Clippard out, Thompson up, Igawa next?
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 16, 2007 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
The Yankees optioned Tyler Clippard to Class AAA Scranton after the game and recalled OF Kevin Thompson.
With six games coming up at NL parks, they need the extra position player.
The Yankees will need a starter on Saturday in San Francisco and that will likely be LHP Kei Igawa, Joe Torre said. They would send out a reliever before then, presumably.
Igawa could get a final tune-up in Scranton next week, an inning or two, before being recalled.
Notes: Mariano Rivera said that ball from Jose Reyes hit him above the ankle and that he was fine. It was certainly a shaky outing from Mo but it also looked like he had Carlos Gomez struck out.
Interesting to see Jose Reyes go up right-handed against him. He said he tried hitting lefty against Mo and realized he had no chance. Reyes had been 0 for 6 against Mo before that hit.
The home run for A-Rod was No. 490 in his career. … The Yankees are 111-74 in interleague games, the best in the majors.
Thanks for participating today. It’s great to have so many people checking in over the weekend.
Thank you, Pete. Great job. Any idea, not just counting those leaving comments your site gets over the course of a game?
I meant to write how many hits your site gets…….
bring up joba
Clippard needs to go down and learn to throw strikes..
can there bullpen get a 1 2 3 inning or is that impossible…
Hughes is sorely missed, he would be throwing strikes….
the Mets should play this aggresive on the basepaths all the time, they have so much speed it is scary..
Mo’s outing was testimony to the potency of the idea that pitchers have very little control over BABIP.
Really hoping that Phil Hughes will be better in around the All Star Break. Clippard definitely is not ready, and Igawa doesn’t inspire much faith.
The all-star break starts July 9. Hughes has yet to throw in the bullpen since he sprained his ankle. He will not be back any time soon. Think August.
Thompson should stay up with the club.
Henn is on the club but hasn’t been in any recent games. It is a waste of a roster spot.
Where is Andy Phillips? I would rather see him than Phelps out there at 1B.
I can’t wait to see Igawa again. It was so much fun the first time around.
How unbelievable was that Mariano 9th? Some of the worst hits I have ever seen in my life.
A lesser reliever gives up the game there.
On Hughes: ten days ago, when Rajah was down in Tampa, Hughes was tossing while wearing a protective boot. Once he’s healed, he’ll have to build himself back up (I am sure some atrophy has occured).
When Bill Orally can’t walk into a secure area without credentials, the terrorists have won.
_O’REILLY So what the story comes down to is philosophy of life. Traditional-values people put others on a par with themselves. That’s a Judeo-Christian tenet. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Secular progressives put themselves above all others. That philosophy says, *”Me first, then I’ll worry about you.”* As a nation, the USA has been successful embracing the traditional point of view. But today, that’s being challenged. And this TB case is a great example.
Are Andrew Speaker and his wife bad people? Probably not. Did Speaker put his own welfare above everything and everybody else? You bet he did._
(buddha voice) jaja, jonathan say funny thing…
I was at the game today. Great comeback(s). I really feel sorry for Ty Clip. He seems like a good kid, just needs to get his stuff together a little bit more. Going back to Scranton is the best thing for him and us. I just hope Igawa has HIS stuff together enough to succeed as the 5th starter.
The hits off Mo were ground balls that happened to find holes. And he had that strikeout.
I’m sad about Clippard. I thought he had enough bulldog in him to be an effective starter, but it just hasn’t been there. He wasn’t going to get us more than 5 innings anyway since he still needs to work on throwing strikes.
I’m pulling for him though. It’s been rare to see a Yankee, let alone a rookie, show some emotion on the mound and Clip did that. I hope this Scranton demotion only helps his development.
As for Igawa, we all saw what he did to the Red Sox that game where he came in on an emergency. I think the guy has the stuff and hopefully, they worked out the kinks. You don’t do to the Red Sox what he did that day on sheer luck. If Igawa spits the bit next week, then Cash has to find a bonafide starter over the All Star break.
I don’t know what it’s going to take to get Buehrle, but since everyone is underpaying for rental type guys who are going to be free agents next season, I hope Cash is in on that at least to hear what it would take.
