This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
Luke Anders was chosen as the 500th pick overall in the 16th round of the 2008 MLB draft. Anders, a first basemen out of Texas A&M University, is 6’6 and weighs 225lbs. Luke attended high school at Texas A&M Consolidated school.
During the 2008 season, Luke hit .348, mashing out 13 homeruns and driving in 50 runs. His slugging percentage for the season was .652. During his sophomore season he was selected on the first team all Big Twelve team as a DH, hitting .336 with 11 homeruns, and 46 rbi’s.
Anders looks to be a power hitting first basemen, that has potential to be strictly a designated hitter, if need be. Anders fielding is above average, and his speed is just average, so DH may be a good fit for Luke.
Michael Jones, who was a star receiver on the Arizona State University football team, was drafted as an outfielder by the New York Yankees. Jones, a native of Sugarland Texas, played his high school athletics at Fort Bend Austin High School.
During Michael’s freshman year, he hit .313 for the Sun Devils, playing in only ten games, after a late start due to football. His sophomore season, Jones hit .319, and on April 25 was a homerun shy of the cycle against the University of Hawaii. His junior season, he struggled with the bat, but his defensive presence, along with his quick feet make him a valuable asset in the Yankees farm system.
Jones says Ken Griffey Jr. is the baseball player who looks up to most. Let’s hope Michael gets the opportunity to play in the same game with Griffey Jr. before he retires!
Raymond Kruml, a speedy centerfielder out of the University of South Alabama, was chosen by the Yankees in the 11th round of the 2008 MLB Draft. Ray stands at 6’0 and weighs just 185lbs. He bats left and throws right. Kruml grew up in a Chicago suburb of Wheaton, IL.
Kruml hit .350 for the Jaguars of USA in 2008, and had an on base percentage of .421. He also added 8 homeruns, 21 doubles, and knocked in 46 runs. He has great speed, and looks to be a good lead-off hitter in the future.
His coach at USA had this to say about Richard: “He has outstanding speed, he can steal bases and he reads pitchers well.” Sounds like a good catch for the Yankees in the 11th round!
This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
1 Comment »
As the Yankees take Monday off, they prepare for a three game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Darrell Rasner, the 6’3 righthander from Carson City NV, will make the start for the Yankees. Rasner is 4-4 this season in eight starts, with an ERA at a respectable 3.64. Rasner has never faced the Pirates, and the only two Pirate hitters that have seen him are Jason Michaels, who is 1-2 in his career, and Adam LaRoche, who is 0-1. Rasner is 1-3 this year on the road, so it will be a huge test to see if he can shake the road woes, and find a way to get the Yankees another win. The Yankees as a team are 19-18 on the road, while the Pirates have played good ball at home, going 23-16 in their 39 home games.
For the Pirates, lefthander Tom Gorzelanny gets the start. Tom, a 25 year old from Evergreen Park Illinois will be making his 15th start of the season. Gorzelanny has had a rough go of it in 2008, going 5-6 on the year, but a high era mark of 6.59. His problem thus far has been walks, as he has allowed 50 free passes in 71 innings. Gorzelanny is 21-22 in his career. He has made one start against the Yankees in his career getting a no decision, and going 6.1 innings, allowing 6 hits and 4 runs. Gorzelanny is 4-1 this season at home. Hideki Matsui has had the most success against the lefthander, going 2-3 with a 2 run homerun.
Should be a good pitching matchup, and if the kid Rasner pitches well, I like the Yankees chances. We will try to have the lineups for you, before the game on Tuesday! Until then, hope you enjoy the offday, and GO YANKEES!
No Comments »
You guys may have noticed some changes to the blog recently and you can expect more in the coming days. There are several things going on with the blog at the moment so please bear with me as I get everything ironed out.
The biggest change is the addition of a new writer. His name is Rodney K. and he will be doing the game preview and review posts. I believe that now with two bloggers we will be able to give you more quality content faster, which will make this blog much better. Don’t worry though, I will still be around posting about everything else Yankee-related in the gigantic baseball universe. You can see who wrote each post by looking under the title.
Another alteration is the change of our domain name (the web address.) There were a couple of reasons behind this, but I think our new domain is better and it will serve us well for the long term. In case you didn’t notice (if you came from a link or bookmark), the new URL is: http://www.nycurve.com. As part of the name change, I have had to move the files and I am still getting everything straight, so if you see any bugs or errors please let me the know. Also, the forums will be down for a little bit, while I get everything moved. A new header is in the process of being created and put up as well.
Thanks for your support and please stick around because there is a very bright future for this blog and we would love to share the experience with you.
