Game 30 Wrap-Up: TB 5 NYY 1

(Courtesy of the AP)

For the Yankees to successfully tread water while Michael Pineda is out, they need CC Sabathia to be better.  No matter how good some of the peripherals look or how most of his damage has come in bad 1-inning samples, at the end of the day it's the final results that matter and CC's haven't been all that good.  He could have gotten back on the right track with a strong performance in today's series finale against the Rays and sent the team back on the road with some positive momentum.  Instead he pitched very poorly and got the sputtering offense into a hole it couldn't climb out of.

Game Notes:

- In short, it wasn't a good start for CC.  He wasn't commanding his 4-seamer or sinker and he gave up 4 runs on 4 XBH through the first 3 innings, including a 3-run inside-the-park home run by Wil Myers in the 3rd.

- Joe probably wanted to try to get at least 5 out of CC, but there was no way he could let him continue if he wanted to win.  CC gave up another run on 3 hits and failed to cover first base on a potential double play ball and he was out with 2 outs in the 4th, leaving to some well deserved boos.

- Regardless of how CC was pitching, the Yankee offense had no excuse for not scoring more than 1 run off of Erik Bedard in the first 4 innings.  They left 5 men stranded and were 0-6 with RISP.

- Give a big tip of cap to Alfredo Aceves.  He took over for CC in his re-debut appearance and kept his team within striking distance.  5.1 scoreless IP, 3 hits, 5 strikeouts.  And he gave the rest of the 'pen another day off.

- It didn't matter much.  The offense never found its footing, stranding 2 in the bottom of the 7th and never mounting a credible threat in the 8th or 9th.  Pretty pathetic showing all-around.

Ian Clarkin Says Hello

I wasn't even aware that Ian Clarkin was slated to pitch for Low-A Charleston this season, let alone make his first start of the season for them last night.  After he had his pro debut delayed last year, I thought the Yankees would take the cautious approach with his HS arm and start him in one of the short-season leagues.  Guess that would have been a waste of time based on last night's results:

5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.

Yeah, I guess that's pretty good for a 19-year-old kid who gave up 6 ER in 5.0 GCL innings pitched last season.  Clarkin was nasty with his stuff, sharp with his command, and efficient with his pitch count (61 pitches, 42 strikes).  He also picked a runner off of first base.  It's just 1 game, but it was a helluva way to introduce yourself to a Yankee fanbase that has high hopes for their 2013 draft class.

How Much Did Derek Jeter Need That Day Off Yesterday?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Heading into last weekend, Derek Jeter owned a .294/.385/.338 slash line.  The power had not been there at all, but his high average and OBP made him a useful piece at the top of the order and were positive signs that he had his legs back under him.

Since that weekend, things have started to trend in the wrong direction.  In Jeter's last 5 games played, he's gone just 3-24 with 0 BB and 7 K, including his first career 0-7 game on Friday night.  His batting line is down to .250/.324/.283 and Joe elected to give him a day off yesterday.  Has Jeter been a bit overworked in the first month of the season?  The statistical signs that he may be tiring have been prevalent in his recent performance.  The lack of walks, the increased K rate, and the complete disappearance of power in his game.  Jeter hasn't had an XBH since April 17th.  So is it time to start being concerned about The Captain?

Game 29 Wrap-Up: NYY 9 TB 3

It's been a frustrating 3-game losing streak for the Yanks.  Their offense hasn't been able to get anything done, against big name familiar foes or no name first-timers, the rotation has been uneven, and the baby shit soft back end of the bullpen has been a killer when it's been called on.  The Yankees added a fresh arm to that back end in Al Aceves before the start of today's game, but I think they were hoping he wouldn't be needed to support Masahiro Tanaka.  Tanaka has been the ace through 5 starts and his team needed a big ace-like performance from him today.

Game Notes:

- He wasn't looking very ace-like early.  He gave up a solo homer to Desmond Jennings in the top of the 1st, a second run on a trio of singles in the 2nd, and a third on a Wil Myers solo shot to lead off the 4th.

- The Yankee lineup didn't do much to help Tanaka against Tampa starter Jake Odorizzi the first time through.  He retired the first 9 in order with 3 strikeouts and it was shaping up to be another long day.

