Nova Sidelined With Torn UCL

The Yankees were counting on Ivan Nova to be a strength in their 2014 starting rotation, based on his effectiveness in the latter half of last year. But so far, the results have not been good in 2014, and things got a whole lot worse on Saturday.

Nova complained of pain in his right elbow as the Tampa Bay Rays blasted him en route to a 16-1 win. The worst news was yet to come. A short time ago it was announced that Nova has a partially torn Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL).  Actually that may not be the worst news, that could still be to come.

Nova will be re-evaluated, his MRI, X-Rays and whatever else will be double- and triple-checked. The bottom line is that Nova could be headed towards Tommy John surgery. In fact, he probably should just go ahead and have it done since if they go the rehab/rest route, he'll probably eventually need it anyway.

In the meantime, David Phelps, Adam Warren, and Vidal Nuno are all candidates to replace Nova in the rotation. Nuno is scheduled to start Sunday's finale with Tampa Bay so that Masahiro Tanaka does not have to pitch on three days rest.

The Yankees have Al Aceves working as a starter at Triple-A Scranton, but he's thrown just one game so far. Among the unsigned free agents still out there are former Yankee and Pirate, Jeff Karstens. He had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder last June, but was feeling good this Spring. He threw for some teams during Spring Training, but did not get a deal.

Barry Zito, who went from Cy Young to Cy Disaster took some time off, but isn't retiring. And is not the answer. Do you hear me Brian Cashman?

Aceves Latest to Lose Battle With Valentine

Who's pitching the 9th?

Adrian Gonzalez was front and center of a mini-revolution in Boston a week ago. Reportedly, 17 players wanted manager Bobby Valentine fired and Gonzalez was one of the players pushed to the forefront to approach owner John Henry. The Sox principle owner told the players that Valentine's his man and a week later Gonzalez was shipped to the LA Dodgers as part of a blockbuster deal. Victory to Valentine.

Though his job could still be in jeopardy, the team backed Valentine again yesterday when reliever Al Aceves was suspended three games for conduct detrimental to the team.

What reportedly set Aceves off was Valentine's decision to let Andrew Bailey close out Friday night's game. Bailey had entered the game in the 8th inning to record the final out of the frame and remained in the game to record his first save of the season.

Bailey had been acquired in the off-season to be the Red Sox closer, but injured his thumb in spring training, underwent surgery, and didn't return to the team until recently. After a shaky start, Aceves established himself as the team's 9th inning guy and saved 25 games in 32 attempts. His most recent appearance was Thursday night when he allowed five runs in an inning of work (plus two batters faced in the 10th) and took the loss.

Aceves got into a heated argument with Valentine in the manager's office and stormed away. No word on whether or not Valentine has decided to use Bailey going forward or if it was just a one shot deal for the time being.

Bigger question...how did Al Aceves go from throwing 90-91 mph as a Yankee from 2008-2010, to suddenly throwing his fastball from 95-96 mph. Fueled by anger?

Down 9, Swish & Tex Deep Six Red Sox

When Bobby Valentine was introduced as Boston's new manager in December there was skepticism, but overall Red Sox (third world) Nation was happy. Especially when Valentine took shots at the Yankees. Then the season started and the Red Sox were swept in a three game series by the Detroit Tigers.

Entering Saturday's play, Boston was in the midst of a four game losing streak that included a 6-2 defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals on the day they celebrated Fenway Park's 100th anniversary. Valentine had to be stung, who wouldn't be, by the tremendous ovation former manager Terry Francona, who was at the helm of the Red Sox first title in 86 years in 2004 and another in 2007, received when introduced on Friday. But Saturday was to change all that.

The Red Sox pummeled Yankees starter Freddy Garcia (1.2 IP) and continued against the Yankees bullpen to build a 9-0 lead after five innings. This could be the game that could turn everything around in 2012. Tonight, most Red Sox fans are hoping the Mayans are right. The Yankees scored 15 runs combined in the 6th through 8th innings to come away with a 15-9 victory.

Things started out harmless enough- Sox starter Felix Doubront had scattered three hits over the first five innings before he surrendered a solo home run to Mark Teixeira with two out in the 6th inning.. His day ended when Curtis Granderson popped up pitch number 100 to end the inning. And then the fun began.

The Red Sox bullpen has been a mangled, tangled mess so far this season. Boston had acquired closer Andrew Bailey from Oakland during the off-season, but then lost him to thumb surgery. Another trade pick up, Mark Melancon, had saved 20 games for Houston last season, but was sent to the minors after he compiled a 63.00 ERA. The closer role fell to Al Aceves, whom the Red Sox would rather have as a 2-3 inning reliever. So when Dubront left the game, the Yankees had to be happy.

