Random Yankee-Related Links 11/17

Written by Greg Fertel | 30 December 2009

The guys over at Pinstripe Alley had some questions for Frankie Piliere, former SaberScouting writer and former Rangers' scout. Gotta give credit to them for asking good questions, and it's nice to see an unbiased take on the farm system. Regarding Zach McAllister, Piliere says, "It would have to be intriguing to see how his already good stuff translated to short relief.  I'm a big fan of breaking these guys in in the pen." If you're going to turn a starter into a relief pitcher, it should be done with a guy like McAllister over someone like Hughes or Joba. I agree with Frankie here, though. I think it's a good idea to break young starting pitchers into the big leagues in a relief role.

Project Prospect released a list of their top 15 center field prospects. Slade Heathcott came in at 14th on the list; surprisingly, Austin Jackson didn't even make the cut. I asked Adam Foster, the guy who put together the list, why he didn't include Jackson. His response was, "I don't really see a high ceiling or floor w/ him." This is a definite change of heart, as Austin Jackson was ranked tenth on this same list last year, and on 2007, Foster also described Jackson as having "immense talent."(h/t Jamal) I've said it before, but this is just further evidence that A-Jack's stock fell this year, not rose.

Chris Jaffe, Hardball Times writer and author of a new book, "Evaluating Baseball's Managers", hooks us up with an excerpt from the book on famed Yankee skipper Billy Martin. It's a very good read, and Jaffe is the go-to-guy when it comes to exploring whether or not a manager was effective or not.

Sean S. over at Yankees Daily put together a profile of Reegie Corona. He didn't make our top 30, so we won't be profiling him here. Luckily, there are a ton of Yankee resources around, so you can go check it out over there.