Sabathia Graduating To Live BP This Week

The rehab process for CC Sabathia and his degenerative right knee took another step forward over the weekend and could take another step or 2 forward this week.  Sabathia threw a 36-pitch bullpen session at The Stadium before Saturday's game, at what sounds like full strength.  Sabathia said he "got after it a little bit" when he was throwing and that he was trying to really test the strength of his knee to make sure it will hold up.  For what it's worth, he said the knee felt good after he finished.

From there, Sabathia is heading to the team facility in Tampa this week, where he will move to throwing live batting practice tomorrow.  If he comes through that well, the tentative plan is to have him pitch in a MiL game on Saturday.  The decision on what level won't come until later in the week, but I wouldn't be surprised if the team tries to get creative and get him in a few unofficial games so as not to start his 20-day MiL clock early.  We're still 3 weeks away from the All-Star break and the plan was to bring him through a full ST simulation to get him stretched back out.  Regardless of how good he feels and how poorly Vidal Nuno is pitching, there's no reason to rush that.

Monday Morning Food For Thought: Offense Is Still Offensive

2 weeks ago, I declared it time for a change in response to the Yankees losing 2-1 to the Royals.  That game marked the 10th straight in which they failed to score more than 4 runs, a stretch that saw them go 3-7 and fall back to .500.

Over the last 2 weeks, the Yanks have gone 8-4 on the strength of 2 separate 4-game winning streaks.  The latest ended on Friday night with the walk-off victory over the Orioles, as the Yanks managed to score a single run in the final 2 games and dropped both easily.  The offensive blackout brought the issues of 2 weeks ago back to the forefront and a quick check of the numbers shows that not much has changed since June 9th despite the W-L record.

• Brian Roberts in June: 60 PA, .235/.350/.275
• Ichiro Suzuki: 60 PA, .304/.333/.304
• Carlos Beltran: 61 PA, .185/.262/.370
• Brian McCann: 69 PA, .195/.275/.290
• Derek Jeter: 83 PA, .253/.277/.291
• Yangervis Solarte: 63 PA, .148/.270/.204

That's two-thirds of the lineup hitting well below-average this month.  Kelly Johnson and Alfonso Soriano have also hit below the .300 wOBA in limited PA.  When that's what you're getting from the bulk of your major offensive contributors, and the above-average production you're getting from the other 3 (Gardner, Ellsbury, Teix) isn't great enough to carry a team, that's not good.  The halfway point of the regular season is 1 week away and the offense remains stuck in the mud.  That change I talked about 2 weeks ago?  It's still needed in a big way.

Game 74 Wrap-Up: BAL 8 NYY 0

(Yep.  That's Matsui pitching.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

It was Old Timers' day at The Stadium this afternoon, always one of the best days of the year.  Fresh from the Saturday ceremony honoring Tino in Monument Park and the quick, dirty beatdown at the hands of Bud Norris and the Baltimore Oriole bats, the Yankees came back today looking to draw some inspiration from all the past Yanks who were on hand, including recent teammates like Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon and all-time greats like Goose Gossage, who joined Tino in his Monument Park induction.  Another series victory halfway through this stretch of interdivisional games would have been the perfect way to end a strong week and Masahiro Tanaka was the perfect man for the job on the mound.  He was pretty good again, not as great as we've seen him, but once again it was the complete and utter lack of offense that did them in.

Game Notes:

- Tanaka never seems happy with his command, but today he did have a few real problems.  He gave up a pair of singles to start the game in the 1st, walked a batter with 2 outs in the 5th, and left a 2-strike slider up to Jonathan Schoop in the 2nd that Schoop hit for a solo home run.

- The lineup couldn't put anything together against Baltimore starter Chris Tillman.  A challenge overturned a potential Brett Gardner leadoff double in the 1st, a Derek Jeter GIDP killed a rally in the 3rd, and Jacoby Ellsbury was left stranded in the 4th after leading off with a double to right.

- Joe sent Tanaka back out for the 7th at 93 pitches, and that might have been the decision that decided the game.  J.J. Hardy singled, Manny Machado doubled, and both scored on outs to make it 3-0 and mar Tanaka's line.  Give the O's credit.  They worked him hard and finally broke through late.

- If Adam Warren was looking to show he shouldn't be moved back into the rotation, he did a good job.  He gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning, the big blow a bases-clearing double after an intentional walk, to put the game out of reach.