- Something funny happened after the Myers HR though.  Tanaka got it together and shut Tampa down while Odorizzi fell apart and let the Yankees take over.  It started with a Mark Teixeira 2-run shot in the bottom of the 4th to make it 3-2, his 4th HR in 5 games.

- It continued in the 5th with an Ichiro double, a Solarte walk, and an RBI ground-rule double by Jacoby Ellsbury.  That knocked Odorizzi out of the game and the re-energized Yanks beat up on the bullpen to the tune of 6 more runs in the next 3 innings.

- Once his team got on the board, it was like Tanaka had new life.  He gave up a single single in his final 3 innings, with 3 strikeouts and 5 groundouts.  His sinker and splitter came back to him and he rode them to strong finish.

- Equally strong finish by the bullpen.  Dellin Betances worked a scoreless 8th with 2 more strikeouts and Preston Claiborne a perfect mop-up 9th.

The All-Or-Nothing Bullpen

After last night's 14-inning affair, the Yankee bullpen has a 4.11 ERA in 28 games.  In 92.0 total relief innings pitched, they've given up 42 earned runs.  By that measure, they fall in the lower half of MLB bullpens.  When you look at how those runs have been given up and by whom, however, the performance of the 'pen starts to look better.

In 13.2 combined IP, the group of Bruce Billings, Vidal Nuno, Chris Leroux, Matt Daley, Cesar Cabral, and Dean Anna have allowed 25 of the 42 ER.  By comparison, the group of David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, Adam Warren, Matt Thornton, and Dellin Betances have combined to give up 11 ER in 59.2 IP.  The core of the Yankee bullpen has been very, very good from day 1.  It's the back end that's been the weak link, something that shouldn't come as a shock considering David Phelps and Nuno have moved into the rotation.  That dynamic played out in textbook fashion last night, when the core group of relievers gave up 1 ER in 8 innings of work and Leroux gave up 5 in 1.

In short, the Yankees have a good enough bullpen to compete and succeed in the AL East.  They just need some help shoring up those last few spots so they don't get exposed in extra-inning games.

Game 28 Wrap-Up: TB 10 NYY 5

(Courtesy of the AP)

The last time the Yankees faced David Price, they knocked him around his home ballpark pretty bad.  They couldn't repeat that feat against him at The Stadium last night, and couldn't come through on roughly a million other good scoring opportunities in extra innings to steal a win.

Game Notes:

- Tampa gained a quick 1-0 lead in the 2nd on a James Loney base hit, but lost it just as quickly in the bottom half when Brian McCann hit his 4th HR of the season.  It was a 2-run shot and put the Yanks on top.

- Vidal Nuno limited damage through 3.  When the lineup turned back over in the 4th, he wasn't so lucky.  He gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks in the 4th, a solo HR in the 5th, and his day was done after 4.2 innings.

- Price held the Yankees at bay through 7.  It wasn't until he left that they made their move, or rather moves, in the form of solo shots by Teix and Alfonso Soriano in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game back up.

- The Rays regained the lead in the top of the 9th with a pair of singles off D-Rob, but the Yanks came right back with a 2-out ribbie single by Jacoby Ellsbury to re-tie it 5 and send the game into extras.

- This is where things got really painful.  The Yanks left 2 on in the 11th, 2 on in the 12th, and the bases loaded in the 13th.  They had the leadoff runner in the 12th and 13th and could never push a run across to end it.

- It came back to bite them in the 14th after they had used all their good relievers.  Shawn Kelley and Adam Warren each pitched 2 scoreless, but Chris Leroux was next up and he imploded.  Gave up 5 in the top of the 14th and that was that.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 5/2/14

Going to a big Derby party tomorrow.  Love the Derby.  Sneaky one of the best sporting events of the year if for no other reason than it kickstarts the annual buzz for a potential Triple Crown winner.  Not to brag or anything, but I am the guy that brought home a cool $96 from the final weekend at Arlington last year.  If you're a Derby fan too and are waiting to make your bets, here's some free advice.  I absolutely love Ride on Curlin at 15-1 and love General A Rod at 15-1 slightly less.  Take one of those and thank me on Sunday morning.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Mike Axisa of RAB pinpointed slider problems as the major cause for Hiroki Kuroda's slow start.

