Hello again,

The mock draft on minor league ball is tomorrow and I just wanted to add a poll on who YOU think we should take in the first round, seeing as the one actually at minor league ball is in a deadlock. Make sure if you choose "other" that you express who in the comment section.

ALSO, please post guys that you think would be good to take in the "later" (really only a five round mock draft) rounds of the draft.

Thank you for your participation.

PS: I will post the mock draft results after it happens maybe tomorrow night, or Sunday. Or Monday: I have a busy weekend.

It is now time to pick a first round draft pick choice. I have narrowed it down to Buster Posey, Tim Beckham, and Pedro Alvarez . . . but one option is other, and if you choose other, please make sure you comment on WHO you believe it should be.

My personal favorite right now is Tim Beckham, but I also like Pedro Alvarez as my second choice.

Please discuss, and give some reasons why you like each player/player you choose. Also, I ask that you use this for generals Rays mock draft discussion.

Hello, and thank you for clicking.

I am your Organization Director for the 2008 Minor League Ball mock Amateur Draft, which will occur on Saturday, May 31st. Please pardon the goyankees-ness: I am completely devoted, now, to the Tampa Bay Rays and their minor league system.

The mock draft will be 5 rounds + supplemental rounds. We pick first in all five rounds, with no supplementals.

So, what I am asking for now is your basic opinion for the draft: First of all, what are our ppositions, if any, do we pursue, or do we simply go after the best available?

OK, Let's get started . . .

For now, I'm just going to ask for general suggestions (what positions will we go after) but tomorrow I will post a list of our picks and a list of players who I think would be good to fit the spots.

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Lineup (Courtesy of LoHud):

YANKEES (1-0)
Johnny Damon DH
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Jason Lane LF
Melky Cabrera CF

Pitching
Andy Pettitte (2 innings)
Steven White (1-2 innings)
LaTroy Hawkins
Kyle Farnsworth
Brian Bruney
Sean Henn
Jose Veras

He doesn't have the Phillies lineup.

I'm interested to see how Henn does--I think he could be a viable relief option for the year. Same with Veras.

Jose Canseco, he just never gets bored.

His newest person he accuses of steroid use, according to the Daily News, is none other than A-Rod.

'"All I can say is the Mitchell Report is incomplete," Canseco said. "I could not believe that (Rodriguez's) name was not in the report."'

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2007/12/14/2007-12-14_jose_canseco_arod_got_off_h ook-3.html

All I can say is, if A-Rod is using steroids, I'm not mad at him, for the momement. I'm just pissed at Canseco, I just don't understand why he feels that he needs to snitch on everyone that is using steroids. That being said,  just because Canseco says it doesn't mean it's true.

I just wanna know if there is anyone else here the collects autographs--I am a decent collector myself. I do ttm (through the mail) and in person (at ballgames) autos. My collection includes:

Brian Bruney, Pat Neshek, Jesse Crain, Manny Sanguillen, Mike MacDougal, Bob Feller, Duke Snider, Don Larsen, Ian Snell, Bronson Arroyo, Pedro Feliciano, Bob Horner, Bobby Doerr, Bobby Richardson (one of the few things I purchased), Jose Canseco/Gary Carter cosigned (the other thing I purchased), Chris Volstad, Radhames Liz, Brent Lillibridge, Todd Jones, John Danks, Charlie Haegar, Jerry Owens, Magglio Ordonez, Ron Blomberg, Rob Fick, and Mike O'Flaherty.

What about you guys?

You may have noticed that I haven't posted for about two weeks. I'm sure that none of you care, but I thought that I might share with you why I am gone...

I have been on a ballpark tour all across the northeast and the midwest!!!!!! I am currently in Boston, getting ready to cheer on the Orioles tonight at Fenway Park. I have been (in this order) to see: NY (Mets), Baltimore, D.C., Pittsburgh, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago (Cubs), Chicago (White Sox), Cleveland, Cooperstown (I went to the HOF Induction--it was awesome!), and now Boston. Tomorrow I leave to go to Yankee Stadium for 2 games. I hope that A-Rod doesn't hit Homer number 500 tonight so I can see it tomorrow or the day after. Anyway, this trip has been awesome, I've gotten so many autographs and my first MLB baseball, thrown to me during BP by Tigers player Chad Durbin. So it's been great. Go Yankees!!!!

The Yankees needed a streak like this (currently at 6 wins, including todays game, I believe), and we've found it. We could use more wins, and we're well on our way. But now, after sweeping the Pirates, I think this could be the turning point of the season, unless you like to think of last weekends series against Boston as the turning point. I'm not setting this in stone, but if we play .625 ball the rest of the year, we should be able to at least win the wildcard. Now, let's just pray that they Sux have there characteristic mid-August breakdown. It doesn't even have to be in the form of a five game sweep.

