Yes, Yankees Fans, It's Okay to Root For the Pirates

Yes, I said it. It is okay for Yankees fans to root for the Pittsburgh Pirates this post-season.  However, I will preface my statement...if you under the age of, oh, 55, it is okay to root for the Pirates. If you are over 55, there's a good chance you still harbor ill will against P-Burgh for the 1960 World Series.

I wasn't born yet, so I have never felt any malice towards the Pirates. That being said, I don't like seeing the film of Bill Mazeroski's home run sailing over Yogi Berra's head and over the brick wall in old Forbes Field.

My brother, 9-years old at the time of the '60 series, was mortified when he learned I rooted for the Pirates against the Baltimore Orioles in both the 1971 and 1979 World Series. I hated the Orioles as a kid; they beat the snot out of the Yankees time and time again.

While there wasn't the animosity that exists between the fans of the Yankees and Red Sox (and some players) today, the Orioles did much more damage to the Yankees in the late 1960's and early 1970's than Boston ever did.

The Orioles won the inaugural AL East title when division play began in 1969, and won it again in 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, and 1979. They won the AL Pennant three times and the World Series once.

But enough about Baltimore, this is about Pittsburgh. This is about a team that had its first winning record in 21 years this season. That's the same length of time since they have been in the post-season. The Pirates lost the NLCS three straight seasons from 1990-1992, twice in the 7th game.

The 1979 team, like the 1971 team, came back from a 3-1 deficit in games to the win the World Series. That was the fifth and final time the Pirates made it to the World Series and won it.

Tonight they enter as the host team for the one game wild card playoff with NL Central division rival Cincinnati. The two teams met in the regular season's final weekend, with the Pirates taking a three game sweep to ensure the first playoff home game since a 7-1 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the '92 NLCS. That series ended dramatically with former Pirate Sid Bream just beating a tag at home plate with the winning run after Atlanta rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the 9th. (Yes, some young Pirates fans know what it was like to be a young Yankees fans in 1960.) The Pirates also took the season series, 11 games to eight.

Manager Clint Hurdle, one of the front-runners for the NL Manager of the Year award, is in his third year as the Pirates' skipper. Under Hurdle's watch, the team has gone from 72 to 79 to 94 wins. The former Kansas City Royals Sports Illustrated cover boy has only one prior year of playoff managerial experience and that was with the NL pennant winning Colorado Rockies in 2007.

Hurdle's opposing manager, Dusty Baker, helmed the 2002 San Francisco Giants to a World Series title. However, Baker has won only one other playoff series in five additional playoff appearances.

The current squad hopes to get over the next hurdle with a bunch of talented kids and a good mix of veterans, including former Yankees A.J. Burnett and Russell Martin. Burnett led the team in starts (with Jeff Locke), innings pitched, and strikeouts. He is one of four Pirates pitchers that finished with double digit wins, three of which had 10 total, including Burnett.

Martin's numbers were very similar to those he produced with the Yankees. Fans wanted him gone until they saw what Chris Stewart did as a full-time player. Martin came through with walk-off winners in four home games this season and was a big influence on the youngsters.

Pitcher Francisco Liriano, one time known as the "next Johann Santana", looked like his career might done after posting 5+ ERAs in 2011 and 2012. But he resurrected his career in Pittsburgh this season with a career high 16 wins, his most innings pitched (161) since 2010 and his best ERA (3.02) and WHIP (1.224) since 2006. It will be his task Tuesday night to help the Pirates get to the division series when he squares off against the Reds' Johnny Cueto.

With Wandy Rodriguez out due to injury, the Pirates got a big boost when rookie Gerrit Cole was called up in June. Now, Yankees fans can whine about something. Cole was drafted by the interlocking NY in 2008, but he rebuked them. Cole went to UCLA instead and signed with the Pirates after he was the number one pick in the nation in the 2011 MLB amateur draft.

The 23-year old finished the season with a 10-7, 3.22 record in 19 starts and with 100 strikeouts in 117.1 IP. His performance also helped offset Locke's struggles over the last two months of the season.

The biggest star in the Steel City, though, is outfielder Andrew McCutchen. The 26-year old was the 11th overall pick in the 2005 draft and made his MLB debut in 2009. In five big league seasons he produced a slash line average of .296./380/.489, won Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, and made three All-Star appearances.

The five-tool player averaged 20 home runs, 25 steals, and 91 runs scored a season. He led the NL in hits last season with 194 and had 185 this year. Yes, he can do it all and usually does.

