis Snider, especially stood out, hitting a pair of bombs into the second deck in right field. Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion also took Mitre deep and Jose Bautista added a late home run against reliever Mike Dunn.

The Yankees had 11 hits against Halladay, who wasn’t at the top of his game, but still good enough for his third victory against the Yankees this season. Gardner and Derek Jeter singled in runs in the 2nd inning, but the Yankees couldn’t anything after that until the final two innings when they added a run in each frame.

Game Notes

Both Posada and Carlson were suspended 4 games by Major League Baseball.

Baseball America's Top 100 in '09

The much anticipated "Top 100 baseball prospects" list has been released by Baseball America. Not surprising, Baltimore Orioles stud catcher, Matt Wieters, tops the list. He's followed by future Rays ace David Price, the Cardinals Colby Rasmus (outfield), Braves right-hander Tommy Hanson, and his teammate, outfielder Jason Heyward.

Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider, A's left-hander Brett Anderson, Marlins outfielder Cameron Maybin, Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner, and Rangers right-hander Nefteli Perez, round out the top 10.

The Yankees are represented by outfielder Austin Jackson (36), catcher Jesus Montero (38), and pitcher Andrew Brackman (92).

Former Yankee Jose Tabata remains on the list at number 75.

Click here to see the complete list.

AL '09 Rookie Preview - AL East

Who will be this year's Evan Longoria or Alexi Ramirez? While there may not be a player of Longoria's stature or someone who comes out of nowhere like Ramirez, there are plenty of good first year players to compete for this year's rookie of the year honors.

We start out today by taking a look at the rookies in the AL East.

AL East

Yankees

With All-Stars and/or veterans at nearly every position, you won't see a rookie make an impact in the Bronx, outside of the bullpen, this season. And even then it would probably only be in a long man role. Al Aceves, Anthony Claggett, or Mark Melancon could be that guy, but none will be in the rookie of the year running.

Red Sox

Like the Yankees, Boston has put together a veteran team, with a sprinkle of younger players. But none of the youngsters are rookie eligible. Japanese import Junichi Taweze could have an impact in the Red Sox search for middle bullpen men.

Rays

You already got a glimpse of the favorite for the AL ROY in last year's post-season. David Price showed baseball fans what Rays fans have been drooling over since they selected him as the first overall pickout of Vanderbilt in the 2007 amateur draft.

Big, left-handed, and throws hard; that all spells intimidation. Price dominated Double-A hitters before struggling at the Triple-A level. However, a recall to the majors didn't prove to be a problem. Price posted a 1.98 ERA in 14 appearances (all but one of which were out of the pen) and then won one game while saving another in the ALCS. Price then threw 3.1 innings in the World Series to bolster his resume and confidence.


Blue Jays

Outfielder Travis Snider is one of the top prospects in baseball and a bona fide ROY candidate. He hit .301-2-13 in a 24 game call up late in the season. The just-turned 21-yr old is only three years out of high school, but he's quickly moved up the organization's depth chart.

Snider had a fabulous year at 'A' ball in 2007, belting 16 home runs and driving in 93 runs, while batting .338 and posting a .902 OPS. He built off of it last season, playing just 17 games (4 HR, 7 RBI) at high 'A' before a promotion to Double-A. While his batting average dipped (.262) and he had the usual young hitter's strikeout problem (116 K's in 362 ABs), he earned a promotion to Triple-A with 17 HRs, 67 RBI, and an .818 OPS in 98 games.

The Blue Jays came calling after Snider hit .344 at Syracuse with 2 HR and 17 RBI in just 18 games. That gave him a combined minor league season of 23 HR and 84 RBI.

With the departure of A.J. Burnett, 22-yr old Brett Cecil has a chance to join the Blue Jays starting rotation. Like Snider, Cecil played at three levels last season, spending most of his time at Double-A New Hampshire. 129 strikeouts in 118.2 innings pitched opened GM J.P. Riccardi's eyes and Cecil has a legitimate chance to go north with the Jays if he can prove himself this spring (He won't have to wait long; he's got the starting assignment for Toronto's first spring training against the Yankees on Wednesday.)

Cecil was a closer and full-time reliever at the University of Maryland, but has made more than a smooth transition to starter. But just like a young hitter has a tendency to strike out, young pitchers tend to walk hitters. That wasn't the case for Cecil at Single- and Double-A, but he issued 16 free passes in just 30.2 innings for Syracuse.

