Yanks rained out, will try again tomorrow
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- February
- 23
The Yankees were rained out today and did their work under cover in the batting cages. All conditioning was done in the weight room.
Beyond that, not much else to tell you. They’ll have live BP the next two days. If you’re in the Tampa area and planning on going to practice tomorrow, the Yankees won’t be on the field until noon.
Girardi talked a little about the makeup of his bullpen, saying he wanted a long reliever and hopefully a lefty. But he said that while he would like a lefty specialist type, he won’t keep a southpaw unless they deserve to make it.
In other words, Sean Henn or Billy Traber will have to earn their spot.
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on Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 at 2:42 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
Billy Traber is the wild card in camp.
I think he’ll get a spot..
I had to look Billy Traber up. Wow, he did some good work last year!
From MLB:
“…served the Nationals as a left-handed specialist and long reliever…held opposing left-handed hitters to a .176 average (9-for-51) in 28 big league appearances…upon joining the Nationals in May, allowed just one run in his first 11.1 innings or 9 games…went 2-0 with 2 holds and a 1.59 ERA (3 ER/17.0 IP) in his first 16 appearances…when working 1.0 or less inning, notched a 2.13 ERA in 17 appearances…”
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=407896
Do you think they will try to pick up (somewhere????) a lefty/specialist type? Who might be available?
Lol
“In other words, Sean Henn or Billy Traber will have to earn their spot.”
Is this to say that Igawa and Heath Phillips don’t have a realistic shot?
Jimbo: I think they’d rather have Igawa start in AAA. Phillips, eh. Can’t see it.
If no lefthander in camp steps up to claim the job, Cashman has the option of a late March deal.
hey pete, didnt traber throw a one hitter against the yankees a few years back?
Jeff Karstens or Darrell Rasner are the likely candidates for the long reliever role that Joe Girardi wants.
Like hearing that no one’s getting handed their position.
You have to think that Igawa will be traded. Unless disaster strikes the pitching staff for a second straight year, there doesn’t seem to be mcuh room for Iggy. And at $4M/yr, or whatever it is, he is a very expensive AAA starter. A trade would get at least some return on their investment.
Darrell Rasner still on the team?
It’s disappointing to hear a man as smart as Girardi buys into the lefty specialist idea. A good left-handed reliever is fine, but the LOOGy is a waste of time and a waste of a spot in the bullpen.
If Igawa could learn to throw a strike, he could be their LOOGy and their longman.
The fact that Girardi wants a longman means Karstens will probably make the team, which is unfortunate. I would really like the bullpen spots given out to guys with upside, like Ohlendrof, Veras, Ramirez, and (if he’s healthy enough) Melancon.
Rasner is in camp with the team.
A few Yankees workout photos from today
there aren’t many proven lefty specialists that are available.
as SJ44 pointed out on a post previously, a proven lefty is going to cost quite a bit. For example, the Pirates want Jose Tabata for Damaso Marte.
The Yanks will be better off giving one of the guys they have a shot. If they end up needing to make a trade, it’s not going to be cheap.
Jay,
what makes you think Karstens doesn’t have upside? You realize he is 25, right?
He looked really good in ST last year before the injuries came. I’m not saying he’s going to be great, but give the guy a chance. Jeeze.
Pete, will Phil throw BP tomorrow? I was soo disappointed that today was a washout ……..thanks!
Karstens threw five pitches with a BROKEN LEG.
At the very least, he’s got guts.
It’s been a while since I saw Karstens pitch but if I remember correcty he throws quite a few different pitches.
He would give the Yanks a change of pace guy. They have too many straight fastball throwers in the bullpen. One of the keys to a good bullpen is having a mix of different styles / arm angles / pitches, etc. to keep hitters off balance. I believe that was one of the main reasons, along with having abused his arm, that they traded Proctor.
Ratachewy,
Thanks for the link. 2 things. First, Jeter looks like he’s hanging. Second, George looks good.
Boston Dave,
Sorry about last night. I think the Laker fans jinxed the Celtics. Lot of wacky games last night.
mel,
I know! I watched the game and it was miserable. Both teams were so sloppy. I thought it was the worst game the C’s have played all season….
I do predict a long winning streak for them starting in Portland tomorrow. I think the Lakers are going to reel off 9 out of 10 also.
I guess for LA it would be another 9 out of 10 streak. eesh.
Hah, but the Devils beat the Islanders!
All is right in the world…
Boston Dave,
I won’t post the link here cuz it’s not baseball related. But check out Bill Simmons article about Kidd at the nba page at espn.com. You have to read until the end. Great read as usual.
any way to be able to watch the intrasquad game?
