Pure Genius

It's a good thing that I'm not a betting man, because if I were I'd have probably put money on Brett Gardner's first major league home run being an inside-the-parker. Last night, however, Gardner managed to get one over the fence with room to spare and since there's no wind in the Skydome, he did it all on his own. That feat, however, wasn't the highlight of the game. Nor were any of the Yankees' three triples, Mark Teixeira's multi-hit game or Ramiro Pena making a heck of a catch to rob Kevin Millar of a hit.

No, the highlight of the game came from the two comedic geniuses who got seats behind home plate and decided to do their best umpire impressions in full uniform. Classic.

Changing Priorities

There was a lot to hate about last night's game. Like so many games this season, the Yankees managed to not just lose, but lose ugly, with mental mistakes and failures in big spots. With this loss, the Yankees fall back to a six game deficit in the wild-card race, and I'm about ready to declare their playoff hopes dead. In order to make the playoffs now, the Yankees would have to win their next two games, sweep Boston next month in Fenway, play one game better than the Red Sox in the other 26 games left, and erase the 3.5 game lead that the Twins have. It's a ridiculously tall order made even more ludicrous when you look at the teams' remaining schedules and see that the Yankees play only 15 of their final 31 games at home while the Red Sox play 21.

This is why I think it's time for the Yankees to shift their priorities from a futile attempt to make the playoffs this year to gearing up for next season. The Yankees are going to have a lot of decisions to make this offseason, and they can help themselves in making those decisions by using the next month to evaluate what they can expect from their prospects and young players. For example, this winter the team will need to decide whether to re-sign Bobby Abreu and continue to use an outfield of Nady-Damon-Abreu, or find a replacement. They can make this decision much easier by playing Brett Gardner regularly over the rest of the season, and letting themselves see if he's good enough to be the center fielder next year. If he is, then an outfield of Damon-Gardner-Nady becomes a very attractive option.

It's a bitter pill to swallow, but the sooner the Yankees can accept their defeat in this season, the sooner they can start to work towards victory in the next.

Picking Nits

It was most certainly a good day for the Yankees. New acquisition Richie Sexson made an immediate contribution by knocking in the Yankees first run, and the rest of the team followed his lead by knocking six runs off of Greg Smith on their way to a 7-1 win. Meanwhile, on the mound, Mike Mussina continued to baffle the the opposition, giving up just one run in six innings, and the bullpen work of David Robertson, Edwar Ramirez and LaTroy Hawkins was absolutely dominant, striking out six in just three innings of work. On a day like this, complaining might seem a little petty, but Brett Gardner managed to pick at one of my pet peeves.

In the bottom of the fourth, Gardner attempted to bunt for a base hit, and was just barely out as he slid headfirst into the base. It's that last part that gets me. Sliding into first is one of those things that drives me crazy, because it doesn't get you to the base any faster, and you run the risk of injuring yourself. Brett, I implore you, don't do that again.

Minor League Monday 5/26/08

For some reason, my Minor League Monday post from last week seems to never have been posted. Rather than waste some perfectly good writing, I'm going to present the players of the each past two weeks this time around.

Hitter of the Week 5/12-5/18 - Juan Miranda, 1B, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Triple A):

A Cuban defector, Miranda didn't make his American debut until last season, when he was already 24 years old. He's quickly made up for the lost time, however, climbing the organizational ladder to Triple A in just one season, where he's had encouraging early success. A classic slugger, Miranda has a patient approach at the plate, waiting for a pitch upon which he can unleash his light tower power. He returned to the Scranton Yankees on the 12th after losing a couple of weeks to a shoulder injury and promptly hit a home run and drew a walk. Overall he hit .294/.478/.706 on the week with two home runs and six walks.

Unfortunately, once that week was up he proceeded to head back to the disabled list, having reaggravated his shoulder injury. If he can come back from the injury and remain healthy, Miranda should be in line to replace Jason Giambi next year. However, Miranda has huge problems against lefties putting up a .393 OPS versus a 1.013 OPS against righties, so if he did take Giambi's place he would almost certainly need a platoon partner.

Pitcher of the Week 5/12-5/18 - Dellin Betances, RHP, Charleston Riverdogs (Single A):

There might not be a more exciting pitcher in the Yankees' system than Betances. Standing 6'8" and throwing in the mid to upper 90s, his stuff and potential is undeniable. In fact, I think that even at this early stage in his development, major leaguers would have a hard time getting hits off of him. The problem is that those major leaguers probably wouldn't bother swinging, since Betances often doesn't know where the ball is going when it leaves his hand. His May 16th start is a good example of this, as he no-hit the Asheville Tourists for six innings, but gave up a run thanks to a wild pitch. At 20 years old, he's still got time to learn command, and if he does, he'll be a real force to reckon with.