Vincente Padilla was the first victim in the 7th. He loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk before he surrendered an opposite field grand slam to Nick Swisher. 9-5, still not so horrible. Robinson Cano's double sent Padilla to the showers and Matt Albers stepped into the punching bag role. He didn't get any help either when shorststop Mike Aviles booted Alex Rodriguez's routine grounder. Teixeira then did something he hadn't done all of last year, belt an opposite field home run. 9-8, the Fenway faithful were in full panic.

Lefty Franklin Morales gave up a single to Curtis Granderson, but then retired the next two hitters to preserve the Boston lead. Rafael Soriano kept the score where it was after he gave up a lead off double in the bottom of the 7th and then it was the Yankees turn to bat and batter the Red Sox bullpen.

Eduardo Nunez led off the 8th with a single, which prompted Valentine to send for his closer, Aceves. The former Yankee walked Derek Jeter, before Swisher tattooed the left field wall for a go ahead 2-run double and his 5th and 6th RBI of the day. With no one out, Valentine inexplicably intentionally walked Cano, only to have Aceves unintentionally walk A-Rod.

With the bags loaded, Teixeira matched Swisher's RBI total  with a rope to right that bounced into the seats for a ground rule double and two more runs. Justin Thomas would come in and give up a 2-run double to Russell Martin (both charged to Aceves) and Junichi Tazawa was touched for an RBI single by Jeter (charged to Thomas).

When the bloodbath was over, Boston relievers had allowed 14 runs, 12 hits, and five walks in three innings.  It got so bad that Valentine was booed with all of the frustration felt in the park. All he could do was tip his cap and hope no one threw anything at him.

Notes


Not all the news was good from the Yankees. Michael Pineda suffered a setback in his throwing program (weakness in his shoulder) and will go for an MRI with contrast.

Freddy Garcia better be sleeping with one eye open. Andy Pettitte makes his next start for Double-A Trenton on Wednesday.

Hughes Fastball Still MIA

If you happen to see a baseball wandering around your neighborhood at about 92-93 mph, please call the local authorities. Do NOT try to apprehend the baseball yourself. We don't know why the known fastball has abandoned its owner-Phil Hughes- but pitching coach Larry Rothschild better find out in a hurry.

After a tremendous first half last season, Hughes struggled in the second half, primarily because of the lack of location. Now, the question of location is where is the velocity on his fastball? Just as in his prior start against Detroit, Hughes' teammates put runs on the board, but he couldn't keep them in the lead as his fastball resembled Javier Vazquez's. He lasted just two innings, and was yanked after he allowed five runs to the Boston Red Sox in the second inning to put his squad behind 6-3.

The Yankees rallied to tie the game before the Red Sox scored three runs off of Bartolo Colon and Boone Logan and fell 9-6. The victory was the first of the season for Boston, which had lost its first six games. Boston starter John Lackey fared no better than his counterpart, allowing six runs in five innings, but earned the victory. In his two starts, Lackey has allowed 15 earned runs in 8.2 innings pitched.

Hughes entered the bottom of the 2nd inning with a 3-1 lead thanks to a 2-run Robinson Cano dobule and an RBI double by Brett Gardner. But Boston loaded the bases on three straight singles with no out to start their half of the 2nd frame. A Marco Scutaro ground out scored one run, but Hughes looked like he might get out of trouble when he got Carl Crawford to bounce out for the second out of the inning. Dustin Pedroia, who homered in the 1st, had other things in mind and lined a 2-run single to center for a 4-3 Boston lead.

Pedroia moved to 2nd base on a Curtis Granderson throwing error and came home on an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez. After Hughes walked Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz brought home the final run of the inning with a single. Hughes probably would have been pulled then, but Youkilis was caught in between 2nd and 3rd and was eventually tagged out by Alex Rodriguez to end the inning.

The Yankees got single runs in the 2nd through 5th innings, including a solo home run by Rodriguez, but failed to score against the Boston bullpen. Former Yankee Al Aceves made his Red Sox debut and was followed by Bobby Jenks, Daniel Bard, and Jonathan Papelbon.

Girardi on the Rotation

Joe Girardi discussed the rotation decisions with the beat guys this morning. These quotes are from Chad Jennings' LoHud Blog.

“Serge (Mitre) was more of a starter,” Girardi said. “He was never really a one-inning guy. We just think Bartolo (Colon) can do some different things… In a sense, you feel that not asking him to throw 200 innings might be easier on him, physically.”

