BREAKING: Sabathia Has Fluid On His Knee, Going For An MRI (UPDATED)

Girardi just said on WFAN that Sabathia woke up today with fluid in knee and prob headed for MRI. Unsure what's next for him. #yankees
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) July 3, 2014

That's the whole story as far as we know right now and it isn't good.  After pitching on short rest and throwing 55 pitches in his second MiL rehab start last night, CC Sabathia woke up this morning with fluid in his surgically-repaired and recently stem cell/cortisone-injected degenerative right knee.  He's going for an MRI to assess the level of damage and severity and as of right now his comeback plans are on hold.

More on this story as it comes out...

** 4:49 PM- Via multiple beat guys and gals, Girardi said there was "swelling" in CC's right knee as well.  This doesn't sound at all like it's going to have a happy ending. **

A Refresher Course On Zelous Wheeler, Newest Yankee Call-Up (UPDATED)

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It took 5 straight losses, 9 of 11, and dropping below .500, but the Yankees finally decided to make a move to attempt to help their floundering offense.  As first reported by Donnie Collins and later confirmed and elaborated on by Chad Jennings, last night Zelous Wheeler was called up from Triple-A to join the team in Minnesota.  He will be available for, and possibly playing in, tonight's game.  No corresponding move has been announced yet, so we still don't know who's gone.  That may be something the team is still figuring out.  Because Wheeler needs a 25 and 40-man roster spot, there could be a couple of moving pieces here.

International Free Agency Day 1 Recap

We've been hearing for months about how the Yankees were going to "spend like crazy" and "make a big splash" in international free agency this year.  We heard 3 weeks ago that they already had multi-million dollar deals in place with 3 of the top players available.  The international free agency period officially opened yesterday and the Yankees definitely walked the walk after talking the talk.  Here's the breakdown of all the major signings they made:

• Diego Castillo, 16-year-old shortstop, Venezuela- $750,000
• Dermis Garcia, 16-year-old shortstop, DR- $3.2 million
• Nelson Gomez, 16-year-old third baseman, DR- $2.25 million
• Wilkerman Garcia, 16-year-old shortstop, Venezuela- $1.35 million
• Juan De Leon, 16-year-old outfielder, DR- $2 million
• Miguel Flames, 16-year-old catcher, Venezuela- $1 million
• Hyo-Jun Park, 18-year-old shortstop, S. Korea- $1.1 million
• Jonathan Amundaray, 16-year-old outfielder, Venezuela- $1.5 million
• Antonio Arias, 16-year-old outfielder, DR- $800,000

That's 9 of Baseball America's top 28 rated prospects, 4 of the top 10 (both Garcias, Gomez, De Leon), and with all the other smaller dollar signings about $14.5 million in bonuses given out by the Yankees. Add in the $12.3 mil in penalties for going well over their slotted amount and we're looking at $26.8 mil total spent in the first day, and that's not including Christopher Torres and his expected $2.5 mil bonus.  Quite the splash indeed.  Hopefully it pays off in a few years.

Sabathia Watch: Getting Roughed Up In His Second Rehab Start

Originally scheduled for today, CC Sabathia had his second MiL rehab start moved up to last night.  Pitching for Double-A Trenton, he went 3.2 innings, throwing 55 pitches and allowing 5 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2.  Like in his first start, his fastball was sitting high 80s-90 and touching the low 90s on occasion.

I haven't seen any reports on the outing or quotes from Sabathia on how he felt, but if something had gone wrong with his knee I'm sure that would have made its way out.  I did find it somewhat surprising that the Yankees elected to move this start up and pitch CC on 3 days' rest.  For as slowly as they took the rest and early workout portions of his rehab, pitching him on short rest in his second game back seems unnecessarily aggressive.  Whatever, I'm sure they had their reasons.  With July 27th set as his activation date and Joe saying he will work on regular rest from here on out, there's time for him to make 4 more starts.  We'll see if the Yankees use all of them.

Game 83 Wrap-Up: TB 6 NYY 3

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The Yankees can't hit, the Yankees can't pitch, the Yankees can't field.  They stink and today made it official.  5th straight loss, the first time this season a losing streak has made it that high, that dropped them below .500 this late into a season for the first time since 2007.  They've lost 9 out of their last 11 and there's no end to this nosedive in sight with Teix's knee giving him problems and Jacoby Ellsbury having to take games off because he's so "beat up" or something.  Welcome to The Suck.

