It really looks like Jorge Posada's career as catcher is done.  He's still for the most part a productive hitter, but he just cannot catch anymore.

And furthermore, Francisco Cervelli's early production seems like it was a fluke.  His OPS is now down to .642 and his defensive skills have been terrible as well.  

The Yankees are basically a lock to make the playoffs.  Would it be a good idea to call up Jesus Montero for the last two months and the playoffs, as the starting catcher?

After a sub-.700 OPS April and May, he has had OPS of .829 in June, 1.072 in July, and so far in August he has a OPS of 1.363.

So what do you think?

I have 2 questions I was hoping some of you could answer...

Continue reading this post »

With the Yankees having too many corner OFs, 1B, and DH, I would suspect that they will be trying to trade one of them.  Damon and Matsui have NTCs and Swisher has a reasonable contract and has three years left, so I think that Nady's short stay in New York is up.

What teams do you think would have interest in Nady and what type of value do you think they can get for him?  I would think that they would try to pick up some hitting prospects.

Thanks.

Brian Cashman said that Joba only has right shoulder tenditis.  They say that will he be rested "for about a week" and then he will be re-evaluated.

This is relatively good news that this is all it is.  He can probably be back in maybe 2-3 weeks? 

Of course if the Yankees fall out of it, they just might tell him to shut it down so as not to risk anything.

Also, Ian Kennedy is finally back and will start either Friday or Saturday.  Phil Hughes is also at Triple-A and will be ready soon.

I know Ca$h has gotten a lot of heat in the past for some bad signings (Igawa, Pavano), but he's done a fantastic job boosting the Yankees this month.

Trading Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, and Ross Ohlendorf for 1 1/2 years of Damaso Marte (team option this year) and Xavier Nady, both of which will net two draft picks.

Now he trades RP Kyle Farnsworth (likely a Type B) for C Ivan Rodriguez (Type A).   Both will be free agents after the season.

He also picked up Richie Sexson for nothing.  (Lefty masher if anything)

EDIT: ONE MORE TRADE

Yankees acquire A+ 2B Matt Cusick for RP Latroy Hawkins.  Is Houston trying to lose?  Cusick was rated their #29 prospect by BA this off-season and probably will be a little higher with his nice performance this year.  By the way, Hawkins was DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT a few days ago.  (http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/C/Matt-Cusick.shtml)

For the sake of this thread, let's say its the half-way mark for this minor league season.  I'm curious to who is going to be on the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects list, so I thought I would get some ideas from you guys. 

Take the team you follow list the players into three catergories: Definites, Probables, Slight Chance.  It would also be helpful if you could guess the area he would be in. 

I'll take the Yankees:

Definites: Austin Jackson (10-20), Jose Tabata (40-50), Jesus Montero (60 and up?)

Probables: Zach McAllister (80 and up?)

Slight Chance: Mark Melancon (would they have a problem putting a reliever on it?), Gerrit Cole (no idea), Jairo Heredia, Dellin Betances (likely not after poor season)                                                                                                                

Edwar Ramirez and Darrell Rasner have both been excellent so far for the Yankees.  What do you think of them?  Will they be able to keep their major league success up?

Also, I'm curious to your thoughts on J. Brent Cox, Mark Melancon, and David Robertson.  All of them are dominating the minors and look to be a part of next years' pen.

 fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill fill

Any thoughts on him?  He's 20 years old and absolutely dominating A- ball.  He's 4-1 with a 0.92 in 6 starts.  He's allowed only 26 hits, 5 walks, and 1 homer in 39.0IP.  More impressingly, he has a GO/AO of 3.29.  Today he had another impressive performance (7IP 6H 0R 1BB 4K 13Groundouts 4Flyouts). 

If I remember correctly I believe he was pretty decent in the first half of last year before falling apart.

Continue reading this post »

Here's just a few good prospects that are having hot starts in the Yankees system.  Thoughts on some of them?                                                                            

Abraham Almonte OF (A- ball): .308/.357/.474  3HR, 15RBI, 6-9 SB   (He's 18 years old and this is his first year in full season ball.)

