Some Vintage Matsui

With tonight's rainout in Detorit, it's time to take a look back at some early Hideki Matsui. I don't mean Yankee rookie Hideki Matsui, but Japanese All-Star Godzilla. Here goes deep against Al Leiter in a 1998 All-Star game in Japan.



A young guy named Kei Igawa strikes out Godzilla, not once, but twice. Like that would happen today.

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.

How much is that Igawa in the Window?

Kei Igawa has had a good spring training, but was sent to the minor league camp as expected. Can the Yankees finally find a taker for their overpaid lefty?

That's my latest topic for discussion on Baseball Digest. You can check it out here.

Yankees Blast Their Way to Another Win

Let's hope the regular season goes this smoothly. The Yankees got another good performance from a starting pitcher, this time Phil Hughes, and belted four home runs in a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers, FL this afternoon. The victory was the Yankees 7th straight and raised their spring record to 13-8-1.

Mark Teixeira went deep for the first time in pinstripes (or in this case, navy blue Yankees workout shirts) as did Trevor Linden. Teixeira's home run came off of Twins closer Joe Nathan in the sixth inning and cut Minnesota's lead in half. Linden went deep with a man aboard in the eighth to put the Yankees ahead for good. Austin Jackson added his second home run of the spring in the ninth for some insurance. It came off of Jason Jones, the Rule V draftee that was taken from the Yankees over the winter. He's got a chance to make the opening day roster after having allowed three runs in 10 innings thus far.

It's been a good transition for Tex so far this spring. He's hitting .414 (12-29) with three doubles and three RBI to go along with his first home run. He's also walking three times and has a gaudy 1.076 OPS. Tyler Kepner of the Times spoke with Teixeira about his transition to the Yankees.

Hughes was sharp, allowing a run and three hits over 4.1 innings. He walked one and struck out none. Anthony Claggett picked up the victory with an innings of scoreless work, and Kei Igawa escaped a jam in the ninth inning to record the save.

Jason Johnson also made his second appearance since surgery for eye cancer. The Star Ledger's Marc Carig has a nice story on his recovery.

Box Score

A-Rod Starts Grapefruit Games with a Bang

Alex Rodriguez received the expected boos from the Toronto Blue Jays fans in Dunedin, FL today, but his teammates applauded when he smacked a 2-run home run in the fourth inning.

The Yankees lead the Blue Jays 6-1 in the fifth inning- you can see the details on Peter Abraham's blog. Brett Gardner got his spring off to a nice start with a game lead off home run.

Brett Tomko went the first two (correction from earlier) innings before giving way to Jose Veras.

Update 4:22 PM: It's all over down in Dunedin, with the Yankees winning their exhibition opener, 6-1.

This quote from A-Rod about the crowd, via Peter Abraham- “I hope they bring some of these people to Fenway".

Yeah, sure you do buddy.

Todd Linden and Juan Miranda added RBI singles. In addition to Tomko and Veras, Dan Giese, Kei Igawa, Christian Garcia, Mike Dunn, Steven Jackson, and Dave Robertson all took the hill.




















