Roster Moves: Ryan Activated, Pineda Reinstated From The Suspended List, Placed On 15-Day DL

Roster moves: B. Ryan back from 15-day DL, MLB reinstated M. Pineda off susp. list, NYY put Pineda on 15-day DL w/ rt shoulder muscle injury
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) May 6, 2014

As expected, the Yankees have made their roster moves in response to Michael Pineda's 10-game suspension ending today.  He has been reinstated from the suspended list and placed on the 15-day disabled list for his back muscle strain.  The once again available 25-man roster spot was taken up by Brendan Ryan, who was activated off the DL.

This move gets the Yanks back to a normal roster breakdown: 8 positional starters, 5 starting pitchers, 1 DH, 7-man bullpen, 4-man bench.  They could use some defensive help up the middle, so expect to see Ryan get into the lineup mix immediately.  Pineda will start a throwing program later in the week to get started on his rehab.  We'll see how true that initial 3-4 recovery estimate was.

A Quick Word On This Mo/Cano Thing

Actually, it's 2 words.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON'T CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!!!!!!  Not at all.  Not even the slightest amount.  If you're later to the party than I am, Mo has a book coming out soon that was written by Wayne Coffee of the Daily News.  In an attempt to stir up interest in the book and snag the always-important headlines and pageviews, the DN posted a story late last night focusing on an excerpt from the book in which Mo questions former teammate Robinson Cano's desire and says he would pick Dustin Pedroia as his second baseman if he had to win one game.  The money quote:

“This guy has so much talent I don’t know where to start... There is no doubt that he is a Hall-of-Fame caliber (player). It’s just a question of whether he finds the drive you need to get there. I don’t think Robby burns to be the best... You don’t see that red-hot passion in him that you see in most elite players.”

Obviously something like this is going to be big news in the NY sports media shark tank and predictably, everybody is running with their EXTRA HOT TAKE on the "issue" today to boost their own pageviews.  It's the stupidest thing ever and a complete waste of time.

Tuesday Morning Food For Though: One Man, Alone...

Mark Teixeira's Last 10 Games: 5 HR, 8 R, 8 RBI, 9 BB, 6 K

Carlos Beltran Brian McCann, & Alfonso Soriano's Last 10 Games Combined: 3 HR, 8 R, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 20 K

It's starting to become annoying to talk and write about, but there's really nothing coming from the middle of the Yankee batting order right now except for Teix.  I mean nothing.  Beltran is getting replaced in the lineup by Ichiro, McCann's OPS is 88th out of 98 qualifying AL hitters, and Soriano is swinging and missing at everything.  Joe tried to shake things up last night with Gardner at the top and Ellsbury hitting third and that didn't help.  The team has scored 3 or fewer runs in 6 of their last 9 games.  Mark Teixeira is the only consistent offensive threat in the lineup and he isn't getting any help.  Mark Teixeira is one man, alone.  Betrayed by the lineup he loves...



P.S.- Yes, I just used a clip from a "Transformers" movie to punctuate a point about the New York Yankees' offense.  Next-level blogging right there.

Game 31 Wrap-Up: LAA 4 NYY 1

(Kelley is not amused.  Courtesy of the AP)

What would you rather have, CC getting shelled early in the game or the bullpen regulars shitting the bed and walking the yard late in the game?  If you prefer the latter, then last night's game was for you.  It featured no hitting (again), a pretty damn fine start by David Phelps, and a bottom of the 8th inning that must have been painful to watch.

Game Notes:

- It was quite the start for Phelps, as he retired the first 6 in order and struck out the side in the bottom of the 2nd.  He had his curveball really working and he was throwing it early and late in the count.

- The change in scenery and time zone didn't do much to help the Yankee bats early.  They had only 1 walk and 1 hit to show for their first 4 innings against Weaver and weren't making him work very hard (47 pitches).

- The game looked like it was going to get away from Phelps in the 4th when he walked Trout and gave up a hit to Pujols, but he managed to get out of the jam with a double play.  He wasn't so lucky in the 5th, when Howie Kendrick led off with a triple and scored on an Ian Stewart groundout.

- After 6 innings of nothing, the Yankees finally came through to square the game at 1 in the 7th.  Derek Jeter led off with a double down the left field line, moved to third on an Ellsbury groundout, and scored on a Mark Teixeira ribbie single to right.

- They had a golden chance to take the lead in the 8th with 3 straight singles to start the inning.  They would get nothing thanks to a Brett Gardner strikeout and a Jeter GIDP.

- With the game tied at 1 in the bottom of the 8th, Shawn Kelley decided to melt down.  He walked 4 straight batters to force in the go-ahead run, got pulled for Matt Thornton to walk in another one, then he got pulled for Preston Claiborne to walk in ANOTHER one.  3 runs, 6 walks, 0 hits.  Oh, and Joe and Kelley got run for arguing balls and strikes with Laz Diaz, who really hammed it up for the cameras.  Classic Laz.