He's aided in the lineup by slugging third baseman Pedro Alvarez (tied for NL lead with 36 HR), outfielder Starling Marte (41 steals), power hitting second baseman Neil Walker, and veteran outfielder Marlon Byrd, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Mets.

Seton Hall product Jason Grilli, a veteran of 11 big league seasons got his first gig as a full-time closer at age 36 and responded with 33 saves in 35 opportunities. He averaged 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings and was named to his first All-Star game.

Mark Melancon (he and Jose Tabata are the final two former Yankees on the active roster) was Grilli's main set up man and filled in as closer when Grilli went down for six weeks with a strained forearm. He remained the closer for a short time even when Grilli returned until the veteran was back at or near 100%. The 28-year old appeared in a career high 72 games, saved 16 of them and averaged just fewer than nine strikeouts per nine innings.

Vin Mazzaro, Justin Wilson, Tony Watson, and Bryan Morris have all been solid out of the pen as well.

When it comes right down to it, the Pirates are a fun team to watch and to root for. There are no ghosts of Pirates past in PNC Park and no annoying choruses of "We are Family" (at least I hope not.) So here is one Yankees fan that hopes the Pirates get past the Reds, the Cardinals, and either the Braves or Dodgers (sorry Donnie Baseball, I hate the Dodgers.) and whatever American League opponent they may run into. The city of Pittsburgh has been waiting a long time for this.

Pirates-Red Sox Hanrahan Deal Complete

It's taken several days to become official, but the Pirates and Red Sox have completed a six player deal that sends Pirates' closer Joel Hanrahan to the Red Sox.

In return the Pirates will receive prospects Jerry Sands (1B), Stolmy Pimentel (P), infielder Ivan DeJesus (had been acquired in the trade deadline mega deal with the Dodgers) and reliever Mark Melancon.

Boston will also receive minor league second baseman Brock Holt.

Hanrahan is expected to take over the closer role for Boston, with Andrew Bailey either moved to a set up role or traded away. Hanrahan spent parts of three unremarkable seasons with the Washington Nationals before he was dealt with Lastings Milledge to the Pirates for Sean Burnett and Nyjer Morgan during the 2009 season.

Hanrahan's career took off as a set up man in 2010 and he became the team's full-time closer a year later. The right-hander averaged 38 saves and nine strikeouts per nine innings in 133 total apperances. Hanrahan earned $4.1MM last season and is in his second year of arbitration eligibility. He can become a free agent after this coming season.

Melancon will have a chance to compete for the Pirates' closer role after one undistinguished season in Boston. He had a break out 2011 season when he saved 20 games in 71 appearances for the Houston Astros. Melancon was then dealt to Boston last December for shortstop Jed Lowrie and prospect Kyle Weiland.

As a set up man to Al Aceves, Melancon struggled with his control and finished the season with an ERA over 6. He also had a stint in the minor leagues in attempt to straighten out his pitching issues.

Sands is a slugging first baseman that was part of the same deal (as a player to be named later) that brought DeJesus to Boston last year. After Sands slugged 35 home runs in the minor leagues in 2010, he appeared in 61 games for the Dodgers in 2011, but hit just four home runs in 227 plate appearances. Last season he played in just nine Major Leagues games and was 4-23 with no home runs.

Pilmentel has been in the Red Sox organization since he was a 17-year old in 2007. Thus far his production has been mediocre, but still just 22-years old, the Pirates hope that he can find his 'A' game.

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.

Holy Cano-li

That's the phrase that popped in my head this afternoon as Robinson Cano sent yet another home run into the right field seats. Cano and the Yankees had their hitting shoes on as they pounded the Chicago White Sox 12-3 on a hot and sticky Sunday afternoon in the Bronx.

Phil Hughes was outstanding once again, shaking off his rocky outing in Baltimore, to win his third game of the season. In taking 2 of the 3 from Chicago, the Yankees have grabbed 7 of the 8 series they've played this year.

The Yankees won without the services of Curtis Granderson, who is out with a Grade-2 groin strain, and Alex Rodriguez who is bothered by either a knee or leg muscle depending on who you talk to.

The Yankees had already put a pair of runs on the board when Cano took Mark Buehrle deep with two men aboard for a 5-0 lead. Buehrle threw a perfect game on July 23, 2009, but has been anything but perfect since. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings and is just 4-11 since that magical game last July.

