Another Day, Another Injury, Melky II On His Way

The Captain won't be around to greet Melky II this time.

First game back after the All-Star break and the injury list grew ince again. Zoilo Almonte who has had a pretty good introduction to the Major Leagues is the latest victim of the now you see 'em, now you don't conspiracy. It was just more rancid icing on a progressively stale piece of cake that is the Yankees season. To make matters worse it occurred during a 4-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox that dropped the Bomberless Bombers seven games out of first place in the AL East.

Almonte lunged at the first base bag in attempt to beat out the back end of a double play ball and the bag won. A sprained left ankle is the diagnosis with a pair of crutches the newest part of Almonte's wardrobe. A trip to the 15-day DL is the grand prize as Almonte joins Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Kevin Youkilis, David Phelps, Francisco Cervelli, Jayson Nix, and (temporarily) Alex Rodriguez on the sidelines.

If this were an episode of the Andy Griffith show, Sheriff Taylor would be saying, "Sarah, get me (Scranton GM) Rob Crain on the phone." RailRiders beat writer Donnie Collins reported that Melky Mesa and Thomas Neal are headed to Boston to join the team for the remainder of the weekend series.

Melky II, this time it's personal, got into three games last September and October and was 1-3 with an RBI. Mesa had a good shot to make the team out of Spring Training and the front office remains high on him despite the fact he's got the lowest OPS (.710) of his career since he was in rookie ball in 2007. Most worrisome are his 93 strikeouts in 242 at-bats and just seven walks. Mesa struck out 118 times in 2012 in 502 plate appearances.

I won't be a total Debbie Downer though- Mesa does have a solid .430 slugging pct. with 9 HR, 10 doubles, and a trio of triples. He's also stolen seven bases in eight attempts. He's been primarily a centerfield in his minor league career, but the Yankees will count on him to play the corner outfield spots. Plus the Yankees can unload the "Got Melk" t-shirts that have been laying around since Melky Cabrera was traded.

Neal got into four games with the Yankees this year and was 2-11 (.182) with one walk and four strikeouts. Entering Friday's play Neal had a nice slash line of .318/.392/.407 with 23 walks in 65 games for Scranton. Unlike Mesa, Neal's career in the outfield has been primarily played in left and right fields.  The Yankees signed him as a free agent this past January 18.

Alberto Gonzalez and Luis Cruiz dodged a bullet Friday when Brennan Boesch was released to make room on the 40-man roster. One of them is likely to go this time, with my guess being Gonzalez, as it was on Friday for Brent Lillibridge's entrance.

Pettitte Set to Face That Other Team if Weather Holds Up

Moses wandered the desert for 40 years. Andy Pettitte wandered the state of Texas for three. That was a helluva rough trip for Moses, but seeing Andy Pettitte in an Astros uniform really sucked.

Pettitte and the Yankees parted ways after the 2003 season, one in which Pettitte matched his career high with 21 wins and struck out a career high 180 hitters. He then went 3-1 in the post-season, which featured a come from behind win in Game 7 of the ALCS with Boston and a six game loss to Florida in the World Series.

Word was that the Yankees were concerned about Pettitte's elbow and that he wanted to pitch closer to his Texas home. The Astros won out, but Pettitte's first year in Houston was a disaster for both teams.  Pettitte made just 15 starts after he suffered a torn flexor tendon in his pitching elbow. The injury reportedly occurred from batting rather than throwing.

Meanwhile, the Yankees were on the verge of returning to the World Series, when Boston rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win the ALCS and their first World Series in 86 years. In a parallel universe, Pettitte stays in New York and stays healthy and the Yankees beat Boston since there was no way they would blow a 3-0 lead with Pettitte available to pitch in two of the remaining games. In  that bizarro world, Kevin Brown is never a Yankee either.

Pettitte bounced back the next season to win 17 games and he and then buddy Roger Clemens and the Astros advanced to the World Series. However, they had the misfortune of running into a Chicago White Sox juggernaut that swept them in four games.