- No shortage of controversy in that inning when the umpires decided that Steve Pearce did not interfere with Kelly Johnson on a ball he threw into the stands for what was ruled an error before the intentional walk.  My opinion is jaded as a Yankee fan, but I thought the interference was blatantly obvious and agreed with Joe's assessment that it was a dangerous and malicious play.

BREAKING: Teix Leaves Game With Left Foot Injury (UPDATED)

The AB4AR Jinx strikes again.  Mark Teixeira just left today's game in bottom of the 8th after being hit by a pitch on his left foot.  According to Dan Barbarisi, he fell to the ground after taking a slider from T.J. McFarland, tried to get up and walk it off, then stopped, threw his helmet and shin guard off angrily, and immediately left the field.  He was replaced by Brendan Ryan.

It sounds like Teix's reaction indicated that he knew something was wrong.  I have to imagine he's going for X-rays as this post goes up.  Losing Teix for any amount of time beyond a few days would be devastating.  More on this story as it develops.

** UPDATE 4:28 PM- Via Barbarisi again, X-rays on Teix's left foot came back negative.  Joe told reporters after the game that Teix was "OK".  Whew. **

Teix Staying Steady And Solid In The Middle Of The Order

Did you know that Mark Teixeira has a 10-game hitting streak?  I had no idea.  I thought he had been pretty consistent since coming back from his wrist stiffness, but I didn't think it had been 10-game hitting streak consistent.  After being the only offensive presence in yesterday's loss with a solo HR, his 12th of the year, Teix is now 11-37 in his last 10 with at least 1 hit in every game.  The power has been there (2 2B, 2 HR), the patience has been there (5 BB), and the production has been there (6 R, 8 RBI).

For the season, Teix is hitting .250/.365/.473 with a 13.7% BB rate, good for a team-leading .368 wOBA.  For all the games he's missed with a variety of ailments, and for all the uncertainty that comes with his health day-to-day and week-to-week, there's no denying that Teix has been rock solid and unexpectedly consistent in the games he has played.  While new guys like Beltran and McCann go days without a hit and then have 1 big game to carry the team, Teix has been the constant, the steadying force in the middle of the lineup.  Getting on base, driving in runs, providing the consistent power presence this team needs.  It's been the most underrated and undercovered story of the 2014 Yankee campaign.

Pineda Has A "Trace" Of Inflammation In His Shoulder; Rehab Pushed Back Again

Michael Pineda was supposed to play catch yesterday for the first time since suffering a setback with his right shoulder/upper back last month.  The team scheduled him for what they called a precautionary MRI on Friday to make sure there was nothing wrong in the injured area and turns out there was.  Joe told the media before yesterday's game that the MRI revealed a "trace" of inflammation in Pineda's shoulder, so the decision was made to scrap yesterday's planned catch sesh and bump it back a week to next Saturday.

I fully understand and appreciate the need to be careful with Pineda because of the previous injury and close proximity of this back muscle to his shoulder.  But at this point, I think we have to start talking seriously about whether Pineda is going to pitch another meaningful inning this season.  He's been out with this injury since late April, he may or may not start playing catch again by late June, and the team has already said they're going to put him through a full ST to build him back up.  If the back and shoulder haven't healed up right after 2 months of rest, I highly doubt they're going to hold up once he actually starts pitching again.

Game 73 Wrap-Up (Abridged Version): BAL 6 NYY 1

The Yankees honored Tino Martinez before the game today by inducting him into Monument Park and unveiling his plaque.  It sounds like it was a nice ceremony, and it was easily the high point of the game with glorified home run derby pitcher Vidal Nuno on the mound.

Game Notes:

- Nuno gave up a solo HR to Adam Jones in the 1st inning, a 2-run shot to Nelson Cruz in the 4th, and another 2-run job to Steve Pearce in the 5th.

- The lone Yankee run came on a Mark Teixeira solo homer in the bottom of the 4th.  That was the only real dent they made against Bud Norris and the Baltimore bullpen.

- Jose Ramirez relieved Nuno after 6.1 innings and continued the home run parade by giving up a solo shot to J.J. Hardy in the 8th, the 4th of the day for Baltimore.

F*ck Yeah:

- Teix: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI.  Blah.

Oh Nos:

- Nuno: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 4 K.  Triple blah.  That's now 13 home runs allowed in 12 starts.