Update: Forums are now back up and running 
1 Comment »
Behind an impressive performance by Andy Pettitte, who went 6 innings, allowing just four hits, walking two and striking out four, the Yankees knocked off the Reds 4-1 on Sunday, to salvage one win in the three game series. After Pettitte, Edwar Ramirez threw a hitless seventh, Kyle Farnsworth was touched up by a Ken Griffey Jr. homer in the eighth, and Mariano Rivera went 1.1 innings, allowing 2 hits, but slamming the door for a 4-1 win. The win was Pettitte’s 8th, and the save was Rivera’s 21st.
Johnny Cueto was the hardluck loser for the Reds. The young righthander falls to 5-8, after going 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, and just 1 run, while striking out 7.
Robinson Cano got the scoring started in the 5th inning, with a sacrifice fly that scored Giambi, to put the Yankees ahead 1-0. After Jeter and Matsui reached base, Jason Giambi doubled them both in, in the 6th inning to make the score 3-0. That double would be enough to win it for the Yanks. Jorge Pasada would add a fourth run in the game on another double, and put the Yankees ahead 4-0. That score stayed in tack until the 8th when Griffey Jr. hit the solo homerun.
The win for the Yankees moved their season record to 41-35 overall, while the Reds fell to 35-42. The Yankees kept pace with the Red Sox, who are tied with the Cardinals at 3-3 currently.
The Yankees will take Monday off, before heading to Pittsbugh for three games starting on Tuesday. After their trip to Pittsburgh, the Yankees will come back home and play the Mets in the inner city rivalry between both the New York teams.
Darrell Rasner will take the mound for the Yankees on Tuesday, to face the Pirates lefty Tom Gorzelanny.
No Comments »
It’s time for a win! About time! The Yankees will try to avoid the sweep at home, at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds come in with a record of 35-41, while the Yankees currently sit at 40-35. The good news for the Yankees, is the Red Sox have lost their last two games as well, so the lead for the Sox sits at five games.
Tomorrow’s game features a contrast of two pitchers. On one side the Reds send rookie fireballer, the righthander Johnny Cueto to the mound. Cueto is 5-7, with a 5.19 era. Cueto’s last outing against the Dodgers, he went 7 strong innings, but was the hard luck loser to the Dodgers, 3-1. Cueto has never faced the Yankees. It’s time to rough him up!
On the other hand the Yankees will go with the wiley ole veteran of Andy Pettitte. The lefthander is 7-5 with a 4.29 era. Pettitte’s last start, he went 7 innings, as well shutting the Padres out in a Yankee 8-0 win. Pettitte has only allowed one run in his last 15 starts. Andy has not faced the Reds since 2006. Anyone else feeling a pitching gem from our boy Andy?
Go get them Yanks!
2 Comments »
This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
John Rye, is a 6’1, 200lbs. Senior out of Florida State University. Rye, who turned 22 in March can play any outfield position, but specializes in right field. Otherwise known as Jack, he played his high school baseball in Irvine, CA, at Woodbridge High School. He bats and throws left.
As a Junior, John was named the team captain at FSU, and started all 62 games for the Seminoles. He also hit 10 homeruns, and drove in 61 runs, which ranked second on his team in both categories. In his senior season (2008), John hit .371, which ranked fourth on his team, starting 61 of 62 games. He hit 7 homeruns, and drove in 52, ranking 6th in both categories for the ‘Noles.
John’s father was a collegiate baseball pitcher at UCLA.
Kyle Higashioka, a catcher from Edison High School in Huntington Beach California was selected by the Yankees as the 30th pick and the 230rd overall pick in the draft.
Kyle stands at 6’1, and weighs 180lbs, and has been a catcher his entire baseball career. His best attribute is of course his defensive prowess behind the plate, but he also seems to have potential to become a power hitting catcher. Some say Kyle reminds them of Victor Martinez. The Yankees would love to get a young catcher like that.
Higashioka, and his agent have told the Yankees they will need to sign him for $500,000 for him to pass up his opportunity to play collegiate ball for the Golden Bears of the University of California.
William Mitchell, a 6’2, 165lbs. righthanded pitcher was selected in the 12th round of the 2008 MLB draft. Mitchell, otherwise named D.J., turned 21 in May, and became the first Clemson Tiger to be drafted by the Yankees since 1990.
During the 2008 season, Mitchell went 6-5 with an ERA of 3.47, in 20 starts. He allowed 97 hits, while walking 40 batters, and striking out 106 in 98 innings. The strikeout total for Mitchell was the most since Kris Benson struck out 204 during the 1996 season.
Mitchell throws in the mid 90’s with great movement. He appears to be very versatile, and was used quite often in the outfield for Clemson. Projections show that Mitchell will be a mid to late inning reliever, with a shot at starting if everything shakes out well for him.
This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.
2 Comments »
Page 4 of 10« First...«23456»...Last »