“We will make sure that we use him (Colon) properly, that we don’t abuse him or throw him days in a row,” Girardi said. “We understand this is something he’s really never done a whole lot of, so we have to be smart about it. It’s kind of like when we moved Aceves, who had always been a starter, to the bullpen. How we did it with Phil Hughes when we moved him; you’ve got to be smart how you do it.”

Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild also like Colon's ability to warm up quickly.

BD Hot Stove: AL West Prospects | Baseball Digest

It's only a matter of time before Mike Trout is shredding MLB pitching

BD Hot Stove: AL West Prospects | Baseball Digest

It’s time for the Hot Stove to switch over the Junior Circuit to take a look at the top prospects in the American League. Let’s begin with the AL West, which produced the last two AL Rookie of the Year Award winners (Neftali Feliz, Andrew Bailey). In fact, the West has produced 44% (11/25) of the AL winners since 1985.

Mariners: Seattle is doing their best not to rush Dustin Ackley to the major leagues, but considering the Mariners’ horrendous 2010 season, it’s easier said than done. The 2nd overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft (U of NC) played 82 games at Double-A before a promotion to Triple-A for 52 games. His average was pedestrian – .267, but Ackley drew 75 walks and slugged .407. Ackley’s season wasn’t done though; he went on to the Arizona Fall League and was named MVP after putting up a remarkable .424/.581/.758 split. His numbers included four home runs, 26 walks, 10 doubles, 19 RBI, and five stolen bases.

Ackley, the #5 prospect in the bigs according to MLB.com, is destinted to play 2nd base for the Mariners. The question is whether it will be this year or next year.

Rangers: Having a stud left-hander at the top of the rotation helped Texas reach the World Series for the first time last season. The Rangers hope Martin Perez can be that guy some day. Signed out of Venezuela in 2007, Perez made a big splash on the scene in rookie and ‘A’ ball, but has yet to master the Double-A level. The soon-to-be 20 year old has nasty stuff, but doesn’t have complete command as of yet (101 K’s, but 50 BB in 99-2/3 innings last season).

ESPN’s Keith Law had this to say about Perez last summer, “He’s stumbling a little, especially with control, although one brutal outing on June 18 spiked his ERA by a run. If Texas dangled him in a trade, they could probably name their price, given how good he is and how highly regarded he is by other clubs.”

Perez has a four-seam fastball that is from the low- to mid-90′s, a sharp breaking curve, and a good changeup. Jason Parks of Baseball Times compares Perez to a mix of Johan Santana and Greg Maddux. Texas should be so lucky.

Athletics: Grant Green said “no thanks” to the San Diego Padres when they made him their 14th round pick out of high school. Green wisely waited and became the 13th overall pick in the 2009 draft by Oakland out of USC. The 6’3″ shortstop made an immediate impression last year in his first full season in the minors. Playing for Advanced ‘A’ Stockton, Green smacked 20 home runs, drove in 87 runs, hit .318, slugged .520, and scored 107 runs. Some naysayers point to the fact that the Cal League’s hitter-friendly environs aided Green and that his low walk (38)/high strikeout counts (117) are a better indicator of his ability. Green will have the chance in Double-A this season to prove them wrong.

Green’s defense, however, is a concern to all who have scouted him, and there’s every reason to believe that shortstop will not be the position he plays if and when he makes it to the majors.

Angels: The last prospect the Hot Stove will take a look at today is the best prospect in all of baseball.Mike Trout is ranked as the #1 guy by MLB.com, Baseball America, and others. Drafted out of Millville (NJ) High School (25th overall) in 2009, Trout has torn up opposing pitching in his two seasons in the minors. Just 19-yrs old, the outfielder has a .344 career average and .915 OPS. Last season, in addition to hitting .341 at ‘A’ and Advanced ‘A’ ball, Trout drew 73 walks and showed some developing power (10 HR). Oh, and the kid is fast, too…he stole 56 bases, which aided him in scoring 106 runs.

Trout is 6’1″, 217 lbs, and has the build of a more veteran player. MLB Fanhouse’s Frank Piliere had this to say about the centerfielder’s swing, “Many young hitters struggle to learn to trust their hands and they continue to lunge at off-speed pitches. That hasn’t been an issue for Trout and, in fact, it’s a strength. Trout showed me that he was able to lay off some tough pitches, and if a pitcher came in the zone with a breaking ball he was able to lay back and use his hands very well. He isn’t just staying back and hitting singles to right field either. He’s driving the ball with authority into the gaps on these pitches.