Series finale tomorrow afternoon.  It'd be nice to get another win against a divisional opponent.

Game 72 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 BAL 3

(That's an awesome shot.  Courtesy of the AP)

Riding high off the sweep of the division-leading Blue Jay, the Yankees welcomed another divisional rival to town last night in the form of the Baltimore Orioles.  The O's took 2 of 3 from the Yanks at The Stadium in early April and they're right behind them in the AL East race right now, so this was another important series for the Yanks to show they're in it for the long haul.  Hiroki Kuroda got the start last night, and he's sneaky been getting better and better over the last 4-6 weeks.  He had has A-game working early last night, but it wasn't until his offense came around very late in the game that this one turned into an instant classic.

Game Notes:

- The Yankees got their 1 early run in the 1st, something they seem to do every game these days.  Jacoby Ellsbury singled with 2 outs, stole second base, and scored on Mark Teixeira's double to right field.

- Hirok was absolutely brilliant in this game.  He carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning, the only baserunners reaching on Derek Jeter throwing error and a walk, and had 6 strikeouts through 5.

- Then he came out for the 6th and hit the wall.  Double, flyout, double, single, and suddenly it was 2-1 Orioles.  Hirok managed to get out of the inning but it would end up being his last.

- The O's took and held that 2-1 lead because the Yanks could never put another run across despite having tons of chances.  They loaded the bases in the 2nd and got nothing.  They walked the bases loaded in the 5th and got nothing.  Loaded them again in the 6th, nothing.

- Baltimore added an insurance run in the top of the 9th and all looked lost, and then the Yankees woke up for their best comeback of the year.  Brett Gardner singled to lead off the bottom, Teix drew a 2-out walk, and Brian McCann hit an RBI single up the middle to make it 3-2 and set up the dramatics.

- Carlos Beltran stepped in against a smoke-throwing Zach Britton and saw 4 straight 95+ MPH fastballs, 3 of them for balls.  He knew he was getting another one on 3-1 and he crushed it into the left field seats for a 3-run, game-winning, walk-off home run.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 6/20/14

Supposed to be going to the Milwaukee Zoo for the first time since moving out here tomorrow.  I'm pretty stoked.  I'm a big zoo guy, and I think it's a disgrace to myself and my own existence that I haven't made it to a zoo that I live 15 minutes away from in 6+ years.  If I had serious money, I would build and open my own zoo where all the animals had generic people names.  You can't try and tell me you wouldn't want to go see a hippo named Steve and a kangaroo named Walter.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes recapped all of the Derek Jeter farewell ceremonies and gifts to date.  Gotta say the Cubs' gift was the best.

- Mike Axisa of RAB identified Yangervis Solarte's expansion of the strike zone as the primary cause for this latest slump.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud had a lot of updates on every level of the farm system.

- On Tuesday, Derek Albin of Pinstripe Pundits discussed some of the biggest unexpected stories of the Yankee season thus far.

- On Wednesday, Andrew Mearns of Pinstripe Alley commented on the all-around disappointing season that Gary Sanchez is having.

- - Katie Sharp of IIATMS/TYA used what we know and the numbers we have on Chase Whitley to try to predict what we'd see from him moving forward.

- Delia Enriquez of Bronx Baseball Daily had Adam Warren's thoughts on his role in the bullpen and how open he would be to changing back to a starter.

- On Thursday, el duque of It Is High... wondered if Big Mac's big Wednesday night can be the start of his offensive breakout.

- SJK of NoMaas had a suggestion for Cash on where he should look to find the source of the team's average performance this season.

Going back to a familiar and favorite well this week with some Deftones.  Hadn't heard this song for a few years until it came up on the iPod shuffle earlier this week.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Analyzing The Early Trade Rumors

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The trade deadline is now less than 6 weeks away, and the engines on the rumor mill have started churning.  On Wednesday, Brian Cashman discussed the Yankees' plans for the deadline with Ken Davidoff, saying "we usually make moves every year, so I expect to make moves" when asked what he expected.  As for how aggressive the Yankees will be, I guess this statement from Cash sums it up best:

“I feel that we do have the ability to make trades if that’s a route we so choose.  How we line up with other clubs, I don’t know … but I definitely have people that are wanted within the industry. But we want those guys, too. We’ll see.”

