May
15
Happening in the Yankee Universe…
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It has been a while since this blog has been updated, but with some more free time over the next couple of months, hopefully I will be able to write more posts here. If any of you are interested in coblogging at this site please contact me via this form. Anyway, here are some updates about the team:
- With yesterday’s win, the Yankees are back at .500 with a 17-17 record. We are third place in the AL East, 4.5 behind the first place Jays.
- Alex Rodriguez will make his New Yankee Stadium debut today after coming back from his injury last week. It will be interesting to see how he does and how the crowd reacts after all of the recent steroid news concerning him.
- Believe it or not, Johnny Damon is actually leading the team in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in as of right now with .318, 9, and 26 respectively.
- Phil Hughes will make today’s start against the Twins, hoping to rebound from his dreadful outing against the Orioles on the 9th, in which he let up 8 runs in 1.2 innings.
And some news from around the league:
- Manny Ramirez apoligized to his teammates after being suspended for 50 games due to a drug violation. Dodgers’ owner Frank McCourt requested that he apoligize and he complied. It will be amusing to see how things unfold in LA and how Torre deals with it.
- The Twins announced that their new stadium will have roof-top seating. The park is scheduled to open next year and the current price tag is at $545 million.
- The Rockies added Randy Flores to their roster and designated Glendon Rusch.
Stay tuned for more updates soon and thanks for reading…
Jan
23
Jeff Kent Retires, Astros’ Owner Discusses Clemens/Pettitte, Sheets Meets With Rangers
Filed Under News, Players, Spring Training, The League | Leave a Comment
Just another Major League Baseball news update:
- The biggest story of the past few days was Jeff Kent announcing his retirement. The second baseman spoke with tears in front of reporters at his press conference, remembering the various people who he was hired by and worked with over the course of his 17-year-long career. Kent is one of those guys that was never afraid to speak his mind and he has built a unique identity for himself that is respected all around the league. He took a strong stance against performance enhancing drugs and through hard work he managed to have a very successful pro career, one that will likely end with him being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Kent will be missed.
- Ben Sheets met with the Texas Rangers about a possible deal. Sheets lives in Dallas, so a deal with the Rangers is definitely of interest to him and as we all know the Rangers can certainly use the pitcher. Sheets was offered salary arbitration by the Brewers, so if he signs with the Rangers, Milwaukee will receive draft picks.
- The Brewers agreed to a new 2-year-deal with first baseman Prince Fielder worth $18 million.
- The owner of the Astros says that there is a possibility that Andy Pettitte will go back to Houston this season. The Astros are also looking to see whether or not Roger Clemens will come to spring training.
Stay tuned for more updates and news (both about the Yankees and other major news) in coming days.
Jan
14
Recent Yankee News
Filed Under Bosox, News, Stadium, The League | Leave a Comment
Just some recent news from the Yankee universe and the MLB:
- Team president, Randy Levine, was subpoenaed today by a state assembly committee investigating the public funding that is being used for the new Yankee Stadium. Levine is supposed to report at the hearing on Wednesday.
- Rickey Henderson got elected into the Hall of Fame in his first appearance on the ballot. Congratulations to him, he really deserves it considering how great a player he was. He ended with over 90% of the vote, but many analysts expected him to get more than he did.
- Former Boston slugger Jim Rice also made the Hall, in his last year of eligibility.
- Mark McGwire, in his third year on the ballot, actually saw a decrease in number of votes. It isn’t looking good for the performance-enhancing drug users- thankfully.
- The final decision on the Cubs sale should be coming later this week.
- The Braves sign Derek Lowe to a $60 million deal
- The Red Sox sign John Smoltz to a $5.5 million deal
- The Yankees will win the World Series in 2009- at least I’m hoping.
Dec
23
Teixeira a Yank!
