Yanks win in spite of Torre

- Why Joe, why? Is Torre living in some strange, bizarro universe in which bad pitchers are good, and good pitchers bad? That seems the only explanation for his continued use of Kyle Farnsworth late in close games. Edwar Ramirez goes on his 11th straight day riding the bench. He might as well be sent down to Scranton to stay sharp, because no pitcher can stay sharp after this long a layoff. Then predictably, when Torre does use him - and he falters due to rust, he'll be even deeper in Joe's doghouse. A vicious cycle. He's better than just a mop up guy - save that for Myers, Farnsworth and Villone. Just watch, now that Vizcaino is pitching well, Joe will overwork him and burn him out (like every good reliever so far).

- Maybe its about time Damon is DLed, and either Shelley Duncan is brought up to DH, or one of Brett Gardner or Justin Christian is brought up to play LF, pushing Matsui to DH. Damon is hurt, right? How else could he be hitting .238? Their season stats -
Damon, .238/.339/.330, 16 sb, 1 cs
S. Duncan, 28 (AAA): .292/.376/.571, 2 sb, 2 cs
Christian, 27 (AA & AAA): .266/.310/.370, 29 sb, 4 cs
Gardner, 23 (AA & AAA): .301/.395/.419, 21 sb, 4 cs

- Melky seems to make another great play every night. Tonight it was on Aaron Hill's liner to left center (that looked like a sure double) that he ran down. Not to mention practically tying the game by himself in bottom of the 9th.

- Cano went from goat to hero in two innings. He struck out with two on to end the 8th, then drove in the winning run in the 10th.

- The forgotten hero is Andy Pettitte, who escaped several jams, and matched Halladay pitch for pitch through seven strong innings.

- Arod had a two-out, two-strike RBI single in the first which didn't seem like much at the time, but turned out to be the difference in the game. He also made some very nice plays at 3b.

- The forgotten goats are Bobby Abreu and Derek Jeter, who - in the second and third spots in the lineup - went 0-10 with three Ks.

- An organizational sweep today as every team under the Yankee umbrella won - the GCL Yankees even swept a doubleheader.

2013 All Under 25 Team

What the 2013 Yankees might look like if they only promoted from their system.

Batting order, position, age, current level:
LF Abe Almonte, 18 (Rookie Gulf Coast League)
CF Melky Cabrera, 22 (Majors)
RF Jose Tabata, 18 (High-A Tampa)
1b Juan Miranda, 24 (Double-A Trenton)
DH Jesus Montero, 17 (GCL)
2b Robbie Cano, 24 (Majors)
C Frankie Cervelli, 21 (High-A)
3b Mitch Hilligoss, 22 (Low-A Charleston)
SS Justin Snyder, 21 (Short Season Staten Island)

Bench:
IF Prilys Cuello, 18 (GCL)
IF Alberto Gonzalez, 24 (Double-A)
OF Brett Gardner, 23 (Triple-A Scranton)
OF Austin Jackson, 20 (High-A)

Rotation:
Phil Hughes, 21 (Majors)
Joba Chamberlain, 21 (Double-A)
Dellin Betances, 19 (Staten Island)
Christian Garcia, 21 (High-A)
Ian Kennedy, 22 (Double-A)

Pen:
J.B. Cox, 23 (Double-A)
David Robertson, 22 (High-A)
Edwar Ramirez, 26 (Majors)
Mark Melancon, 22 (Staten Island)
Kevin Whelan, 23 (High-A)
Alan Horne, 24 (Double-A)
Humberto Sanchez, 24 (Triple-A)

There's a ton of potential there, especially in the pitching staff. The only problem is that there's not a single southpaw among all 12 pitchers (and several are currently rehabbing from major injuries).

Honorable mentions: OFs Colin Curtis, Seth Fortenberry, Carlos Urena, IFs Marcos Vechionacci, Reegie Corona, RHPs Zach McAllister, George Kontos, Jeff Marquez, Chris Britton, Ty Clippard, Ross Ohlendorf, Scott Patterson, Dan McCutchen, Jairo Heredia, LHPs Chase Wright, Mike Dunn and Angel Reyes. No 2007 draftees yet.

Sources:
Yankee Prospects
First Inning
MiLB

Another close game

Some thoughts on another good, close game:

- Abreu busting it down the line, beating out that double play in the 3rd allowed Arod to come up next and drill a two-out, two-run shot to break a 2-2 tie.

