Written by Greg Fertel
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26 September 2008
Hawaiian Winter Baseball begins tomorrow night, and
Andrew Brackman will be starting the opening game for the Waikiki Beach Boys according to
BA. Brackman, who has hardly pitched in organized ball since signing with the Yankees (he pitched in an intrasquad game a few days ago), has a lot to prove to Yankee fans who know about his 4.55 million dollar major league contract but have not seen him throw a professional pitch. He has been delayed by Tommy John surgery and an emergency appendectomy, but finally he can get some pitching in against real competition.
In BA's article, Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations Mark Newman mentioned that Brackman hit 96 with his fastball in the intrasquad game, and also showed a sharp curveball. Brackman has also reworked his mechanics to put less stress on his elbow and worked on developing a changeup while rehabbing, courtesy of rehab buddy Carl Pavano. It is very encouraging that Brackman's velocity and curveball have returned, though it remains to be seen if he struggles with control as a result of his new mechanics. Brackman may struggle against the fairly high level of competition in Hawaii, but Newman seems to be more concerned about Brackman getting comfortable with his new mechanics and getting comfortable with pitching again.
Brackman will be joined on the Beachboys by several other Yankee prospects, including catcher
Austin Romine, 2nd baseman
Damon Sublett, and lefty pitcher
Jeremy Bleich. There are also a number of other talented players and high draft picks on the team, including Giants catcher Buster Posey (who will probably split starting reps with Romine), 1st baseman Yonder Alonso of the Reds, and infielder Todd Frazier (also of the Reds). This prospect-laden team should be exciting to follow, and I wish for strong performances for all the Yankee prospects who are playing in Hawaii.
The game is 7 PM local time, which according to Mike A. (of RAB fame)'s math is 1 AM on Saturday night (or Sunday morning). You can watch or listen to games streaming free from this
website, though it requires that you register first. I highly recommend doing so.