Cash is no fool when it comes to playing the media game.  He isn't going to tip his hand.  But we all know what the Yankees' biggest needs are (starting pitcher, infielder/backup first baseman, right fielder) and we know they're going to look to fill some of those needs.  It's far too early to make any rational predictions, but there are already a couple rumors that popped up this week involving the Yanks.  Here's a quick trip around the early deadline rumor mill.

Kelly Johnson Day-To-Day With Bruised Fingers

The jinx strikes again!  I write about how Kelly Johnson is coming on and deserves to be in the lineup every day and pow!  He takes a pitch off the right hand trying to bunt in the 6th last night, leaves the game, and might miss a few more with bruised fingers.

Why Johnson was even being asked to bunt in that situation is beyond me, but the good news is that X-rays were negative and the injury is bruises instead of breaks.  Joe seemed like he had been coming around to the idea of going with Johnson more and Solarte less, evidenced by his decision to start KJ last night.  A quick recovery to get Johnson's bat back in there would be the best possible outcome here.

Game 71 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 TOR 4

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Thanks, Toronto!  See you again next time!  Enjoy the flight!  You kids get home safe!

Game Notes:

- The scoring was early and often against Blue Jay starter Drew Hutchison.  Brett Gardner doubled to lead off the game for the Yanks and scored on an Ellsbury sac fly in the 1st, Carlos Beltran worked his way around and scored on a Kelly Johnson sac fly in the 2nd, then sac flied Ellsbury home himself in the 3rd.

- In between all the saccing (sacking? sacing?), David Phelps gave up a 2-run home run to Melky Cabrera in the top of the 3rd to keep the Jays close.  Those were the only runs he'd allow in 7 very good innings.

- Not that he didn't have to work for them.  Toronto put a runner on base in all but 2 innings and put a runner in scoring position with no outs in the 5th.  Phelps handled the trouble well every time and he punctuated the outing by K'ing the final 2 batters of the 7th.

- The Yanks tacked on for him with a Beltran RBI double in the 5th, a Derek Jeter RBI groundout in the 6th, and a Yangervis Solarte bases loaded walk in the 7th.  Toronto just couldn't keep them off the basepaths.  Story of the game.

- Shawn Kelley took over in the 8th and very quickly gave up a 2-run home run to Edwin Encarnacion to pull the Jays back within 2.  Joe had to use Matt Thornton to get out of that inning and Adam Warren for the save with a short bullpen, but they did the job.

Thursday Afternoon News And Notes

Been a little slow around the blog the last day or so with my 9-5 cutting into my time, but thankfully it's been relatively slow around Yankeeland as well.  Here are some of the smaller stories I've missed from the past 2 days:

- CC Sabathia threw his second rehab bullpen session yesterday.  It was another 25-pitch sesh, not sure if he mixed in any of this offspeed pitches this time.  Next one is set for Sunday and his pitch count should be bumped up.

- Michael Pineda is scheduled to play catch for the first time since his last setback on Saturday.

- 2 more top draft picks signed yesterday, 4th rounder Jordan Montgomery and 6th rounder Jonathan Holder.  Montgomery signed for full slot value, Holder about 60-70k below.

- Via Chad Jennings, outfielder Taylor Dugas was promoted from Double-A to Triple-A today.  He's way under the radar as a prospect, but he was hitting .294/.403/.424 for the Thunder this season and has a .293/.422/.368 career slash across 4 levels of the Minors.  Got a little Brett Gardner-ness to him.

Homegrown Hoedown

Big Mac was the king of the night last night and justifiably so.  Dude was swatting home runs over the short porch in right, speeding around the bases for 3-run triples to seal the game, and navigating a relatively young pitching staff through 9 innings of solid work to secure another win.  In looking at the box score this morning, I noticed another cool trend from last night, one deserving of its own post.  All 5 Yankee pitchers who pitched last night were under 30 years old and all 5 were homegrown players.

Chase Whitley, Adam Warren, Jose Ramirez, Dellin Betances, and David Robertson.  All drafted or signed by the Yankees, all developed through the team's farm system, all graduated to the Majors within the organization, and almost all contributing in very meaningful ways.  That's pretty cool.  When you can get 9 innings of 3-run ball with 2 BB and 8 K from a crop of your own pitchers against the best offensive team in the AL, that's gotta make your scouts and MiL people feel good.