February 25, 2009

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	1	0	0	3	2	0	0	0	0		6	11	4
Toronto	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	4	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Gardner, CF	3	1	1	1	0	0	2	.333
Jackson, A, CF	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	.500
Jeter, SS	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	.333
Pena, SS	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	.000
Cano, 2B	2	2	1	0	0	1	0	.500
Ransom, 2B	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	.000
Rodriguez, A, 3B	1	1	1	2	2	0	0	1.000
Russo, 3B	2	0	0	0	0	1	3	.000
Swisher, RF	1	1	0	1	2	1	1	.000
Curtis, RF	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Duncan, S, DH	3	0	0	0	0	2	4	.000
a-Montero, PH-DH	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	.500
Miranda, 1B	3	0	1	1	0	2	1	.333
Leone, 1B	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000
Linden, LF	3	0	1	1	0	1	3	.333
Rodriguez, John, LF	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	.500
Cash, C	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	.667
Pilittere, C	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	.000
Totals	37	6	11	6	5	13	22
a-Singled for Duncan, S in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Cano (1, Bauer), Jackson, A (1, Hayhurst). HR: Gardner (1, 1st inning off Cecil, 0 on, 0 out), Rodriguez, A (1, 4th inning off Romero, R, 1 on, 0 out). TB: Gardner 4; Jackson, A 2; Jeter; Cano 2; Rodriguez, A 4; Montero; Miranda; Linden; Rodriguez, John; Cash 2. RBI: Gardner (1), Rodriguez, A 2 (2), Linden (1), Swisher (1), Miranda (1). 2-out RBI: Linden. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Gardner; Russo 2; Pilittere. GIDP: Linden. Team LOB: 11. BASERUNNING SB: Cash (1, 2nd base off Burres/Thigpen). FIELDING E: Gardner (1, throw), Pena (1, throw), Leone (1, fielding), Russo (1, throw).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Tomko	2.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Veras (W, 1-0)	1.0	1	1	1	2	2	0	9.00
Giese	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Igawa	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Garcia	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Dunn	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Jackson, S	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Robertson	1.0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0.00

BATTING 2B: McDonald (1, Veras), Snider (1, Giese). TB: Adams; Barajas; Snider 2; McDonald 2. RBI: Rios (1). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Lind 2; McDonald; Adams 2. SF: Rios. Team LOB: 10. FIELDING DP: (Sanchez-Adams-Dopirak).

Toronto	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Cecil	2.0	1	1	1	1	4	1	4.50
Romero, R (L, 0-1)	1.2	1	3	3	1	2	1	16.20
Ryan	0.1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Bauer	1.0	3	2	2	2	1	0	18.00
Burres	1.0	1	0	0	1	2	0	0.00
Beam	1.0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Hayhurst	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Ray	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00

WP: Veras, Robertson, Romero, R.
HBP: Inglett (by Veras), Cano (by Romero, R), Leone (by Ray).
Groundouts-flyouts: Tomko 1-5, Veras 0-1, Giese 2-1, Igawa 1-1, Garcia 1-1, Dunn 1-2, Jackson, S 2-0, Robertson 0-1, Cecil 1-1, Romero, R 3-0, Ryan 0-1, Bauer 2-0, Burres 0-1, Beam 0-1, Hayhurst 2-0, Ray 1-1.
Batters faced: Tomko 7, Veras 7, Giese 4, Igawa 4, Garcia 4, Dunn 3, Jackson, S 3, Robertson 6, Cecil 8, Romero, R 8, Ryan 3, Bauer 7, Burres 5, Beam 5, Hayhurst 4, Ray 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Ryan 1-1.
Umpires: HP: D.J. Reyburn. 1B: Phil Cuzzi. 2B: Kevin Causey. 3B: Damien Beal.
Weather: 72 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 5 mph, In from LF.
T: 2:53.
Att: 5,014.

Igawa Leads Scranton to 2-1 Lead

The Scranton Yankees are one game away from winning their first round International League series with the Pawtucket Red Sox after a 6-4 win tonight. Kei Igawa allowed one earned run over seven innings to pick up the win. The PawSox scored a pair of runs off Steven Jackson before Scott Strickland slammed the door on them, striking out three of the four batters he faced.

Leading 3-2 in the fourth inning, Eric Duncan belted a 3-run home run off of Jon Switzer to break the game open. Ben Broussard was 3-3 in the game, and he and Matt Carson, who played center field since Melky Cabrera was back with the Yankees, scored two runs each.

Igawa Leads Scranton to 2-1 Lead

The Scranton Yankees are one game away from winning their first round International League series with the Pawtucket Red Sox after a 6-4 win tonight. Kei Igawa allowed one earned run over seven innings to pick up the win. The PawSox scored a pair of runs off Steven Jackson before Scott Strickland slammed the door on them, striking out three of the four batters he faced.