Justin Snyder 2B (A- ball): .377/.443/.551 1HR, 11RBI 9 errors (22 years old; Hit .335/..459/.477 with Staten Island SS ball last year after being drafted)

Jesus Montero C (A- ball) .359/.383/.526 2HR, 15RBI, 7 2B

Austin Romine C (A- ball) .377/.393/.472 0HR, 6RBI, 5 2B

Ryan Pope SP (A+ ball): 1-2, 1.89 ERA, 19IP, 17H, 5BB, 17K 1.00 GO/AO

Zach McAllister SP (A- ball): 1-1, 1.50ERA, 18IP, 13H, 3BB, 17K 3.22 GO/AO

Dellin Betances SP (A- ball): 3-0, 2.66ERA, 20.1IP, 13H, 15BB, 28K

Jairo Heredia SP (A- ball); 2-0, 3.48ERA, 20.2IP, 19H, 7BB, 22K 1.17 GO/AO

The LA Dodgers signed Mike Myers to a minor league deal.

This means that Mike Myers, Scott Proctor, and Tanyon Sturtze will all be reunited with Joe Torre!!!!!

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Today, the Yankees signed Morgan Ensberg to a minor league deal.  Joe Torre didn't want the Yankees to get him at the deadline last year, so they didn't get him.

They traded Scott Proctor, Torre's number one guy out of the pen.

The create the "Joba rules" so he doesn't overuse him immediately.

The Yankees re-signed Ron Villone last year.  I'm pretty sure this is all Torre because he was a Type B free agent, so he cost them a high draft pick.

Opinions/Thoughts?

So as of right now, they Yankees have only 3 locks (Rivera, Farnsworth, Hawkins).  They have about 20 guys competing for the last 3 spots so I was wondering who you think has the best shot/will do the best.

The options:
Jonathan Albaladejo
Chris Britton
Brian Bruney
Sean Henn
Kei Igawa
Jeff Karstens
Darrell Rasner
Edwar Ramirez
Scott Patterson
Ross Ohlendorf
Jose Veras
Stephen White
Chase Wright
Scott Strickland
Dan Giese
Heath Phillips
Billy Traber

(I don't see them giving it to Horne, Marquez, McCutchen, etc.)

I was looking him up on thebaseballcube.com and I noticed that he was originally signed as an infielder.  Why did they move him to the outfield?  Was he that bad at fielding?  Cause if he was still an infielder, I would think he would be a pretty good prospect compared to him as an outfielder.

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Sorry guys because I know some of you don't like non-minor league related news/stats/etc., but on another message board, someone posted this article

http://www.vocero.com/noticiasum.asp?id=11112

saying that the Yankees signed Juan Gonzalez (2 years, 2 million).  But I'm not sure of the validity because it was written at 1 PM Friday and it hasn't been announced by ESPN/Yankees/Rotoworld/etc. and that Gonzalez probably couldn't get more than a minor league deal.

But on the other side, they have a Cashman quote so it does look real.  Anyone know?

Who are some relatively unknown guys (most likely from your favorite team) that you think will have a breakout year?  (Not guys like Jose Tabata and Fernando Martinez, but guys that are not very well known or rated.)

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if you were the Yankees...

Santana for Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and Austin Jackson?

This is what Peter Gammons is reporting that the Twins want, but I don't think that that is worth one year of Santana.  

1 year of Santana plus a deal that will cost $20 million per year for 6 years of Hughes, 4 years of Cabrera, and 6 years of Jackson?  I'm not a huge Cabrera fan, but I am a fan of Hughes and Jackson

http://yankeesmtom.blogspot.com/ My Yankee Blog

I just have a question about the Venezuelan "Liga Paralela."  Does anyone know anything about it (MLB equivalent??) http://ligaparalela.com.ve/
I only ask because Yankees' catcher Jesus Montero is tearing up the league.
http://ligaparalela.com.ve/?ejecutar=equipo_player&id_equipo=17&name=Montero,+Jesus

Thanks....

Who are some guys (non-Japanese FAs) that have a decent chance of winning it?  These are the guys that I can think of off the top of my head.

AL:
Joba Chamberlain (NYY)
Ian Kennedy (NYY)
Evan Longoria (TB)
Shelley Duncan (NYY)
Clay Buchholtz (BOS)
Daric Barton (OAK)
Ryan Rowland Smith (SEA)

NL:
Joey Votto (CIN)
Chase Headley (SD)
Geovany Soto (CHC)
JR Towles (HOU)
Jair Jurrjens (ATL)
Josh Anderson (ATL)
Manny Parra (MIL)
Andy LaRoche (LAD)

Barely Not Eligible:
Justin Upton (ARI)
JoJo Reyes (ATL)
Mike Pelfrey (NYM)

What does everyone think of him?  Is he Jason Tyner Part II or a little bit better?