For the season, that 5-some has combined to throw 149.1 innings.  They have a 2.41 ERA, 183 K/37 BB, and 4.6 total fWAR.  That's pretty damn good when you consider that Warren was working as a low-leverage middle relief guy at this time last year while Betances, Whitley, and Ramirez were all either working in different roles or just starting new ones in Triple-A.  Their overall track record when it comes to pitcher development doesn't look that great, but based on last night's game it would be unfair to say the Yankees completely suck at it.  There's at least a few things they have to be doing right.

Game 70 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 TOR 3

(Job well done.  Courtesy of the AP)

I know I said this series was going to be a big test for the Yankees, but in all honesty, can they just play the Blue Jays at home all the time?  They own them there.  Totally have them twisted into pretzels.  Case in point, last night's game.  Yanks had Chase Whitley up against Toronto ace Mark Buehrle, a matchup that should heavily favor the Jays.  Not in The Stadium though, and not when Buehrle was sporting a career ERA over 6 against the Bombers.  They tuned him up for a few early last night before tacking on against the bullpen late to secure their 15th (!!!!) straight win over the Jays at home.

Game Notes:

- The usual suspects at the top of the order gave Whitley a tad of run support in the bottom of the 1st.  Brett Gardner led off with a single, moved to second on an error, third on a flyout, and scored on a 2-out ribbie single by Alfonso Soriano.  For real.

- Whitley made it stand up through 3 innings.  He was mixing pitches again, working both sides of the plate to hitters hitting from both sides of the plate, and keeping the Blue Jay lineup off the basepaths.  Not electric at all in comparison to Tanaka, but effective.

- A 1-out HBP seemed to rattle him in the 4th and he surrendered a couple of RBI singles to give the Jays a brief lead.  But a Carlos Beltran leadoff single and a Brian McCann home run in the bottom half put the Yanks back in front.

- Joe got Whitley through 5, then got out of that game while he was ahead and went to his bullpen.  Adam Warren tossed 2 perfect innings with 3 Ks, Dellin Betances cleaned up Jose Ramirez's mess in the 8th, and D-Rob breezed through the 9th.

- The offense tacked on 4 insurance runs in the bottom of the 7th again to make life a lot easier down the stretch.  Gardner was at the forefront of the rally with his 4th hit of the night, Ichiro drew a pinch hit, bases loaded walk, and Big Mac cleared the bases with a triple to right-center.

Kelly Johnson Is Starting To Get Some Shine

("Thanks for the at-bats, guy."  Courtesy of Getty Images)

When the offseason ended and the Yankee roster started to take shape over ST, it looked like Kelly Johnson was going to be an important piece.  He could play a lot of positions, he could play the infield ones well, he had left-handed power.  He was like Joe's "Draw 4" Wild card in Uno that he could use at any time in any situation.  Then Yangervis Solarte came out hitting like a maniac and Brian Roberts' switch-hitting body managed to stay healthy enough to play and suddenly KJ was the odd man out, getting his only playing time when Teix was hurt and he had to play out of position at first.

Now Solarte is really slumping at the plate, Roberts' body is banged up, and Johnson finds himself back in his regular position getting regular playing time.  He's been a fixture in the bottom of the batting the last few games and could finally be starting to settle into the role he should have been playing all along.

Wednesday Morning Food For Thought: Nothing Like A Good Old Strikeout

Mashiro Tanaka: 113 K in 99.2 IP
Dellin Betances: 68 K in 40.2 IP
David Robertson: 43 K in 23.2 IP

The strikeout is the best possible outcome for any at-bat from the pitching side.  The Yankees have 3 of the best in the business when it comes to getting strikeouts and all 3 of them were in action last night.  Correction, they WERE the action last night.  15 combined Ks in 9 innings, 6 of those victims being Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion, the 3 best Toronto hitters.  Tanaka struck out all 3 for the side in the 5th inning, Betances nailed them twice in the 8th, and D-Rob ended the game with a K after a 2-out triple.

Betances and D-Rob's combined total of 111 strikeouts is the most by any relief duo in baseball.  By a lot.  The next closest is Andrew Miller and Koji Uehara with 88.  Tanaka is tied for 2nd most among all starters behind David Price.  When you're playing a lot of close games and not scoring a lot of runs, run prevention becomes even more important.  The best way to prevent runs is to prevent guys from putting the ball in play and these 3 have shown a tremendous knack for coming up with those big strikeouts in big moments.