I’d be happy with a Leiber type though although I don’t think there is going to be much out there to trade for starting pitching wise.
As for Hughes, I don’t think we can count on him at all since he’ll be starting from square one when he’s healthy enough to throw from the mound.
Great win today though. I was happy to see a bounce back/come back win one night after getting shut out. 3-4 weeks ago, that wasn’t happening.
I like the look of the team. Hopefully, Cash is going to beef up the bench with some veteran role players before the deadline.
Even though I like his potential, I don’t think Phelps works on this team. Get me Hatteburg from Cincy to play some 1b and be a role player on the bench.
You can show all the emotion you want. If you can’t throw the ball over the plate, you are useless to this team.
Clippard needs to be back in AAA learning to throw strikes. If he can’t, you won’t see him in NY anytime soon.
The Yankees have too many other pitching prospects with higher ceilings than Clippard.
Ian Kennedy’s third AA start tonight: 5 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 BB, 9 K’s. Leaves with a 6-2 lead. If the score holds up, he goes to 3-0 in AA and 9-1 overall this season with 95 K’s in 79 innings and a 2.83 ERA.
Kennedy, like Clippard, is 22 years old. He also throws harder and throws more strikes. A much better prospect for the future for the Yankees.
The only thing worse than Clippard’s performance were the walks out of the bullpen with a 5 run lead.
When Luis Vizcaino is currently your most effective relief pitcher, you have issues.
Mo was unlucky, and got squeezed from that fat slob Froemming, who was AWFUL behind the plate today. Seems like he is starting his retirement a little early. Despite the 9th, I still trust Mo with any lead.
The rest of the bullpen? All useless, all can’t throw strikes and none of them can be trusted in close games. You just roll the dice and hope whichever guy comes in doesn’t spit the bit on a given day. Forget any consistency from them. It doesn’t exist.
The #1 priority for the Yankees, IMOm is finding bullpen help. The won’t make the playoffs with this bullpen. Its not good enough.
If they could ever acquire Brad Lidge to pitch the 8th inning, this team will win the division.
Neither Ramirez nor Britton can pitch 8th innings and the in house options are not appealing. They are going to have to go outside the organization for bullpen help.
Somebody is gonna get Lidge. If its either Boston, Cleveland or Detroit, they are going to have an advantage over the Yankees in a playoff run.
The Yankee bullpen do not possess the ability to throw the ball over the plate in big situations. Sad but true.
Good bounce back win today. Now, they need Wang to go 9 tomorrow because the bullpen is shot.
Hopefully, they get to El Duque early before he settles in. Need a win tomorrow before the road trip to keep the momentum going.
Igawa? I am open to giving him another shot because you can’t pitch Clippard anymore. At some point, enough is enough with him.
ming 9 innings again? poor wanger. lidge? what the hell we have to give up to get him?
I don’t think Lidge is going to be traded anywhere. He is pitching great and his stuff is back at it’s best. Lidge is expensive to get.
Cleveland, Detroit, Seattle, Baltimore, Chicago have all lost.. good day for the Yanks except the San Francisco Geezers couldn’t score
Wang will kill the slumping mets and Yankees will take the series easily. I would say Wang will shutdown the the Mets. Next 2 series should be easy wins Vs Colarado & Vs San Fransisco. That Yankees can go on a 7 run from now on.
The rumor in Houston is they will trade him because the owner doesn’t like him. If he doesn’t get traded, I’ll give you a lower cost option…..David Riske in Kansas City.
Riske is throwing the ball very well this year, certainly better than Farnsworth, and I would gladly trade Clippard or another young arm for him. He can get people out and can pitch back to back days effectively. A current weakness within the Yankee bullpen.
The Yankees have the parts to get Lidge, if he ends up on the market. They just have to make the decision whether its worth it or not. IMO, if he available, he is worth the risk.
Down go the Twins
One more scoreless inning for Edwar Ramirez.
2 more Ks.
That gives him 64 Ks in 35.1 IP in the minors this year. His overall ERA drops from 0.79.