Leading 3-2 in the fourth inning, Eric Duncan belted a 3-run home run off of Jon Switzer to break the game open. Ben Broussard was 3-3 in the game, and he and Matt Carson, who played center field since Melky Cabrera was back with the Yankees, scored two runs each.

The Daily Yankeeland - 8/27

Sidney Ponson goes against Paul Byrd in the second game of the series tonight. Unfortunately that means Michael Kay will talk about how much Byrd looks like Kelsey Grammer.

The Boston Herald talked to Mariano Rivera about no longer facing Manny Ramirez on a regular basis.

Joel Sherman says Alex Rodriguez is the Yankees poster boy for failure. We don't disagree.

Jason Giambi continues to prove that the Yankees need a real first baseman.

The Post's Kevin Kernan says Andy Pettitte's big game performances are a thing of the past.

Tyler Kepner has info on Melky Cabrera, Joba's unscripted return, and Jose Molina's nickname.

Quote of the day from The Record's Ian O'Connor. In comparing Tiger Woods, who was at last night's game, and Alex Rodriguez, "Tiger shrinks the moment. Rodriguez? The moment shrinks him."

Jon Heyman has this on Jason Giambi:

Jason Giambi, Yankees first baseman ($21 million option, $5 million buyout): Teammate/good buddy Johnny Damon recently told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that Giambi likes it so much in the Bronx he'd be happy to return for less than that $21-million figure. Damon isn't exactly giving away state secrets, but no matter what Damon or anyone says, the Yankees are more likely to try to lure Teixeira as they try to get younger. The call: The Yankees buy Giambi out and let him go.

Needless to say, the Yankees better NOT bring Giambi back under any circumstances.

LoHud's Sam Borden wonders if this team would have responded differently under Joe Torre.

Igawa continues to earn that Triple-A money.

A man who wrote threatening, racially charged letters to Derek Jeter, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and others, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison.

John Flaherty was elected to the Hall of Fame. No, not that one.

The Daily Yankeeland - 8/27

Sidney Ponson goes against Paul Byrd in the second game of the series tonight. Unfortunately that means Michael Kay will talk about how much Byrd looks like Kelsey Grammer.

The Boston Herald talked to Mariano Rivera about no longer facing Manny Ramirez on a regular basis.

Joel Sherman says Alex Rodriguez is the Yankees poster boy for failure. We don't disagree.

Jason Giambi continues to prove that the Yankees need a real first baseman.

The Post's Kevin Kernan says Andy Pettitte's big game performances are a thing of the past.

Tyler Kepner has info on Melky Cabrera, Joba's unscripted return, and Jose Molina's nickname.

Quote of the day from The Record's Ian O'Connor. In comparing Tiger Woods, who was at last night's game, and Alex Rodriguez, "Tiger shrinks the moment. Rodriguez? The moment shrinks him."

Jon Heyman has this on Jason Giambi:

Jason Giambi, Yankees first baseman ($21 million option, $5 million buyout): Teammate/good buddy Johnny Damon recently told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that Giambi likes it so much in the Bronx he'd be happy to return for less than that $21-million figure. Damon isn't exactly giving away state secrets, but no matter what Damon or anyone says, the Yankees are more likely to try to lure Teixeira as they try to get younger. The call: The Yankees buy Giambi out and let him go.

Needless to say, the Yankees better NOT bring Giambi back under any circumstances.

LoHud's Sam Borden wonders if this team would have responded differently under Joe Torre.

Igawa continues to earn that Triple-A money.

A man who wrote threatening, racially charged letters to Derek Jeter, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and others, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison.

John Flaherty was elected to the Hall of Fame. No, not that one.

The Daily Yankeeland - 7/24

We're enjoying a day off in the schedule before three big games in Boston this weekend. Here's what's going on.

Things have really begun to heat up in talks with Seattle that would sent pariah #2 Kei Igawa (Pavano is of course #1) to the Mariners for Jarrod Washburn and contract throw in Jose Vidro.