Hughes, on the other hand, cruised through the White Sox lineup for seven shutout innings. Hughes used a mid-90's fastball with a changeup and curve to limit the Chisox to four hits and walk, while he struck out 6. Hughes lowered his ERA to a league second best 1.44 mark.

With Hughes dominating Chicago's lineup, the Yankees lineup continued their assault on the White Sox bullpen. Mark Teixeira embraced the new month by tying a career high with four hits. Brett Gardner hit his first home run of the year and Nick Swisher snapped out of his home field problems by homering for the second straight game and had three of the Yankees 16 hits.

Paul Konerko broke up the shutout in the 9th with his league leading 12th home run off of newly recalled right-hander Mark Melancon.

To the Bat Pole

It was time for the annual rookie hazing...and though there weren't as many rookies on the Yankees squad, it was still entertaining to see this year's Batman and Robin theme.

Batman (Mark Melancon) and Robin (video coordiantor Anthony Flynn). Nice gams and camel toe.Mark Melancon as the Caped Cruisader

Ramiro Pena is an uglier Catwoman than Ertha Kitt, though less creepy.

Radar gun operator Brett Weber (the Joker), Flynn (Robin), manager Joe Girardi, Melancon (Batman), Pena (Catwoman), Michael Dunn (the Riddler), massage therapist Lew Potter (the Penguin)

Melancon walks the gauntlet

Teammates and media get their photo-opMike Dunn as the Riddler wins best in show (IMHO)

Some Pre-Game Thoughts - 8/7

Actually these are mostly some post-game thoughts from last night.

Expect Derek Jeter or Robinson Cano, most likely the former, to get thrown at by Josh Beckett tonight. Whether or not Mark Melancon threw intentionally at Dustin Pedroia last night, Beckett will make someone pay today.

I still can't get over Jorge Posada's base running last night. Seriously, what the hell was that? A simple slide, which Jorgie has trouble doing, would have meant a run. Perhaps barreling over Victor Martinez might have produced a run. But going in standing up and soft slapping at Martinez' catcher's mask will most definitely NOT produce a run.

Muhammad Ali presented food service awards to Hal Steinbrenner and Legends Hospitality, LLC. Why exactly was Ali presenting food awards? Jim Perdue maybe, but Ali? It may be just me, but I've never understood the fascination with Ali anyway.

Bryan Hoch of mlb.com has a piece on Brett Gardner's recovery.

Alex Rodriguez has the longest home run drought of his career, now 66 at-bats. Earlier this season Mark Teixeira set his own personal worst.

I thought Chad Gaudin would bump Sergio Mitre back to Scranton, but instead it's Ramiro Pena. That's two 1-game call ups for Claggett.

Yankees Make a Mess Out West

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	3	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0		6	14	2
LA Angels	0	1	0	0	4	2	3	0	X		10	13	0

WP - Bulger (4-1) SV - Fuentes (25) LP - Melancon (0-1)

The Yankees are going to have make a decision soon on the immediate future of Joba Chamberlain. The Yankees young star imploded once again last night, lasting just 4 1/3 innings in a 10-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. To make matters worse, the Yankees had staked him to a 5-1 lead. Chamberlain wasn’t completely at fault though- the Yankees are still snake bitten in Anaheim. Errors by Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter and another poor relief outing from Brian Bruney all contributed to the “Mess out West“.

Read the rest of my recap at Baseball Digest Online.

Melancon Headed to Cali

Chad Jennings is reporting that Mark Melancon has been summoned by the Yankees and is headed to Anaheim for the weekend series with the Angels. Melancon struggled in June, but told Jennings that his arm feels great. Hopefully he can catch some of the same magic Francisco Cervelli did in his recall.

No word on the Yankees roster move, but I would hazard to guess that David Robertson, on the heels of today's dismal performance, is hitting the road.

I like Robertson's stuff, but you can't pitch in the majors with that many walks.

Yankees Look to Cash in on Catcher

Jose Molina became the latest addition to the disabled list today when he was added to it after injuring his quad last night. Kevin Cash has become recalled from Scranton to take his place. No word on the 40-man roster move yet.

Reliever Mark Melancon was sent down to Scranton to make room on the 25-man roster for Alex Rodriguez.

Scranton Goes 11 to Go 6-0

The Scranton Yankees are off to the fast start the New York Yankees would like to have. It took 11 innings today, but the Yankees Triple-A affiliate prevailed over the Mets top squad, 5-3.

