Yardbarker: Robinson Cano

Fantasy Baseball Five Questions: AL-Only

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:55:21 -0500

Although the fantasy gap between the AL and NL has gotten significantly smaller, the AL still has the bragging rights. And thanks to the surprising Tampa Bay Rays and several prominent rookies, the American League has stayed slightly ahead of the curve, explains Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon.

MLB Punchlines: Women in Boston Rejoice

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:40:24 -0500

The Giants signed their first round draft pick, #5 overall, catcher Buster Posey to a $6.2 million contract. (San Fran Chronicle)

Angels SS Maicer Izturis will miss the rest of the season with an injured thumb. Erick Aybar will be his replacement. (OC Register)

Melky Cabrera -the guy who the Yanks would not give up for Santana - has been sent down to the minors. Robinson Cano is probably devastated. (NY Daily News)

Ryan Church played yesterday in A-ball and could be back towards the end of this month. (NY Post)

Is their a bigger roller coaster bullpen in MLB than the Mets? (Newsday)

Instead of baggies the new Twins' stadium will feature a huge rock! Catch Twins fever! (Star Tribune)

Brewers merchandise sales are up 30% from the same point last year. Does this mean CC could possibly re-sign with them? (Journal Sentinel)

Chris Carpenter is back on the DL joining fellow Cards pitchers Adam Wainwright and Mark Mulder. (Sun-Times)

Ladies in Boston will love this. Jason Varitek is splitting with is wife. (AJC)

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:18:35 -0500

The New York Post's Joel Sherman has come right out and said what a lot of people have to be thinking — the way he is hitting Melky Cabrera does not belong in the big leagues. Here is what Sherman had to say. They have big problems getting clutch hits and it might be that there is [...]

Put This One On Joe

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:11:24 -0500

Not only did the Yankees lose yet again to the Angels for the fifth time in seven games, they were also out coached. With the game tied 3 to 3 in the bottom of the 9th inning, Joe Girardi decided to use Damaso Marte for a 2nd inning of work. While I would not have a problem with this against a tough lefty who might have lead off the inning, this was simply not the case. Instead, the Angels were due up the ever dangerous Howie Kendrick, Gary Matthews Jr., who is hitting .226 and Mike Napoli who is hitting .224. Somehow Marte, who is a lefty specialist or at most a one inning type of guy in the 7th or 8 inning, quickly turned into a two inning reliever. While Marte is easily capable of recording three additional outs, especially against the bottom third of the Angels lineup, this was not the right managerial decision when you have your closer, who has not pitched in three days, ready in the bullpen. The Yankees not only needed a big win in this game to avoid a sweep, but to also prove that they can beat a team who simply has had their number since the 2002 divisional playoffs. How can Girardi not pitch Mariano Rivera in a situation where the very talented but underrated Kendrick, who is a .322 hitter, leads off? Kendrick without even looking at stats is a right handed hitter who naturally has a better look against a left handed pitcher like Marte. Furthermore, the other two hitters in the inning are Matthews Jr. and Napoli. Matthews Jr. is a switch hitter but is hitting .211 lefty and .256 righty. Napoli on the other hand is a backup catcher hitting a measley .224. To make matters even worse, Girardi sat in the dugout after a leadoff single by Kendrick. At this time only was Rivera beginning to warm up when he should have already been in the game to start the inning or at the very least ready at any sign of trouble. On the contrary, just a half inning before, Angels manager Mike Scioscia used his closer Francisco Rodriquez in the top of the 9th inning to shut down the Yankees Wilson Betemit, Jason Christian, and Jason Giambi. If that move does not speak volumes to Yankee fans about how a team who has a 14 game lead in their division approached this series, nothing will. Scioscia could have used a good reliever in Scott Shields instead of burning another inning on the great arm of Rodriquez in a non save situation. However, Scioscia managed this game as if it was game 7 of the World Series. And that is what gives the Angels an edge over the Yankees. Games like this not only prepare your team to be mentally tough in big games, but more importantly give them the confidence to know that they can beat the Yankees. In the end, there is no guarantee that if Rivera started the inning that the Yankees would have won. But at the very least they would have had a better chance rather than the one Girardi put them in on Sunday.