We're not big fans of Washburn, but he battles, gives you innings and has done well in the post-season. He would also give you another left-hander in the rotation in addition to Andy Pettitte, and would be a viable option out of the pen should the Yankees make the playoffs. He's got about $4 million left on his deal this year and has a $10 million contract for next season. Igawa's contract runs through 2011 and is worth about $14 million.

Vidro was once a good 2nd baseman and swung a good bat, but his knees and his skills have eroded and now he's a DH without any pop.

* * *

The media is blasting the Yankees from all sides for their decision not to shut down Jorge Posada immediately so that he'll be ready for the start of next season. There were even rumors that Randy Levine insisted that Posada play because of the big contract he signed in the off-season. It's very believable considering Levine is pretty much a dick.

We, as we stated yesterday, are in agreement that Posada will not be any use to the team this year. His shoulder will not strengthen to the point that he will be able to hit with any kind of authority.

* * *

Today is the 25th anniversary of a game that will in infamy. The Pine Tar game between the Yankees and Royals on July 24, 1983. Brian Heyman of the Journal News looks back, and has thoughts from George Brett and ump Tim McLelland.

* * *

Mark Lelinwalla of the Daily News has a nice piece on rookie outfielder Justin Christian. We repeat, time for Brett Gardner, who couldn't break a pane of glass right now, to go back to Scranton and for Christian to get increased playing time.

* * *

Pitching match ups for this weekend:

Friday: Joba Chamberlain vs. Josh Beckett
Saturday: Andy Pettitte vs. Tim Wakefield
Sunday: Sidney Ponson vs. Jon Lester

Saturday's game is one of those annoying 3:55 starts on Fox and Sunday is an 8:05 "we'll have to listen to Joe Morgan" affair on ESPN.

* * *

The YES Network continues to a great job covering the life and death of our man Bobby Murcer. Yankees Magazine included some new interviews from the likes of Reggie Jackson, Michael Kay, and others are the All-Star game. It's still shocking when Reggie acts humbly.

* * *

The Trenton Thunder have signed a 10-year extension with Mercer County that will keep the Yankees Double-A affiliate in Trenton through 2023. The new deal gives the Thunder more control over operations at Waterfront Park.

* * *

And finally, in case you missed it Tuesday, here's the video (we found the connection to be a bit troublesome) of Melky Cabrera making an error because he was paying attention to the Bleacher Creatures instead of the game.

The Daily Yankeeland - 7/24

We're enjoying a day off in the schedule before three big games in Boston this weekend. Here's what's going on.

Things have really begun to heat up in talks with Seattle that would sent pariah #2 Kei Igawa (Pavano is of course #1) to the Mariners for Jarrod Washburn and contract throw in Jose Vidro.

We're not big fans of Washburn, but he battles, gives you innings and has done well in the post-season. He would also give you another left-hander in the rotation in addition to Andy Pettitte, and would be a viable option out of the pen should the Yankees make the playoffs. He's got about $4 million left on his deal this year and has a $10 million contract for next season. Igawa's contract runs through 2011 and is worth about $14 million.

Vidro was once a good 2nd baseman and swung a good bat, but his knees and his skills have eroded and now he's a DH without any pop.

* * *

The media is blasting the Yankees from all sides for their decision not to shut down Jorge Posada immediately so that he'll be ready for the start of next season. There were even rumors that Randy Levine insisted that Posada play because of the big contract he signed in the off-season. It's very believable considering Levine is pretty much a dick.

We, as we stated yesterday, are in agreement that Posada will not be any use to the team this year. His shoulder will not strengthen to the point that he will be able to hit with any kind of authority.

* * *

Today is the 25th anniversary of a game that will in infamy. The Pine Tar game between the Yankees and Royals on July 24, 1983. Brian Heyman of the Journal News looks back, and has thoughts from George Brett and ump Tim McLelland.

* * *

Mark Lelinwalla of the Daily News has a nice piece on rookie outfielder Justin Christian. We repeat, time for Brett Gardner, who couldn't break a pane of glass right now, to go back to Scranton and for Christian to get increased playing time.

