Greene Baseballs and A Ham

Shane Greene has waited for this moment since he was selected by the Yankees in the 15th round of the 2009 MLB amateur draft. Sure, he's had a cup of coffee, a very tiny cup, in the Majors already. That came on April 24 when he put on the Yankees' road greys with a  #39 on the back and strode out to the mound against the Boston Red Sox. It didn't end well.

Greene only got one out, walked three batters, and allowed three unearned runs. Well, at least his ERA is still 0.00. Tonight the Yankees are counting on Greene to last a lot longer than that when he makes a spot start against the Indians in Cleveland. Hopefully there will be no midges.

This would have been Vidal Nuno's start, but the lefty was dealt to Arizona on Sunday for Brandon McCarthy. With McCarthy on his way, it was just logical for the Yankees to grab Greene for one start. The 25-year old has made 15 appearances this year, 13 of them starts, for the Triple-A Scranton RailRiders. His 5-2 record, 4.61. and 1.583 WHIP means the Yankees will have a long man ready early to back him up.

Greene opened some eyes last year, when he made 26 starts (plus one relief appearance) between Scranton and Double-A Trenton. His combined sub-4.00 ERA, 1.328 ERA, and better than eight K's per nine innings gave him a legitimate shot to be a call-up this season. His command issues and more than a hit allowed per inning caused a professional setback.

But Greene can open some eyes again tonight with solid start.

Oh, the ham? That would be the Indians' Nick Swisher.

Yankees Trade For Brandon McCarthy. Is Anyone Cheering?

So a little while ago a friend texted me and others that the Yankees traded Vidal Nuno to Arizona for Diamondbacks starter Brandon McCarthy. The reactions were What? Why? LMAO. No, no one thinks the Yankees needed to hold on to Nuno. But Brandon McCarthy?

While at first I had forgotten that McCarthy is no longer a fly ball and thought the Yankees were acquiring a Phil Hughes "arm doppelganger", my opinion is still that he's not a good pitcher. (I'm being nice there)

This season McCarthy is tops in the National League in hits and earned runs allowed. His 5.01 ERA and 1.377 WHIP, and 15 home runs allowed (second worst of his career after only 18 starts) are too many crooked numbers, to paraphrase ol' Jim Kaat. Throw in a -0.5 WAR and you can see why no one is doing cartwheels.

There are some positives. The Diamondbacks, for unknown reasons, are paying the remainder of McCarthy's $10.25MM salary and $1MM assignment bonus. McCarthy has rung up a career high 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings and has walked just 1.6 batters per game. Of course, you can't walk batters when they are too busy getting hits off of you.

McCarthy's best years came when he called the very pitcher-friendly Oakland A's (Oakland-Alameda County Colisuem) ballpark home. He led the AL with a 2.86 ERA in 2011, the first year in which he converted from getting fly balls to getting hitters to keep it on the ground. (While getting ground balls is better in Yankee Stadium, the Yankees infield defense could cost McCarthy some outs.) He also had a solid 2012 season with the A's before a line drive to the head caused serious injuries and ended his season early. In the offseason he departed Oakland for a free agent deal with the lowly Diamondbacks.

His numbers in his first year in the desert were only slight better than this season. A 4.53 ERA, 10.7 hits per nine innings, compared to 10.8 this season, and a .325 BAbip  (Batting average on balls put in play). This year, hitters have a .347 BAbip against McCarthy.

While the right-hander's numbers are worse at home, his road figures aren't much better.better. And remember, that 5.01 ERA is primarily against National League teams, which in essence fields an eight man lineup. (You might even consider it seven batters the way the eight man in the order gets pitched around to get to the pitcher.)

A few things factored in McCarthy being acquired by the Yankees. 1.) The Yankees have no Major League talent ready to help in the rotation. 2) The Yankees don't have the prospects to deal for a better pitcher. 3.) See 1 and 2.

McCarthy is an upgrade over Nuno, but nothing to get excited about.

Yankees Get Anna-mated in Extra

Dean Anna took a long road to the Major Leagues. After six years of minor league ball, spent in the San Diego Padres organization, Anna signed with the Yankees this past Winter as a free agent.  He came to Spring Training knowing the Yankees already had incumbents Eduardo Nunez and Brendan Ryan as utility infielders and backups to starting shortstop Derek Jeter.

But a funny thing happened on the way to being demoted to Scranton. Anna played too well, as did fellow rookie Yangervis Solarte, to go away. Anna received some unfortunate help when Ryan had to go on the disabled list after he suffered a pair of back injuries. When the powers that be decided they can no longer trust Nunez's defensive play, Anna made his first opening day roster at 27-years of age. Solarte, at 26, joined him.