What are the Yanks waiting for?
Ramirez would get rocked with his below average to average fastball.
Think Colter Bean when you think of Edwar.
Great blog Mr. Abraham, much better then that one over on the gray lady. I mostly lurk as I rarely see any of the games out here in Ess Eff.
As for acquiring Riske… eek! If they can’t make it in Cleveland, what evidence is they will make it here? Remember Bayez? I know I his spelled the name wrong, but we paid him a wheelbarrow load of cash and he went Pavano on us before we had Pavano.
Mike S,
ask Professor SJ44; he seems to know it all.
SJ44…the bullpen help is there, and the Yanks don’t have to deal. Just pick up the phone and make the call. Bring up Edwar.
As for Clip, rushed, but the injuries forced it. He should have spent the whole year at AAA (AA last year), but what can you do. He is 22, and his ETA was probably 2009—two years from now.
The ETA for most was 2009. That is what I’m shooting for. Hughes, Clippard, Joba and Kennedy. Until then, I bide my time. 2009-2015…hopefully with those four (and Wang?) then I hope to sit back and watch the Yanks kick butt.
As for position players, there is only one position player I would deal for—Teixeira. A switch hitter, his righty side helps out Alex. Yanks getting hurt by the lefties this year. Teix is only 27, and unlike other 1b who cannot field, has two GGs.
I’ll take Teix, Cano, Jeter and Alex to build on.
Don’t give me any other position players, esp. those 34 or over.
I’ve seen Edwar. His change is for real–
He is the real deal. Not my words—words of scouts and those who have caught him.
Speed isn’t anything without control. Just ask Farnsworthless.
Plus Ramirez weighs 165 which makes me want to see him more… and don’t give me this rookie garbage.. 96 Jeter was a rookie, Pettitte was a rookie, Mariano was in his second year and first as a reliever
i believe pettitte was a rookie in 95
Hmmmm. Below average to average fastball.
I was there in Scranton to watch Roger pitch there. Ramirez was hitting 90 to 91.
What was Roger hitting? 90 to 91.
Nick. You are correct. Pettitte won 12 in 1995 and started game 2 vs. Seattle in the ALDS that year.
My bad
The yanks have got to give E. Ramirez a shot. Hes been totally dominating the minors from A to AAA.
As for the Thompson call up, whats the freaking point anyway??? Hes not even gonna play. Joe will sit him in the bench and give him 1 pinch hit opportunity and hes gone.
Edwar also has the sickest changeup in the Yanks minor league system.
over under on a-rod homers has got to be at like 70 right?
Edwar is quickly becoming the new Chris Britton, Hero of the Blog!
I hate people that think you have to throw 95 to be successful in the majors. You can get people out if you spot your pitches. Look at Farnswortless. He throws 98 and cant hit locations and gets drilled. Velocity is relatively meaningless if you can locate your pitches
Mark-I have heard Clippard has the best changeup in our system
Regarding the religion of batted balls, I read yet another pointless article on the subject by yet another Boston educated genius whose summation was that it’s a mystery. (Sun. NYT). No, no, no they all say. They can’t look and see a few pitchers have extensive, large samples that show a preponderance of ground ball outs. It’s there for anyone to see, it’s no mystery. The Boston BP types don’t want to acknowledge that a ground ball has less of a chance of going over the fence.
Go NYR, I also read that Clip had the best change in the Yanks system, but from what I have personally witnessed, Edwar’s changeup is absolutely fantastic, as evidenced by his ridiculous k/9. Clippard couldn’t locate his fastball so his changeup really became a not so great pitch.
The bullpen today actually did an admirable job. At least, Vizcaino, whose only real mistake was a double that almost went foul. Vizcaino, actually, has looked excellent recently. His velocity is back up to 92-94, and his slider is all the better for it.
People please. The bullpen isn’t so bad. The past few years the starters have been going six maybe. But these guys, with Clemens and Pettite back, are going to start going 7+ on a consistent basis. That’ll give Joe more sanity and he can get consistent with Proctor and, yes, Farnsworth getting the ball to Mo.