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This is guy got 11Ks in 5IP, with 3 hits and 0BB today in Hawaii.  He is the Yankees' system and was the 5th round pick a few year back.  Can anyone that knows anything else about him tell me please?  (Besides the arrest)

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/K/George-Kontos.shtml

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/player/mp_tpl.jsp?w_id=606014&w=mms%3A//a1503.v108692.c10869.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/1503/10869/v0001/mlb.download.akamai.com/10869/2007/open/winterbaseball/hwb/101807_honnsh_kontos_kside_bot2_400.wmv&pid=false&vid=1&mid=200710182271248&cid=mlb&fid=400&v=2&mType=w&urlstr=&mUrl=&type=v_free&_mp=1 http://mlb.mlb.com/media/player/mp_tpl.jsp?w_id=606016&w=mms%3A//a1503.v108692.c10869.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/1503/10869/v0001/mlb.download.akamai.com/10869/2007/open/winterbaseball/hwb/101807_honnsh_kontos_kside_bot3_400.wmv&pid=false&vid=1&mid=200710182271251&cid=mlb&fid=400&v=2&mType=w&urlstr=&mUrl=&type=v_free&_mp=1 http://mlb.mlb.com/media/player/mp_tpl.jsp?w_id=606018&w=mms%3A//a1503.v108692.c10869.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/1503/10869/v0001/mlb.download.akamai.com/10869/2007/open/winterbaseball/hwb/101807_honnsh_kontos_11th_k_bot5_400.wmv&pid=false&vid=1&mid=200710182271253&cid=mlb&fid=400&v=2&mType=w&urlstr=&mUrl=&type=v_free&_mp=1

Yankees make a load of call ups in September...Matt DeSalvo, Sean Henn, Kei Igawa, Jeff Karstens, Ian Kennedy, Ross Ohlendorf, Jose Veras, Bronson Sardinha, Alberto Gonzalez, and Tyler Clippard and Chase Wright will be up tomorrow, making 37 total players, and 22 pitchers.  Out of the 37 total players, there are only 2 catchers...Dan McCutchen, Alan Horne, and Jeff Marquez to travel with team but not be on roster.  What else is going on?????

Kennedy is dealing tonight for the Yanks, with what should be a no-hitter through 5.  (Melky Cabrera misplayed a deal fly to center.)

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Since no one started one, I'll do one.

Yankees:
AAA
Brett Gardner 1-5
Bronson Sardinha 2-4 2 2B BB
Eric Duncan 0-3
Jeff Karstens 7IP 2H 1R 2BB 7K
Ross Ohlendorf 1IP 1H 1R 0ER

-They are eliminated from the playoffs and Kei Igawa, Jeff Karstens, Matt DeSalvo, Sean Henn, Ross Ohlendorf, and Bronson Sardinha get called up.

AA
Reegie Corona, Austin Jackson 2-5, Jackson 2B
Jeff Marquez 7IP 4H 0R 1BB 3K

Today was my first day back to school. (Starting 11th grade), so I need a big Hughes game to cheer me up.
Hughes hit 93 and 94 so that's a good sign.

Austin Jackson to AA to help the playoff run.

POST WHAT'S GOING ON!

DENTAL PLAN! Lisa needs braces.DENTAL PLAN! Lisa needs braces.DENTAL PLAN! Lisa needs braces.DENTAL PLAN! Lisa needs braces.DENTAL PLAN! Lisa needs braces.DENTAL PLAN! Lisa needs braces.

I thought it would be fun to get some guesses from your favorite team.  Maybe organize it like "Locks/Very likely/Possible".  Don't include guys that will not be eligible most likely like Phil Hughes and Justin Upton.

Now with some lyrics about filler:
'Cause this is filler, filler night
And no one's gonna save you from the beast about strike
You know it's filler, filler night?
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, filler tonight

C- Jesus Montero:  It could happen.  Chances are small that he would be ready by then, but who knows.  Otherwise, it will be some free agent who will be given a 1-2 year deal, or Francisco Cervelli.
Waiting in AAA: Jesus Montero or Cervelli

1B- Jorge Posada: I'm pretty sure he'll be given a 3 year deal, and his defense will be pretty bad in 2009, so they'll move him.  He was an infielder in the minors, and has occasionally played 1st, so it's not ridiculous.
Waiting in AAA/Maybe in Majors: Brad Suttle

2B- Robinson Cano: He's a very streaky hitter, but there is no reason why he shouldn't be here.  His defense has improved dramaticcaly, and can always hit .300.  He needs to walk more.
Waiting in AAA/Maybe in Majors: Justin Snyder and Damon Sublett

SS-Derek Jeter: Oh yeah, he'll be here.
Waiting in AAA: Carmen Angelini

3B- A-Rod: He'll get his extension, why not?
Waiting in AAA/ Maybe in Majors: Brad Suttle and Eric Duncan (I'm not giving up!)