Rebecca,
I don’t follow the hockeys too much, but do the Devils have a chance to make the playoffs?
Does anyone have a scouting report for what Traber throws/how fast he throws it?
a Loogy is not a waste of time if you need to clear out the back of your mouth and throat.
mel: The Devils are currently in first place in the conference, so I’d reckon they might have a chance
Oucchh -> “Phillies closer Brad Lidge caught a spike in the mound on his first pitch of batting practice Saturday and hurt his knee”
What? -> “Florida Marlins are looking for some footloose fat men. The National League team is creating an all-male, plus-size cheerleading squad to be dubbed the Manatees”
Austin,
The problem was that we all needed to clear our throats when the last LOOGY was called in.
Big Papi commercial:
Coach asks Big Papi, so why do you like your new signature cleats? “Because they’re light, solid, and stylin’. Just like me.” Gag.
“what makes you think Karstens doesn’t have upside? You realize he is 25, right? He looked really good in ST last year before the injuries came. I’m not saying he’s going to be great, but give the guy a chance. Jeeze.”
Um, you do realize that by saying “I don’t think he’s going to be great” is just another way of saying “he has no upside,” right? People with upside CAN be great — and Karstens is, at best, a middling longman out of the ‘pen for a major-league team. That might even be pressing it. Is Karstens a good and tough individual? Yep. I wish God gave him better stuff, but he didn’t — and the plain truth is that what you see is what you get and that equals little to no upside. Why do I say this? Simple: Kartsens throws his FB 86-89, and has one decent (that’s being generous) secondary pitch. So you have a guy with a weak fastball and no plus pitches. Not a lot to get excited about. I’d rather have any of the guys I mentioned above — all of whom DO have upside — get a spot ahead of him.
“Karstens threw five pitches with a BROKEN LEG. At the very least, he’s got guts.”
Unfortunately, you don’t throw with your guts; you throw with your arm. And Travis Hafner or B.J. Upton don’t care if you pitched with a broken leg — they care a lot more about seeing his 86-mph fastball so they can launch it to the moon.
Again, listen, I have nothing against this kid… it’s just that there’s no hope of better things to come with him — he’s a known mediocrity. And that’s not what I would want in the bullpen.
ok so its a really slow saturday so i’ve been obsessing about how to use joba and phil with thier innings limits and here’s what i figured out id do if i were king of the yankees:
the 5th spot in the rotation, if it gets pushed back or skipped each off day comes up 23 times. Phil is that guy for 22 starts.
22 starts x 7 innings = 154 innings with 20 left for the PS.
joba starts in extended ST. doesnt throw an inning until he joins the yanks BP the last week of may. pitches 21 innings in june stretching out. July 6th he starts against Bosox and takes over the #4 spot in the rotation, starts every 5th day the rest of the season.
16 starts x 7 innings=112 innings +21 from june=133, leaving 22 innings for the PS.
Gotta agree with Jay about Karstens.
Yeah, he’s got guts and he does throw strikes. He just doesn’t have good enough movement on his pitches to be an effective major league pitcher.
I think a long man in the pen and occasional spot starter is about the most the Yanks are ever going to get out of Karstens.
I hope other teams saw him pitch in the winter and were impressed enough to offer the Yanks a trade for him. His value is as high now as it’s ever going to get.
Trade him now before everyone else realizes the same thing.
The above posts remind me of a segment in Roger Kahn’s book “The Boys of Summer” where Kahn is recalling his clinical, and cold, dissection of Clem Labine’s pitching ability, and his worth to the Dodgers, while he and Labine were socializing one night in spring training.
Not that I’m comparing Jeff Karsten to Clem Labine…at least in terms of pitching ability. It’s just that sometimes we fans forget that these are flesh and blood human beings, and young kids at that, who are trying their best to have their dreams come true.
It’s very possibly true that Jeff Karstens does not have the ability to have a long and prosperous career with the New York Yankees. But, if that’s the case, then I will still follow his career path, and, hopefully, he can realize his dream with another team.
I don’t see much of a future for Karstens with the Yankees. I think he’ll end up in the National League.
I view Karstens as a Ramiro Mendoza type pitcher. I haven’t given up on him yet, I am curious to see how he pitches in ST & whether he makes the big club.
nah Albaledejo is like Ramiro
Whether Karstens turns out to be Mendoza or not, the Yankees have not had a pitcher to fill that role in the last few years. Someone who can be a middle inning bridge or handle long relief is a position that has not been filled in the bullpen since Mendoza left.