Sunday afternoon in Tampa Bay, Anna had one of the biggest at-bats of his big league career. It came one day after he was called on to pitch an inning the eighth inning of a 16-1 Rays' blowout. With the Yankees and Rays tied at one apiece and two outs in the 14th inning, the left-handed hitting Anna came to the plate with the bases loaded against rookie left-hander C.J. Riefenhauser, who was making his Major League debut.

Anna battled through eight pitches, coming back from being down in the count 1 and 2 to being ahead, 3 and 2. (He fouled off a pair of 2-2 pitches) Riefenhauser went to a slider away that Anna started to chase, but held up. First base umpire Rob Drake agreed and Anna happily trotted to first as Brett Gardner came home with the go ahead run.

The Yankees then broke the game open, on a Carlos Beltran 2-run single and an RBI single by Alfonso Soriano, off Josh Lueke. The Rays put two men aboard in the bottom of the 12th against Preston Claiborne, who was recalled from Scranton earlier in the day, but the right-hander retired Ben Zobrist and Logan Forsythe to preserve the win.

Replay helped the Yankees score the first run of the game in the 4th inning. With Soriano on second base, Gardner hit a deep drive that he thought was a home run, but Wil Myers appeared to make the catch for the third out. Joe Girardi challenged the call and won when video replay showed Myers snaring the ball after it hit the top of the wall.

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?

Steinbrenners Must Decide: Pass or Play

The Yankees need their big man to come through in the clutch.

The All-Star break has arrived and the New York Yankees are slowly fading into the sunset or AL East basement. If not for the underachieving Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees would already be dwelling in the place where no Yankee has finished since 1990. That team won just 67 games and finished last among seven teams. It's remarkable that entering Sunday's play the Yankees were only six games out of first place.

It's all well and good that the Steinbrenners want to meet a $189MM payroll goal next year, but they have to decide what to do this year. Either make moves, somewhat regardless of salary implications, to try to make the playoffs or sell parts and start to build next year's team.

Injuries and salaries have hamstrung the current squad and the chances of getting those injured players back are getting less and less probable. Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis are already out for the year. Derek Jeter came back after missing the entire season and immediately got hurt with a different injury. Will his second half be a wash or will he contribute? 

Curtis Granderson broke a forearm when he was hit by a pitch, then it was his finger's turn when he came back and got hit by another pitch. He has just gotten the go ahead to take dry swings. A return in mid-August seems to be the likeliest scenario..

Francisco Cervelli appeared to be very close to a return from a broken hand when an old elbow injury acted up. He's also facing possible suspension due to the Biogenesis case.  Speaking of which, Alex Rodriguez is on a slow road back from his second off-season hip surgery and may be hit with a whopper of a suspension. Rumors came out on Sunday that A-Rod was working a plea deal with MLB. Considering this is not yet a judicial matter for A-Rod, the term "plea deal" is awfully strange for this process.

The Yankees need help with their lineup, starting rotation, and bullpen. Hiroki Kuroda has emerged as the ace of the staff with CC Sabathia in a #2 or #3 slot. Sabathia is as competitive as ever, but his fastball and pitch location is not what it was. Andy Pettitte has won a couple of games of late, but has struggled for most of the year and has looked more like a #5 starter than a middle of the rotation guy.

Some of the help for the pitching staff could come from within the organization. Ivan Nova has appeared to recapture his 2011 form, but that is based on a small sampling of work. That being said, his last two starts have produced 17 innings pitched, 17 strikeouts and just three runs (1.59 ERA). He's also limited opponents to eight hits and three walks (0.65 WHIP). Nova has allowed nine earned runs in 35.1 innings (2.29 ERA) over his last six appearances, half of which were starts.

The secret weapon/unknown factor could be Michael Pineda, who has returned strong from career threatening shoulder surgery. It appears that Yankees want to take things slowly with their prized possession, acquired from Seattle in the Jesus Montero deal. After a rehab stint, the Yankees activated Pineda and sent him to Scranton to continue his way back to the Major Leagues. The hard throwing right-hander has had mixed results in his two starts. He allowed two runs and struck out seven over five innings in a win against Lehigh Valley, but gave up a pair of home runs and six runs in four innings in a loss to Syracuse.

Then there's Vidal Nuno, who was impressive in Spring Training and made three starts and a couple of relief appearances in April and May. The southpaw allowed four runs over 17 innings in his starts, but won just one of them due to a lack of run support. Unfortunately, he's been out of action since June 8 with a strained groin.

Among the current starters, Phil Hughes continues to look good one moment and bad the next. Sometimes both at the same time as he did Saturday against the Twins in his final start before the All-Star break. Hughes dominated for much of the game, but allowed four runs and three home runs and took a tough loss. Word is that the Yankees are aggressively shopping him and they should. They need to get near-ready prospects or a Major Leaguer in return rather than wait to see if the draft pick they get as compensation when Hughes leaves, will pan out.