...and the winners are, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn! That's not much of a suprise. They both were mentioned on more than 95% of all ballots.

I do believe, personally, that McGuire should be in. I also think that the Hall of Fame should have some sort of standard for this: They have to decide: should we let guys who "supposedly" (although we're sure he did) used steroids into the Hall of Fame.

From my heart to yours, hope you have a great Christmas and a great New Year.

Here's a good Christmas present: Matsuzaka is at home, and falls down a flight of stairs or something that will make him not be able to pitch until at least June, I guess.

Well, I hope everyone has a good holiday, no matter what holiday that is (although Hanukkah is already over, in that case I hope you had a good holiday)

According to a baseball digest daily email i just received, the Yanks won the bid for the Japanese pitcher kei igawa for $25 million dollars.

I have to go to dinner now. Thoughts?

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courtesy of Sports Illustrated:

"The Yankees and Tigers have agreed on a Gary Sheffield trade, SI.com has learned.

In return, the Yankees will acquire highly touted right-hander Humberto Sanchez and Class A pitchers Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett, according to a Tigers source.

The Tigers will extend Sheffield's contract for two years beyond the one year and $13 million remaining."

Humberto Sanchez is a second-tier top prospect, just a shade below guys like Phil Hughes. Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggert are decent prospects.

Call me a stalker, call me whatever. As I was searching "Bernie Williams" on the internet, I came across his MySpace...and he has more than 4000 friends, many of whom are Yankees!!!

If youre interested, see what these Yanks have to say...

Bernie Williams- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=33274664
Derek Jeter- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=72613792
Alex Rodriguez- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=81562653
Johnny Damon- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=63695541
Melky Cabrera-
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=79992036

Now some non-Yankees:

Albert Pujols- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=28117654

I don't know about the legitimacy of this, and I won't comment on that. Also, look at their various friends lists and you will find MANY MORE YANKEES AND BASEBALL PLAYERS

It is time for my minor leaguer awards for 2006. I think we've heard enough about the "big club" and what people have to say about them, so I think I'm gonna give out my awards...

...and now, the moment you've all been waiting for, Scott's (goyankee's) prospect of the year goes to...

Undoubtedly, Phil Hughes. He is arguably the top pitching prospect in the game, and with my Yankee Bias, he certainly is. He was 12-6 with a 2.16 ERA and 168 strikouts this year, between single-A Tampa and double-A Trenton. He pitched in 146 innings, and absolutely dominated single and double-A! He held batters to a miniscule .178 batting average and allowed only 5 homers, 92 hits, and 34 walks! This makes for a great season (obviously).

Projection For Next Year: Starts out in triple-A (I'm gonna wanna make the trip out to Scranton just to see him pitch) and ends up in New York by July. Does well at triple-A but doesn't have as good success in the Bronx.

Now the 1st runner up prospect of the year...

This was actually kinda tough. Tyler Clippard was a likely breakout candidate, and he broke out, big time. On the other hand, Jose Tabata was already somewhat touted going into the season. Tabata lived up to his billing, yet so did Clippard. So I will go with...

Jose Tabata. This wasn't very easy, but he had great success, at least before he got injured, which ALMOST made me go with Clippard. He hit .298 with 5 home runs and 51 RBI's for the Charleston RiverDogs. He had a solid 66:30 K:BB ratio, and stole 15 bases. This was a fine season, not a phenomenal one like Hughes. However, this season definitly moved Tabata up the prospect charts, putting him in the top 30 in baseball.

Projection For Next Year: Starts the year in single-A Tampa, and stays there (because he is sooooooo young). I'll bet he has a season similar to this one, maybe with a few more homers. It's just that he is very young, and this is hard to project.

2nd Runner Up:

Obviously, Tyler Clippard. An important reason tbat Clippard wasn't the 1st runner up was that he is a pitcher, and they are prone to be a bit less consistent. Clippard was 12-10 with a 3.35 ERA at double-A Trenton this year. He had a K:BB ratio of 55:175. He held hitters to a .200 batting average. He did MUCH better in the 2nd half of the year, showing adjustment to double-A, always a good sign. He is only 22 or 23. He pitched a no-hitter. He is now a top-50 prospect in baseball, and a likely B+ prospect. He can make an impact in the Bronx.

That's all for now; my mom just came in and I'm in trouble for not doing my home work.

Quoting from minorleagueball.com: "It's official. Matsuzaka has been posted and teams can start bidding on his services for the 2007 season. Who do you guys think will bid the highest and what kind of contract do you think he'll get?"

News page link: For the poll: click "entry link" Happy voting to all, and here's hoping he becomes a Yankee

Update [2006-10-10 19:58:54 by goyankees]: Teams can begin making bids to negotiate on November 1st, so we won't know anything probably until mid-November, at the earliest.