Filed Under News, Players | 3 Comments
The Yankees have agreed to a deal with free agent Mark Teixeira on a 8-year, $180 million contract. Can I hear World Series 2009? We were already the favorites after the Sabathia and Burnett signings and this move certainly gives us another huge boost. It’s a great day in Yankee land and I for one am ready for that 27th championship and the end to this World Series drought.
Aug
11
Ian Kennedy has been sent down to the minors after another abysmal performance in the bigs. The Yankees used the option they had when they called him up, which will send the young pitcher to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. He is being told to focus more on improving his pitches than winning games in the minors.
And with that the Yankees are left with the same hole in the rotation that we had prior to Chamberlain’s injury. Who will take the spot is still uncertain as there really aren’t any great options left. In place of Kennedy, the Yankees called up Billy Traber to help out the exhausted bullpen, so again the rotation seems to be one short. Darrell Rasner may jump back in after making a few starts earlier this season, but he hasn’t been playing very well lately. If it isn’t Rasner, then it will probably be, gulp, Kei Igawa or Carl Pavano. Sadly, that is the state our pitching staff is currently in.
On the bright side, Chamberlain is scheduled to start a throwing program this Wednesday as he eagerly anticipates returning to the team that needs him so much. Hideki Matsui is also getting better, as he ran the bases today. Let’s just hope we can stay alive before these two can get in and give us the boost we so severly need. Stay tuned to this blog for more information on who the starter for Wednesday will be. Anyone have any suggestions that haven’t already been thrown out?
Jul
25
Just like always, the Yankees aren’t willing to settle for less than a championship this year. Thank god we have management that always wants to win. With the trade deadline approaching, Cashman’s crew was busy once more despite some suggestions not too long ago that it was time to call it quits for 2008. What they came up with will certainly be a nice help for this year and thankfully not too big a hit for the future.
First off I want to say that Cashman hasn’t sold out. He is still sticking by our young prospects and the fact that we still have Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes shows that. This move does send away prospects, but without them the farm system is far from depleted. We still have good depth at their positions and it really shouldn’t be a big hit. Add that with the fact that Nady and Marte are in their prime and not on the downhill just yet, and this move makes a lot of sense for us.
The prospects we will part with are Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Phil Coke, and George Kontos. Kontos and Coke aren’t likely to become anything special, although Tabata and Ohlendorf certainly seem to have a future. Tabata is considered one of the best athletes in the organization, but he is an outfielder, a position that we have a huge abundance at. Add that with the fact that he is struggling this year and that Nady is also an outfielder, and it doesn’t seem that bad to let him go. Nady will be a great addition to the squad, as he will certainly help the struggling lineup. He bats right-handed as well, which is a big plus since most of our bats are lefties at the moment. He will also be some good insurance should we choose to let Abreu walk next year.
Ross Ohlendorf showed some good potential this year, but the Yankees have a lot of good arms in the farm system, but most just aren’t ready yet. Marte gives us someone who can help the team right now, in a bullpen that will welcome him. With a cohort of young pitchers and the extensive resources we have, I am not too worried about our pitching situation in the future.
So, that’s basically what the trade is all about. Of course everyone won’t agree with my views, but I believe that letting go of these prospects was worth it, especially considering what we got in return and what we have left. Don’t get me wrong, I am all about keeping a strong farm system, but sometimes you just have to let some guys go if you want to win in the present (if we did a deal like IPK for Fuentes, as the Rockies are supposedly seeking, then I would be 100% against it, but looking at who we lost and who we got, it certainly isn’t bad.) Although the 2008 Yankees have received a lot of scrutiny this year with predictions that we wouldn’t make it in the ultra-competitive AL East, I think that we do still have a chance and I am glad to know that the organization feels similarly.
Update: Instead of George Kontos and Phil Coke, the Pirates will be receiving Dan McCutchen and Jeff Karstens. Apparently they had a choice of two players out of a pool of several (including Kontos and Coke) and decided to go with Karstens and McCutchen. It really isn’t that big a deal because none of them are anywhere near big prospects and chances are none of them will have a big impact in the future.