Game Notes:

- Brett Gardner was the best player in a Yankee uniform in June and he kept that momentum going with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the 1st.  Jake Odorizzi threw him a ton of fastballs and Gardner squared one up in a 3-2 count.

- Vidal Nuno looked pretty good in the first 2 innings and then he went walk-passed ball-HBP with 2 outs in the 3rd to let the tying run come home and he was never the same pitcher.  Every time the Yanks got him a lead, he'd give it right back.

- Like in the 3rd, when Brian McCann yanked a cheapie home run down the right field line to make it 2-1 New York and Nuno gave it back on a double and ribbie single the next inning.  Or when Gardner drove home a run in the bottom of the 4th and Nuno gave it back on a single-double-single to 3 straight batters.

- The death blow came in the top of the 6th, when Logan Forsythe singled to lead off the frame and Joe pulled Nuno for Shawn Kelley.  Kelley gave up a 2-run home run to #2 Yankee killer (behind Napoli) Sean Rodriguez on the third pitch he threw to put Tampa up for good 5-3.

- The Yanks would strand a runner in every inning after except the bottom of the 9th.  They went down in order then with a strikeout by Gardner, strikeout by Derek Jeter, and a lineout by McCann.

AB4AR "Best Of The Month" Awards: June 2014

Yankees, your June.  Woof!  That was a stinker, eh?  Coming off a May that wasn't quite as good as April, the Yankees doubled down on regression and really started to play some bad baseball in June.  Overall they went 12-15 with a - 23 run differential, dropping them to 1 game above .500, a game they lost to get July started where June left off.  There was no consistency to the team's play either.  The entire month was a series of short steaks.  Started off losing the first 4 games of the month, then won 2 straight, lost 2 straight, won 4 straight, lost 2 straight, won 4 straight, lost 4 straight, won 2 straight, lost 3 straight.

It's not time to start manning the life boats, not before the trade deadline, but it might be a good idea for all women and children to put on their life jackets.  After the jump, the few spots of brightness from a gloomy month of June.

Reviewing The Yankees' Fake Options To Improve The Offense

(If you had a ghost runner, you could try again.  Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

I tried to be level-headed and calm about dissecting the real options the Yankees have in front of them to get something going offensively and look where that got us.  With 4 hits in the next 9 innings and only 1 run scored, that run scoring not because somebody came up with a big hit with runners in scoring position, but because the defender who caught a pop up accidentally hit the baserunner trying to advance to second with his throw.  The Yankees had 1 run scored and 0 runs batted in last night, and if I'm being honest, I'm afraid they won't have the stones to do any of the 3 options I covered yesterday.  So screw it, let's investigate some "other" ways they can try to jump start the offense.

Report: Yanks Scouting Chase Headley

Yankees are scouting Padres 3B Chase Headley regularly, sources tell @Ken_Rosenthal and me.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 1, 2014

If this were 2012, I'd be ecstatic about that report from Jon Morosi yesterday.  In 2014, it's not nearly as exciting.  The Yankees could use help in the infield and bringing in a proven, regular third baseman like Headley would allow Joe to focus his platoon attention to second base.  But Headley has been in a steady decline since his banner year of 2012.  He battled injuries last season while batting .250/.347/.400 and he's been further hampered by a herniated disc in his back this year that has limited him to a .201/.287/.320 slash line in 247 PA.

Headley is set to become a free agent after this season and is now 30 years old.  Between that, the injury problems, and the decline in production, the Padres' asking price for him has to have come way down.  There's a chance that a move out of Petco Park could help boost his production, but with the back problems I'd be hesitant to give up anything of real value for him.  The Yanks don't need a Youkilis repeat.

Game 82 Wrap-Up: TB 2 NYY 1

(Wasn't his fault.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

I want David Price.  I need David Price.  With CC Sabathia turning into an age-related regression pumpkin and Andy Pettitte retired once and for all, I'm really missing having the big reliable lefty in the rotation and I want that back.  I'm sure Joe feels the same way and he had a front row seat, along with the rest of MLB, for Price's latest start last night in the second game of this Yanks-Rays series.  He was spectacular, as most good pitchers are against the pathetic Yankee lineup, and the Rays took another as the Yanks continued to plunge.