Orioles

Everyone in the Orioles organization as well as their fans is awaiting the arrival of catcher Matt Wieters, last season's minor league player of the year. Not since Joe Mauer has a catcher brought such expectation to the game. That's what will happen though when you hit 27 home runs, between 'A' and 'AA', and post a 1.054 OPS.

Wieters is likely to start the season in Triple-A, but is expected to be called up by the All-Star break. Wieters only has one year of pro ball under his belt, but he destroyed college pitching for three years while at Georgia Tech. Wieters has gotten good marks for calling games and handling pitchers. He's quickly become a team leader and is great with the fans. This guy is just what the Orioles organization has needed for a long time.


Ranking the AL East ROY Prospects

1. David Price
2. Matt Wieters
3. Travis Snider
4. Brett Cecil

Minor League Recap - 4/16

Scranton took 4 out of 5 in their long series with the Durham Bulls. The Yankees won the finale last night 6-2 behind a strong outing from starter Steven White. The right-hander allowed 2 unearned runs and 4 hits in 6 innings. Brett Gardner drove in 3 runs and Jason Lane had 3 hits.

The Yankees continued their winning ways earlier today with a 4-2 win over Charlotte. The game had an 11:15 a.m. start, but it took until the 8th inning to get the winning runs. Greg Porter lead off with a walk and scored when Brett Gardner's sacrifice bunt was thrown away for a run scoring error. Juan Miranda, who had earlier homered, singled in an insurance run to earn Heath Phillips the win. Darrell Rasner gave the Yankees a solid 5 innings in his start.

Dan McCutchen and Dave Robertson combined on a 5-hit shutout yesterday in the Trenton Thunder's 5-0 win over the Altoona Curve. In the process, McCutchen lowered his ERA to 1.02.

Altoona bounced back this afternoon with an 8-7 win. The Curve battered starter Phil Coke and reliever, and loser, Mike Gardner for 13 hits. Chris Malec and Cody Ehlers homered for the Thunder. Jose Tabata drove in 3 runs with a pair of doubles, and Austin Jackson had 2 hits.

The Tampa Yankees blew a 2-run lead in the 9th and then lost in 12 innings to the Dunedin Blue Jays, 5-4. Normally reliable closer Jon Hovis gave up tying back-to-back home runs to ruin a fine start by Mike Dunn. Dunn allowed 1 run on 2 hits in 6 innings, and struck out 8.

Ryan Sublett and Kyle Anson had 4 hits each for the Yankees. Blue Jays stud prospect Travis Snider hit his third home run of the season for Dunedin.

The Charleston River Dogs had the day off.

Minor League Recap - 4/16

Scranton took 4 out of 5 in their long series with the Durham Bulls. The Yankees won the finale last night 6-2 behind a strong outing from starter Steven White. The right-hander allowed 2 unearned runs and 4 hits in 6 innings. Brett Gardner drove in 3 runs and Jason Lane had 3 hits.

The Yankees continued their winning ways earlier today with a 4-2 win over Charlotte. The game had an 11:15 a.m. start, but it took until the 8th inning to get the winning runs. Greg Porter lead off with a walk and scored when Brett Gardner's sacrifice bunt was thrown away for a run scoring error. Juan Miranda, who had earlier homered, singled in an insurance run to earn Heath Phillips the win. Darrell Rasner gave the Yankees a solid 5 innings in his start.

Dan McCutchen and Dave Robertson combined on a 5-hit shutout yesterday in the Trenton Thunder's 5-0 win over the Altoona Curve. In the process, McCutchen lowered his ERA to 1.02.

Altoona bounced back this afternoon with an 8-7 win. The Curve battered starter Phil Coke and reliever, and loser, Mike Gardner for 13 hits. Chris Malec and Cody Ehlers homered for the Thunder. Jose Tabata drove in 3 runs with a pair of doubles, and Austin Jackson had 2 hits.

The Tampa Yankees blew a 2-run lead in the 9th and then lost in 12 innings to the Dunedin Blue Jays, 5-4. Normally reliable closer Jon Hovis gave up tying back-to-back home runs to ruin a fine start by Mike Dunn. Dunn allowed 1 run on 2 hits in 6 innings, and struck out 8.

Ryan Sublett and Kyle Anson had 4 hits each for the Yankees. Blue Jays stud prospect Travis Snider hit his third home run of the season for Dunedin.

The Charleston River Dogs had the day off.