LF- Austin Jackson: Matsui's contract will be up in 2009, and if things go right in AA next year, and AAA the next year, he'll go to him.  This was his breakout year in A+ and he's still going strong.

CF- Melky Cabrera: He'll hover around .300 and gets his power to 15-20 a year.  He'll improve his defense to complement his strong arm.

RF- Jose Tabata: He'll rebound strong from hand surgery and overcome the wrist problems.  He hit over .300 in Tampa despite being injured all year.  Next year is breakout. (Starting in A+, AA by midseason, AAA 2009, MLB September/August 09)
Others in OF mix: Brett Gardner, Colin Curtis

DH- Jason Giambi: Huhhhh?  Well, if they don't a youngster avaliable, or just decide to move Posada here, I see the following: Giambi leaves after a solid '08 season, signs a one year deal with Angel with team option, shows some decline with age/power, still great OBP numbers.  Yankees give him a chance similar to what just happened with Frank Thomas.  Unless chronic injuries hit, I don't see Giambi going down without a fight.

SP #1: Joba Chamberlain: Ja-ba! Ja-ba!  Joba is dominant in '08 spring training, and gets the #4 spot in the rotation, and never looks back.

SP#2: Phil Hughes: In the '08 offseason, works on his third pitch, and comes back injury-free, ready to lead the Yanks in the #5 spot. Never looks back.

SP#3: Ian Kennedy: Impressing in '08 spring, Kennedy wins a job in the bullpen, being the setup guy along with Edwar Ramirez and the amazing comeback of Kyle Farnsworth.  An early season injury to Mike Mussina given him the chance.  At first they give him only 5 innings, but then let him loose.

SP#4: Dellin Betances: He'll be in full-season ball for the first time next year, and will be Joba-ed in 2009 after climbing quickly.

SP#5: FA/Alan Horne/Tyler Clippard/ Steven White/ Ryan Pope/ Jeff Karstens/ Daniel McCutchen/ Zach McAllister/ Michael Dunn
This spot has a lot of options.  I like Horne, the AA player of the year.  I think injuries affected T-Clip in the majors, and should be back to normal next year.  Steven White will prob. move to the pen, but could be a 5.  Karstens looks like AAAA, but could improve, or relieve.  Pope is doing good and Hardball Times loves him.  McCutchen older but doing very well since the call to AA.  McAlister is called Baby Hughes.  Dunn having a surprise year in Tampa.

Closer: Edwar Ramirez; I'm a huge fan of this guy, and he'll turn out to be the greatest independant league signing ever.

Bullpen Guys: Chris Britton, TJ Beam, Brian Bruney, Mark Melancon, J. Brent Cox, David Robertson, Jon Hovis

His control was significantly better than the last few outings, but he is still getting hit hard, and his velocity isn't as high as it used to be.  Also, few ground balls.  I'm assuming he is still not at 100% yet from his injury?

FILLERFILLERFILLERFILLERFILLERFILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Nothing going on in the AM except GCL games.

Jesus Montero 2-3, R, HR(3), .280/.352/.419/.772

A song for Eric Duncan

Even in my heart I see
You're not bein' true to me
Deep within my soul I feel
Nothing's like it used to be
Sometimes I wish I could
Turn back time
Impossible as it may seem
But I wish I could so bad baby

Quit playin' games with my heart
Quit playin' games with my heart
Before you tear us apart
I should've known from the start
Before you got into my heart

I live my life the way
To keep you comin' back to me
Everything I do is for you so
So what is it that you can't see
Sometimes I wish I could
Turn back time
Impossible as it may seem
But I wish I could so bad
You better quit playin' games with my heart

Quit playin' games
Baby, baby the love that we had was so strong
Don't leave me hangin' here forever
Oh baby, baby this is not a lie, let's stop
This tonight

Baby, quit playin' games
Sometimes I wish I could
Turn back time
Impossible as it may seem
But I wish I could so bad, baby
Quit playin' games with my heart
Quit playin' games
Baby, baby the love that we had was so strong
Don't leave me hangin' here forever
Oh baby, baby this is not a lie, let's stop
This tonight

Now that all of the signing are pretty much announced, who had the best overall draft?

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