Game Notes:

- Hiroki Kuroda was up to the task of matching Price and they traded zeros through 3.  Price allowed only a leadoff walk to Brett Gardner while Hirok surrendered a couple of singles.

- In the top of the 4th, those couple of singles turned into 3 singles in 4 batters, the last of which by Logan Forsythe pushed a run across and got the Rays on the board.

- The Yanks matched in the bottom half on a throwing error by Ben Zobrist, who hit Jacoby Ellsbury with a throw trying to finish a double play after catching a Mark Teixeira pop up.  Derek Jeter was on third base after leading off the inning with a double and he came home to score on the error.

- The only other mistake Hirok made on the night was hanging a first-pitch curveball to James Loney in the 6th.  It was a back-breaking mistake, however, as Loney crushed it for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning home run.

- Price worked around a baserunner in every inning from the 5th to the 7th, and handed the 1-run lead over to his bullpen.  Jake McGee retired the side in order in the 8th and Grant Balfour avoided trouble with 2 walks by getting a groundout from Yangervis Solarte to end the game.

Reviewing The Yankees' Options To Improve The Offense

(This guy sucks.  Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The Yankees lost for the 7th time in their last 9 game last night, and they lost again primarily because their lineup simply can't score.  They're the Beavis and Butthead of offensive production, and at the halfway point of the regular season it's no longer a matter of waiting for guys to get healthy, get comfortable, or "come around".  It's a huge problem, one that's been the biggest reason why this team is floundering around the .500 mark with one of the worst run differentials in MLB and one that needs to be addressed immediately.

Up to now, Joe has been hesitant to do too much with the lineup.  The last move of significance he made was demoting Alfonso Soriano to the bench and that happened weeks ago.  The front office has also been hesitant to make any moves, be they of the "shakeup" variety or the variety that actually helps improve the team.  There have been plenty of suggestions over the past few weeks as to what can be done to help get the offense going and both Joe and Cash have plenty of options in front of them should they decide to stop doing nothing.  With the trade deadline drawing closer every day and the postseason race about to really begin, here's a quick recap of the paths that can be taken to try to generate more offense.

Tuesday Morning Food For Thought: Heavy Workload Starting To Take Its Toll?

Tough go for Adam Warren and Dellin Betances last night.  They combined for 2 IP, 1 H, 4 BB, and only 1 strikeout from the top of the 6th to the top of the 8th.  Each of them failed to finish off the innings they started cleanly after getting 2 outs, and overall they allowed 5 of the 11 batters they faced to reach base.  Workload has been a big concern for these 2 for a while now, and in late June the signs of that heavy workload catching up to them started to show:

Warren May- 16.2 IP, 1.62 ERA, 1.78 FIP, 4 BB, 17 K
Warren June- 12.2 IP, 4.97 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 5 BB, 12 K

Betances May- 17.1 IP, 1.04 ERA, 0.96 FIP, 2 BB, 28 K
Betances June- 17.1 IP, 1.56 ERA, 1.60 FIP, 7 BB, 25 K

The splits aren't as drastic with Betances, but both he and Warren took a statistical step back in June from the complete and utter dominance they displayed in May.  There is the normalization factor to consider here as a grain of salt.  There was no way they were going to keep up May's level of performance for the rest of the season no matter what their workload was.  Joe's decision to be more judicious with how he uses them coupled with the change in eye test, however, suggests this is more than just a natural statistical regression.  Both guys have had to labor more in their recent appearances and their command has not been as spot on as it was earlier.  Their performance for the first few weeks of July is definitely something to keep an eye on.

Game 81 Wrap-Up: TB 4 NYY 3

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

81 games.  The halfway point of the regular season.  It sounds cliche, but I really can't believe we're here already.  It doesn't seem like it was all that long ago that we were salivating over Pineda and Tanaka's early starts, and in reality it's been almost 3 months since then.  The Yankees came into last night's series opener against Tampa 2 games over .500, so there was no way they could finish the first half of the season with a losing record.  But when Brian Cashman described them as "fortunate" to be where they are, he hit the nail on the head.  This was not a .500 team let alone a team 2 games over .500, and if the Yanks were going to hang around in the playoff race in the 2nd half, they needed to start playing better and soon.