Yankees looking shaky

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 14:22:22 -0500

As of August 9th, the Yankees are 7.5 games back of the Rays in the AL East and 4 games back of the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card race. This bad stretch began for the Yankees on Sunday, July 27th, when the Yankees played the Red Sox on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Since then, the Yankees are 5-8 and have played the Angels, Orioles and Rangers. The Angels have owned the Yankees since 1996 and the Orioles (who are 7-5 against the Yankees in 2008) are on their way on owning the Yankees. In that bad stretch, the Yankees have went down from 3 games to 7 games in the AL East. But they are still in the hunt for the Wild Card. The Yankees have struggled because of bad pitching starts and bad situational hitting. Andy Pettitte has gotten tired and struggled against the Angels and Rangers. Joba Chamberlain went on the DL with shoulder tendinitis. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano have struggled offensively. A-Rod is hitting nearly .105 in the past several games. If the Yankees want to make the playoffs again, they have to pitch well and begin hitting again. The road to October will be tough for the Yankees, the Yankees will play 25 road games and 19 games at home for the rest of the season. But the Yankees have the best road record in the AL East and and the 2nd best in the American League. So if they do succeed, you can call them "road warriors" like the NY Giants of the NFL. The Yankees are lucky to be 63-54 on August 9th, with all of their injuries and inconsistencies. It shows that the manager Joe Girardi has managed this club well and handled the bullpen better than Joe Torre. The Yankees have a bullpen ERA of 3.97, and it was way lower in recent weeks. So don't count out the Yankees, YET! Joba might return and take the Yankees to another wild card berth. If the Yankees make the playoffs, they will a better team than the 2006 and 2007 Yankees that made the playoffs. If they dont make it to October, people's jobs will be in jeopardy and look for an off-season full of changes.