Game 69 Wrap-Up: NYY 3 TOR 1

(The guy fields his position too, NBD.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

What more can you say about Masahiro Tanaka?  The guy is a killer.  A stone cold assassin.  He gave up a home run to the first batter he faced in last night's series opener (the second time he's done that in 2 games against the Blue Jays), then proceeded to shut them the hell down for the next 6 innings.  Is it a fair statement to say that the Yankees have the best starting pitcher and relief pitcher in the American League?  In all of MLB?  It's at least up for debate after the tag team effort by Tanaka and Dellin Betances last night that propelled the Yankees to another win over the Jays at home.

Game Notes:

- So yeah, that leadoff homer.  Tanaka actually gave up 2 more hits in the top of the 1st, both with 2 outs, before ending the only real threat he'd face on the night with a strikeout.

- The Yankees really made Marcus Stroman work for his outs.  They took a lot of pitches, fouled off a lot of pitches, and cashed in on that in the bottom of the 3rd when the lineup cycled around to Brett Gardner and he popped a YS3 Special home run down the right field line to give his team the lead.

- Stroman was knocked out before he could finish the 4th, and the Yanks got their insurance run against the bullpen in the 5th.  Derek Jeter singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, third on a groundout, and scored on Mark Teixeira's ribbie base knock to make it 3-1.

- Tanaka only allowed 2 baserunners to reach second after the 1st inning and he struck out 10 through 6 innings, including the side in the 5th (Melky, Joey Bats, Encarnacion) on splitter, slider, splitter.  Joe pulled him after 6 and 104 pitches and let his 'pen take him home.

- They did that alright.  Betances pitched a perfect 7th and perfect 8th with 3 more strikeouts, David Robertson only gave up a triple because Gardner missed a diving catch attempt and struck out 2 more of his own in the 9th.

Report: CC Returns To The Mound

CC Sabathia threw 25 pitch bullpen yest. (just fb/change up) Will throw another pen tomorrow (all pitches) & reevaluate from there #Yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) June 17, 2014

It's been 2 weeks since CC Sabathia began rehab work on his right knee in the form of low-impact treadmill walking and playing catch.  Via Meredith Marakovits, that rehab schedule took a major step forward when he got back on a mound for the first time yesterday to throw a bullpen session.  Per Marakovits' report, Sabathia said he was encouraged and that his knee felt good.  If that holds through today's off-day and tomorrow's scheduled 'pen sesh, the next steps in the comeback plan can start to come together.

Cash declared CC out "until at least July" back on May 19th.  4 weeks and a day have passed since then and this is the first real significant progress CC has made.  I have to think the team is going to take it extra careful with him from here as they start to work him back into game shape, perhaps even more carefully than they're taking it with Pineda.  With the years and money still owed to him, that would be a wise move.

Upcoming Toronto Series Starts Gut Check Time For The Yanks

The Yankees are fresh off their second 9-game road trip of the season and this past one was the tougher of the 2.  3 games against a red hot Royals club, 3 against an unexpectedly competitive Seattle team, and 3 against the best team in the American League in the A's.  They came through it with a positive 5-4 record, although those results did little to help them gain ground in the AL East race.

That race comes back into full focus for the next month, starting tonight when the Yankees host division-leading Toronto for a 3-game set.  It will be the first of 5 straight series against AL East opponents, including another 3-gamer in Toronto this time next week, and 12 of those 15 games will be played at home.  Tonight marks the first time the Yankees have faced a divisional opponent since the first week of May and the first time they've faced the Blue Jays since the second series of the season when they took 2 of 3 in Toronto.

The Obligatory Giancarlo Stanton Dream Post

(Swoon... Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

When he fills out his lineup card for tonight's series opener against Toronto, Joe will have multiple options for right field.  He can play a 40-year-old lefty hitter with a noodle bat and deteriorated defensive skills who can slap some singles here and there but do little else.  He can play a 38-year-old former power hitter who's apparently lost his bat speed and power to the degree that he's nothing more than a platoon bat at the moment.  Or he could roll the dice and throw his 37-year-old projected starting right fielder back out there even though he has a bone spur in his throwing elbow that caused him to miss 3 weeks and has only recently started throwing a ball again in an effort to limit the stress on the elbow.