The Red Sox look like they are out of it, and may not even be the wildcard team this year. The Angels, too, will likely not make the postseason, as long as the A's win their division. Detroit will win their division, with the wildcard going to either the White Sox or the Twins. Say we go into the postseason like this:

Yankees, White Sox, Tigers, Athletics. No matter who we get paired up with in the division series, none of those teams are too hard to beat, unlike last year where we had to play the f-ing Angels. So chances are we'll make it to the world series.

The Mets would win the pennant in the NL, because they are EASILY the best team in the league. the NL is soooooooooooooo thin...in the NL Central, the top 3 teams are good but not great, with the other teams sucking, and in the NL West, all the teams are decent to good. The Mets are the only truely great team this year in the NL.

I'm not gonna try to predict the world series, but I think it would be fairly even.

Jaret Wright 9-7, 4.63 vs John Lackey 10-9, 3.52

Starting Lineups

J. Damon, CF
D. Jeter, SS
B. Abreu, RF
J. Giambi, DH
A. Rodriguez, 3B
R. Cano, 2B
J. Posada, C
A. Guiel, 1B
M. Cabrera, LF

C. Figgins, CF
M. Izturis, 3B
V. Guerrero, RF
G. Anderson, DH
J. Rivera, LF
H. Kendrick, 1B
A. Kennedy, 2B
J. Molina, C
E. Aybar, SS

I heard Torre say that Guiel was picking up a first baseman glove, but this is a surprise.

stats courtesy of baseball america

OK, Jeff Karstens (who was called up from AAA over the weekend) will make the start tommarow against the Mariners. Kartens was 5-5 with a 4.28 ERA at Columbus, as well as 48 strikeouts.

Now for our top-prospect grades...

Phil Hughes, Grade A
Obviously our top prospect, and arguably the top pitching prospect in the game. He is young for his current level (AA) but is 8-3 with a 2.46 ERA and 124 strikeouts, which are dominant.

Jose Tabata, Grade B+
Our top hitting prospect is injured and out for the rest of the year. Hit .298 with 5 homers and 15 RBIs at Lo-A Charleston. Was doing much better during the first half, but still dominant numbers for a 17 year old in Lo-A ball.

J. Brent Cox, Grade B
Was a star closer at Texas in 2005, which was the school that had star closer Huston Street. Drafted by the Yanks in the 2nd round in 2005, he looks good. He has a 1.75 ERA in 41 games (none started), as well as 60 strikeouts in about 77 innings. Unlike many college closers taken high in the draft, Cox will not be rushed, but could see some time in the majors by the end of next year. He has star closer/set-up man potential. The replacement to Rivera is in the system.

Brett Gardner, Grade B-
Hit good at Hi-A ball (.323, 30 steals), but has no power (0 homeruns so far this year in Hi-A and AA combined). AA pitchers have somewhat exposed him, as he is now hitting .266, but with 21 stolen bases. He will provide average defense at best for his position (Center field).

Austin Jackson, Grade C+
Not hitting well at Charleston (Lo-A). He is hitting .256 with 4 home runs and 33 stolen bases. The potential is definitely still there, but a comparable player would be Marcos Vechionacci, who put up a good year making himslef a good prospect, but then struggled, and is still struggling.

Eric Duncan, Grade C+
Hitting .248 with 10 home runs at AA Trenton. As with Jackson, the potential is still there for Duncan, and he is still young. He is still showing some pop in his bat.

Dellin Betances, Grade C+
0-1 with a 1.04 ERA in 6 games (all 6 were started) and about 17 innings. 19 strikeouts. He has 6 walks and 8 hits, which combined is less than his innings pitched, which is very good. Combined with his success and his draft position, he is a legitimate prospect despite the fact that this is the gulf coast league (the pro rookie league, where most newly drafted players go).

honestly, i am amazed. The Yankees won a thriller, for sure. I'm thinking Yankee classic? let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees let's go yankees

OK, now I am very intrigued. He has been arguably the best pitcher for us of late. I am awestruck at the game he just pitched. I mean, how often do you see complete gane shutout 2 hitters. And that's just the top of it. I could get deeper, like, he only faced 30 batters! That is awesome. Now what do you think about his future. Is he and ace or #2 or a #3 guy. I figured that in his prime he should be good for an ERA around 4.00 (maybe a little bit lower) and 14 wins or so, if he has good offense behind him. His era on this year is down to 3.77

Thoughts?

Home Run Derby predictions are set to go! It will be tonight at 8:00 Eastern Time, so be sure to get your derby-winning picks in on time. Everyone is invited to this one-time only event, so have fun!!!!

Game predictions is set to go. The game is at 7:05 PM eastern time. Get your picks in on time. The Yankees will pitch Randy Johnson (the picture of inconsistency) against the Indians' Cliff Lee. Kinda the rubber game. Let's go Yankees!!!!! Have fun, as usual!!