Mo got inconsistent work and looked bad too. Now we’re gonna win some close ones and the bullpen will improve.
i hate bill o’reilly. so, so much.
ps:
bruney should be the 8th inning man
i would also *LOVE* to get lidge and texiera at the deadline, but i’m also a realistic person.
would lidge really want to come to NY to be a setup man to Rivera for 3+ years? i don’t know. but closers seem to take their role really seriously and to cease being a closer is to take a step back for them…imo
i would be *TRILLED* to see us get both of them, but in reality i doubt it will happen.
so, cashman, please prove me wrong…
that should be tHrilled
I’m on the edge of my seat everytime Farnsworth comes in, he has some major control issues he tries to compensate for with velocity. He just isn’t doing the job.
Great outing by both Jeter and Arod, I was only able to view the highlights as I worked a double today.
The Yanks need to seriously look at Akinori Otsuka from the Rangers. He’s had a great year so far and would be much better than Farns in the 8th inning role. Don’t know what it would take to get him but I think he is a realistic possibility
There is no doubt in my mind Cashman will find another bullpen arm soon. And a 1b.
You may have seen today what it would cost for Otsuka. Clippard.
Houston would trade Lidge because if hes not going to close for them hes not worth 6 mill plus.
The Yanks do have what every team wants right now.
Young pitching.
Colter Bean (30 years old) 22 BB to 29 K’s
Edwar Ramirez (26 years old) 15 BB to 63 K’s
Who here had the audacity to compare Edwar to Colter Bean !!!
Lets get more into this
Colter Bean 7.27 ERA, 2.05 WHIP
Edwar Ramirez 0.76 ERA, 0.82 WHIP
again who here had the audacity to compare Edwar to Colter Bean !!!
sorry carry on…
The one danger about AAA stats. Matt DeSalvo and Clippard were strikethrowing machines in AAA. DeSalvo has been dominating AAA since he went back to Scranton.
We saw how it worked out for both of them in NY.
Its a whole different world at the major league level.
Edwar is a guy who can pitch 6th innings in NY right now. He is not the 8th inning answer nor is he a better alternative to having a veteran guy in that role.
I like Edwar and would like to see him in the Yankee bullpen (in a softer-type role) down the line.
Now? In the 8th inning? No way. Not ready for that type of move, IMO.
The stats don’t tell the entire story with pitchers. Just look to DeSalvo and Clippard’s numbers in AAA for verfication.
The best changeup in the Yankee system? Ramirez in a landslide. Second best? Daniel McCutcheon in Tampa. If Joba Chamberlain had McCutcheon’s changeup (McCutcheon taught him his change and he is working it into his starts), he would be in the majors right now. Its that good.
Huge difference between DeSalvo and Clippard.
Four and a half years.
Same thing with Ramirez and Bean.
In each case, one is prospect material (Clip and Edwar) and the other isn’t (DeSalvo and Bean).
In the 2002 ALCS, the Angels had the guts to put a 20 year old with five MLB games on their postseason roster and use him–in the sixth, seventh, and yes, 8th innings. Heck, they used him in the 8th inning of GAME SEVEN of the World Series that year. He was Francisco Rodriguez.
Wish the Yanks showed the same courage and brought up Edwar. History shows players who got chances who helped their teams win–like K-Rod; Mel Stottlemyre in 1964; Bobby Jenks in 2005; Bob Hazle in 1957; Whitey Ford in 1950;
Who knows, maybe Edwar in 2007? You’ll never know unless you give him the chance.
K-Rod has three plus pitches. Edwar has one.
Its not about age. Its about stuff.
It also has nothing to do with guts. It has to do with what to do to put the team in the best possible position to win.
To compare K-Rod with Edwar is an apples to oranges comparision due to the stuff each guy possesses.
Its not remotely comparable.
People need to compare Bean’s CAREER minor league stats to Ramirez’s before they begin to pull out stats for THIS year.
Bean would be a HOFer in the minor leauges as he has dominated. He does not have ML stuff.
You need something else to offset your above average change cause batters will be sitting on it.