David Phelps started out strong, but has struggled of late and ended up on the DL. Phelps could move back to the pen, possibly sharing a long man role with Adam Warren,  or work on his stuff in Scranton, or return to the rotation.  The Yankees might even try Warren as a starter since he's done such a good job in long relief. A lot will depend on how Nova does while Phelps is out or if Hughes is moved.

Brian Cashman could look at the number of pending free agents to supply another starter as well.  There's quite a list of starters that might be available, but not a lot of quality.

Matt Garza: The Cubs right-hander had a stress fracture in his elbow last season and a latissimus dorsi strain during Spring Training this year. He came back seven weeks later and has been an effective member of the Cubs' starting rotation. Garza is 6-1, 3.17 with a 1.141 WHIP and 62 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched. With his  fastball clocked in the mid-90s, the 29-year old is in demand. ESPN's Bruce Levine has Toronto and Texas as the leading candidates to land the former Tampa Bay Ray. Thus far there has not been any indication the Yankees are interested. (At least if the Yankees did get Garza they can rip that ugly as hell goatee off of him.) Whoever does land Garza will pay a hefty price to land him.

Ervin Santana: This guy is one of the biggest enigmas in baseball. One minute he looks like he's pitching likeJohan Santana (Ervin's actual real name) in his hey day with the Twins, the next he's pitching like Carlos Santana...the guitarist not the Indians catcher. He's had two seasons with an ERA above 4.00 and three season over 5.00. He's also had four seasons under 4.00 and once finished 6th in the AL CY Young voting.
Santana is a streaky pitcher in the way some sluggers are streaky home run hitters. It's hard to tell what you'll get out of him from one start to the next. So far he's not available, but I would expect that to change.

Bronson Arroyo: It's hard to believe that Arroyo is 36-years old. It seems like just yesterday he was a young, brash pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and mouthing off to A-Rod. Arroyo's been in Cincinnati eight years now after Theo's Epstein dealt him for Wily Mo Pena. Yes, Epstein would like to forget that deal ever happened. Arroyo is one shy of 100 victories in a Reds uniform and has been a workhorse, averaging better than 200 innings a season. With the Reds in the thick of a pennant race he isn't likely to go anywhere.

Of the three, the Yankees have the best shot at getting Santana.

Unfortunately, the remaining pending free agents are either not available (i.e. Atlanta's Tim Hudson) or aren't any better than what the Yankees have now (Guys like Jorge De La Rosa and Jason Vargas). Another option for Cashman is try to obtain a pitcher currently on a team that is already out of the pennant race. One such pitcher would be John Danks from the Chicago "almost everything must go sale" White Sox. On the plus side, Danks is left-handed, but he is coming off shoulder surgery and is ridiculously overpaid at $14.25MM a year and has three more years on his current contract. No thanks.

Kyle Lohse is on a horrible Brewers team, but is in the first year of a three year, $33MM contract. Lohse also seems to be strictly a National League pitcher. He wasn't very good or consistent in the AL. Perhaps a pitcher like Kyle Kendrick could become available closer to the deadline if the Phillies decide to rework the team. That is the biggest problem in trying to obtain front line talent. There are just too many teams still in the playoff race, particularly with the addition of a second wild card in both leagues.

For now it looks like the Yankees will have to do some fixing from within. Guys like Nova and Pineda may be better than anything Brian Cashman can up with in the next month.

Wang Headed to Toronto

Chien-Ming Wang is headed back to the Major Leagues according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman. The Yankees signed their former two time 19-game winner prior to this season and assigned him to the minor leaguers. Wang's deal had a number of target dates that gave him the opportunity to leave the organization if the Yankees didn't call him up from Scranton. That day has come.

Wang was offered a Major League deal by the Toronto Blue Jays and will be the team's starting pitcher when the team faces the White Sox in Chicago on Tuesday.

Wang was 4-4, 2.33 in nine starts, but his trademark, hard biting sinker was only clocked in the 88-90 mph range instead of the 93-95 he used to throw.  Rookie Vidal Nuno's success and the possible return of Michael Pineda made Wang expendable.

Good luck to the Wanger, one of my favorite Yankees of the last decade.

Nuno and Nova Hop on the Scranton Shuttle

Much to my surprise it was two pitchers that were removed from the 25-man roster to make room for the return of Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira this evening.

I figured that Vidal Nuno would be sent down upon the return of Andy Pettitte, but with Nuno unavailable after a six inning outing on Thursday night, he became the logical choice for one of the demotions. Nova threw five-plus innings of relief on Wednesday, so he too would be unavailable and the move allows Brian Cashman more time to project a long term plan.

Both players can throw on a regular day at Scranton rather than shorten the Yankees bench by remaining in the Major Leagues.

Sending Out An SOS: Yankees Need the Cavalry

Teams lose to other teams. Some of those other teams might not be as good as the losing team. It happens - well Suzyn, you can't predict baseball, etc.  The Yankees lost four straight to the Mets after Thursday night's 3-1 debacle (at least the game was quick) and have dropped five straight overall as they head into a much more important series with the Boston Red Sox this weekend.