Game Notes:

- For whatever reason, David Phelps appears to be incapable of not grooving fastballs over the heart of the plate.  The first one he threw last night turned into a Matt Joyce solo HR in the 1st and the second was another dinger off the bat of Kevin Kiermaier in the 3rd.

- Chris Archer made a mistake hitting Ichiro to lead off the bottom of the 3rd and it bit him when Brett Gardner laced a triple down the right field line to score 1 run and came in on Derek Jeter's groundout to tie the game.

- Phelps put up a couple zeros after the early long ball problems, but in typical Phelps fashion he was hardly a model of efficiency.  He had to battle to finish off hitters, he threw a lot of pitches (101), and he was done with 2 outs in the 6th.

- Joe went to Adam Warren to finish off that inning, which he did in short order.  The 7th was a different story, when he lost his command and loaded the bases on a hit and 2 walks.  2 more walks by Dellin Betances in the 8th came back to haunt on a 2-out go-ahead single by Ryan Hanigan.

- Wasn't much doing for the Yanks post-3rd inning.  They stranded 2 runners in the 6th and in the 8th when Brandon Guyer botched a Brian McCann bloop to put runners on the corners.

- They saved the breakout for the bottom of the 9th, when Brian Roberts won a long 1-out battle with Joel Peralta and golfed a 3-2 pitch into right-center for a game-tying home run.  They stranded a leadoff single in the 10th, however, and that was the last chance they'd get.

- Joe was down to his bullpen B-team by the time the 12th inning rolled around.  Jose Ramirez got the call then and gave up a walk, stolen base, and RBI single to Logan Forsythe to seal the win for Tampa.

Joe's Bad Bullpen Decisions Doomed That Series

(What do you think here?  Gotta be Huffy, right?"  Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

I've been a slow convert to the Joe Girardi management method.  At first I really didn't like how he did things, and it was only in the last 2 or 3 years that I fully got on board Team Joe when it came to evaluating how he went about his job.  If I'm being honest, and also a bit of a homer, I think the job he's done since the start of last season, with the teams he's been given and the injuries he's had to deal with, has been the best work of his career and arguably the best managing job in all of MLB.  So now that I've prefaced this post with that setting of context, let me say that I have absolutely no clue what the hell Joe was doing with his bullpen this weekend.

Congratulations To Ichiro...

... For finally getting another extra-base hit and ending a nearly 2-month drought without one!  Well done, Ichiro.  Well done indeed.

His triple to center field to lead off the bottom of the 5th last night was Ichiro's first of the season.  It was also his first XBH since May 3rd, when he had 2 doubles against the Rays.  That's a stretch of 115 plate appearances, 56 calendar days, and exactly 50 games between XBHs, which is almost impressive.  You'd think someone with Ichiro's "speed" would be able to leg out a bloop double at some point over a 56-day span, but he found a way to not even hit enough bloopers for one to drop into a favorable spot.  Helluva job by a world-class hitter to keep a streak like that going.

For those keeping track, Ichiro's season batting line is down to .297/.349/.335.  He's hitting .268/.303/.296 in the month of June, his production regressing back to a more appropriate level now that he's playing every day.  Just another friendly reminder to all the Ichiro lovers out there that he's washed up and to the Yankee front office that it's never a good idea to sign a no-power hitter in his late 30s to a multi-year deal.

Game 80 Wrap-Up: BOS 8 NYY 5

(Courtesy of the AP)

At this rate, I honestly don't know if I'm going to be able to keep writing these.  The Yankees are so horrible to watch these days, even when you don't get the chance to watch them often.  I watched as much as I could of last night's series finale against Boston on ESPN, but there was just nothing entertaining about the game.  Chalk it up as another series loss and another week spent hovering around .500.

Game Notes:

- Chase Whitley's crash back to reality started early in this one.  The Red Sox got 1 run in the 2nd thanks to a double by Yankee murderer Mike Napoli and a ribbie single by Stephen Drew.  They got 3 in the 3rd when Big Sloppi crushed a fastball for a home run to take a 4-0 lead.

- It took a Boston error to set the Yankees up in the bottom of the 3rd, but it was a lot of hard work on their part to get a run in.  Ichiro stole second base, moved to third on Brett Gardner's 10-pitch at-bat, and scored on a Derek Jeter single that came on the 11th pitch of his.  That's big time manufacturing.