Appealing options, aren't they?  Safe to say the Yankees' plan to patch together right field for a year or 2 is already all but crumbled and fallen apart.  Both Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano are in the final years of their respective contracts, and while one or both of them may try to stick around next year, I highly doubt they'll be doing it as Yankees.  Beltran, with what he's shown when he has been in the outfield and now the elbow problem to consider, could be transitioned to full-time DH duty as soon as this season.  That would leave another void in right, a position the team has struggled to fill with a reliable option since letting Nick Swisher walk.  Enter Giancarlo Stanton.

Cervelli Slated To Be Activated Today (UPDATED)

Nothing official yet.  Won't be until later today.  But all signs point towards Francisco Cervelli being activated off the DL today to rejoin the team at home for the series opener against Toronto.  When that happens, the most likely candidate to give up his roster spot for Cervelli is the current backup catcher John Ryan Murphy.

Murphy has performed admirably in his role as backup to the backup.  He hit .286/.308/.365 in 65 plate appearances, handled his defensive duties well, meshed with his pitchers, and generally seemed to take positively to his second stint in the Majors.  In my eyes, and in the eyes of many others, he did enough to warrant keeping that job for the present and the future.  That said, it couldn't hurt to get him back down to Triple-A for some regular ABs.  If the team does fancy him a bigger part of their future than Cervelli, they need to get Cervelli back into games to build up some trade value for him.  In that sense, this move works for all parties involved and is a positive side effect of having the kind of catching depth the Yanks do.

So welcome back, Frankie.  Try not to sprain, strain, tear, or break anything on your way around the clubhouse today.

** UPDATE 3:19 PM- It's official, according to Mark Feinsand.  Frankie up, John Ryan down. **

The Best Of Prospect Times, The Worst Of Prospect Times

(Aaron Judge, certified stud.  Courtesy of MiLB.com)

It's Minor League All-Star Game season, which signifies the start to prospect promotion season.  The Yankees have already moved some guys up and down, but once we get through the midpoint of all the MiL seasons, you'll really start to see things pick up.  With that in mind, here are a few updates on some of the top names in the system and the wide disparity in where their seasons are heading at the midpoint.  All things considered, especially some of the more recent negative news, I think you have to say this has been another disappointing campaign for the Yankee system as a whole.  But check out the major "Bests" and "Worsts" after the jump and judge for yourself.

Should Vidal Nuno Even Be In The Rotation Anymore?

("Try to keep this one in the park, guy."  Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

On Saturday morning, it was like things were finally starting to come together.  The Yankees had won 4 games in a row and looked pretty good doing it in all aspects of the game.  By last night, things were right back to normal.  Shoddy infield defense, inconsistent performances from the lower-level middle relievers, the inability to string hits together and drive guys in, and VERY uneven starting pitching.

Actually, uneven might be understating it a touch.  It was horrible.  After David Phelps' brilliant work on Friday night, the last 2 Yankee starters combined to give up 12 ER in just 7.2 IP on Saturday and Sunday.  The bulk of that (in the smaller amount of innings) came from the left hand of Vidal Nuno.  He gave up 6 ER to the first 10 batters he faced yesterday, and 8 overall in 3 innings.  Dom alluded to it earlier this morning and Katie hinted at it a few weeks ago, so now I'm just going to come right out and ask the question that needs asking.  Should Vidal Nuno still have a spot in the rotation?

Monday Morning Food For Thought: Solarte Really Slowing Down

I knew this was going to happen eventually.  We all did.  I was hoping it wouldn't happen right after I suggested he be moved up into the 2-spot, but a month later that seems to be the case.  Yangervis Solarte is coming back to reality as a hitter.  After coming back from his late-May slump with 9 hits in his next 6 games, he has really fallen off in June and created another hole in the batting order.

Solarte went 0-3 with a walk and  R scored last night.  The run was his first in a week, but the 0-fer made him 0-18 in his last 5 games.  That dropped him down to a .178/.260/.244 slash line in June and a .274/.347/.420 line for the season.  Solarte has been trending downward every month since Opening Day, from .an 865 OPS in April to an .809 in May.  The acceleration of that downtrend so far this month has been a dramatic one though, and it's creating more lineup and roster juggling confusion for Joe.  He already doesn't know what he's going to get or who he's going to be without day to day in his infield.  Now he can't even rely on the one constant he's had for the first 2 months.

So what's the diagnosis now?  Is this just another rough patch for Solarte or is this the sign of natural statistical regression to the mean settling in and his true Major League talent level coming to surface?