Vidal Nuno pitched beautifully for six innings, but allowed a 2-run home run to Marlon Byrd in the early going. That's about one or two runs more than the Yankees can handle these days. The bats are coming back to Earth, which means the Friday arrival of Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis is coming just in the nick of time.

The Mets starter for Thursday night was Dillon Gee. The 27-year old Texan had made 10 starts this season prior to the finale with the Yankees. In those 10 games, Gee allowed less than three earned runs just three times and recorded an out in the 7th inning just once. So tonight Gee and his 6.34 ERA threw 7.1 innings and struck out 12 Yankees. His season high had been six strikeouts, which he accomplished twice. The only blemish on his stat line was a solo home run served up to Robinson Cano.

The Yankees hitting a brick wall was not unexpected; it's about the only thing they can hit right now. There were signs of this earlier in the season, but the lineup bounced back. Not so in the series with their crosstown rivals. So Brian Cashman has some decisions to finalize tonight. With two everyday players returning, room needs to be made on the 25-man roster, and for Teixeira, on the 40-man roster as well.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Cashman was quite frank when he spoke Tuesday to ESPN radio's Don LaGreca concerning the future of first baseman Lyle Overbay. Though the 36-year old has done a marvelous job (The YES Network showed a graphic prior to tonight's game that showed Overbay's numbers after 50 games were very similar to Teixeira's first 50 games in 2012.), his position limitation does not make him an ideal candidate for the everyday roster. Things are even more complicated when you consider Travis Hafner cannot play a position at all.

Letting Overbay go with no return would be a terrible mistake (he certainly would not pass through waivers without being claimed), but he's the logical choice to be removed from the roster.

The second player is likely to be David Adams who has been seeing most of the playing time at third base since he was recalled from Triple-A on May 15. Despite the organization's love of his bat, Adams should be sent back to Scranton to play every day.  Another less likely option would be to get rid of recently acquired Reid Brignac, but the Yankees don't have another infielder besides Jayson Nix that can handle shortstop.

The Yankees also announced that Andy Pettitte would be returning to start Monday's game against Cleveland. Thursday's starter Vidal Nuno would be the logical choice to go back to Scranton.

Yankees Treat Rodney With No Respect

"I blame that guy in the upper deck."

Fernando Rodney had a season for the ages as the Tampa Bay Rays closer last year. Given the opportunity when the incumbent, Kyle Farnsworth was felled by an injury, Rodney made the most of his chances.

The right-hander saved a career high 48 games in 50 chances, allowed just five earned runs in 74.2 innings pitched (0.60 ERA), and had a 5:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Where did this guy come from? Any fan of the Detroit Tigers or Los Angeles Angels had to ask that question. Where was the guy inconsistent guy who couldn't hold on to his closer job? The guy that was an inconsistent set up man; the guy with 37 career blown saves.

Guess what? He's ba-aaaack. Rodney blew his fifth save opportunity in 14 attempts Saturday when the Yankees rallied from two down in the 9th inning to tie the game at three apiece. Lyle Overbay won it for the Yankees, who have taken the first two games of the three game series, with a home run off Josh Lueke.

But the Yankees would not have gotten there if not for Rodney's contribution. Down 3-1, despite another solid effort by starter Vidal Nuno (6 IP 5 H 2 ER 1 BB 2 K), the Yankees were down to their final out when Rodney walked Overbay.  After Overbay took second base on fielder's indifference, Brennan Boesch, recalled due to the injury to Curtis Granderson, laced a ball into left field that plated Overbay.

Brett Gardner got ahead in the count 3-1 before he drove a ball back to shallow center for an RBI single that tied the game. The rally went no further when Gardner was thrown out as he tried to steal second. A poor choice by Gardner with Robinson Cano at the plate.

The game nearly came to an end in the bottom of the 10th when Ivan Nova made his first relief appearance since he was activated from the disabled list. The Rays loaded the bases with one out, but Nova struck out James Loney and retired Matt Joyce on a ground out. Then it was Overbay time, or should I say Overtampabay time.

Overbay hit nine home runs in 440 plate appearances in 2011; his game winner on Saturday was his eighth home run in 172 PAs. Overbay has continued to  come through in the clutch after it appeared his career might be over after the 2012 season. The Diamondbacks released him last August and Atlanta picked him up for the last month of the 2012 season. Overbay signed with the Boston Red Sox in January, but was released in late March and was quickly picked up the Yankees. The Red Sox loss was the Yankees gain as Overbay has been one of the early season surprises.

Notes

The Yankees had lost 13 of 16 at the Trop before winning back-to-back games. The Yankees were fortunate that Matt Moore surpassed the 100 pitch mark early and left after six innings. He remains unbeaten this season at 8-0.