- El duque of It Is High... mused on the importance of Teix in the middle of the lineup in reaction to his timely home run last Sunday night.

- SG of RLYW presented a pretty sweet historical stat to put Masahiro Tanaka's Major League start in perspective.

- On Wednesday, Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits explained why there should be no concern about Tanaka's high early home run rate.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud discussed Dellin Betances' hot start and got Betances' thoughts on what he's done well to get off to such a good start.

- Jason Cohen of Pinstripe Alley took a stab at predicting the SS Staten Island roster.  Definitely more interesting names on the pitching staff than in the lineup.

- Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes expressed his disdain for the way Yankee fans treated Robinson Cano on his first night back to The Stadium.

- On Thursday, William Tasker of IIATMS/TYA examined the impact the cold early-season weather could be having on the Yankee bats.

- Delia Enriquez of Bronx Baseball Daily pondered the biggest questions facing the rotation after the first month of the regular season.

- On Friday, Martin Riggs of NoMaas broke down the high and low offensive producers in April and touched on what needs to happen for each in May.

This week's jam is "Colossal" by Wolfmother.  About time this band put another album out, even if they really never are getting back together and even if I've yet to check it out.  If they really are back together, I'd pay money to go see them.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Joe Makes It To 1,000

I never would have known this if I didn't see Chad Jennings' post on it earlier this morning, but when the Yankees take the field against the Rays tonight it will mark Joe Girardi's 1,000th game as manager.  Well, his 1,000th regular season game.  He's got a few postseason games on his ledger as well.

The first 999 games have gone pretty well for Joe.  He owns a 579-420 record and that .580 winning percentage ranks him 5th in team history among managers who managed more than 1,000 behind Huggins, Torre, Stengel, and McCarthy.  Not a bad group to be lumped into at all.  He's also got 4 postseason appearances, 3 division titles, 1 AL pennant, and 1 World Series ring in his 6+ seasons at the helm.

Congrats on reaching 1,000, Joe.  Here's hoping the next 1,000 are just as fruitful, if not more so, than the first were.  Oh, and thanks for the fun memories:

Where Has All The Offense Gone?

(I feel ya, Jacoby.  I feel ya.  Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The Yankees should have been catching a big break last night.  Seattle choosing to push back Wednesday's scheduled starter Roenis Elias rather than skip him meant the Yanks got to avoid getting carved up by Felix Hernandez for the 457th time.  Of course, there's always that pesky theory about the Yankees never being able to hit rookie pitchers and it played out in full effect last night as Elias held the lineup to 2 runs (1 earned) through 7 innings while striking out 10.  2 runs isn't enough to get it done with the rotation in the kind of shape it's in these days and it didn't get it done last night.

Game 27 Wrap-Up: SEA 4 NYY 2

(Courtesy of the AP)

This has been a strange week.  Off-day Monday, bad game Tuesday, rainout yesterday.  It's been hard to get into a good writing rhythm, so I can't imagine what it's like for the guys who have to actually try to hit a baseball being thrown at them at 90+ MPH all the time.  Hopefully the Yankees weren't rusty.  They can't afford to be with the way they're swinging the bats and their margin for error wasn't going to be very big if Hiroki Kuroda hadn't figured out his command issues from his last start.  The bats didn't wake up, Hirok didn't completely figure it out, and the series ended in disappointing fashion, a quasi-sweep at the hands of the Mariners.

Game Notes:

- The teams traded 1st inning runs on a Robinson Cano ribbie double and Jacoby Ellsbury's first Yankee home run to lead off the bottom of the 1st.  They also traded rally-killing double plays in the 2nd, then Cano regained the lead with his club thanks to a Derek Jeter fielding error to start the 3rd.

- Kuroda's slider command was absent again, and his splitter being off made matters worse.  He left a few up in the zone with 2 outs in the 4th and it led to 2 more Seattle runs.

- Seattle starter Roenis Elias really settled down nicely after the Ellsbury leadoff HR.  He struck out the side after that in the 1st and struck out 8 total through 5 innings, including the side again in the 5th.  Yanks couldn't do a thing with his curveball.

- Kuroda finished with 6 straight outs and 3 Ks and his night was over after 6 innings.  The bullpen came on and did its job keeping the game within reach as Matt Thornton, Adam Warren, and Shawn Kelley combined for 3 shutout innings.