The lefty's career in the Lone Star state ended after a 14-13 campaign in 2005. Then it was time to come home again. Pettitte returned to the Bronx in 2007 and won 15 games. He followed that up with back to back 14-win seasons and got his fifth World Series ring when the Yankees beat the Phillies in the 2009 Fall Classic.

Pettitte enters Monday's start with 248 career wins and would likely be in the Hall of Fame one day if he had not admitted HGH use to help with a 2002 injury. The hunch here is that he hangs it up for good after the 2013 season, no one year off and back as he did in 2011. Either way, it's good to have him in the home where he belongs.

Notes

Kevin Youkilis had an MRI on his ailing back and is awaiting the result. Should he go on the DL, David Adams (.887 OPS in 13 games so far) is likely the leading candidate to replace him on the 25 man roster. He would have to be added to the 40-man roster as well, which is at its limit.

Ben Francisco could be designated for assignment. Another option is outfielder Melky Mesa, but he's struggling at Scranton right now. Another possibility would have been Ronnier Mustelier but he has been rehabbing the knee injury he suffered in Spring Training.

Phil Hughes had his second straight strong start on Sunday and the straight against a 2012 Cy Young Award winner. Hughes faced David Price in his prior start and R. A. Dickey, last year's NL winner, on Sunday. He didn't figure in the decision in either game, but the Yankees won both.

Cashman Loses Mind: Yankees About to Acquire Vernon Wells

"What do you mean we just signed Josh Hamilton?"

I received a text from a friend (kudos Tmags) a few minutes ago that the Yankees are about to acquire Vernon Wells from the outfield laden Los Angeles Angels.

My immediate response was "Why?!" Is Wells better than a platoon of Brennan Boesch and Ben Francisco?

This is not the 2002-2006 Vernon Wells of the Toronto Blue Jays that was one of the best players in the game. He could hit for average (for a time), power, steal a handful of bases, run down any ball in the outfield from his perch in centerfield, and had a rifle of an arm.  The Blue Jays rewarded their star after the 2006 season by giving him a 7-year,  $126MM extension.

According to Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan, the Angels will send Wells and a large sum of cash (Two years and $42MM remain on the contract.) to the Yankees. No names have been mentioned concerning who would be sent to the Angels, but that will certainly depend on how much money accompanies Wells to the Bronx.

The 3-time All-Star has a no-trade clause and could make the whole situation moot. However, he has no role with the Angels and would be, according to Passan, in the Yankees every day lineup. At least until left-fielder Curtis Granderson comes back. The right-handed hitter could then split time with all three starting/left-handed hitting outfielders and lefty DH Travis Hafner.

The deal doesn't make a lot of sense for a number of reasons. To take on a one year deal would be one thing, but to have Wells under contract next season (no matter how much money the Angels send) makes no sense whatsoever.  Injuries and age have zapped him of much of his power, speed, and flash that was so much a part of his game.

The big cash on Wells' contract didn't kick in until 2010-a mere $15MM+ the first year- and escalated upward over $20MM annually after that.  Unfortunately for all concerned, the injuries set in long before the new deal did.

A bad shoulder hampered Wells' play in 2007 and limited him to a .245 batting average and .402 slugging. His 16 home runs were the lowest total since he became an every player. Wells' missed 54 games in 2008 with a broken wrist, but managed to put up an .840 OPS.

2009 was another down year caused by lingering wrist issues that required off-season surgery. He had a mini resurgence in 2010 (31 HR's, over .800 OPS), but it has been downhill since.

When 2011 started badly, the Blue Jays felt it was time to rid themselves of the fifth player chosen overall in the 1997 MLB amateur draft. They found a partner in the Angels, who dealt outfielder Juan Rivera and catcher Mike Napoli to Toronto in January, 2011.

What followed were two sub-par seasons; Wells hit 25 home runs in 2011, but both years produced a sub-.700 OPS.  Brian Cashman wasn't satisfied with his current cadre of reserve outfielders - veterans Boesch (may have oblique injury), Francisco, Juan Rivera, and youngsters Ronnier Mustelier and Melky Mesa - and evidently feels he has nothing to lose by going to Wells once too often.