Yes, it’s apples and oranges in K-Rod and Edwar.
But could Edwar help this team? Yes.
Would I rather see Edwar than Farnsworth or Vizcaino? Yes to that also.
That’s the point. The guy does well, give him an opportunity. Nothing can be more deflating to the guy than to kick butt at AA and AAA and not be called up, meanwhile a guy you should be replacing keeps stinking the joint out.
Sometimes, all someone needs is a chance.
To this day, Buck Showalter only wishes he knew what he had in 1995 with Mo.
You think it didn’t take guts for the Angels to entrust a lot of offseason innings to a 20 year old with 5 MLB games under his belt?
Come on.
5 MLB games…to 11 in that year’s postseason. That took guts and the courage of your convictions that the kid would help. I’ll applaud the Angels for that forever–it took guts, b***s, whatever you want to call it.
Exactly Brandon.
Here’s the thing. Hitters in AAA, and other levels of the minor leagues, often strikout against good changeups. They don’t see that many of them and they are all geared to hit fastballs. They are still in the infancy stage of their development and don’t adjust well to off speed stuff.
At the major league level, these guys are so good, they can sit on that pitch and still adjust to a lot of guys fastballs.
Also, major league hitters foul off pitches that minor league guys miss. That’s why you see a guy like DeSalvo averaging 7 K’s a game since he was sent back to Scranton.
Its awfully tough to ask a rookie with one plus pitch, to pitch 8th innings for a playoff contender.
Ideally, if the Yankees were to move a guy like Farnsworth at the deadline, and they had somebody from the current staff be a reliable 8th inning option, you can call up Edwar to be a quasi-long man (5th-6th inning guy).
He can fool some guys in those innings and be a bridge to the later innings. That would be the ideal way to work him into the mix.
To just look at minor league stats and decide, “he’s the guy”, is fools gold.
If it was that much of a sure thing, he would already be with the Yankees, since I am sure they don’t like the inconsistency in their bullpen at this time.
How do you know he can help the team? You make it sound like its such an easy decision.
I hate to tell you but, Edwar Ramirez is not a better pitcher than Kyle Farnsworth or Luis Vizcaino. Just because somebody is pitching well in AAA doesn’t mean he is better than established major league pitchers.
If you put Farnsworth and Vizcaino in AAA, they would also dominate that level of competition.
Don’t discount experience at the major league level. It matters.
You discount experience and cite one example of a guy helping a team in a playoff run. A pitcher, BTW, who is better than Ramirez will ever be.
The Yankees have thrown more rookie pitchers this year than any season in recent history. Its one of the reasons why they are fighting to get back in the race right now.
Let’s not get too carried away by Ramirez. He’s a nice prospect. He’s not can’t miss and he isn’t better than Vizcaino or Farnsworth. Its not even close.
If he was, they wouldn’t have had to pull him out of an independent league a few years ago to get him in the system.
I think the reason that the Yanks had to pull Edwar out of the independant league was because of an injury. before that he was pitching well in the Angles organiztion.. He sat out 2004 presumibly to an injury.. He then dominated the independent league… I’ve been watching his sats all year and I think the Yanks should call him up… I’ve never seen him pitch and am looking foward to it… You make the coment to not get caught up in minor league numbers but the kid is flat out dominating… He has to have other pitchs inorder to have such high k’s… If he only throws 90-91 he must have sick movement or nice command of his fastball..
If you have command of your fastball and can locate it then you can dominate with a plus plus change.. and I’m talking in the bigs.. Just think about Jared Weaver against the yanks this year and last… especially this year.. the kid was falling behind in almost every count but was able to wiggle out because he had a sick change that he could throw for strikes in fastball counts… Weavers change would fade and drop slightly at the end which is very tough on lefties… Also Weaver’s fastball is 90-91 and maybe once or twice a game will touch 93… Getting a great change they say is the toughest and best pitch in baseball… If Edwar’s is so devastating then he’s 90% there… He’s been so dominate that he must locate the fastball well and put guys away with the change..
I’m very interested in this prospect… Does anyone have a scouting report? Has anyone seen him pitch?