Hitter of the Week 5/19-5/25 - Austin Jackson, CF, Trenton Thunder (Double A):

The year's first repeat MLM, Action Jackson had a very strong week highlighted by a seven RBI game on Wednesday in Reading. There's very little I can add to that, as the numbers speak for themselves. In six games last week he hit .333/.467/.750 with two home runs, a triple, two doubles, six walks, and a stolen base to boot. In other words, he hit for average and power, showed patience at the plate, and speed on the basepaths. Add to that good range in center field and a solid arm, and you've pretty much got the whole package. Obviously he has to show that he can perform over the course of a full season, and do the same in Triple A, but don't be surprised if he's fighting for a starting job with the Yankees come spring training.


Hitter of the Week 5/19-5/25 - Alfredo Aceves, RHP, Trenton Thunder (Double A):

Some of you may be asking "Who is Alfredo Aceves?", and you're not alone. It's a question I asked myself several times after seeing him put up strong starts for the Tampa Yankees. Unfortunately, the information I've been able to gather is pretty thin. Aceves is 25 years old and in his first minor league season, having been signed by the Yankees out of the Mexican League last year. He throws a four seam fastball, cutter, curve and changeup. Oh, and he's the first pitcher to throw a complete game shutout in the Eastern League this season, as he shut down Altoona last night. This performance comes after he held Reading scoreless for seven innings in his Double-A debut on Tuesday. That makes for 16 innings, no runs, 13 strikeouts, 5 hits, 1 walk, and a little bit of a mystery. I'll be sure to share any further information about where this guy came from and how he's been so successful as soon as I can uncover it.

Minor League Monday 4/7/08

Pitcher of the Week - Kei Igawa, LHP, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Triple A):

There were some fine pitching performances this week in Scranton, but only one of them could be described as perfect. The much maligned Kei Igawa did not allow a single member of the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs to reach base in the first six innings of the Yankees' opening game. Unfortunately, Igawa was on a strict pitch count, and the Scranton coaching staff decided to pull him after the sixth rather than allow him to chase perfection. Still, six innings of perfect baseball is impressive, and is probably enough to push him to the top of the list of potential replacements should something happen one of the major league starters. Even more impressively, it may be enough to keep me from cringing if that happens.

Hitter of the Week - Brett Gardner, CF, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Triple A):

I'll be the first to admit that these "awards" aren't always given to the week's best players. This week's best hitter, for example, was probably either Jason Lane or Brad Suttle. However, since I'm forced to write about whoever gets the award, I'm inclined to give it to the best story, and this week that's Brett Gardner. I wrote about Gardner back in my first Minor League Monday when he hit his first home run in two years. Thankfully it's taken a lot less time for him to hit another, as he went deep off of the Ironpigs' Brian Mazone in Saturday's win. Even more surprising was that this home run didn't sneak over the wall, but instead soared over the "371 feet" sign in right center by a healthy margin. Whether this is a sign that Gardner is adding the one missing element to his game remains to be seen, but you can rest assured that if he is it's not at the expense of his formidable speed. Gardner remains so fast that, even though he was in his home run trot, he nearly made it to third base before the ball landed.

A few extra notes:

• Those of you who check the box scores might have been worried by Mark Melancon's appearance for the Tampa Yankees on Thursday, which said that he left the game without facing the batter. If so, then you can put your mind at ease, as it had nothing to do with the oft-injured Melancon's health. It turns out that when he took the mound someone noticed that his name had been accidentally left off the lineup card by manager Luis Sojo, making him ineligible to pitch. Since then, Melancon has pitched 3.2 mediocre, but completely healthy, innings.
  
  
• Those of you who like to worry should feel free to do so for Trenton Thunder infielder Kevin Russo, who left the team and headed back to Tampa after doctors found abnormalities in his blood work. Here's hoping that it's nothing more than a little scare for the 23 year-old.

Winter League Week Part 2 - Javelinas in the Sun

Considering how badly the Joe Torre situation has been handled, I think it'll be good for everyone to take some refuge in actual baseball. So, as promised, I'll continue with my review of the Yankees' winter league action by looking at the six prospects the team has sent to play for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League.

As I mentioned before, one of those players is a personal favorite of mine, Kevin Whelan. He's not a favorite because he's a huge talent like Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes, but because of his arsenal. Whelan throws three pitches, and they're all fastballs. His four seamer is strong, sitting in the low to mid 90's, and he complements that with a splitter and a forkball, both of which can be exceptional when he's on. Unfortunately, like so many hard throwing prospects, he struggles with his command. Its been no different in Peoria so far, where he was dominant in his first outing, and wild in his second. Of course the whole point of the AFL is for players to learn, and I'm hoping to see some improvement from a him.

