Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 6/6/14

Going up late today because of the draft coverage.  Rangers need a win big time in Game 2 tomorrow.  More of the first 10 minutes and less of the last 2 periods, please.  A full game of that first 10 minutes in Game 1 and they would have blown the Kings out of their own building.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, SJK of NoMaas called for Alfonso Soriano to be straight up released.  I wouldn't make that move just yet, but I wouldn't hate it if the Yankees did.

- On Tuesday, Mike Axisa looked back at the 2009 draft class to see how the Yankees did with their 5-year evaluation period.  A couple of good roster pieces and a few remaining possibilities isn't awful, right?

- Delia Enriquez of Bronx Baseball Daily pointed out all the holes in the Yankees' organizational depth that have been exposed by their injury problems.

- On Wednesday, Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits finished re-ranking and analyzing his top 30 prospects after the first 2 months of the MiL season.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud had Alfonso Soriano's thoughts on his season-long struggles.

- On Thursday, Michael Eder of IIATMS/TYA explained, in a much more rational and fair way than I would have, how Derek Jeter was hurting the team right now and why something had to change.

- Matt Provenzano of Pinstripe Alley examined Chase Whitley's first handful of starts to find some trends that project him positively going forward.

- Michael Pawluk of The Greedy Pinstripes shared a personal story about meeting and spending time with the late Don Zimmer.

- On Friday, el duque of It Is High... imagined how the call between the Yanks and Scott Boras about Morales waiting to sign would have gone.

More new Mastodon this week, a song called "Chimes At Midnight".  Definitely a better song than "High Road".  My expectations for this new album are starting to go up.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Draft Day 2 News And Notes (UPDATED)

Here's my version of the live draft tracker.  Post will be updated as the Yankees make their picks.

- The first pick of the day is in.  3rd round, 91st overall, and it's right-handed HS pitcher Austin DeCarr from Connecticut.  Kid is committed to Clemson.

** UPDATE 12:36 PM- According to the MLB.com scouting report, he's 6'3"/220, throws a fastball in the low-to-mids 90s, a curveball and changeup that both show promise, and he throws all 3 for strikes.  Only been pitching 2 years too, so there could be some ceiling there. **

** UPDATE 1:18 PM- 4th round, 122nd overall, Yanks take Jordan Montgomery, 21-year-old left-handed starting pitcher from the University of South Carolina.  Listed at 6'4"/225, throws a moving high 80s-low 90s fastball that he commands well, a good changeup, and a curveball.**

Matt Thornton Getting Put On Notice

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Hey, Matt.  You got a minute, bud?  I wanted to talk to you about something.  I know you're still the #1 lefty in the bullpen right now and the only one Joe would consider going to in a key lefty-lefty matchup situation.  And I know it may look like you're maintaining that "kinda-sorta pretty good/mostly unlucky" level you were at last month to the untrained eye, so you think you shouldn't have anything to worry about.  But here's a word to the wise.  Don't get too comfortable, brother.  Because the Yanks are making moves to find a replacement for you, whether you realize it or not.

Draft Day 1 Recap: Yankees Select Jacob Lindgren

(Courtesy of hailstate.com)

It was a long wait for the Yankees to make their first pick in last night's opening night of the 2014 MLB Draft.  Thanks to their offseason FA spending spree, they did not have a selection until the 2nd round, the 55th overall selection to be exact.  The rumors coming into the draft were that the Yankees were targeting a lot of prep catchers, some young HS arms, players with California ties (no surprise there), and most recently Indiana first baseman Sam Travis.  When the time came to make their pick, the Yankees went against all the rumors and selected Jacob Lindgren, left-handed pitcher from Mississippi St.