It’s smart with Joe Girardi wanting a long reliever in the bullpen.
Any pitcher is subject to a shaky outing at times and instead of going to short relievers and burning them out, the long reliever takes pressure off the bullpen. Joe Girardi will be creative in using his bullpen.
I don’t know what the stats are about lefty specialists but it seems baseball’s been played long enough and there is enough evidence to show that it is important enough for every team to want to have one. Last year when David Justice heard there was no lefty in the bullpen for the playoffs he said that is trouble and they need a lefty badly. I don’t know about anyone else but I thought Justice was the best, most straight forward commentator on YES so I really hope they’re know what they’re doing
There are short video pieces on http://www.Yesnetwork.com including Rasner and a bunch of the other guys.
I saw on SNY that some kid from Mets A-ball hit it out of the park off Santana.
It made me feel a whole lot better that only one guy got a hit off of Mussina.
Pete, is CMW back to his sinker? I know he went to AZ. before coming to Tampa to work with someone but who is working with him there?
Girardi is walking a finer line than I thought he’d have to with the veteran players; they all came to Tampa thinking they were in great shape and ready for anything but here and there stories of too much running are starting to pop up. It will be interesting to see how he handles it. He’s in such great shape himself but these older guys need to hold up for a long season.
On the subject of LOOGYs: Bill James and other SABREmetricians have found that an elite lefty is beneficial to the bullpen, if you can afford to carry one. However they also found that anything below that is a waste of a bullpen spot that taxes your other reliever’s workloads.
Marcy, don’t read into the results off of pitchers during their first live BP. Neither the hitters nor the pitchers are anywhere close to game-ready. Plus, the pitchers are often telling the hitters exactly what is coming.
rumors are circulating in the NBA Brent Barry might sign w/ Denver to make room the Nuggets are rumored to waive JR Smith who came off scoring 43 pts. off the bench last night any interest from NJ ?
“nah Albaledejo is like Ramiro”
In what sense? That they’re both latino?
Mendoza was capable of throwing multiple innings per outing. Alba is a one-inning guy. How are they similar?
I think Igawa is going to have a good year. Whether as a starter or a long man, I think he makes this team. Eiland has to really get the mechanics right with him. He has above average stuff and needs to pitch down, as has been discussed here countless times before.
I highly highly recommend that everyone go and take the stadium tour!
I took about 50 pictures of the new stadium and of the current stadium. Only bummer was we couldn’t walk on the warning track because of all that damn snow!! I plan to go back again with a large group of people and take the better tour! I will try and upload my pictures on photobucket and will link it here.
I come home to find my bird ill
Took him to the vet said he looks good, but they’d have to do a blood test that could kill him. 
I don’t know what to do. I am trying to hand feed him and he doesn’t really want to eat. I guess if he is the same tomorrow I really won’t have a choice. UGH!
It’s nice that the Yankees have flexibility in their bullpen. I think before the year is out we will see a revolving dooor of 10-12 guys pitching in the pen. Joba will be the bridge to Mo in the first few months and then Joba will start. So the question is who will be the bridge late in the year, I’m going to go out on a limb and say Humberto Sanchez. Wouldn’t that be sweet?
whozat Albaledjo threw multiple innings in minor league ball then he was brought up to WAS and they needed a setup that’s where he was placed, but he is absolutely capable of throwing multiple innings especially now being in shape
Albaledejo
So Joe G is opening the gauntlet for a lefty specialist out of the bullpen. Igawa may have cost himself dearly by reporting to camp out of shape. Girardi’s meeting with Igawa the other day probably wasn’t a conversation about the best places to eat in Japan. Kei was probably being read the Riot Act. It may be a real uphill climb for Igawa to make the team out of Spring Training. He definitely didn’t give Joe a good first impression.
So, Jen… the vet says he looks okay, but the only way to be sure he’s not seriously ill is to give him a blood test that might kill him? And the test might kill him and then come back that he wasn’t sick at all? Jesus Christ… that’s tough.
“Albaledjo threw multiple innings in minor league ball”
He averaged less than two innings an appearance the last two seasons in the minors.
This is not someone who has the stuff/stamina to be a long reliever.
When I compared Mendoza to Karstens, the ability to spot start & even move into the rotation for a short time came into the equation in my thinking.
I haven’t heard anything about Jose Veras this off-season. He looked impressive in some of his appearances at the end of 2007 and in a few others he did not. Still, this guy has very, very good stuff and could be their setup man or 7th inning guy.