Sunday MLB on TBS: Comments from A's/Yankees Game

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 12:36:06 -0500

The following is commentary and interviews from yesterday's (7/20) Sunday MLB on TBS broadcast between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees with announcers Chip Caray and Ron Darling, and interviews with Bob Geren of the A's and Joe Girardi of the Yankees. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** Oakland A’s @ New York Yankees Game announcers: Chip Caray and Ron Darling Darling on the frequent adjustments of the Yankees' line-up due to injuries: “Joe Girardi was saying he’s had the opening day line-up only four or five times, but there won’t be a lot of teams weeping for the Yankees’ injury problems.” Darling on whether the Yankees can make a run to get into the MLB Posteason: “(The Yankees) have everything right in front of them. Can they make a run? Of course they can, they’ve done it in the past. More importantly, they’ve got to get good starting pitching every single day, they’ve got it from (Mike) Mussina, they’ve got it from (Andy) Pettitte… Joba (Chamberlain), of course everyone knows about him out there. Most importantly, they’ve got to get a good start every fifth day; if they can do that than once their offense starts clicking they can win 10 or 11 straight, that’s how good they can be.” TBS’ Chip Caray and Ron Darling spoke to Oakland A’s manager Bob Geren during the game. Geren on the solid pitching of A’s pitcher Justin Duchscherer: “You have a guy that goes out there and leads the league in ERA, every time (Justin Duchscherer) goes on the mound you feel like you have a real good chance to win. He does a great job of giving our bullpen a break and pitching deep in the game and just feel like we don’t need to get too many runs when he’s out there.” TBS’ Chip Caray and Ron Darling spoke to New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi during the game. Girardi on the offense of Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano: “(Robinson Cano) has been outstanding hitting .340 the last month. He’s been really hot since the break and had four hits yesterday (Saturday), he’s really hitting the ball hard. Even his outs are line-drive outs so we’re excited about the way he’s swinging the bat.” Darling on the complexity of managing a baseball team today: “The coaches and managers today show up at the ballpark at 11 or 12 in the morning for a night game, they are on those computers looking at data to see how they can catch an edge. It’s a much different job than when I played 25 years ago. You have to really have big shoulders and thick skin and be able to get very insular, just be with your ball club and block out all that outside stuff that happens in this town.” Darling on Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte tagging A’s center fielder Carlos Gonzalez when he slid head first into first base: “That is an ill-advised play, you should never slide head first into first base. Luckily Andy (Pettitte) didn’t step on his finger, but nice job by the veteran left hander to get over there and get to Speedy Gonzalez.” Darling on Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte throwing to both sides of the plate: “A lot of you youngsters in the summertime go to a lot of clinics to learn how to play this game. Well, this man (Andy Pettitte) right here is putting on a clinic if you want to learn how to pitch to both sides of the plate. The thing about Andy that you like is he has such command of the outside corner, he’s thrown more change-ups than I’ve seen him throw in a long time. On the left handed hitters he’s really been going with fastballs and sliders away and occasionally that standard beautiful cutter that he throws down and in to the right handed hitter that is just impossible for them to lay off.” Darling on Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek being up for a new contract: “Jason Varitek adds a lot to that Boston mystique. He’s been their biggest team leader, he’s their captain. But if you start thinking as a general manager that ‘I should give contracts based on past service’ than you’re in harm’s way. You should give it based on what Jason can bring to your team and if that means that the captain that’s hitting .214 deserves a two-year contract with options that kick in if he plays a certain amount of games, than I think that’s a good thing.” Darling on comments made by Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon that he wanted to close the MLB All-Star Game: “I think that (Jonathan) Papelbon got ‘New Yorked’ because some of the comments that he made. I think that he was saying as an athlete he (would have been) proud to close the All-Star Game, but of course it belonged to Mariano Rivera who pitched excellently in that All-Star Game. Rivera, what do you say about him, just the greatest postseason closer, greatest reliever of all time.”Source:TBSMaury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/), which includes The Biz of Baseball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/), The Biz of Football (http://www.bizoffootball.com/), The Biz of Basketball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/) and The Biz of Hockey (http://bizofhockey.com/). He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus (http://baseballprospectus.com/news/?author=124), and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content view=article id=47 Itemid=18) He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_contact view=contact id=2 Itemid=29).

MLB Injury Extra: Replacements - Week 18

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 07:29:10 -0500

Screaming Sports' Drew Thibodeau breaks out another Screaming Sports original. With so many valuable fantasy studs going down with injury, Drew decided it was time to take a look at several replacements. So if you're one of the many fantasy GM's who have been ravaged by injury, then this piece is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Yankees beat Red Sox; 8 - 0 since All - Star break

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:53:58 -0500

Robinson Cano homered and drove in three runs, Andy Pettitte gave the Yankees another strong start and New York beat the Boston Red Sox 10-3 Saturday for its season-best eighth straight win. The Yankees closed within one game of second-place Boston in the AL East and remained unbeaten since the All-Star break. Tampa Bay began the day with a one-game lead over the Red Sox. Newly acquired Xavier Nady started in left field in his first game with New York, and reliever Damaso Marte struck out David Ortiz in a key spot. The Yankees finalized their deal with Pittsburgh on Saturday, acquiring Nady and Marte for four minor leaguers. Alex Rodriguez was drilled on the left arm by Red Sox reliever Craig Hansen in the eighth and fans cheered. Rodriguez stayed in the game before being replaced at third base in the bottom half by Wilson Betemit. In New York's 1-0 win in the opener Friday night, Joba Chamberlain drew the ire of Boston's bench after he threw a high, inside pitch that sent Kevin Youkilis to the ground in the seventh. Cano went 3-for-4 with his ninth homer and a two-run double Saturday, improving to 18-for-35 since the All-Star break. Pettitte (12-7) allowed one earned run and struck out seven over six innings to continue a brilliant run by New York starters. They've allowed three earned runs or less in 15 of their last 16 games. Marte entered with runners at first and second and one out in the seventh and struck out Ortiz on four pitches. Edwar Ramirez then retired Manny Ramirez on a fly to center. Manny Ramirez, who missed the series opener with what he said was a sore right knee, batted fourth and went 0-for-4, ending an 11-game hitting streak. Manager Terry Francona said MRIs on both knees ''came back fine'' but wouldn't say if his slugger was disciplined. Rodriguez's first-inning error led to two unearned runs but Bobby Abreu singled in a run in the third and the Yankees took the lead for good in the fourth on Cano's homer and Johnny Damon's RBI single. New York pushed across four more runs in the sixth, chasing Tim Wakefield (6-8). Johnny Damon drove in Nady with a fielder's choice before rookie reliever Justin Masterson entered. Masterson, who retired all eight batters Wednesday in his only relief appearance after nine starts, allowed RBI hits to all three hitters he faced -- a single by Derek Jeter, a double by Abreu and a single by Rodriguez. Notes: The Red Sox lost two straight at home for just the third time this season. ... Edwar Ramirez retired four batters and walked one and has retired 36 of the last 41 batters he's faced, allowing just one hit. ... With 16 wins against the Red Sox, Pettitte is tied with Randy Johnson for second among active pitchers. Mike Mussina has 20. ... To make room on the 25-man active roster for Nady and Marte, the Yankees optioned OF Brett Gardner to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and designated RHP LaTroy Hawkins for assignment. They also announced that LHP Kei Igawa cleared waivers and was outrighted to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. ... Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia's hitting streak ended at nine games.