The Yankees improved to 6-0 when Austin Jackson walked, stole his second base of the game, and scored on Angel Berroa's double. Kevin Russo's fourth hit of the game, also a double, provided an insurance run for winner Mark Melancon (1-0).

	April 14, 2009
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E Scranton/WB 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 12 1 Buffalo 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 11 1 W: M. Melancon (1-0, 0.00); L: C. Muniz (0-1, 4.50) HR: None.

Box Score

Miranda's High 5 leads Scranton to Opening Win

Juan Miranda impressed the Yankees during spring training with his quick bat. Last night he impressed the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Miranda smacked a 3-run home run and drove in 5 runs to lead the Scranton Yankees to an 11-3 win in their season opening game.

Jason Johnson started for the Yankees, but was removed after 4.2 innings with the Yankees up 4-3. Anthony Claggett picked up the win as he, Mark Melancon, and Steven Jackson shut down Lehigh Valley for the rest of the night.

The Yankees put the game away with a 6-run sixth innings, highlighted by Miranda's home run.

	April 9, 2009
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Scranton/WB 2 0 0 0 2 6 0 0 1 11 12 1 Lehigh Valley 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 10 1 W: A. Claggett (1-0, 0.00); L: D. Borkowski (0-1, 18.00) HR: SWB: J. Miranda (1).

Scranton ready for season opener

The Scranton Yankees are set to start their International League season tonight with Jason Johnson getting the opening day start against Lehigh Valley. It's been quite a spring for Johnson, who was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer prior to reporting to camp.

Here's the 25-man roster, with one player still to be removed to get down to 24; according to beat writer Chad Jennings, P.J. Pilittere was told he would be inactive to start the season. Jennings also has an interview with Mark Melancon, who some have tabbed to be the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera.

Pitchers
91 Alfredo Aceves
35 Anthony Claggett
44 J.B. Cox
29 Kei Igawa
65 Phil Hughes
16 Steven Jackson
45 Jason Johnson
31 Ian Kennedy
51 Zach Kroenke
41 Mark Melancon
30 David Robertson
34 Brett Tomko

Catchers
18 Kevin Cash
*22 P.J. Pilittere
26 Chris Stewart

Infielders
xx Angel Berroa
02 Doug Bernier
10 Eric Duncan
07 Justin Leone
46 Juan Miranda
05 Kevin Russo

Outfielders
17 Shelley Duncan
24 Austin Jackson
25 Todd Linden
19 John Rodriguez

That's quite an outfield. Three veteran minor leaguers, who have each had a small cup of coffee in the majors and a rising star.

Yankees Make More Cuts

Ian Kennedy didn't have the best spring, but he did end his time in major league camp on a good note Sunday, allowing an unearned run in three innings. Kennedy was reassigned to Scranton today as the Yankees cut down the number of players in the big league camp.

Pitcher Christian Garcia, on the road back from Tommy John surgery, was reassigned to Trenton. Infielder Kevin Russo, pitcher Mark Melancon, and catchers Jesus Montero and Austin Romine were sent to the minor league camp.

Yankees Lead Blown Away

For a while it appeared today's game in Sarasota, FL might end up with a higher score than the last Super Bowl. Strong winds and the Cincinnati Reds prevailed, 13-11, over the Yankees on Craig Tatum's seventh inning grand slam. It was the eighth home run of the day; the fifth by the Reds.

No Yankees pitcher escaped unscathed, with only Mark Melancon's ERA not affected as he allowed an unearned run. The Yankees had plenty of offense, but couldn't hold 2-0 and 11-8 leads.

Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner, and John Rodriguez all went deep for the Yankees, who banged out 19 hits. Cano and Derek Jeter led the way with three hits each, and Cano paced the RBI producers with four.

But after being handed a 2-0 lead in the first, Al Aceves became the first victim of the wind as Chris Dickerson hit the first of his two home runs to help put the Reds on top 4-3.

Brett Gardner hadn't hit a home run in 127 career at-bats, but he tied in the game third off of Aaron Harang with his second blast of the spring. The lead see-sawed and the game was tied 5-5 entering the sixth inning (Cano and J-Rod hit solo shots off of former Yankee reliever David Weathers.). The Yankees took their final lead with three runs against Francisco Cordero, but it would be short lived.

Box Score

Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Damaso Marte are now all off to the World Baseball Classic.

Jason Johnson, who was diagnosed recently with retinal cancer, is expected to throw off a mound tomorrow.