The other pitching prospect that accompanied Whelan to Peoria is Steven White. White was drafted in 2003, and the Yankees had high expectations. However, like so many promising pitchers, injuries have kept him from fulfilling those expectations. He's not a bad pitcher, mind you. He's performed well as he's slowly moved up the ladder, but he hasn't stood out in any way. He's now 26 and coming off of another typically good but not great season in Triple A, and has been rocked in his first two starts in Arizona, giving up eight runs in just three innings. To me, he's a classic Quadruple A player; the kind of guy who can do well in Triple A, but won't make it in the majors. He might have some success if the Yankees move him to the bullpen, but otherwise I wouldn't expect much.

In addition to the two pitchers, the Yankees have sent three positional players to the Javelinas, all of whom could be in pinstripes in the coming years. I've written about center fielder Brett Gardner before, and there's nut much to add to it. He's one of the fastest men in baseball, hits for average and draws walks, but lacks any real power, having hit all of six home runs in 294 minor league games, and only one in the past two years. At best, he develops enough doubles power to be a Kenny Lofton kind of player. At worst, he's a fourth outfielder who provides excellent speed and defense at all three outfield positions. Either way, he's a useful player to have.

Another player whose power will determine his fate is Reegie Corona who's currently a shortstop, but can play all over the infield. Like Gardner he hits for average and draws walks, but has very little power. Unlike Gardner, he only has average speed, meaning there's an even greater chance that those ground balls which are slipping through for hits will turn into outs when they hit Triple A and major league fielders. Still, he's a strong defender and could very well become a useful utility infielder, something every team needs.

Finally, there's Juan Miranda, who is something of a mystery. A first baseman who defected from Cuba to the Dominican Republic in 2004, he was signed to a four year, $2 million contract last year and split the season between Advanced Single A and Double A. He put up solid numbers in Tampa and replicated them after being promoted, which is a good sign. Another good sign is that while he was merely solid statistically, he recieved nothing put praise from coaches and scouts, who say he has light tower power, and just needs to refine his game after having spent two years out of the game. His performance thus far in Arizona certainly speaks to that, as he's currently sporting a .571 SLG, and a .250 ISOP (ISOP stands for isolated power, a quick measurement of a player's power which is simply a players slugging percentage minus his batting average). Granted, it's a lot to read into seven games, but this kind of performance and the Yankees' current hole at first gives him an outside chance of becoming part of a major league platoon as early as next season.

Minor League Monday 8/27

Looking back over my first couple of weeks as a blogger, I've noticed that I'm somewhat erratic in my writing schedule. So in order to improve my posting regularity, I've decided to use the blogger's Metamucil; the weekly feature. Every Monday will be Minor League Monday here at Poughkeepsie Pinstripes, as I take a look at the next generation of Yankees. Today I'll be handing out a few awards for the best performances of the week.

Hitter of the Week - Kevin Smith

Apparently tired of making movies, or possibly just New Jersey, Kevin Smith has moved to Charleston to be the Riverdog's first baseman (sorry, but that joke was just too easy for me to resist). This Kevin Smith was a 25th round pick out or Cypress College in 2003, though he didn't actually start his professional career until 2006, for reasons I haven't been able to find. Regardless, he got a hit in all six games this week, and got three hits in each of the last three games. Overall he went .542/.577/.875 for the week.

Pitcher of the Week - Chase Wright

Chase Wright - Wright will forever be known as one of only two pitchers in major league history to give up four consecutive home runs, which he did following an April callup when the Yankees were desperate for starters, but didn't want to rush Philip Hughes. It wasn't terribly surprising considering he only had 20 innings of Double-A experience under his belt. Since being offered up as a sacrificial lamb, Wright's been a fairly mediocre pitcher, but Saturday he had one night of excellence, pitching a four-hit shutout. Wright will probably never see the majors again, but its good to see him find some success.

The Jason Tyner Silver Slugger Award - Brett Gardner

Named for the Minnesota Twins outfielder who hit his first homerun a mere seven years and 1,220 at bats into his major league, this award goes to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre centerfielder who hit his first homerun in two years on the 21st. Even more impressive, that homerun came in the first at bat of the game and was the only run scored by the Yankees, as Rochester's Dave Gassner shut down the rest of the offense.

Eastern League Pitcher of the Year - Alan Horne

Finally, the most prestigious award, since it comes from some other than me. Horne has been the ace of a staff which is far and away the best in the league, and leads the league in ERA and strikeouts. With Philip Hughes and Joba Chamberlain now in the majors, Horne is one of the better prospects in the Yankees' system. If he wants to be a major league starter, he'll probably need to add a changeup to his arsenal, which is comprised of a heavy, low to mid 90s fastball, a hammer curve and a cut fastball. If not, he could still be a very effective reliever for the Yankees by the end of next season.