In other words, Trout is not a guy you have to worry about being a pure fastball hitter as he moves up the ladder. He has the luxury of excellent bat speed, plus a calm approach and demeanor at the plate, so that he can trust himself to still be able to turn around the fastball if he gets it. There aren’t many players out there that profile as pure high-average hitters, but he is one of them. From what I saw in Peoria, Trout has the look of a perennial .300 hitter, and given his speed, he is a potential batting title contender. With his feel with the bat head, plus bat speed and good pitch selection, I could also see him developing into a 25-homer threat.”

The question is not whether Trout can play Major League Baseball, the question is how soon he will arrive.

Rumors, News, and Transactions

Alfredo Aceves has signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, reportedly worth $650K with another $100K available through incentives. Aceves had been non-tendered by the Yankees in December after breaking his clavicle while riding a bicycle. The Red Sox also signed lefty Dennis Reyes to a minor league contract.

Ken Rosenthal reports that the Blue Jays are interested in moving Juan Rivera and his $5.25M salary. Rivera was acquired as part of a package from the Angels in the Vernon Wells deal. The Jays already moved Mike Napoli who was also picked up in the trade.

The Mets signed veteran left-hander Casey Fossum to a minor league deal.

Once a highly touted prospect, 1st baseman Ryan Shealy has inked a minor league deal with the Blue Jays.

The Pirates’ Ross Ohlendorf beat the team in an arbitration hearing and will earn $2.025M this season.

The Yankees added veteran right-hander Luis Ayala to their compilation of minor league pitchers. The Giants did the same with Elmer Dessens.

Adios Alfredo

Apparently the red hat was an omen.

Alfredo Aceves won't be back in a Yankees uniform in 2011. The Yankees non-tendered the pitcher, they had plucked from the Mexican League in 2008, in December after he broke his clavicle riding a bicycle. A free agent, he has signed a one year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Aceves missed almost of the 2010 season with a bad back, but was a key to the Yankees 2009 World Series title when he went 10-1, 3.54 in 43 appearances, all but one of which was in relief. The Yankees first got a glimpse of what Aceves could do during the 2008 season when they he threw 30 innings late in the season. Aceves finished 14-1, 3.21 in 59 career appearances for the Bronx Bombers.

The Red Sox reportedly have guaranteed the 28-yr old Aceves $650K for 2011 plus the possibility of another $100K in incentives.

Moseley, Aceves Kicked To The Curb

Sergio Mitre may have received a one year, $900K deal, but Dustin Moseley and Al Aceves won't be joining him.

Both pitchers were non-tendered this afternoon. Aceves was already off to a bad start for the 2011 season after breaking his clavicle in a bicycle accident in Mexico. He missed almost all of the 2010 season with a bad back.

Moseley was brought up by the Yankees in July to prevent him from becoming a free agent. After some initial success he finished the season 4-4, 4.69 in 16 appearances (nine of them starts).

Help Is On The Way

Zero (n). the arithmetical symbol or 0 or 0, denoting the absence of all magnitude or quantity. The most common figure the Yankees lineup has posted on home and visitor’s scoreboards.

As the rain fell on Target Field last night, one could only hope that the sun would come out tomorrow. Or in this case on Friday. Why wait until then? Well, that’s the day the friendly and exuberant Curtis Granderson is expected to return to the Yankees lineup.

The Yankees centerfielder has been out since May 1 with a groin strain. It’s been one of the numerous injuries that have dented the Yankees run scoring machine this month. Granderson’s return would mean Brett Gardner goes back to left field full time and the anemic bat of Randy Winn gets put back in storage.

Though he was hitting just .225 at the time of the injury, Joe Girardi and company knows just how good a hitter the former Detroit Tiger is, and what a huge asset he is to the lineup. That could be one of the factors that has Girardi mulling a lineup switch that would see Granderson get some time in the number two slot. The first year Yankee has not hitter higher than seventh thus far.

The news is not all good on the injury front though. Al Aceves, out with a back injury, suffered a setback while throwing on flat ground down in Tampa. He’s returned to New York and is expected to undergo some tests.

Update: The NY Daily News has reported that the Yankees have re-signed Chad Gaudin to add to the bullpen mix. Gaudin was recently released by the Oakland A’s.

Javy Shines But Yankees Lose 3rd Straight

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Javier Vazquez made his first trip to the mound in 11 days and threw his best outing of the season. Unfortunately for him, the Yankees couldn't solve Tigers starter Rick Porcello or the Detroit bullpen, falling 2-0. It was the Yankees third straight loss and assured them of no better than a four game split with the Tigers.