CC Sabathia will pitch a simulated game tomorrow after rains prevented it today.

Jonathan Albaladejo had to leave the game after hitting being hit in the calf with a come backer. He's listed as day-to-day.

Jesus Montero strained his groin chasing down a passed ball, and have to leave the game as well.

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

The Daily Yankeeland - 2/23

Bill Madden talked to Brian Bruney about his continued weight loss (35 pounds in 2 years) and his impact on the Yankees late bullpen innings.

Madden's colleague, Mark Feinsand, has a look at the shooting start that is Mark Melancon. When the day comes that Mo retires, could Melancon be the guy?
Derek Jeter's troublesome hamstring may have an impact on his participation in the WBC after all. Joe Girardi has already instructed his captain not to play through injuries in the tournament.

Mike Vaccaro talks about the magical sound of CC Sabathia throwing to a catcher's mitt.

Bernie Williams gets some love from the Boston Globe.


photo courtesy of Cataffo/News

Down on the Farm - 8/7

Time to do some catching up at the minor league level. Today we'll start with Scranton and Trenton, taking a look at how the teams and their prospects are doing.

Austin Jackson
He's really put together a solid year and word is that he'll spend the entire season at Trenton. He's batting .290-9-61 in 449 at-bats with an .816 OPS, which escalates to .936 against left-handers. He's also stolen 15 bases in 20 attempts.

Jackson has particularly been red hot with the warm weather, batting .357 since July 1.

Al Aceves
There's been plenty of buzz around the right-hander plucked from the Mexican League. But after being out with a strained groin, he's been struggling at Scranton. Chad Jennings has more.

Jason Jones
With Ian Kennedy being called up, Jones has headed up to Scranton. Jones has put together an 11-5, 3.03 record in 21 starts. His ERA had been 2.28 before being roughed up in a pair of late July games.


Scranton

The Triple-A Yankees are 73-47 leading the Pawtucket Red Sox by one-half game in the International League's North Division. With promotions (Justin Christian, .309) and injuries, several players have stepped up. Juan Miranda is wreaking havoc on left-handed pitching, batting .352. Veteran first baseman Ben Broussard has belted 10 home runs and Brett Gardner has 37 steals to go with a .405 OBP.

As for pitching, the club has seen a rash of injuries and call ups, and the departure of Dan McCutchen and Jeff Karstens via trade. Kei Igawa has stepped up as the ace of the staff. Yes, we really said that. The overpaid left-hander is 12-5, 3.39 with 100 strikeouts in 132.2 innings pitched. He's 8-1 since June 1.

Trenton

The Thunder have had a number of players, especially key pitchers, promoted to Triple-A, but those who have taken their place have really done the job. Trenton leads the Eastern League's Northern division by 8 games over the Portland SeaDogs (again a Red Sox farm team), and has compiled a 70-45 mark.

As we mentioned earlier, Jason Jones has put together a terrific season, but he's not alone. Phil Coke (9-4, 2.51), Chase Wright (8-2, 2.96), who recently got bumped up to Scranton, McCutchen, Aceves, and Erick Hacker (6-2, 2.82) have all contributed to the club's success. The bullpen has been solid too with Anthony Claggett (3-2, 1.76, 8 saves) and Mark Melancon (6-0, 1.81, 2 saves) being the big names.

Offensively, the team lost Matt Carson and Edwar Gonzalez to promotion, but Chris Malec is hitting .304, and catchers P.J. Pilliterre and Joe Muich have added a lot offensively. And of course there's Action Jackson.

Tomorrow - Tampa and Charleston

Down on the Farm - 8/7

Time to do some catching up at the minor league level. Today we'll start with Scranton and Trenton, taking a look at how the teams and their prospects are doing.

Austin Jackson
He's really put together a solid year and word is that he'll spend the entire season at Trenton. He's batting .290-9-61 in 449 at-bats with an .816 OPS, which escalates to .936 against left-handers. He's also stolen 15 bases in 20 attempts.

Jackson has particularly been red hot with the warm weather, batting .357 since July 1.

Al Aceves
There's been plenty of buzz around the right-hander plucked from the Mexican League. But after being out with a strained groin, he's been struggling at Scranton. Chad Jennings has more.

Jason Jones
With Ian Kennedy being called up, Jones has headed up to Scranton. Jones has put together an 11-5, 3.03 record in 21 starts. His ERA had been 2.28 before being roughed up in a pair of late July games.