- The Yanks did it the easy way in the 4th.  Mark Teixeira yoked an 0-1 changeup that John Lackey put on a tee for him into the right field corner for his 15th home run of the season, and Carlos Beltran hit his 8th on a curveball to get the deficit down to 1.

- With a rested 'pen, Joe had a quick hook and yanked Whitley after a 4-pitch walk to Jackie Bradley Jr. to start the 5th.  That backfired as Shawn Kelley and David Huff allowed 3 runs to score.  Why Kelley and Huff were the first 2 men out of the 'pen in that situation, I'll never know.

- The offense hung tough with 2 more runs of their own in the bottom of the 5th on a Brett Gardner RBI double and Jacoby Ellsbury RBI groundout, but they blew a big chance to pull closer when Beltran got thrown out at the plate in the 6th.  They'd never create another good scoring chance.

Yanks' Top Two Draft Picks Make Their Debuts

The Yankees' draft strategy this year was high on probability on low on projection, and those 2 different means of talent evaluation were no better exemplified than by their top 2 selections in the draft, lefty reliever Jacob Lindgren and righty starter Austin DeCarr.  Both players signed quickly and both made their professional debuts yesterday with the Rookie GCL Yankees.  DeCarr threw 1 scoreless inning with 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1 K while Lindgren tosses a scoreless frame of his own with 2 hits and 2 strikeouts.

Lindgren, the high probability pick, was promoted to Low-A Charleston after the game, so he's already on the fast track that could end up at the Major League level before the season is over.  Assuming he performs well in his first few outings there, I expect him to be moved to Tampa before the halfway point of July.  DeCarr, the projection pick, could stay in the GCL for a few more appearances and likely won't end this year in a full-season league.  As young prep pitcher from a cold weather area, he needs the experience and also the slower path to building up his workload.

Good to see both of them get on the field and into games quickly.  Now let's see what kind of promise they show in their first taste of pro ball.

Sabathia Watch: Throws First Rehab Start For High-A Tampa

Start the countdown clock to July 27th, because CC Sabathia made his first Minor League rehab start yesterday.  He threw 2.1 innings for High-A Tampa, giving up 2 earned runs on 3 hits while striking out 2 and walking 1.  Of his 36 pitches, 24 were strikes and according to Erik Boland, a scout had him sitting high 80s with his fastball and touching 90 once or twice.  The scout said it "looks like Spring Training", which is not a huge surprise considering Sabathia's age, the injury, and the slow-paced nature of his rehab schedule.

Also not surprising was CC's take on his outing.  He said he "couldn't be happier" with the way he felt.  This is the same thing we've heard for every other injury rehab, so take it with a grain of salt, but at least it's better than him saying he felt pain or discomfort in the knee.  No word yet on when or where his next rehab outing will take place, but signs point to it being sometime next week for Double-A Trenton.

Game 79 Wrap-Up: BOS 2 NYY 1

I saw the last 2 innings of last night's game, from across the bar while my girlfriend and I were out to dinner.  You can imagine what kind of fun late night conversation that made for as I watched Derek Jeter ground into the most predictable double play in baseball history and Masahiro Tanaka lose a game on a Yankee Stadium cheapie home run that he probably shouldn't have even been in the game to give up at that point.  It's gotten to the point where the offense isn't enough good enough to win when he's on the mound.  2 steps forward, 1 step back.  What a perfectly blah, bland, mediocre team this is.

Game Notes:

- The Red Sox got their first run on a David Ross homer in the top of the 3rd.  Tanaka missed with a fastball and Ross pulled it into left for a 1-0 lead.

- The Yanks got their run to erase the lead in the bottom half of the inning.  Brian Roberts reached on an error, Yangervis Solarte got hit by a pitch, they both got sac bunted over by Brett Gardner, and Roberts scored on an RBI groundout by Jeter.  Yankee baseball, boys and girls.  Catch the fever!!

- Tanaka was brilliant except for the Ross homer, but I was surprised to see Joe go to him in the 9th when he had D-Rob available.  Facing the 3 best Boston hitters, already over 100 pitches, and coming off a start when his velocity was brought into question, seemed like the perfect time to get him out and go with your best reliever.