UPDATE - 5:20 PM : Angels' beat writer Alden Gonzalez asked Wells if he would waive his no-trade clause. Wells said "possibly" and flashed a big grin. Wells added,“It’d be a huge change. I don’t think it’s ever easy saying goodbye, but at the same time, if this were to happen, it’s a good group of guys over there. I’ll just get to know a new family.”

Angels' GM Jerry DiPoto was noncommittall  when queried by Gonzalez.

Derek, Andy, and Mo and All's Right With the World

Jeter starts to turn two against Philly

The last time Derek Jeter stood out at shortstop during a baseball game my heart dropped into my stomach. Jeter was laying on the ground in terrible pain and was not getting up. Derek Jeter ALWAYS gets up - the one exception being when he got his shoulder destroyed against the Blue Jays in 2003.

Indeed, Jeter did need help getting up after breaking his already injured left ankle in Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS against the Detroit Tigers. Ankle surgery and physical rehab followed. The culmination of recovery was his return to the game, first as a DH and then as the starting shortstop Wednesday evening against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Making Jeter feel even more at home was the Yankees starter pitcher, Andy Pettitte, who made his spring training debut. Pettitte had thrown simulated games up until that point. Pettitte pitched into the fourth inning and left with two men aboard. His line ended up at 3 IP 4 H 1 ER 3 BB 3 K and he felt good afterward.

Mariano Rivera topped the night off with a one inning, scoreless appearance. As is the case in spring training that inning came in the middle of the game, the 5th inning in this case. (Earlier today Mo, gave a nice interview to Michael Kay and Don LaGreca on ESPN Radio. You can hear it by clicking here.) Mo made easy work of it and retired the side in order.

In one of his at-bats, Jeter took a pitch inside for a strike as he leaned over the plate and made a bit of a face at the home plate. Yes, in some ways he's back in form already. He finished 0-2 for the game with a walk.

The Yankees took advantage of five Phillies errors to beat Cliff Lee 6-2. New acquisition Ben Francisco put the Yankees on the board with a 2-run double off the base of the center field wall.  Juan Rivera and Ichiro Suzuki had a couple of hits each and Rivera also made a nice stop at first base.

Melky Mesa continued to impress both at the plate and in the field. He drove in a run and also made a beautiful over the shoulder catch on a drive to center field.

Ben Francisco, Pick Up a White Courtesy Phone

The New York Post's Joel Sherman reported via Twitter that the Yankees have signed veteran outfielder Ben Francisco to a minor league deal.

The 6-year veteran had been signed to a minor league deal by the Cleveland Indians in January, but was released earlier in the day. Yankees GM Brian Cashman was quick to pounce on another possibility for the Yankees outfield, which is missing Curtis Granderson until May.

The 31-year old showed promise early in his career with Cleveland when he slugged 15 home runs in back to back seasons (2008-2009) and topped .770 in OPS both years. Those were the only two seasons in which Francisco had more than 400 plate appearances.

He was dealt to Philadelphia at the 2009 trade deadline along with the center piece of the deal, Cliff Lee. Francisco had an .843 OPS and drove in 13 runs in 37 games after the deal, but was 0-11 in the post-season. That included an 0-7 skid when the Phillies lost to the Yankees in the World Series.

Francisco's output and playing time began to diminish the following season and culminated in 2012 when he played for three different organizations (Blue Jays, Astros, Rays) and had a sub .700 OPS with all of them.

Francisco will compete with veterans Matt Diaz, Juan Rivera, and youngsters like Melky Mesa and Ronnier Mustelier for a spot on the team. Mustelier is also being looked at as a possibility for third base, a position he played  while in Cuba.

Mesa to Skip WBC, Fight For LF Job

Melky Mesa waved good-bye to the WBC

Melky Mesa saw the opportunity and seized the moment. Scheduled to play in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), Mesa told the Dominican Republic that "Something suddenly came up!" and he would not participate. With Curtis Granderson sidelined until May, Mesa is among the players that is hoping to fill in when the team heads north to start the regular season.