- The Yanks tacked another run on in the 6th thanks to a pair of 2-out singles and a Cano error, but that was all they could muster against Elias, who went 7 strong.  So much for having the advantage of missing King Felix.

- They didn't fare much better against the bullpen.  A 2-out Ichiro single in the 9th was all they could conjur up for a late-game rally.

AB4AR "Best Of The Month" Awards: April 2014

Just like that, 1 month of baseball in the books.  The Yankees wrapped up April with another rainout last night, and they find themselves sitting atop the AL East mountain as the only team above .500.  Their 15-11 record doesn't match up to their -11 run differential, but it's too early in the season to put any real meaning in run differential.  If anything, that number illustrates how inconsistent the Yankees were in the later part of the month, getting blown out by 10+ runs one day and then winning a 3-2 game the next.  They still don't have their offense clicking and their rotation situation has taken a turn for the worst, so to have a 2-game division lead despite all of that is plenty fine with me.  After the jump, the best of the month that was in Yankeeland.

Thursday Mid-Morning Food For Thought: Rotation Veterans Struh-guh-ling

Since last 8/17, 103 Ps have at least 60 IPs. Kuroda’s 6.07 ERA is the 3rd worst, Sabathia’s 5.16 is 7th #morethanablip? #Yankees
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 1, 2014

Saw this tweet from Joel Sherman and it made me do a double take.  I knew he faltered down the stretch last season, but I didn't realize Hirok's ERA was that bad going back that far.  If anything, I would have actually expected CC's to be the worse one and Hirok's to be in the low 5's.

A few weeks ago, this wouldn't have been a huge problem for the Yankees.  Everybody knew there was a chance that CC's major 2013 regression was the start of something permanent and that Hirok could finally be ticketed for some age-related regression of his own.  With 3 young guys there to pick them up and a solid bullpen, the Yanks should have been able to get by without their top 2 starters pitching like top 2 starters.

Now that Nova and Pineda are out, this is quickly becoming a pretty big deal.  Even though his peripherals suggest he's pitched better than his ERA, both CC and Hirok have ERAs over 5.00 in 11 combined starts.  That isn't going to cut it with Nuno and Phelps taking up the back 40% of the rotation.  Whatever's ailing them - command problems, bad luck, the dreaded bad inning - the Yanks need Hirok and CC to start turning things around and re-establish themselves as reliable, consistent presences in the rotation.

Luis Severino Makes FanGraphs' Prospect Watch

FanGraphs' resident prospect guru Marc Hulet does a regular "Prospect Watch" series in which he targets and scouts a few different prospects from around baseball.  Yesterday's edition featured Yankee pitching prospect Luis Severino, who's been making a lot of noise on the  scene thanks to his very good 2013 campaign.

Hulet's assessment of Severino was full of compliments.  He called Severino a potential "scouting coup" based on his tools, and like Keith Law, Hulet was a big fan of Severino's stuff.  He thinks there's room to add a few MPH to Severino's mid-90s fastball and likes the natural break of his curveball and fade of his changeup.  Also like Law, Hulet acknowledged that Severino has a lot of mechanical inconsistencies that need to be ironed out, especially the arm slot and motion repeatability when he throws his offspeed pitches.

Based on these 2 scouting reports, it's clear that Severino is far from a finished product.  That's true for any pitcher at age 20, so Severino has plenty of time to work on smoothing out his mechanics.  That can be taught and coached too.  What can't is stuff and both Law and Hulet recognize that Severino has plenty of that.  It wouldn't be a stretch at all to think that Severino could be the top organizational pitching prospect by the end of this season.

P.S.- I had Severino ranked 16th on this year's AB4AR Top 30 in his first appearance.  Check out the whole list here.

Tonight's Rainout Notes

By now, you're probably aware that tonight's game has been cancelled due to rain.  The Yanks and Mariners still have to play tomorrow's series finale, but there will be no doubleheader to make up today's game.  The Mariners have a doubleheader scheduled next week as well and didn't want to put the added strain on their starting rotation.  Fair enough.