“I haven’t heard anything about Jose Veras this off-season. ”
He was in winter ball, Peter posted about it on the blog. His ERA and strikeouts were good, but I think his walks were still kind of high.
He, like Bruney and Farnsworth, is a fastball-slider guy who needs to cut his walks in order to be a useful reliever. If one of them can, we’re in a good place.
Jay
That is it in a nut shell. It could be something mild that would work it’s way out. Or it could be serious that he would need medication for it and the only way they would know what to do would be from the blood work up.
Basically if I don’t see improvement in him by tomorrow afternoon I’ll have to do the blood work on him.
He had blood work done a few years ago and I was never told that it could kill him. But now I’m worried about putting him thru that stress.
Nobody should underestimate how strong of a contributor Mark Melancon can be to this Yankee team some time after June and at the right time of doing so.
He’ll start the year at High A Tampa and work his way north similar to what Joba did in ‘07.
true BronxByte, well I’ll be back later P.S. somebody get me an update on Fransico Butto I haven’t heard about him since the 7th of February.
Joe Dawg, it seems that this Joe is a different Joe and is not going to take anything from anyone. I was mad when Mattingly was skipped as manager because I idolized him growing up but after every thing I’m hearing about Girardi, it looks like it was the right thing to do and it shows that these Steinbrenner boys know what they are doing.
Are the Yankees factoring in potential playoff starts/innings for the 3 kids? If Joba is at his limit, do they start someone else in game 3 of the playoffs? Or will they face a situation like the Red Sox where they shut down Buch and went with other options?
I realize you can’t look ahead…but yet it can’t be ignored.
Jay,
On Karstens:
I’ll defer to Joe Girardi on it. I completely disagree with you but we’ll have to wait and see. Neither of us are experts. I think the Yanks will back up my opinion if/when Jeff makes the roster. I know you’d prefer 7 guys who throw straight 95mph fastballs with inconsistent location but believe it or not, there are guys who can succeed with 88mph 2-seam sinking fastballs, good location, and several secondary pitches (yes, they may be average). As I also said before, variety is key to a good bullpen.
I also like Rasner in that role so I think the Yanks will be fine with either of those 2.
So far things look to be going great with Girardi at the helm, and I feel very excited about the potential of this team. There were some who were upset about Torre being gone, but a change needed to be made, and as SJ44 has said before, not all change is bad. I think that this is a wonderful change. This team is chasing greatness, and I believe that greatness can be caught. This team has the right mixture of experience, youth, ingenuity, and knowhow all around the clubhouse.
Jennifer
Glad that you enjoyed the tour. Knew that you would. Hope everything is okay with your bird. What kind is it?
Westerner,
Buchholz supposedly was experiencing a tired arm so I’d imagine that was a factor. Playoff innings count and I’m sure the Yanks will consider that with their young pitchers. They left Ian Kennedy off the playoff roster last season and likely could have used him.
I think Ohlendorf will be a solid long-inning guy this year out of the bullpen. Nasty sinker.
JDawg,
Definitely.
I was admittedly not pleased when Torre left but in hindsight I think it has worked out for both sides. Girardi is a complete change of pace and he’s already had a positive impact. The Yanks have put together a team that could be dominant for years to come.
Torre inherits a young up and coming Dodgers team that could easily become a World Series contender in a wide open NL. That team also has a good mix of young talent and vets (even if they’ve overspent on some of their FA signings recently).
Ah the Torre discussion. I agree with you Boston Dave, Joe Girardi has been solid so far and looks like he has energized the team, hopefully it leads to better results. However, that being said, I wish the Yankees would have just made the decision not to bring back Torre and told him that upfront. The offer, while admittedly not terrible at $5M, was not the best way to make the change. They should have offerred him a day and thanked him for being an all time great Yankee, but just said they want to move in another direction. I think if they could do it over, they would do it my way.
Jeff NJ,
You’re probably right. I do remember reading that Cashman urged Torre to think about and accept the offer so I honestly believe the Yankees wanted him back. They just mismanaged the whole thing.
I know it’s a business, but I’d like to think the Yankees can have a reputation of treating their own, especially guys like Torre, Bernie, etc. with as much respect as possible. I don’t care what other teams do. This is the New York Yankees.
p.s. I don’t want to insinuate that the Yanks were completely disrespectful to Torre, Bernie, or anyone else. I wasn’t there and don’t know all the details. But it does seem that they could have handled things better than they did. I just hope it wasn’t out of arrogance and/or lack of appreciation.