Nuno had allowed just one run when he left, but Shawn Kelley and Boone Logan combined to allowed an inherited runner to score in the Rays two-run 7th inning.

Mariano Rivera recorded his 18th straight save chance.

Nova Activated, Betances Back to Scranton

Hello..is this my agent..they're putting me in the bullpen!

Ivan Nova was activated from the 15-Day disabled list Friday night, and for the time being was placed in the bullpen. With Friday night's starter David Phelps outpitching Nova this season, and the Yankees wanting to take another look at Vidal Nuno, the bullpen move made sense.

Nova went on the DL on April 27 with an inflammed right triceps. He worked with pitching coach Larry Rotschild on Thursday to simulate situations a reliever would be in. Nova has appeared in just four games as a reliever in 70 regular season Major League appearances.

Joe Girardi plans to bring Nova in at the start of an inning, but of course sometimes game plans go out the window. After a 16-4 rookie season, Nova has struggled the last two years. He was 1-1, 6.48 with a 1.860 WHIP in four starts this season.

Dellin Betances was sent down to Scranton to make room on the 25-man roster.

Pettitte DL Bound

The speculation is over, Andy Pettitte is going on the 15-Day DL and Vidal Nuno is doing an about face and coming back to the Bronx.

Pettitte felt discomfort in his trapezius (upper back) muscle during Thursday night's start with Seattle and left before the end of the 5th inning.  Nuno will take Pettitte's turn in the rotation, at least until Ivan Nova returns. (Nova could take the place of Nuno or David Phelps.)

Chris Stewart will be on the bench tonight and can play in a pinch. Alberto Gonzalez is the emergency third string catcher (which means he's praying not to have to catch.)  No word if Brian Cashman is looking around for a suitable back up if Stewart doesn't feel better soon.

Grandy Ready to Clean Up, Nuno Demoted

Curtis Granderson is back in familiar surroundings, though not as familiar as they once were. Penciled into the lineup as the clean up hitter in his return against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, Granderson is in left field instead of his accustomed center field spot.

It's not surprising that Joe Girardi decided to keep Brett Gardner in the middle of the outfield since he's the better defender. It's just the 23rd game of a nine year career for Granderson in left field. Offensively, he's 5-20 with two extra base hits when positioned on the left side.

To make room on the 25-man roster Vidal Nuno was sent down to Scranton in an expected move. Since he was not going to be available for five days it made sense.

There may be another roster spot opening up soon; it was bound to happen at some point, just like it did with Kevin Youkilis. The injury bug has taken a bit out of Travis Hafner. The Yankees DH has struggled of late and it may be in part due to soreness in his right shoulder. He's headed for an MRI and further examination.

The Kids Are Hot Tonight: Nuno, Warren Earn Split

When you've got Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, and Kevin Youkilis missing from your everyday lineup, people need to step up their game. It's not just the seasoned veterans, but the youngsters as well. Pitchers Vidal Nuno and Adam Warren did just that Monday afternoon to lead the Yankees to a 7-0 win and a split of a "true" doubleheader with Cleveland Indians.

Another youngster, David Phelps, was outstanding in Game 1,but lost 1-0 to Justin Masteron. A Jason Kipnis first inning home run was the only damage done to the Yankees pitching. Nuno and Warren topped that performance by combining on a shutout that gave Nuno his first Major League win and Warren his first Major League save.

Nuno was outstanding in Spring Training and there was talk that he could make the team as a lefty reliever out of the bullpen. Having not pitched above Double-A, the Yankees felt it was better to have Nuno start every fifth day at Triple-A Scranton. Last month I spoke with Scranton RailRiders beat writer Donnie Collins who had this to say about Nuno: "He started tonight. I think he's a starter. Doesn't have great reliever splits."

Nuno threw 14.2 innings in the exhibition season and allowed just one earned run, 12 hits and four walks, while he struck out 13. He had made four starts for Scranton this season and was equally good. 23.1 innings pitched,  four earned runs, 13 hits, two walks, and 26 strikeouts. That translated to a 1.54 ERA, a league batting average of .157 against him, and a 0.64 WHIP.

The California native threw five innings in frigid Cleveland today and left with a 1-0 lead. He allowed three hits, three walks, and struck out three. Warren came on in the 6th and continued his impressive first month-plus in the big leagues. In a post last week I talked about how he has turned a lot of heads, including my own, after being so solid in the wake of a horrible Spring Training and a poor showing when he got called up for a cup of coffee last year.

Warren's allowed three runs in 18.2 innings, 14 hits, six walks, and has struck out 15. Today's outing lowered his ERA to 1.45 and his WHIP to 1.07. It was his third appearance of three innings or more innings as he continues to give the bullpen a break.