Instead, the 2 teams will play the makeup on Monday, June 2nd.  Seattle's in the area and both teams have an off-day that matches up.  That spares the Yankees this week.  They would have had to make another move to fill a spot start had they been forced to play 2 tomorrow and they're not exactly flush with starting pitching right now.  The lost off-day will result in them playing 17 straight games for a stretch, but I'll take that over Chris Leroux getting a start in a New York Yankee uniform.

As for the current rotation plans, the Yanks will use the day off today to skip over David Phelps' spot in the rotation and pitch Hiroki Kuroda on regular rest tomorrow in the series finale.  This also works to the Yanks' advantage as 1 less start they have to cover while Pineda's out.  I'll take it.

Why Is Kelly Johnson's Role Shrinking?

(Have you seen this man?  Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Between not finding suitable everyday options for second and third base and finding even fewer for a backup at first base, the general consensus was that Kelly Johnson was going to be an important part of the infield this year.  At the end of Spring Training, he was the starter at third, the backup and perfect world best man for the job at second, and the backup for Teix at first as declared by Joe.  As a guy who'd spent the better part of the last 4 seasons either at second or in left field, that was a lot to handle, and if we're being fair, I think Johnson has done a nice job handling what was asked of him in the first month of the season.  He's played a pretty good third, a decent first, and he's provided the left-handed pop the Yanks were hoping for when they signed him (4 2B, 3 HR in 69 PA).  So why has he seen his playing time decrease so much in the last 2 weeks?

CC And His Battles With The One Bad Inning

(Courtesy of the AP)

CC Sabathia has made 6 starts in the month of April.  He's pitched 37 innings in those starts and given up 21 earned runs in those innings for a pretty bad 5.11 ERA.  As a whole, CC's performance has been subpar this year, but looking start by start it's been the 1 bad inning that's really killed him.

• 4/1- 6 IP, 6 ER; 1 bad inning (btm 1st), 4 ER
• 4/6- 6 IP, 4 ER; 1 bad inning (btm 6th), 3 ER
• 4/11- 7 IP, 4 ER; 1 bad inning top 6th), 4 ER
• 4/17- 7 IP, 1 ER; no bad innings
• 4/24- 6 IP, 2 ER; 1 bad inning (btm 3rd), 2 ER
• 4/29- 5 IP, 4 ER; 1 bad inning (top 5th), 4 ER

He's had 1 bad inning in 5 of his 6 starts and he's given up 17 of his 21 ER in those 5 innings (30.60 ERA).  In his other 32 IP, he's given up 4 ER (1.13 ERA).  On the one hand, this split shows that Sabathia's overall performance has not been as bad as his ERA would lead you to believe.  On the other, it shows how much CC is struggling to adjust to life as a finesse pitcher.  His bad innings have been defined by an inability to locate pitches down in the strike zone, an inability to put hitters away with 2 strikes, and an inability to finish off innings with 2 outs.  The Yankees need Carsten to be better with Nova and Pineda both on the shelf for the foreseeable future.  To be better, he needs to find a way to limit damage and eliminate the 1 bad inning every time out.

More On Pineda's Lat Injury

In case you missed it late last night, the diagnosis on Michael Pineda is a Grade I strain of the teres major muscle in his back.  He'll be further evaluated by Dr. Ahmad today, but the early estimate from the team was an expected 3-4 weeks out and then rehab appearances after that to build his pitch count back up.  Given how careful they were in managing his shoulder rehab, I anticipate the team will take the same approach here.  We could be looking at 6-8 weeks when all is said and done.

As for the injury itself, it's less severe than a tear of the muscle, which is considered an uncommon injury by the American Journal of Sports Medicine.  Generally, a tear of the teres major tendon takes 3 months to come back from, so a 3-4 week downtime estimate is encouraging given the potential worst case scenario.  The muscle strain is limited to the back, and has no relation to Pineda's previous shoulder injury, although a strain in that area could and usually does manifest itself in upper arm pain and it would be bad for Pineda to alter his pitching mechanics to compensate for that and risk damage to the shoulder.

This injury is definitely not a good thing.  Between the pine tar suspension and this, the Yankees are losing a key part of their rotation in a time where they can least afford to be without him.  It's not as bad as it could have been though, and Pineda will be able to return to the mound this year.