Vazquez was good from the get-go, retiring the first seven men he faced and allowed just a single hit through five innings. He escaped a two out, two walk jam in the 5th, striking out Adam Everett to keep the game scoreless.

Vazquez gave up consecutive singles to Austin Jackson and Johnny Damon to start the 6thand Magglio Ordonez followed with a run producing ground out. Two more singles by Miguel Cabrera and rookie Brennan Boesch put Detroit on top 2-0 before Vazquez got Brandon Inge to bounce into an inning ending double play.

The Yankees managed just four hits and hit (or is it no-hit) into bad luck all day. That was most evident in the 7th inning when Nick Swisher lined a sure single up the middle only to see it bounce off Porcello to an awaiting Everett at shortstop for a ground out.

Porcello got himself out of a base loaded, two out jam in the 2nd, by inducing a pop up from Ramiro Pena. He then struck out the Yankees young third baseman (Alex Rodriguez got the call at DH) with two aboard in the 4th to escape another Yankees threat.

Notes

Jonathan Albaladejo was holed up in a Detroit hotel in case the Yankees needed to activate him. With Vazquez going seven innings in the opener of the day-night doubleheader, it is unlikely he'll be needed.

Greg Golson was recalled from Scranton before the game with Al Aceves going on the DL.

2002

That's the last time the Yankees had three straight saves that did not include Mariano Rivera.

Joba Chamberlain (2) and Al Aceves did the deed this time around. In 2002 it was Steve Karsay (2) and Mike Stanton.

Let's not make a habit of this.

We Liked the Match Up Better

Courtesy of Chad Jennings and LoHud:

“We have all the matchups and all the scouting reports,” Girardi said of the Aceves decision. “And we felt that, you know, it was a better matchup for us.”

“I’m not going to get into specifics of why,” pitching coach Dave Eiland said. “We just liked the matchup better, and Ace had (Howie Kendrick) where he wanted to, he just couldn’t make the pitch to put him away. And still, it was a five-hopper up the middle or a 10-hopper up the middle, but he just wasn’t able to make that one pitch to put him away.”

Lame guys, lame.

Running Scared, Starring Joe Girardi

Nightmare at the Big ‘A’, Part MMIX

Written for Baseball Digest Online

Throughout this current post-season, New York Yankees fans and the metropolitan area media have waited for Joe Girardi to screw up. It’s not that anyone wanted him to, but Girardi’s managerial style during the playoffs, though successful in outcome, were not conducive to good baseball. His use of the bullpen proves he’s managing scared, not aggressively, as some would have you believe. Earlier this evening that style came back to biteGirardi as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won Game 3 of the ALCS, 5-4, in 12 innings.

Just as he had done in Game 2 and in the series with Minnesota, Girardi countered every move or non-move by the opposing manager with a pitching change. While David Robertson was retiring Kendry Morales for the second out in the bottom of the 12th, Fox TV cameras caught Girardi checking his scouting reports.

No sooner had Howie Kendrick stepped in to face Robertson, then Girardi hop out of the dugout ,despite the fact that Kendrick had faced Robertson just twice. Those match ups had produced one hit and one strikeout. It was also despite the fact that Robertson has been pitching much better over the last several months than the fellow right-hander, Al Aceves, that Girardi opted for.

Kendrick ripped a single back up the middle in his first at-bat against Aceves. Then light-hitting Jeff Mathis ripped a hanging fastball off the wall in left-center to score Kendrick with the game winning run. While there is no question that the Angels may have won the game anyway,Girardi did his best to help shift the momentum away from his ball club. The series now stands at two games to one in favor of the Yankees, with Game 4 scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

Making the loss all the more painful was the fact that Yankees blew a 3-0 lead, built on solo home runs by Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Johnny Damon. The Halos cut the lead to 3-1 on Kendrick’s solo home run off Andy Pettitte in the 5th and tied the game an inning later when Vlad Guerrero belted a 2-run home run.

The Angels took their first lead of the night off of Joba Chamberlain in the 7th. Kendrick accounted for another run scored when he came home on Maicer Izturis‘ sacrifice fly. The Yankees tied things back up in the top of the 8th when Jorge Posada went deep off hard throwing right-hander Kip Jensen.

The Yankees had a chance to break things open against Angels starter Jered Weaver in the 2nd and 4th innings, but the lower part of the order failed to produce each time. Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera went 0-9 and left 12 men on base.

The Angels had a chance to win it in the 10th when Mathis led off with a double against Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera made an errant throw of Eric Aybar’s bunt. With runners on the corners and no one out, the Yankees brought the infield and outfield in. Mark Teixeira made a diving stop of a Chone Figgins‘ grounder for the first out and froze the runner at third in the process.