* * *

Pitching match ups for this weekend:

Friday: Joba Chamberlain vs. Josh Beckett
Saturday: Andy Pettitte vs. Tim Wakefield
Sunday: Sidney Ponson vs. Jon Lester

Saturday's game is one of those annoying 3:55 starts on Fox and Sunday is an 8:05 "we'll have to listen to Joe Morgan" affair on ESPN.

* * *

The YES Network continues to a great job covering the life and death of our man Bobby Murcer. Yankees Magazine included some new interviews from the likes of Reggie Jackson, Michael Kay, and others are the All-Star game. It's still shocking when Reggie acts humbly.

* * *

The Trenton Thunder have signed a 10-year extension with Mercer County that will keep the Yankees Double-A affiliate in Trenton through 2023. The new deal gives the Thunder more control over operations at Waterfront Park.

* * *

And finally, in case you missed it Tuesday, here's the video (we found the connection to be a bit troublesome) of Melky Cabrera making an error because he was paying attention to the Bleacher Creatures instead of the game.

Minor League Recap - 7/22

Games of 7/21

There has been trade rumors lately surrounding Jarrod Washburn of the Seattle Mariners. Buster Olney of ESPN believes the Yankees could use Kei Igawa as part of a deal. Igawa helped the cause last night, by allowing 3 runs on 4 hits over 7 innings in Scranton's 6-4 win over the Richmond Braves. He's now 9-5, 3.80 overall.

Ben Broussard hit a pair of home runs and drove in 3, and Cody Ransom smacked his 17th home run of the season.

	July 21, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Richmond 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 4 7 0 Scranton/WB 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 1 X 6 8 0 Recap | Box | W: K. Igawa (9-5, 3.80); L: F. Bueno (2-5, 4.97); SV: S. Jackson (2) HR: RIC: B. Canizares (11). SWB: C. Ransom (17), B. Broussard 2 (4).

The Trenton Thunder won their 6th straight, 9-8 over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, after blowing a 5-0 lead. Anthony Claggett gave up his first run in over a month, but picked up his 2nd victory of the season. The Thunder had 14 hits with four different players driving in 2 runs each.

	July 21, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Trenton 5 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 9 14 1 New Hampshire 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 8 11 2 Recap | Box | W: A. Claggett (2-0, 1.10); L: J. Pinto (4-3, 6.02); SV: J. Valdez (1) HR: NHM: T. Snider (15).

Tampa and Brevard County were rained out, but will play a pair today.

Charleston built up a 9-4 lead, but fell to the Greensboro Grasshoppers 10-9. The loss overshadowed a big night for RiverDogs 2nd baseman Justin Snyder, who went 3-5 with a 3-run home run, 4 RBI and 4 runs scored. Jesus Montero also stayed hot, going 3-4 to raise his average to .311.

	July 21, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Charleston 0 3 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 9 13 0 Greensboro 0 1 2 0 1 1 4 1 X 10 15 2 Recap | Box | W: S. Cishek (2-4, 3.97); L: C. Vacek (5-4, 3.93) HR: CHA: J. Snyder (4), C. Angelini (2). GBO: T. Hickman (11), R. Curry (9), M. Dominguez (7), T. Langley (5).

Brandon Braboy pitched 5 innings of 2-hit ball, but had nothing to show for it as the Staten Island Yankees lost a 4-1 contest with the Brooklyn Cyclones.

	July 21, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Brooklyn 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 9 1 Staten Island 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 3 Recap | Box W: B. Moore (3-1, 4.05); L: T. Dennehy (1-1, 1.86); SV: S. Clyne (3) HR: BRO: J. Abruzzo (2).

The GCL Blue Jays doubled up the GCL Yankees 10-5. Christian Garcia, still working his way back from arm surgery, gave up 2 runs on 5 hits in 1.2 innings pitched.

	July 21, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E GCL Yankees 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 5 12 0 GCL Blue Jays 1 1 0 3 1 2 1 1 X 10 18 1 Recap | Box W: R. Page (1-0, 3.18); L: H. Noesi (1-1, 5.06) HR: BLU: J. Talley (3).