Mesa showed good power in the minor leagues last season and for the past two games in Florida. He hit a no doubt about it home run against the Phillies on Friday after he belted a 3-run shot on Thursday. Thus far, La Leche II is 4-15 with 4 RBI, 2 stolen bases and a .979 OPS.

Among the other competitors is Cuban native Ronnier Mustelier who had an opposite field home run against the Phillies. The right-handed hitter is 3-7 so far and is coming off a season in which he played 89 games at Triple-A (10 home runs). He also narrowly escaped injury on Thursday when a hard charging Slade Heathcott collided with him on a fly ball. Mustelier caught the ball and hung on.

12-year veteran Juan Rivera is 6-13 (.462) with three doubles. Another veteran, Matt Diaz, is just 2-11 to date.

The Yankees have played very sloppy games so far in Spring Training and much of that has to do with the number of youngsters that have played so far. The Yankees committed five errors against the Orioles on Thursday and four more yesterday. As a result, only one of the four runs allowed by starter Hiroki Kuroda was earned. The Yankees lost the game, 10-5 and still have just one victory so far.

Joba Chamberlain allowed two hits, two walks, two runs in just one inning of work. Cody Eppley, like Kuroda, was hurt by errors and allowed four runs with just one earned.

Lefty Vidal Nuno impressed once again in three shutout innings. He has struck out nine batters in five innings this spring.

The Captain and Cash Visit With Francesa

Mike Francesa opened his WFAN radio show on Thursday with the Captain himself, Derek Jeter, and then brought on GM Brian Cashman to discuss the upcoming season.

Jeter maintains he will be ready for opening day, hedging just a little in saying he will need to get enough at-bats. Among the things Jeter discussed were:

1. He knew his ankle was broken in the ALCS the instant it happened. He was afraid to look at it though in case it was pointing in the wrong direction.

2. He likes the makeup of the current Yankees. It reminds him of the early teams he was on when the Yankees didn't need to rely so much on home runs to win games. Jeter further stated he prefers to play the type of baseball the Yankees will need to now play with so many home run bats missing from last year's lineup.

You can more of the interview at the YES Network.

Among the things that we learned from Cashman were:

1. The catching job will be held down by Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart. Why? Because they are out of options. Cashman didn't feel Austin Romine had any shot at the job when queried by Francesa. Since he has options and basically no Major League experience, Romine needs to start the season in Triple-A.

2. Cash was really hoping Russell Martin would return, but things couldn't be worked out. Francesa asked if there was any miscommunication between the Yankees and Martin, but Cash said there was none.

3. You can tell Cash does not love the WBC, but he has become accustomed to it and shrugged it off.

4. Cash expects Curtis Granderson back the first week of May. Until them the team will "evaluate what we have" and they will also check the waiver wires. Right now there is no player ahead of the others to win the left field job.

5. Francesa asked, "Is Nunez your insurance policy at shortstop?" - Cash said Nunez or (Jayson) Nix and said that the team may only carry one of them. Francesa also asked if Eduardo Nunez had the chance to be the right-handed DH. Cash said he wanted something more, which I would interrupt as someone with the more pop/power in his bat.

You can hear more of the interview at the YES Network website.

Thursday games wrap up

The wins and losses don't matter during Spring Training, but the efforts do. Though the Yankees lost both games on Thursday (against the Astros and Blue Jays), there were some high notes.

David Phelps tossed three scoreless innings in 1-0 loss to Toronto. He allowed a couple of hits, walked a batter and struck one out.  Reliever David Aardsma tossed a scoreless inning and Juan Rivera was 2-2.

The Yankees lost to the Astros 7-6 after they had built a 5-1 lead. All fives runs came in the 6th inning when Melky Mesa belted a 3-run home run. Mesa, who's full first name is Melquisedec, has been mentioned as a possible fill-in in left field until Curtis Granderson returns. Mesa only hit .230 in 33 games after an in-season promotion to Scranton last year, but had 9 HR and 21 RBI.  Zoilo Almonte continued to impress with a pair of hits and an RBI.