- Joe didn't, and after getting a shift-induced double play ball by Papi and getting ahead of Mike Napoli 1-2, Tanaka decided to try him with a fastball.  He left it up and over the plate just enough for Napoli to drive it the other way for the game-winning home run.  Heart-breaking.

Nuno Cracks The Code

Differences in Vidal Nuno last night. Better FB, better slider and, most of all, better location. Held the Red Sox to 0 for 8 w men on base.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) June 28, 2014

Not to make too much fun of Jack, because I think he's one of the best Yankee reporters and analysts out there, but this is about as "duh" a statement as you can make.  You mean to tell me a pitcher who throws a good fastball, good slider, and locates his pitches is going to have a good game?  NO WAY!!!  Hot Take City USA, population Jack Curry.

In all seriousness, good for Nuno for turning in a good start last night.  His team needed it to calm the talk about how he needs to be taken out of the rotation, and he needed it to get a little boost of confidence.  To have a start like he had at home can only help that confidence and hopefully it means more good starts like this for the next.  Hopefully it also leads to more groundbreaking analysis like this from the Yankee beat guys.

Game 78 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 BOS 0

How about that, huh?  A shutout outing from Vidal Nuno, 3 home runs, solid relief work, no catastrophic defensive screw-ups.  The Yankees actually looked like a competent, contending baseball team last night in the series opener against the Sawx.  Guess that off-day on Thursday did them wonders.

Game Notes:

- Nuno's night wasn't without baserunners.  He had 1 on in each of the first 4 innings.  What it was without was multiple hits.  Whenever he started to get in trouble, Nuno made pitches to get out clean.

- A pair of Yankee hits in the bottom of the 1st got them their first run.  Derek Jeter singled, Jacoby Ellsbury doubled him to third, and Mark Teixeira's sac fly plated him for the slimmest margin possible.

- That margin grew in the 4th and it was thanks to the power game this time.  With 2 outs and Brian McCann on first (single), Kelly Johnson smacked a 2-run home run to make it 3-0.  Brett Gardner was the next batter and he popped a homer of his own to extend the lead to 4-0.

- Nuno kept Boston off the scoreboard into the 6th and Joe decided not to push his luck when Nuno walked 2 straight with 2 outs.  He went to his bullpen and his fireman Dellin Betances to end the threat and hold the lead.

- Adam Warren worked a 1-2-3 8th (a rarity for him lately), Brian McCann roped a 2-run homer to right for a last bit of insurance, and Matt Thornton handled a low-stress 9th.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 6/27/14

Did this feel like a slow week to anybody else?  Like painfully slow?  My body feels like it should be late Saturday afternoon already, and for all they did on the field, the news and coverage of the Yankees this week seemed to be lacking.  Really killed my blogging vibe, brah.  Whatever.  Onto the links!

- On Tuesday, Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes made his case for dumping Kelly Johnson and trading for Martin Prado.  Not a move I'd make, but to each his own.

- Jesse Schindler of Pinstripe Alley wondered if it was time to call up Jose Pirela.  I wouldn't hate it if it was.

- On Wednesday, William Juliano of The Captain's Blog commented on the Yankees' poor team defense and how it speaks to the half-hearted attempts to build a truly contending ballclub.

- Mike Axisa of RAB broke down the potential trade targets among the Cubs pitching staff.  What the hell?  I'd make an offer for Shark.

- SJK of NoMaas made his picks for who he'd dump and who he'd call up to shake up the offense.

- William Tasker of IIATMS/TYA talked about how the advancements in baseball coverage and analysis have changed the kind of fan he is.  I think it's something a lot of us can relate to.

- On Thursday, Chad Jennings of LoHud had another big batch of Minor League news and notes.  Everything that's going on with everybody.

- Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily highlighted the prospects and MiL guys who've been hot this month.

- On Friday, Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits looked into the possibility that Vidal Nuno could improve and unfortunately came up empty.  Might as well get used to him, folks.

- El duque of It Is High... lamented the lost luster to this weekend's Yanks-Sawx series.  I hadn't really thought about that until now, but yeah.  Both these teams do kinda suck.