- Igawa's 2-2 pitch to Vernon Wells was clearly a strike. I think the pitch actually fooled the ump. He walked Wells, and Glaus followed up with a two-run HR.

- Robbie Cano is so quick on the DP. It's one of those things that doesn't show up in any of the metrics, e.g. Range Factor, Zone Rating, Fielding Pct, Fielding Runs Above Average, etc. Is it ironic that two Yankee farmhands (and the best buddies on the team) are also the best defensive players (Melky and Cano)?

- Proctor and Vizcaino mostly did their job, but does Joe Torre know that there's a man named Edwar Ramirez in the pen (who dominated AAA)? Fucking Mike Myers was warming for god's sake (and would've been used instead of Edwar had Proctor faltered). I know he's not a 'proven' major league veteran, but how's this for comparisons? His minor league stats are far better than Proctor's or Farnsworth's: Proctor 1.9 k/bb, 1.38 whip, .89 HR/9; Farnsworth 2.3 k/bb, 1.38 whip, .83 HR/9; Edwar 4.1 k/bb, 1.11 whip, .60 HR/9 (and that's not even counting this season, when Edwar's put up even more impressive numbers).

- The at-bat of the game goes to Andy Phillips, who hit a two-out, two-run single to break a 4-4 tie.

- Great outfield defense by Matsui and Melky saved a couple runs tonight. Melky didn't make any spectacular plays, but he made a few tough ones look routine. Matsui made a nice running catch in left center, and then an over-the-shoulder catch in the 8th that saved a run.

- As far as Igawa goes, it wasn't all bad, and I think he can build on some positives from tonight. He set a season high in Ks (with seven), and 5 ip, 3 er I'll take from the #5 starter most every time.

I've come to the conclusion

That Joe Torre cannot manage anymore. His complete ineptitude in managing a bullpen is unreal! He brings in Ron Villone (wait, it gets worse) for a second straight day, while rookie Edwar Ramirez sits idly in the pen on eight days of rest! And it's not like this is a 'hindsight is always 20/20' kind of thing; this occurred to me during yesterday's game, and again today (but even more so) - all before Villone gave up Carlos Pena's two-run shot.

Torre has such an irrational fear of rookies that he's made me sick watching Kyle Farnsworth (also for the second straight day while Edwar watches) warming up for the eighth (after the Yanks took the lead again).

Unfortunately, I don't think firing him now would make the difference between making and missing the playoffs - for one, it might cause more harm than good, what with all the loyalty the players and coaches seem to feel toward him. But if he doesn't retire in the off-season, he has to be canned. I want Joe Girardi helming this team next year. There's going to be a huge influx of rookies over the next few years, e.g. Hughes, Joba, Kennedy, Tabata, Betances, etc. and Girardi has the (recent) experience of working with a very young team (the 2006 Marlins), and he does not have an irrational fear of rookies - he may actually use them instead of washed up 'veterans.' What a concept!

Postgame update: Torre is so freaking lucky. If not for a diving stab by Andy Phillips, Farnsworth allows the Rays to tie the game, and who knows what after that? He just can't pitch a 1-2-3 inning. He allowed a leadoff double, then a run (to make it 7-6), and was bailed out by Phillips.

Even though Melky went 1-4, he may be the underrated hero of the game. He had two assists (both at second base) which probably saved the Yanks two runs - a good thing he got over the flu. But Robbie Cano's fifth inning at-bat may have been the turning point of the game: he saw seven pitches before blooping a single to center; Phillips followed with a triple, Nieves with a double, then Jeter hit a huge two-run homer that gave the Yanks the lead. And Mussina should be commended after surrendering three first inning runs, but then shutting out the Rays the next five innings (yet without one K) - practically a xerox of Wang's outing from yesterday.

Joba and Wang pt. II

Having not attended last night's Trenton Thunder game, I made my way up there tonight to watch Joba Chamberlain pitch - and how! He had perhaps his best start of the season: seven innings, three hits, no runs, one walk, nine strikeouts. My wife and I managed to get seats directly to the right of Trenton's dugout, and were able to watch the players interact. Joba seems like a great teammate - he's talkative, always into the game, and seems to really respect his coaches and colleagues. (pictures coming soon.)