Game 26 Wrap-Up: SEA 6 NYY 3

(Courtesy of the AP)

I don't know why I expected anything different, but Yankee fans decided not to head my advice and showcased their stupidity and hypocrisy for the whole baseball world to see when they booed Robinson Cano heartily last night the first time he stepped to the plate.  The team not doing a video tribute is fine.  These are all grown men, they don't need special little videos made for them to show how great they are.  But the fans not respecting and being thankful for what Cano did in his time here is shameful and I'm a little embarrassed to be a Yankee fan this morning.  If they would have waited for the game to play out, they would have had plenty more to boo for.

Game Notes:

- Mark Teixeira showed he can still turn on a 95 MPH inside fastball on Sunday night, so Chris Young's mid-80s heat should have been no problem.  It wasn't, and Teix deposited one into the right field seats in the 2nd for his 3rd homer of the year and an early 1-0 Yankee lead.

- CC got off to a strong start, retiring the first 2 innings in order on a solid 4-pitch mix.  His fastball velocity looked a tick higher and he was throwing strike 1.

- That early success quickly dissipated over the next 2 innings though.  CC danced around 2 baserunners each in the 3rd and 4th, but he couldn't repeat the luck in the 5th.  3 straight singles loaded the bases and 2 consecutive 2-out hits resulted in 4 Seattle runs.

- The Yankee bats were mostly silent against Young after Teix's yardjob.  They scored 1 run in the 3rd, stranded 2 runners in the 4th, and only managed 3 more hits after that.  2 of them were Ichiro singles.

- Dellin Betances worked out CC's mess in the 6th, but couldn't finish off the 7th and got 2 runs charged to his ledger when Preston Claiborne couldn't pick him up.  A 4-run deficit might as well by 40 when your lineup isn't hitting and the token run in the 9th was nowhere near enough for a comeback.

More Injuries: Ellsbury And Pineda (UPDATED)

Couple of disconcerting injury-related stories coming out right now.  Jacoby Ellsbury has apparently been bothered by a sore left hand for the last few days and while tests on it came back negative, it's bad enough that he's not in the lineup tonight.

The bigger and potentially worse news is in regards to Michael Pineda.  He reportedly shut himself down after just 1 inning of his simulated start today after feeling tightness in his right lat.  He's going for an MRI and according to Joe, his next scheduled start on May 5th is in jeopardy.

More on these stories as it comes out...

** UPDATE 3:55 PM- Joe told reporters that David Phelps would stay in the rotation if Pineda is unable to make his start on Monday.  Not a good omen for what could come back on this MRI. **

** UPDATE 10:22 PM- Via Erik Boland, Pineda has been diagnosed with a Grade I strain of his teres major muscle.  The team is saying he'll be shut down for 10 days, will be out for 3-4 weeks, and will undergo further evaluation by the team doctor.  This doesn't sound good at all. **

Welcoming Back Robbie Cano

(Dude is rocking some sweet facial hair.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Does it feel like Robinson Cano has been gone for a really long time to anybody else?  In reality, he's been a non-Yankee for less than a month of his career, but it feels like he's been away forever to me.  He'll make his first trip back to The Stadium tonight when the Mariners come to town for a 3-game series, his first appearance back in front of the Yankee faithful since choosing Seattle and their 3 more years of guaranteed money over the Yankees and their 7-year offer.  Most of the beat guys are trying to stir the pot by writing and tweeting about how the fans should react during Cano's first plate appearance tonight, but to me it's a non-issue.  There's really only one acceptable option for how to treat Cano tonight.

Prospect Stock Watch: April 2014

(Courtesy of Mark LoMoglio/MiLB.com)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It's been a tough start to the year for the farm system.  With a handful of top prospects missing the start of the season as they recovered from offseason health problems (Slade Heathcott, Greg Bird, Ty Hensley), the Yankees have watched more injuries strike down a significant portion of other recognizable names.  From Nik Turley and Jose Ramirez in Spring Training, to Tyler Austin last week, to the announcement of Jose Campos' season-ending TJS over the weekend, there's seemingly been a top guy going on the DL every few days.  That's created opportunities for other players to step up, but so far nobody has created a bigger name for himself than he already had.  With April 2 days away from ending and the sample sizes growing to an almost meaningful size, here are the guys who've helped and hurt their prospect stock the most in the first month.