Rivera issued an intentional walk to Bobby Abreu to load the bases. With the infield still in, Torii Hunter hit a bullet to Teixeira, who threw home for the force out. Rivera then got Guerrero to ground out to Teixeira unassisted for the final out of the inning.

Game Notes

Due to all of the substitutions by the time the game was over, the Yankees had no DH, Jerry Hairston Jr. was in left field and batting 5th, and the pitcher’s spot was hitting second. Girardi also wasted another roster spot when he used Brett Gardner to pinch-run for DH Hideki Matsui, but later pinch-hit for Gardner.

Bobby Abreu had his first two hits of the series, but is just 2-13 overall. Kendry Morales (1-13, 3-23 in post-season), Mark Teixeira (1-13, 3-25) and Nick Swisher (2-10, 3-22) are among those slumping in October.

Waiting for Gaudin

Let's be clear, Chad Gaudin is NOT Roy Halladay. That being said, it's time for Gaudin to replace Sergio Mitre in the Yankees' starting rotation.

I am quite familiar with Gaudin's ability, and inability, from his days with the Oakland A's. His habit of "walking the park" didn't help my fantasy team's WHIP one bit. Repeat with me, that being said, it's time for Gaudin to replace Sergio Mitre in the Yankees' starting rotation.


The only good thing that came out of last night's 5-4 loss, that snapped the Yankees' 7-game winning streak, to the Toronto Blue Jays was not having to hear Joe Girardi and/or Brian Cashman say, "Well, we have won 4 of 5 with Mitre (Girardi would probably refer to him as Sergy or Meaty) starting."

Mitre has decent stuff, he has shown it in the past with the Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs, but as Girardi and Cashman are quick to point out, Mitre is not that far removed from Tommy John surgery. But I will be quick to point out that the #5 starter in the AL East pennant race is not the place to strengthen one's arm. It's not like Mitre has a winning pedigree or the reputation of a Jon Lieber, who has followed the same path.

The Yankees don't have any other options right now. Al Aceves would make a good starter- don't let that spot start against the Twins sway your opinion- but he's too valuable out of the pen (as evidenced once again last night).

The Yankees don't have anything, and that includes you Kei Igawa, at Scranton. Perhaps if George Kontos had been healthy he would have gotten a shot, but he's not. I would love to see Trenton's Zach McAllister called up, but that's not going to happen either. So that leaves it down to the "Meat Tray" and Gaudin, and we are definitely going with the latter. Mitre can be the long man out of the pen.

"Have you seen Harrison Ford?"

One thing is for certain. All of baseball should be glad that Gaudin is now a Yankee so they no longer have to look at the worst set of goatees this side of Ryan Franklin.

A's Snap Yankees Streak

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One of the keys to the Yankees’ success this season has been a continually strengthening bullpen. But Saturday afternoon, one of its’ mainstays, Al Aceves, couldn’t bail out starter Andy Pettitte and the Yankees 8-game winning streak came to a screeching halt. Gio Gonzalez and the Oakland Athletics topped the Yankees 6-4.

Pettitte entered the 7th inning protecting a 1-0 lead, but quickly ran into trouble. Scott Hairston led off the inning with a double and Nomar Garciapparra walked. Jack Cust flied out, but after Pettitte convinced Joe Girardi he felt fine, Rajai Davis singled to right to the tie up the game. When Bobby Crosby bunted his way on to load the bases, Girardi sent for Aceves.

Read the rest of my recap on Baseball Digest Online.

Yankees Sweep Twins Under the Carpet

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WP - Albaladejo (4-1) SV - Rivera (23) LP - Liriano (4-9)

The Yankees didn’t get what they had hoped for out of spot starter Al Aceves, but the bullpen stepped up and the Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 6-4 to complete a 3-game sweep in their final regular season trip to the Metrodome. The Yankees also completed the season sweep, having beaten the Twins in all seven meetings.

While Aceves struggled in his first start of the year, his Twins’ counterpart, Francisco Liriano, had harder a time of it. The Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning with just one base hit.

Read the rest of my recap at Baseball Digest Online.

Alfredo on the Spot

It's official- Alfredo Aceves will take Chien-Ming Wang's spot in the rotation, at least for one day any way, on Thursday
.
With Wang on the DL, it was originally thought the Yankees would turn to one of their Triple-A pitchers, perhaps Sergio Mitre or Josh Towers, both of whom have major league experience. But Aceves' 4-inning performance on Sunday helped Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman go in another direction.