Which brings me to point #2: where's the respect for Juan Miranda? I have to presume the reason he didn't play is that New Hampshire started a southpaw. But is that it? If Miranda (who's probably now the Yanks #1 firstbase prospect) doesn't face lefties in the minors, how will he ever hit them in the majors? He should be facing every single one now - minor league teams have the luxury of an 0-4 from their cleanup hitter. That's much tougher to do in the bigs, especially in the Bronx. I'd say it's far more helpful to have Miranda face lefties instead of righties (if you had to choose). Lefties who hit lefties are very valuable (and would have helped the Yanks immensely this year). Anyway, he was the first base coach for half the game, and we could see how massive his arms were (a true power hitter's body) - so if the Trenton coaching staff is reading this, please play Juan Miranda against southpaws, and play him more at 1b (instead of DH) than non-prospect Cody Ehlers.

As far as the big Yankees go, they squeaked out a 6-4 win against the lowly D-Rays tonight. Wang had just one bad inning (the first), and pitched five scoreless frames after that (six Ks, no walks). The big blow was a Bobby Abreu two-run shot that gave the Yanks a lead they never relinquished. He, more than anyone, is the catalyst for the team - when he hits they win, and when he doesn't they lose.

Kyle Farnsworth gave up another homer in the eighth, so I have to ask: why does Joe Torre have an aversion to using Edwar Ramirez? The guy has four Ks in 2.1 ip, with just one run allowed. I suppose because he's a rookie, and had only a mediocre outing his last time that he can't be trusted in the 'critical late innings,' (or so goes Joe's thinking). So instead he used the useless Farnsworth. I'm counting the days until he's traded...

And here's a tragic story on something that I'm surprised doesn't happen more often.

Scott Kazmir

Just pitched better than Roger Clemens tonight. He can get by with mediocre command because he has superior stuff, but Clemens can't anymore. Kazmir's one of those 'effectively wild' guys - you really never know if the pitch is going to be a strike, so when he does throw one, that extra split-second of doubt causes the hitter to swing late at a (normally hittable) 91 mph fastball.

- I did not get to attend tonight's Trenton Thunder game, featuring Phil Hughes' second rehab start, but I'm holding out hope for tomorrow's (Joba Chamberlain) and Wednesday's (another Hughes start) games. By the way, he dominated: three innings, three hits, no runs, no walks, six strikeouts.

Odds & Ends

1. watching Robbie Cano warm up.
2 & 3. progress on the new Stadium.
4 & 5. a beautiful night watching Ian Kennedy pitch.

- Phil Hughes will make his second rehab start tomorrow night for Double-A Trenton. I plan to be in attendance, with some photos posted here soon.

- Centerfielder Brett Gardner was promoted to Triple-A Scranton, and rightfielder Bronson Sardinha was demoted to make room. Since Gardner came off the DL in early June, he's been tearing it up (.933 ops) - so much so that his season stats become remarkable: .300/.392/.419, with 18 steals against four times caught. He also struck out just 32 times against 33 walks. Speak of the devil - in his first game with Scranton tonight he walked twice and stole third. He could (and should) be a very valuable bench (or possibly starter) player with the Yanks who will play great outfield defense and be a super pinch-runner.

- Elsewhere, Arod said he won't talk contract until after the season. Now me personally, I’d be hesitant to sign Arod past age 37. Just look how quickly other players fell off: Bernie, Damon, Giambi, etc.

And how fitting is it that he’s having his best year in his walk year? Haven't we learned to be hesitant with those guys? e.g. Gary Matthews, Carlos Beltran, Adrian Beltre, Jason Giambi, Farnsy, A.J. Burnett, Carl Pavano, etc. The list goes on and on.

Of course, I’m not saying the Yanks shouldn't sign him, because opting out would leave a giant hole in the lineup, but I wouldn't go overboard. 2004: subpar (for Arod), 2005: MVP, 2006: subpar (for Arod), 2007: MVP. That should tell us something, especially when he’s (historically speaking) past his prime.

I’d like to see a 3-year extension (starting in 2011) for about $80 mil, as long as Arod takes out the opt out clause. I think that’s fair. But it seems that Scott Boras doesn't want to settle for less than $30 million a year... but who beside the Yanks will ever pay that much?