Written by Greg Fertel | 11 May 2009

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

While we've been away for the weekend quite a bit has happened. Let's recap-

-          After Molina went down with an injury to his quad, Kevin Cash was added the 40 man roster and called up to join Francisco Cervelli.

-          Mark Melancon was sent down to Scranton.

-          David Robertson was sent down to Scranton.

-          The Yankees DFA'd Eric Hacker for Brett Tomko.

-          The Yankees DFA'd Steven Jackson to clear room for Cash.

-          Ian Kennedy has an aneurysm under his arm in a similar area to David Cone in 1996. He'll miss several months and it's a big blow organizationally for the Yankees.

-          Chien-Ming Wang will start on Tuesday for Scranton in which could precede his return to New York.

Busy weekend. The only thing I'll say on the releasing of Eric Hacker and Steven Jackson is that it reflects the very inefficient way in which the Yankee 40 man roster is constituted. Neither pitcher is likely to clear waivers and having 2 or 3 bad outings should not qualify either one of these guys for release- not where they are or how they've pitched in the past. That's really too bad. Some more pertinent commentary from Mike Ashmore can be found here.

 

Scranton-AAA

Lost to Louisville 3-0

-          Josh Towers, who was signed to add some pitching depth, went 4 and 1/3 inning and gave up 2 runs which handed him the L. He struck out 1 with no walks and 2 home runs.

-          JB Cox walked 2 but pitched an inning of scoreless relief.

-          Zach Kroenke gave up just his 2^nd earned run of the season in an inning and 2/3.

-          Jason Stephens struck out the side while allowing only 1 hit.

-          Austin Jackson was 2 for 4 with a double and a strike out.

-          Todd Linden, Juan Miranda, Chris Stewart and Doug Bernier all had hits as well.

Trenton-AA

Lost to Portland 5-3

-          Ivan Nova started and had command issues, walking 5 through 5 innings and striking out 1. He gave up 3 earned runs but did record 11 ground ball outs.

-          Carlos Mendoza and Colin Curtis were both 2 for 4 with a double.

-          Eduardo Nunez hit a home run in 4 at bats.

-          Vechionacci was 1 for 4 with a run scored.

Tampa-A+

Beat Daytona 8-3 in a rain shortened game

-          The big (scary) news is that Dellin Betances was pulled after recording just 1 out after giving up 3 earned runs. No word on any sort of injury to this point but this is anything but good news for Betances. UPDATE- He was pulled because of rain delay, nothing to worry about.....aside from the 3 earned runs in 1/3 of an inning.....

-          Austin Krum was 3 for 3 with a walk and 3 runs scored.

-          Jesus Montero was 2 for 4 with a triple and 3 RBIs.

-          Eric Fryer was 3 for 4 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

-          Brian Baisley was 2 for 3 and a SB.

 

Charleston-A

Lost to Lexington 3-2 in a 14 inning affair

-          Brackman had the break out start everyone was waiting for and he was dominating tonight. He went 8 innings striking out 9 while allowing 2 runs on 1 walk and a home run. He had 11 ground ball outs. Huge start for him.

-          Dan Brewer was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

-          Taylor Groate was 2 for 5 with a walk.

-          Abraham Almonte was 2 for 6 but had 4 strike outs.  He also threw a runner out and had an SB.

-          Mitch Abeita was 2 for 6.

-          Carmen Angelini was 1 for 3 and was ejected in the 4^th inning for arguing balls and strikes. He's hitting .188 and the frustration is obviously starting to show. He does seem to have cut down on the errors though. Kind of. Maybe. Sort of.

 

As an additional note tonight, there was a fairly significant development as far as Latin American prospects go. MLB suspended 2 prospects and is still investigating a dozen or more cases of players lying about their ages. As many know, this is a fairly common occurrence for international prospects as the younger you are the more value you have. MLB instituted a new rule which suspends players for 1 year if they are found to be lying about their DOB, and both outfielder Eladio Moronta and righthander Rafael DePaula were suspended. Both players were highly coveted by many teams and it is rumored that Moronta was going to command a million dollar contract. The article at Baseball America can be found here.

The Yankees have been very active in the international market for the past several years and this obviously bears watching. It's good that baseball has started to institute some rules over these signings as almost every team is heavily invested in searching for Latin American talent. If you subscribe to Baseball Prospectus, Kiley McDaniel just started a can't miss series on the Latin American player market.

< Prev		Next >