Not such a great start for Dellin Betances, who showed the control trouble he struggled with last year. In one inning against the Astros Betances walked two and struck out two. Betances averaged 8.3 walks per nine innings at Triple-A last year, which led to a demotion to Trenton. He was a little better there with an average of 4.8 walks per nine innings.

Chris Stewart did something you don't see too often in Spring Training. He was ejected for arguing a call at first base.

Go to Mo

Mariano Rivera took the next step in his return by throwing an 18 pitch simulated game.

E-3, Thank You Very Much

Eduardo Nunez, Pinball Wizard

The Yankees-Oakland A's series this weekend has been an exciting (agita) one. Friday night's series opener saw a great pitcher's duel between CC Sabathia and Jarrod Parker that the Yankees won in extras after Rafael Soriano blew the Yankees lead in the 9th.

Saturday went a few steps further; pitching was pretty mediocre, fielding even worse (by the A's), but when it was all over that word "improbable" was being bandied about again. Hey, I even got to use the word "bandied". In the end the Yankees pulled out an "improbable" 10-9 victory in 14 innings.

The Yankees had to go to Freddy Garcia for a 4th inning of relief due to a shortened bullpen (neither Soriano or David Robertson was available). Using Garcia for that length of time is like juggling sticks of dynamite. You know that eventually it's going to go off. Just ask Arzt - "Dude, you've got some Arzt on you".

The 13th inning is when things blew up for the Yankees. Garcia gave up a 2-run home run to Jonny Gomes (who really looks like he should be a professional wrestler) and followed that up by throwing a meatball to Yoenis Cespedes for a solo home run. Back-to-back and belly-to-belly is not so much fun when it's the other team.

Joe Girardi then went to a Red Sox castoff, you notice these guys never pitch well?, Justin Thomas who gave up a solo bomb to Chris Carter for a 9-5 A's lead. With the day game turning into a night game there weren't too many people left watching for an improbable victory. For shame, for what they missed out.

A's skipper Bob Melvin went to his 7th pitcher, Pedro Figueroa, to start the bottom half of the 13th. No relation to Ed Figueroa, as far as I know, the A's reliever surrendered singles to Ichiro Suzuki, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano to load the bases with no one out. John Sterling ran another ad for "this call to the bullpen..." and Pat Neshek came on.

The one time highly regarded Minnesota Twins product immediately threw a wild pitch to cut the lead to 9-6. Eduardo Nunez followed with a sac fly that halved the deficit and brought Raul Ibanez to the plate as the tying run. Ibanez had delivered a pinch-hit home run earlier in the game, his first long ball since August 5. It wasn't hist last of the day. The veteran of 17 seasons smashed Neshek's side winder into the right field seats to tie the game at 9 apiece. What was left of the crowd went bananas...or maybe that's because liquor had been cut out six innings earlier.

Corey Wade tossed a perfect 14th to set the stage for a walk off, well more of a stumble off, victory.  Tyson Ross replaced Neshek and gave up a lead off single to Eric Chavez. Derek Jeter sacrificed pinch-runner Melky Mesa (who ever though not one, but two Melky's would play in the Majors.), which led to an intentional walk to Ichiro.

A-Rod ripped a line drive to center that was hit too hard to score Mesa, but the bases were loaded with just one out. That quickly became two outs when Cano weak grounder to the right side was fielded by Ross, who got the force out at home. But the A's, who already had two errors, thrown three wild pitches, balked, and hit a batter, were happy to oblige once more.  Nunez hit a sharp grounder that ricocheted off first baseman Branon Moss for the A's third error of the day and enabled Mesa to score the game winner, the Yankees seventh straight victory.

Notes

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, and thank you to NJ.com's Jeff Bradley, the Yankees came back from a 4-run deficit in extra innings and won for just the second time in franchise history. The firs time was back on September 17, 1980 against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Derek Jeter's 1-7 performance extended his hitting streak to 16 games, but it is now unlike the captain can catch Miguel Cabrera for the batting lead. Jeter dropped to .321 while Cabrera's 1-4 performance left him at .332. Mike Trout is in between at .325.

Steve Pearce did his best Mark Teixeira imitation yesterday, making a pair of diving stabs to save the game.