Got some "Evil Eye" by Fu Manchu as this week's Friday jam.  Yep, the vibe's back.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Prospect Stock Watch: June 2014

(Courtesy of Mark LoMoglio/MiLB.com)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

There's still a few days left in June, but everybody's level of success for the month has already been decided.  The midway point of the season has been reached, All Star Games have been played, and a lot of midseason moves have been made, both up and down the ladder.  While the success of the Yankee farm system as a whole continues to be up for debate and interpretation, there's no doubt who the biggest individual stars of this season have been.  Some names will be popping up on this report for the second time this year, the names that have now separated themselves as the head of the 2014 prospect class.  Here are the biggest prospect stock movers for June:

Friday Morning Food For Thought: Did The Yanks Screw Up?

Joel Sherman wrote an article on Tuesday examining the Yankees' decisions to sign Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran instead of re-signing Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano, and how those decisions may be backfiring this year based on each player's production.  It's tough to come up with a fair way to compare 3 players to 2, especially when the positions they play don't match up, but just for the sake of Sherman's argument take a look at this:

- Cano & C-Grand: 46 XBH, 74 R, 78 RBI, 3.5 fWAR

- Ellsbury, Beltran, Big Mac: 61 XBH, 84 R, 90 RBI, 1.7 fWAR

Factor in the boost that both Cano and C-Grand's power numbers would get if they were still hitting in YS3, and for this year alone the argument can be made that the Yanks would be in better shape offensively if they had brought back their own.  Not that that means much for the future.  C-Grand could lose his power soon, Cano could start to, Ellsbury could have a hot second half, and McCann has to figure it out sooner or later.  If Beltran doesn't crash over that wall in Tampa and have his elbow issue, who knows how much better his numbers would be.

The points is that there's a lot of baseball left to be played for a lot of years by all of these guys.  Not that Sherman was implying it, but there's no need to be calling last offseason's decisions bad ones or mistakes a few games short of the 2014 midway point.

Happy Birthday To The Captain

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

He may not be able to hit a fastball anymore.  He may not be able to move laterally in either direction to field a ball that's hit more than 2 steps away.  He may not even remember how many outs there are in any given inning.  But there's something to be said for playing professional baseball at the highest level imaginable at age 40, and that's something Derek Jeter can proudly say he's doing as of today.

The Captain officially turns the big 4-0 today, and the laundry list of accomplishments he's achieved in his time spent as a Yankee over those years need not be repeated to anybody who follows the Yankees or the game of baseball in general.  He's one of the greatest players of the last 20 years, the greatest Yankee that anybody my age has seen in his or her lifetime, and his name and accomplishments are going to live on in New York sport history long after he and we are gone.  He may be a fraction of the player he was in his prime, but he's still out there doing something that almost all of his peers will say they wish they could still do when they turn 40 and that's pretty impressive.

So happy birthday, Captain.  If you want to celebrate by racking up a few hits tonight* and not making any physical or mental errors in the field, that'd be A-OK by me.

* (Or tomorrow, since the Yanks are off tonight.  Either works fine for me)

Kuroda Quietly Settling In At The Halfway Point

In his final start of June, Hiroki Kuroda finally picked up his first win of the month last night, tossing 6.1 innings of 3-run ball against the Blue Jays and helping his team leave Canada with their dignity intact.  In doing so, he wrapped up his best month of the season to date, a season that's seen him take a step back from the levels of remarkable consistency and occasional dominance that defined his first 2 years in pinstripes.  Kuroda pitched to a 3.52 ERA and 3.65 FIP this month.  It was the first time he's had a sub-4.00 monthly ERA this year.

Strangely enough, there hasn't been a big shift in Kuroda's peripherals to explain the better results.  His K and BB rates were both worse this month than they were in May and at his age he's not the type to experience a big boost in velocity as the weather warms up.  What has helped him is the fact that he's been far less hittable than he was in previous months.  34 hits in 29.0 IP in April, 41 in 36.0 in May, only 24 in 30.2 in June.  He also only surrendered 2 home runs in June after giving up at least 4 in each of the previous 2 months.

Is this just a better sample size of BIP luck?  Hirok finding better command of his pitches?  The cop-out answer is that it's probably some of both.  Regardless of cause, the important thing is that Kuroda has established some semblance of consistency, which he lacked earlier in the season.  After giving up 4 or more runs 4 times in his first 8 starts, he's allowed 3 or less in 6 of his last 8.  He's not the pitcher he was and it doesn't look like he's going to become that pitcher again, but he's been much more steady behind Tanaka and that's been one of the quiet blessings of the last few months.