Nuno and Warren had to be spot on due to the Yankees lack of offense. After being shut out in the opener the Yankees managed to score just a single run (on Vernon Wells' RBI ground out) through the first six innings. Then the kiddie corps got it going again in the 7th inning. Corban Joseph, called up only because teams can add a 26th player for a doubleheader, reached on a lead off double. It was Joseph's first Major League hit. Austin Romine followed with a double of his own off start Trevor Bauer to pick up his first Major League RBI. You catching the theme here?

Jayson Nix, Wells, and Lyle Overbay each contributed RBI hits against to break things open against the Indians pen.

It was an especially big win after the Yankees had their four game winning streak snapped in the first game and with the prospect of having to face Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.

Notes

Wells is 10-26 (.385) over his last seven games with 3 HR and 9 RBI.

Yankees Juggling Roster Like a Street Performer

Brett Marshall now in "The Show"

Monday's doubleheader  with the Cleveland Indians created some roster changes for the Yankees. Second baseman Corban Joseph was recalled with the "26 man" rule - you can add a 26th player to your roster if there's a doubleheader, but the player must get sent back to the minors afterwards.

Since it's an additional player and Joseph was already on the 40-man roster, no corresponding move needed to be made. Joseph played first base to give Lyle Overbay a rest and did a nice job defensively. He started at second base in the second game with Robinson Cano getting a partial game off as DH.

To help the bullpen out, Brett Marshall was called up to be a potential long man for Game 2. The Yankees sent outfielder Brennan Boesch down to Scranton. Of his 96 career minor league appearances Marshall has pitched in relief just twice. The 23-year old was 2-2, 4.60 in six starts this season, his first, at Triple-A Scranton.

Boesch was picked up in Spring Training after he was released by the Detroit Tigers. A good power hitter, Boesch will wildly inconsistent while he played in the Motor City. Boesch had just 41 plate appearances in 19 games and produced just two home runs, five RBI, one double, and one triple. He started just 10 games this season, including the first game of the doubleheader, and produced a .680 OPS.

It's possible that Curtis Granderson, who has swung the bat well in Scranton, could be recalled from his rehab stint (from the broken arm he suffered in Spring Training) to take Boesch's place.

David Phelps pitched his heart out in Monday's opener, a Jason Kipnis home run the only run he allowed in 6.2 innings pitched. The Yankees couldn't muster anything against Indians starter Justin Masterson and were shutout for the third time in May, 1-0. The prior two losses were both 2-0 scores to Oakland and Colorado.

Vidal Nuno made his first Major League start in the Game 2 against Trevor Bauer.

Yankees Get a Dose of the Green Wave

His name sounds more like a character from an old southern novel, but Preston Claiborne is indeed a pitcher. Make that, Major League pitcher. The 25-year old will be donning the pinstripes of the New York Yankees this evening (Friday).

Claiborne's call up came when Joba Chamberlain was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained oblique. I'm sure Cody Eppley was getting ready for the Scranton-Bronx shuttle, but instead Eppley was designated for assignment so Claiborne could be added to the 40-man roster.

The native of Dallas, Texas was drafted in the 23rd round of the 2006 MLB amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but turned them down to attend Tulane University. The Yankees selected Claiborne in the 17th round in 2010 and the reliever put pen to paper on a deal.

Claiborne overwhelmed younger hitters in rookie ball (Staten Island) to the tune of 10.4 K/per 9 innings. That earned him a promotion to Tampa where he spent the entire 2011 season.  After he posted a 2.22 ERA and struck out better than nine batters per nine innings in 498 games at Double-A Trenton, Claiborne got finished up the 2012 season at Triple-A Scranton. That's who he was playing for this season when he got the call.

In 10.1 innings pitched, Claiborne had struck 10 hitters and walked just one. That new found control may have been the ticket to his promotion. Claiborne had previously walked three or four batters per nine innings. He's likely to be used in mop and long man roles, and it should inherit the job of carrying the pink backpack of supplies from fellow rookie Vidal Nuno.

Yankees Ordering Bubble Wrap To Protect Players

The Yankees regulars continue to drop flies, with both Francisco Cervelli and Ivan Nova gone from Friday night's game with Toronto by the third inning.

Cervelli took a foul tip off his right hand and the Twitter rumor mill has him suffering a fracture of some type. Michael Kay mentioned that Austin Romine was pulled in the middle of an inning for Scranton this evening, which means he is on his way to New York. Hopefully Chris Stewart stays healthy for the remainder of the evening.

John Flahert tweeted that he will be playing in his first Old Timer's game in June. I responded that he may have to play tonight if Stewart goes down.

Nova meanwhile was in a 1-1 game when he left for an unknown reason. He allowed a base hit and immediately was joined at the mound by Stewart, the home plate ump, Joe Girardi, and trainer Steve Donahue. He was replaced by David Phelps, who would be a candidate to slide into the rotation if Nova misses any time.