Aceves is 5-1, 2.02 in 21 relief appearances this season. In 40 innings, he has struck out 34 and walked just 7.

Aceves in the Mix for Wang Spot

Despite earlier reports to the contrary, manager Joe Girardi admitted yesterday that Al Aceves is being considered for Chien-Ming Wang's spot in the rotation. Aceves gave his cause a boost yesterday with four scoreless innings against the Blue Jays to earn his first major league save.

Initial reports had Wang not missing more than 15 days, but the latest info has Wang not even picking up a baseball for 12 days. Translation - he might not be back until well after the All-Star break.

Aceves has been a big find for the Yankees after they plucked him out of the Mexican League prior to last season. Aceves was 1-0, 2.74 in 4 starts last year for the Yankees and has been a God send out of the pen this year. In 21 games (40 IP), he's gone 5-1, 2.02 with a 34/7 strikeout to walk ratio.

The other options for Girardi are Scranton starters Sergio Mitre and Josh Towers, with Towers currently lined up to throw on the same day (Thursday) that Wang's spot is due up. Girardi also re-iterated that Phil Hughes is NOT an option.

Mo Gets Back on the Horse

Rivera Redeems Himself in Baseball Cathedral

June 8th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: al aceves • Evan Longoria • Gabe Gross • grant balfour • J.P. Howell • joba chamberlain • mariano rivera • Mark Teixeira • Matt Garza • nick swisher • Yankees 6/7 recap • Yankees vs. Rays

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Tampa Bay	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0		3	6	1
NY Yankees	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	X		4	6	1

WP - Aceves (4-1) SV - Rivera (13) LP - Balfour (2-1)

All the buzz before yesterday’s game between the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays centered on Saturday’s controversial intentional walk to Rays’ slugger Evan Longoria. It was part of Mariano Rivera’s failure in a tie game that later had him angry, though he claimed otherwise, at his manager. So it wasn’t only fitting that with Rivera in to protect a one run lead in the 9th, the game came down to Longoria for the final out. Rivera retired him on a ground out to Robinson Cano to preserve the Yankees 4-3 victory and got Joe Girardi to admit, albeit jokingly, that “…maybe Mo was right”. YES sideline/clubhouse reporter Kim Jones also prodded Rivera with her first post-game question, asking if the Yankees closer felt some vindication for the Longoria situation. Rivera downplayed the situation and was much happier to redeem himself for losing Saturday’s game.

The Yankees pulled out another come from behind victory on Sunday, scoring three times in the 8th inning to overcome a 3-1 lead. They did it with some major help from the Rays themselves. Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira reached on one out singles (Teixeira seems to be in the middle of every rally these days) and Grant Balfour walked Alex Rodriguez to load the bases. J.P. Howell walked Cano to force in a run and Willy Aybar butchered Jorge Posada’s potential double play grounder to tie the game.

The Yankees got another break when Hideki Matsui’s chopper up the middle was hit slowly enough to allow him to beat the relay throw to first as the Rays tried to turn two. Though Girardi praised Posada for breaking up the double play by running through second baseman Ben Zobrist, Posada actually would have been smarter to stop running and force Zobrist to either chase him or just throw to first to get Matsui.

Melky Cabrera had a chance to bust the game open after Nick Swisher walked to put two aboard, but struck out swinging. Soon, “Enter Sandman” blared over the PA system as Rivera jogged in from the bullpen. He made quick work of the Rays, getting Matt Joyce on a ground out to Teixeira and then struck out Gabe Gross with a nasty cutter before setting up the final showdown with Longoria.

Joba Chamberlain threw a fairly effective six innings before turning things over to Al Aceves, who improved to 4-1 with the win. He gave up an RBI double in the 3rd inning to Joyce, but took a 1-1 game into the 6th, where he ran into trouble. Though his fastball increased in MPH, Chamberlain lost his command of it. He struck out Carl Crawford to start the inning, but then gave up singles to Aybar and Carlos Pena and issued a 2-out walk to Joyce. With the bases loaded, Chamberlain hung one to Gross, who ripped it to center for a 2-run single and a 3-1 Rays lead.

The Yankees only managed one run, a solo home run by Swisher, against Rays’ starter Matt Garza despite having at least one man on base in every inning but the first. Aceves continued his excellent relief work. He tossed two scoreless innings and struck out the last four men he faced, including the side in the 8th.

Game Notes

The rubber game of the match is this evening at 7:05 p.m. ET. Andy Pettitte faces Andy Sonnanstine. One would think Phil Hughes would be at the ready in case Pettitte’s back acts up. If not, why is Hughes still up with the ball club?