Ryan Starts Rehab Assignment

Out since mid-March with a pinched nerve in his upper back, Brendan Ryan took a big step towards his return from the DL this past Sunday when he began his MiL rehab assignment with the High-A Tampa Yankees.  Ryan has started at shortstop in each of the last 2 games for Tampa, going 3-8 with 1 BB and 2 RBI.  I haven't read any specifics on how many innings he played in the 2 games, but I have to think it would have been reported if it was less than 9.

Ryan missed most of Spring Training, so his rehab assignment will not be as brief as Teix's or D-Rob's were.  Joe said he wanted to get Ryan a full compliment of ST plate appearances before calling him up, so 40-50 should do the trick.  That would put Ryan on track for another 8-10 rehab games and a return to the Major League roster in about 2 weeks.  The Yankees are playing without a true backup shortstop for Derek Jeter right now and they've already had to sit him for a few games to rest a tight quad.  Ryan was always meant to be the man for that job, and the sooner he can get back to do it the better.

Off-Day Comes At The Right Time Again

The early April schedule wasn't especially kind to the Yankees from a scheduling standpoint, but since that first 13-game stretch they've actually had one of the more favorable deals in MLB with scheduled off-days on each of the last 3 Mondays.  The timing of those off-days has been a huge benefit in each of the last 2 weeks, as they gave the Yanks an extra day to deal with the losses of Francisco Cervelli and Ivan Nova and extra time off for some older players who needed it to rest some sprains and strains.  They have a few more bumps and bruises after this weekend series and once again the off-day comes up at the absolute perfect time.

- Brett Gardner was held out of last night's game after getting hit by a pitch on the foot on Saturday.  He could have been used in a pinch last night, but this extra day off should have him ready for tomorrow.

- Ditto Yangervis Solarte, who Joe scratched with a sore shoulder before last night's game.  It doesn't sound too serious and right now Solarte is expected to be ready to go tomorrow as well.

- He isn't hurt, but Derek Jeter went without a day off all weekend despite a Friday night/Saturday afternoon schedule in the first 2 games.  He had the quad issue a few weeks back that the day off on the 14th really helped.  A day off his feet today should do his body good.

- Also not injured, but D-Rob has pitched in 3 of the last 4 days and threw 24+ pitches on Saturday and Sunday.  If the Yanks were playing tonight, he probably wouldn't be available.

New York's next scheduled off-day is Thursday, May 8th, when they'll travel from LA to Milwaukee.  The day off today should be enough to prepare them for the next 9-game stretch.

Mixed Results From Teix In His First Week Back

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The defining image of last night's game was not Masahiro Tanaka walking off the mound after 1 of his 11 strikeouts.  As well as he battled to keep his team in the game against Garrett Richards, the most memorable moment last night was Mark Teixeira turning on a 94 MPH Richards fastball that was belt high and on the inner half of the plate, hitting it high and deep into right field, and pausing for a second to watch it land in the second deck.  I'm talking that "no doubt about it" split second of pimpage that Teix does when he really knows he got one.  I'm talking about this:

(Courtesy of ESPN/MLB.com)

Carlos Beltran, Professional Hitter

When you've been around for as long as Carlos Beltran has (15 full seasons plus partials in 1998 and this season), you're going to learn a lot about what it takes to be a successful hitter.  With a .365 career wOBA and values of .355, .359, and .362 in the last 3 seasons as he's moved into his late 30s, it's fair to say Beltran has picked up his fair share of important lessons and personal tips.  He spoke to David Laurila of FanGraphs for a post that went up on Friday about some of those tips and his general hitting strategy.  It was a very interesting look inside the mind of one of the best all-around hitters of the last 20 years.

For me, the highlight of the post was Beltran talking about knowing the feeling in his legs from pitch to pitch and knowing if he has them under him for his swing based on whether or not he feels like the wind is blowing him off-balance.  That's some next-level veteran stuff right there.  I also liked Beltran's self-described approach of always going up there looking for the 1 pitch he wants and being willing to wait for it.  The guy has seen everything at this point in his career and he knows the value of going up to the plate with a plan and sticking with that plan.  Based on his early .538 SLG and team-leading 5 homers, I'd say that plan is working out well.  The average and OBP will come up in time.  When it does, Beltran could really put up some big numbers hitting in YS3.