UPDATE - 8:35 PM - Cervelli has a fractured hand that will require surgery and will miss a minimum of six weeks. Meanwhile Nova felt elbow pain and is going for an MRI.

Aardsma Released As We Get Down to the Wire

Joe Girardi's lukewarm praise of David Aardsma- "He's been good"- was an omen that Aardsma's days in Yankees camp were numbered. Aardsma's number was up today as the Yankees designated him for assignment.

Among those sent to the minors were Vidal Nuno, the left-hander who was named as the winner of the James P. Dawson Award for the best rook in camp. I really thought Nuno would make the squad, but perhaps Brian Cashman would rather see him starting games every five days for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders rather than throwing parts of an inning here and there at the Major League level.

Also reassigned to the minor leagues were outfielder Melky Mesa and pitcher Jim Miller, both of whom had legitimate chances to make the squad. Pitcher Sam Demel, picked up on waivers yesterday, was sent outright to Scranton, while pitchers Preston Claiborne, Branden Pinder, Juan Cedeno, Josh Spence,  catcher Bobby Wilson, infielders Dan Johnson, Jose Pirela, Gil Velazquez and outfielders Thomas Neal were sent to the minor league camp.

The Yankees added Jayson Nix and Ben Francisco to the Major League roster and re-signed infielder David Adams to a minor league contract. Adams had been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

So, he says, who is going north now?

C -  Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart
1B - Lyle Overbay
2B - Robinson Cano
SS - Eduardo Nunez
3B - Kevin Youkilis
LF - Vernon Wells
CF - Brett Gardner
RF - Ichiro Suzuki
UT - Jayson Nix
OF - Ben Francisco, Brennan Boesch
DH - Travis Hafner
SP - CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, David Phelps, Ivan Nova
RP - Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan, Shawn Kelley, Cody Eppley

That leaves one one pitcher's spot open. It's possible it will be Adam Warren, who will get the start against the West Point. If not Warren, it likely would be a pitcher not currently on the 40-man roster.

Also, though there is no room on the 25-man squad, Ronnier Mustelier has not been shuttled someone where else as of yet. As I mentioned before I would love to see him get some big league AB's early, but a banged up knee has not helped his cause.

Ramon Hernandez was released by the Rockies today. The veteran catcher stands to make $3.2MM this year. II would get a deal done in a heartbeat if Colorado was willing to include $2MM. Then we could say good bye to Chris Stewart and his overrated defensive game.

Yankees Opening Day Roster: 25 Men Once More Unto the Breach

"How the hell did I get here?"

With Opening Day a mere week away (let's hope it warms up by then), the Yankees 25-man roster next Monday will undoubtedly contain some surprises, some temporary players, and should elicit plenty of head shaking and maybe some hand wringing by fans who already think the Yankees are down and out for all of 2013.

Some spots are obvious, while others are based on numbers, my hunches, and throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks.

There's a good chance the worrywarts are right; after all the opening day roster will not include Derek Jeter (resistance is futile), Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, Clay Rapada, and Phil Hughes. All are or will be on the disabled list to start the season. The only one (relatively) assured of a quick return is Hughes, who is being penciled in to return on April 7.

The biggest surprise on the roster, of course, will be Vernon Wells once a deal is finalized. The Yankees and Angels are still working out the details,  but a failed physical would be the only thing to nix a deal at this point. Wells has a no-trade clause, but will waive it for the opportunity to play. Brian Cashman is banking on Wells' Spring Training performance (1.112 OPS, 4 HR, 11 RBI in 36 At-Bats) carrying over to the regular season. Wells took to Twitter last night to tell everyone how stoked he is about it.

Joining Wells in the outfield will be starters Brett Gardner in center field and Ichiro Suzuki in right field. That leaves room for two more outfielders. The front runners at this point should be lefty Brennan Boesch and righty Ben Francisco.

Melky Mesa would be better served by playing every day in the minor leagues, while veteran Juan Rivera should be released (a .316 exhibition average, but no home runs and a .404 slugging pct.) even though he has been seeing time at first base as well.

Robinson Cano will be the only regular infielder from last year's team to be in the opening day lineup. You can't blame Cashman if he takes preventative measures and covers his second baseman in bubble wrap. Cano, a free agent after the coming season, turned down a "significant" contract extension in Spring Training, but the Yankees need him for the long term. He's the Yankees best player with the bat and glove.

Cano will have company in the infield with Kevin Youkilis, but will the former Red Sox primarily play to the left or right of Cano?  Youkilis was signed to supplant Rodriguez at third base, but when Teixeira went down  the Yankees needed to add another corner infielder.

The team has given Cuban born expatriate Ronnier Mustelier a good long look at third base. Mustelier has been an outfielder in the Yankees farm system, but played the hot corner in his native land. The Yankees like his bat and Mustelier gave them some more food for thought on Sunday when he hit a walk-off home run.

