NYCurve Yankees Blog

A Closer Look: Addison Maruszak

This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.

Addison Maruszak, a 22-year-old shortstop out of the University of South Florida, was selected in the 2008 MLB draft by the New York Yankees. Maruszak, taken in the 17th round, was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is 6-2, weighs 190lbs, bats right and throws right.

During his junior season Maruszak hit .362, compiling 72 hits, 52 runs, and 6 homeruns for the Bulls. He was named to the All Big East Team. He was also a candidate for the Brooks Wallace Award. In 2008 Maruszak came in second in the Big East in batting average, hitting .416 and compiling a .496 on base percentage. On April 26, 2008, Addison hit two home runs in the same game (against Villanova) to become the first Bull to ever achieve that feat.

During Spring Training, Addison was able to play with his USF team against the Yankees, in what he claims was his greatest moment in baseball to this date. With his solid bat, along with good defensive abilities as a middle infielder, look for Addison to become a special player in the major leagues someday!

This post is part of the MLB Draft 2008 get-to-know the draftees series.

R.I.P. Bobby Murcer

A sad day it is in the Yankee universe as one of the most memorable figures passed away today. Bobby Murcer, Yankees player and broadcaster passed away today at the age of 62. Our condolences to his family. This is a terrible lose for baseball in general. More on Murcer and his life coming soon…

Update: Here is the official statement by the Yankees, which includes more about the great personality and his life.

Yankees/Blue Jays Game Two

After getting shut out by Roy Halladay on Friday, the Yankees look to get back on track today against the Blue Jays. The 12:07 start will feature Darrell Rasner for the Yankees, and Jesse Litsch for Toronto.

Rasner, 27, from Carson City Nevada is 4-7 on the season with a 4.94 era. He has lost his last three starts and 7 of his last 10. In his last four outings, he has only lasted five innings. Rasner is 1-0 on the season against Toronto, pitching 6 strong innings against them earlier in the season.

Litsch, the Pinellas Park Florida native is 8-5 on the season, with a 4.01 era. He is 0-1 on the season against the Yankees, after getting beaten earlier in the year (he lasted 5.1 innings in that game.) Litsch is 3-4 in his last 7 decisions and went 5.1 innings in his last start, in which he allowed 8 hits, and 6 runs in a 7-1 loss to the Angels. Yankee hitters have very limited experience against Litsch, but Damon, Cabrera, Rodriguez, and Matsui all are hitting over .300 on the year so hopefully they will be able to continue hitting. As for the rest of the lineup, much can’t be said.

Toronto comes into the game in fourth place in the AL East, barely ahead of Baltimore. The Blue Jays are 46-47 on the season, while the Yankees, sitting in third place are 6.5 games back with a 49-44 record.

Here is the lineup for tonight:
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada DH
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Moeller C
Gardner LF
Rasner RHP

Go Yankees!

Chamberlain v. Halladay

Tonight’s Yankees/Blue Jays game will feature two tough right handers squaring off in the first of a three game set leading into the All Star Break. For the Yankees, Joba Chamberlain will throw, while the Blue Jays will use former All-Star Roy Halladay.

Chamberlain comes into tonight’s action with a 2-2 record and a 2.45 ERA. In his last ten games, he only has one decision, that being a win on June 25 at Pittsburgh. In his last outing, Joba went 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, and 3 runs in a no decision against the Red Sox. The Yankees eventually won 5-4.

Halladay is 10-6 overall, and sits with a stellar 2.88 ERA. Roy is 11-5 in his career against the Yankees and won his last start against New York, going six strong innings. Roy has won his last two starts and is 6-1 in his last 7 decisions.

The Yankees are 49-43 overall, and 22-21 on the road. The Blue Jays are 45-47 overall, and 25-19 at home. The game is set for a 7:07EST start time.

Here is the Yankees lineup for tonight:
Gardner LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Betemit 1B
Cabrera CF
Chamberlain RHP

Time for the Yankees to gain some more momentum before the All Star Break! Go Joba!

Next… the Pirates

The Yankees will take on the Pirates today to make up for the rain out on June 26th. It will be the last interleague game for the Yanks and will serve as a break against division rivals before we start a series with Toronto tomorrow. Momentum is fairly high after sweeping the Rays and splitting the series with the Red Sox, as we now sit only 6.5gb. Let’s see if we can push around the Bucs a bit to extend our winning streak tonight.

Moose will take the mound for the Yankees where he looks to continue his excellent season. Pittsburgh will counter with Paul Maholm, who is on a bit of a hot-streak himself. Maholm is 3-0 with an ERA of 2.74 in his last seven starts. On the season he is 5-5, with an ERA over four. One of those losses was actually against the Yankees, earlier this year. Let’s make it two tonight!

Here is the lineup for the Yankees, we really need some of these guys to pick it up soon (cough Melky, Cano, and Molina):

Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Posada 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Molina C
Christian LF
Mussina RHP

Yankees Looking For Quick Sweep

Today is the second of the two-game series against the Rays. A win for the Yanks would be great because it would move us to 6.5 back and perhaps put a bit of a dent in Tampa’s high hopes. After last night’s wonderful 5-0 shutout, I think it is certainly plausible to predict another Yankee win.

The game is at 1:05EST and Sidney Ponson will make the start for the Bombers. I know it is always a nail-bitter when he starts, but thus far this season (with both the Yanks and the Rangers) the starter has actually done pretty good. He is 5-1 this season with an ERA of 4.19. His stats aren’t the greatest, but he is doing enough to get the team the victory most of the time and that is what matters. His only loss of the season came against the Rays on May 26, but hopefully that will drive him to do even better today.

For the Rays Edwin Jackson takes the mound. Jackson has been amazing in his last three starts, with an ERA of 2.57 and a win. His season record is 5-6 and his ERA is 4.08. Against the Yankees he is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA this year. Our batters have faced him in three games this season so maybe that experience will prove beneficial in today’s game.

Here is your Yankees lineup for tonight:

Gardner LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada DH
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Molina C
Ponson RHP

Here is a something Jeter said earlier today about the game: “People make a big deal, obviously, because it’s Tampa.” Never though you’d hear that, did you?