Scranton

The Triple-A Yankees are 73-47 leading the Pawtucket Red Sox by one-half game in the International League's North Division. With promotions (Justin Christian, .309) and injuries, several players have stepped up. Juan Miranda is wreaking havoc on left-handed pitching, batting .352. Veteran first baseman Ben Broussard has belted 10 home runs and Brett Gardner has 37 steals to go with a .405 OBP.

As for pitching, the club has seen a rash of injuries and call ups, and the departure of Dan McCutchen and Jeff Karstens via trade. Kei Igawa has stepped up as the ace of the staff. Yes, we really said that. The overpaid left-hander is 12-5, 3.39 with 100 strikeouts in 132.2 innings pitched. He's 8-1 since June 1.

Trenton

The Thunder have had a number of players, especially key pitchers, promoted to Triple-A, but those who have taken their place have really done the job. Trenton leads the Eastern League's Northern division by 8 games over the Portland SeaDogs (again a Red Sox farm team), and has compiled a 70-45 mark.

As we mentioned earlier, Jason Jones has put together a terrific season, but he's not alone. Phil Coke (9-4, 2.51), Chase Wright (8-2, 2.96), who recently got bumped up to Scranton, McCutchen, Aceves, and Erick Hacker (6-2, 2.82) have all contributed to the club's success. The bullpen has been solid too with Anthony Claggett (3-2, 1.76, 8 saves) and Mark Melancon (6-0, 1.81, 2 saves) being the big names.

Offensively, the team lost Matt Carson and Edwar Gonzalez to promotion, but Chris Malec is hitting .304, and catchers P.J. Pilliterre and Joe Muich have added a lot offensively. And of course there's Action Jackson.

Tomorrow - Tampa and Charleston

Minor League Recap - 7/24

Games of 7/23

Mark Melancon continued his impressive season, improving to 6-0 last night in Trenton's 3-1 win over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. With the game tied 1-1 in the 9th, Austin Jackson led off with a double and Chris Malec followed with an RBI triple. Joe Muich's RBI single added some insurance. Muich was only in the game due to a nasty injured suffered by catcher P.J. Pillitere. A foul ball ricocheted off the screen and hit Pillitere square in the face, breaking several bones in his nose. Mike Ashmore has more on Pillitere's injury.

	July 23, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Trenton 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 9 0 New Hampshire 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 Recap | Box | W: M. Melancon (6-0, 1.93); L: Z. Dials (2-3, 3.74) HR: None.

The Tampa Yankees also won in the 9th inning, 6-4, over the Brevard County Manatees. Josh Kreuzer was the hero with a walk off 2-run home run. Kreuzer had once been a highly touted prospect in the Blue Jays organization, including winning the Florida State League's MVP award, but was released in mid-June.

	July 23, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Brevard County 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 4 6 2 Tampa 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 2 6 10 1 Recap | Box | W: W. Arias (4-0, 2.61); L: E. Shanks (0-1, 3.21) HR: TAM: J. Kreuzer (2).

You guessed it, the Charleston River Dogs also won the in the 9th. They trailed the Greensboro Grasshoppers 3-1, but Justin Snyder belted a 2-run home run to tie the game up and Jesus Montero delivered a pinch-hit single to put the Dogs ahead. Wil De la Rosa started for Charleston, allowing 1 run in 5.2 innings pitched, with 8 strikeouts.

	July 23, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Charleston 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 4 8 0 Greensboro 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 7 2 Recap | Box | W: J. Ortiz (3-2, 1.85); L: S. Cishek (2-5, 4.40) HR: CHA: J. Snyder (5).

No late inning heroics for Staten Island as the Baby Bombers fell to the Jamestown Jammers 7-2. Mike Lyon did hit his third home run of the season.

July 23, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Staten Island 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 10 1 Jamestown 4 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 X 7 9 0 Recap | Box W: D. Clothier (2-0, 4.05); L: N. Asselin (0-1, 4.50); SV: A. Campbell (1) HR: STA: M. Lyon (3).

The GCL Yankees are struggling for runs this season, they got only one last night on a Jose Pirela RBI single, and it showed again last night in a 7-1 loss to the GCL Braves.

	July 23, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E GCL Braves 0 0 1 1 4 1 0 0 0 7 9 0 GCL Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 2 Recap | Box W: B. Oberholtzer (3-0, 1.90); L: R. Marte (1-1, 1.40) HR: None.

Rain had a big effect last night, postponing Scranton's game with the Richmond Braves.