With Jeter on the DL, Eduardo Nunez will get the bulk of the playing time at shortstop, but Nunez has to play steady defense to keep it that way. Jayson Nix will return as the utility player and could get some increased playing time if Mustelier and/or Rivera don't make the squad. The feeling here is that Mustelier makes the team, which means that Youkilis will see more time at first base than third base.

The catching situation, or better yet the lack thereof, has been a no-brainer all Spring Training. Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart will be the team's two catchers...barring a last minute move like the one that occurred last year when Stewart came in at the last moment and Cervelli was sent to the minors.

Travis Hafner will be the left-handed hitting DH and will split time with any number of players.

That leaves the pitching staff, which has not been able to escape the injury bug either. CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Andy Pettitte are back as the first three starters in the rotation. Hughes will occupy the fourth spot when he returns from the DL. The fifth spot will be the winner of the Spring Training battle between Ivan Nova and David Phelps, though left-hander  Vidal Nuno has to be considered a dark horse for the spot.

Both Phelps and Nova had pitched well until recently, but Nova has been knocked around in his last two starts and Phelps got raked over the coals in his last appearance. Phelps' success in the pen last year could have an influence on Joe Girardi's decision on who ends up where, but the Yankees' manager has not publicly given any idea of who will earn the final spot in the rotation.

The bullpen will have Mariano Rivera back as closer, his repaired ACL holding up well so far. The bigger concern at the moment are the headaches he has been having. The preliminary diagnosis is migrains, but Rivera is undergoing tests (i.e. MRI) as a precaution.

David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain and his cheesy mustache, and Boone Logan will all be back, though there is an outside chance Logan could start the season on the disabled list if his inflamed left elbow acts up prior to opening day. With Rapada on the DL, the Yankees should keep Nuno as the second lefty in the bullpen.

That leaves 3-4 spots in the pen depending on whether Girardi wants to go with a 12 or 13 man staff to start the season. I'm going to go with the assumption, right or wrong, that either Nova and Phelps make the team, but not both.  The "loser" in the competition should pitch every fifth day for Scranton rather than throw out of the pen.

That leaves three spots on the 25-man roster to be occupied by relievers. One goes to David Aardsma, who looks good as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Jim Miller (inexplicably waived by the A's in the Fall and claimed by the Yankees) has had some control trouble, but overall has pitched well. The one disadvantage  facing Miller is not being on the 40-man roster.

Shawn Kelley has the advantage of being on the 40-man as well as having the ability to strike out more than one batter per inning. Though his Spring numbers don't look good at first blanch, Kelley was one of the best acquisitions this off-season (for  outfielder Abe Almonte) and should make the team.

The Yankees' 40-man roster is currently completely full  so some changes will have to be made to fit Wells and Miller, should the latter make the team. Mark Teixeira will wind up on the 60-day DL to open one spot and another will likely come from a player being designated for assignment. Based on his Spring Training performance (16 ER in 17.2 IP)  and his average numbers at Scranton the last two years I would say Adam Warren is the likely candidate. (Perhaps he'll be dealt for Wells.)

So the 25-man roster on April 1 would like this (Hopefully I just counted that all correctly and didn't leave an obvious player out.):

Outfield (5)

Ichiro
Gardner
Wells
Boesch
Francisco

Infield (5)

Cano
Youkilis
Nunez
Nix
Mustelier

Catcher (2)

Cervelli
Stewart

DH (1)

Hafner

Pitcher (12)

Sabathia
Kuroda
Pettitte
Nova/Phelps
Rivera
Logan
Robertson
Chamberlain
Nuno
Aardsma
Kelley
Miller


There's no guess as to how long the aforementioned players will be with the big squad as Hughes, Jeter, Granderson, Rapada and hopefully, Teixeira return. Just please return, SOON!


UPDATE - 3/26 8 A.M. - Chad Jennings of the LoHud Journal pointed out some important factors to the make up of the roster. Juan Rivera must either be released today or receive a $100K retention bonus.

Rivera has earned the clause due to service time in the Major Leagues. None of the other veterans brought in on minor league deals have the same contingency in place. WFAN's Sweeny Murti told Mike Francesa yesterday that he felt Rivera would make the team because of the lack of first basemen on the team.  The Yankees may not want to risk playing Nix, Mustelier or someone else regularly at third base with Youkiliks sliding over to first base, but Rivera has nothing left in his bat and should be let go.

Getting back to Jennings, he also reported that Mark Teixeira will NOT be on the 60-day DL as I had speculated yesterday. Teixeira's DL date could not be back tracked so he would have to definitely miss all of April and May, though that seems likely anyway.

Cesar Cabral, recovering from a fractured elbow he suffered last Spring Training, is the fore-runner to be placed on the 60-day DL. Manny Banuelos will miss the entire 2013 season, but will not be placed on the 60-day DL so that his Major League service time does not begin.