Oh Boy, the Yankees are Coming

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:53:11 -0500

The second half is well upon us and it seems that the New York Yankees are looking to crash the party atop the AL East. After a mediocre first half of baseball, the Bronx Bombers have won seven-straight ball games, trailing the East leading Rays by just 3 games heading into the second game of a three-game weekend series with the Boston Red Sox. It seems as if the Yankees are preparing to make a strong run at the pennant, acquiring outfielder Xavier Nady and left handed reliever Damaso Marte from Pittsburgh in exchange for reliever Russ Ohlendorf and three minor leaguers. Of the minor leaguers, Jose Tabata, a highly-regarded outfielding prospect, is the most prominent name of the bunch. [...]

Under my microscope: Big Papi returning

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:31:37 -0500

Fantasy writer Mike Harmon provides the latest fantasy baseball news in his latest installment, giving you the honor roll (Sabathia, Cano, McLouth), detention (Kinsler, Francoeur) and injury updates (Wood, Ortiz)...

Robinson Cano For Derek Lowe And Matt Kemp?

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:49:57 -0500

Just the title of this post alone should be enough to drive any Dodger fan insane, but i'll quickly touch on the rumor anyway. MLB Trade Rumors has the details: "Dodgers have an interest in Robinson Cano and might be willing to deal Derek Lowe and outfielder Matt Kemp, but the Yankees aren't inclined to part with the red-hot second baseman unless there is a front-of-the-rotation-type starter coming to The Bronx. Lowe, who has the stomach for big games and has AL East experience with the Red Sox, doesn't fit that bill." My first reaction to this trade is disbelief because I don't exactly understand what the Dodgers are trying to accomplish here. Can somebody explain to me how this helps the Dodgers at all? Is it a trade that helps the Dodgers in the future?

MLB Status Check (7/24)

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:39:25 -0500

Screaming Sports' Billy Smith checks in on some of the mega-hyped offseason stars, as well as the not-so-hyped offseason stars. Who is living up to it? Who isn't? And who is coming out of left field? Billy has all of those answers for you.

MLB Stock Market - July 23rd Edition

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:19:45 -0500

Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon runs down several baseball Bulls and several baseball Bears in the latest edition of Stock Market. Robinson Cano? Oh yea, he's definitely a bull. Huston Street? Ehhhh ... not so much.

Please Don't Let This Happen Again: The Yankees In The Playoffs, Pt 2

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:04:47 -0500

Part one showed that the Yankees are, historically, in the ideal position to make a run at the playoffs. However, certain factors unique to this season may impede the Bombers' pinstriped march to the postseason:

Sunday MLB on TBS: Comments from A's/Yankees Game

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:42:25 -0500