How about this obscure stat from the Elias Sports Bureau - “Mariano Rivera induced a ground out from pinch-hitter Evan Longoria to cap a one-two-three ninth inning and notch his 13th save of the season. It was only the second save of Rivera’s career in which he recorded the final out by retiring the major-leagues’ outright RBI leader. He did it previously on July 16, 2005 at Fenway Park when David Ortiz popped out to end the game.”

A Texas Sized Stinker

Rusty Joba and Yankees Falter

May 27th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: al aceves • hideki matsui • Ian Kinsler • joba chamberlain • josh hamilton • Kevin Millwood • Mark Teixeira • Michael Young • nick swisher • phil coke • Yankees 5/27 recap • Yankees vs. Rangers

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0		3	13	0
Texas	2	0	0	1	0	1	2	1	X		7	9	0

WP - Jennings (2-1) LP - Aceves (3-1)

The Texas Rangers may want to send a “thank You” note to the Baltimore Orioles‘ Adam Jones. It was Jones’ line drive that knocked Joba Chamberlain out of his last start after facing only four batters. The rust was apparent last night as Chamberlain threw an ineffective four innings and the Yankees lost to the Texas Rangers 7-3.

Though the Yankees rallied from the 3-0 deficit Chamberlain put them in, Joe Girardi had to go to the bullpen early. Al Aceves had his worst outing of the season; he allowed three runs in two innings and was handed his first loss of the year. But the story of last night’s game was Chamberlain’s inability to throw strikes and the Yankees failure to take advantage of the situations handed to them later in the game.

After waiting out a 2-hour, 24 minute rain delay, Ian Kinsler led off the ball game with a drive to center that hurt the Yankees two-fold. Melky Cabrera couldn’t come up with the catch and crashed into the center field wall. Kinsler ended up with a triple and Cabrera had to leave the game with what was later determined to be a sprained shoulder.

Trouble was temporarily avoided when Alex Rodriguez made a spectacular play to nail Kinsler, who was trying to get back to third base. A-Rod moved to his left to field Michael Young’s grounder. He double pumped, and seeing Kinsler start to move down the line towards home, held on to the ball and raced Kinsler back to third. A-Rod dove and tagged Kinsler out before he could get back to the base safely.

But Chamberlain’s lack of a good fastball put him in 2-2 and 3-2 counts all night. A Nelson Cruz double and a walk to David Murphy loaded the bases. Marlon Byrd chased a pitch out of the strike zone and flicked it into right for a 2-run single. Chamberlain struck out Chris Davis to end the inning and struck out the first two hitters in the 2nd, but the handwriting was on the wall. Chamberlain walked one batter in the 2nd and two more in the third, but escaped the latter jam with a double play ball.

Davis took Chamberlain deep, for the first of his two home runs on the night, in the 4th for a 3-0 Rangers lead. The Yankees left runners in scoring position against Rangers starter Kevin Millwood in each of the first four innings. Mark Teixeira finally broke through with a solo home run in the top of the 5th and the Yankees tied things up with a pair of runs in the 6th.

Brett Gardner, who replaced Cabrera in the first, singled, stole second base and came home on Hideki Matsui’s double. One batter later, Francisco Cervelli tied the game with a single back through the middle. But the Rangers answered immediately with a run in their half of the sixth against Aceves, who had entered the game in the 5th. The right-hander hadn’t been scored upon in six straight appearances before allowing a run in the series opener on Monday, and he couldn’t work out of trouble last night.

Phil Coke didn’t help Aceves either. He came on to pitch after Kinsler and Young reached on a single and a double, respectively, in the 7th. Josh Hamilton and Murphy brought them home with productive outs for a 6-3 Texas lead. Davis put the icing on the cake when he went deep on Coke for his second long ball of the night.

The Yankees had an opportunity to break the 3-3 tie in the top of the 7th when they loaded the bases with one out. Robinson Cano and Gardner singled, and left-hander C.J. Wilson hit Matsui with a pitch. But Wilson made up for it by getting Nick Swisher to bounce into an innning ending double play.

Game Notes

Mark Teixeira’s home run was his 11th this month and the RBI was his 27th in May.

David Robertson pitched a scoreless inning after being recalled to replace Brian Bruney.

The finale of the series is tonight at 8:05 p.m. ET with A.J. Burnett (2-2, 5.28) facing rookie left-hander Derek Holland (1-1, 4.82), who is making his second major league start. Burnett is 0-2 with five no decisions since winning his first two starts of the year.