Fran he is a cockatiel (hope it will let me write this.
. He isn’t eating anything really. I tried to give him some of his favorite junk food, but he isn’t interested, just wants to sleep. 
She said don’t let it go more than a day without him eating.
Kennedy was ready to be added to the ALCS roster, had the Yanks gotten that far.
I know you’d prefer 7 guys who throw straight 95mph fastballs with inconsistent location but believe it or not, there are guys who can succeed with 88mph 2-seam sinking fastballs, good location, and several secondary pitches (yes, they may be average). As I also said before, variety is key to a good bullpen.
——-
Okay, so we’ve never talked before but you “know” what I prefer. Makes sense.
Listen, if you think there only exist soft-tossers like Kartens (who, by the way, throws his fastball straight as an arrow) and hard-throwers with no control, then you don’t know much about pitching. There’s a huge variety to pitchers in baseball. You can’t split them into two, three, four or even ten groups (boiling it down to two is oversimplification at its worst). Kartens happens to be a guy with no velocity and no plus secondary offering. Karstens is and will always be an extreme flyball pitcher with no strikeout ability. Look it up. He’s not a sinkerballer. Flyball pitchers who don’t strike people out are scary. Karstens’ stuff is fringy at best.
And for the record, Ohlendrof, Veras, Ramirez and Melancon are not high-velocity, no-control guys. What they all possess is good velocity (though Edwar is only about 90-91) and at least one plus pitch. They also have an ability to get out major-league hitters on a consistent basis, which Karstens does not have.
I may not be an “expert,” but I’ve seen Karstens pitch these last two years and I’ve seen his minor-league numbers and he has shown himself to be nothing more than a generic righty starter with low velocity, little movement, and no out pitch. If he makes the team, it’s a detriment.
I guess my previous post didn’t go thru cause they thought what I typed was a dirty word.
http://tinyurl.com/2mjjy8 Here is a picture since I can’t type the name.
My bird won’t eat at all, I just tried giving him a French fry, eggs, he won’t touch it.
I think I might bring him back to the animal hospital later tonight. I don’t like him not eating at all.
jennifer-
Is he drinking water?
No, not even water.
I tried to give him some, but he does want it.
Yeah, I would take him in, he at least needs to be hydrated. Has he been pecking at the feathers on his chest?
No, he is doing normal grooming, he hasn’t stopped that at least.
WHomever asked about Where Tyler Kepner of the Times was he is back he posted a new entry sai he was lae reporting due to his wife having a baby congrats to him, great writer and his insights are always worth the read.
I got my bird to drink a little water.
hey jennifer, i have a green cheecked conure . they are about the same size as your c-ockatiel.
is he siting quietly with his feathers ruffled up? listless?
do try to get him to drink even a drop or two. keep us posted !!!
The AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees will see some good pitching talent that shakes out from the cuts of spring training.
There’s 4 spots to be won on the pitching staff and not all can possibly survive the cuts.
He is puffed up and sleeping, sometimes it is on both feet other times he is sleeping on one foot. He is chirping a little, not like usual. I’m debating taking him back tonight as the place is open 24/7. I just wish I could give him some medication to help him feel better. He is climbing fine, he isn’t losing his balance or anything. I’m thinking that he may have gotten sick from a toy in his cage. It has been in there for about 2 weeks, but I looked tonight and noticed that he chewed some of it. It was wood toy dyed. I don’t know where it was made, since I don’t have the tag anymore. But I got it from the store that I always buy his toys from. It isn’t a cheap store either.
You know, it’s kind of funny that we’re talking about Jennifer’s bird. I mean, it’s not funny at all that your bird is sick Jennifer, and I’m very sorry the he is, and I do really hope that he’s ok, but I wonder if there are ANY other sports blogs out there where posters care about each others pets…
I hope that didn’t come out mean–my previous post. I mean it in a good way, I swear!
Well, I just came from watching a film on the Lost Boys of Sudan.
That was intense. Made me forget about the Yankees for a while.
jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!!
Good luck with your bird. Sometimes they come around fast, so maybe by morning things will look better. Hope so.
jennifer:
murph is right; they often can get well very quickly. it doesn’t sound like he is in immediate danger. i would take him in tomorrow…make sure to keep him as warm as possible on the way there. i’m sure you know this…
just let us know how he is.
rebecca,
May i suggest God Grew Tired of us. its a documentary about the lost boys. John Dau, one of the boys in the movie, came to my school to talk to us. it was really eye-opening and a great assembly.
I think we’ve reached the point at which Pete should put up a new post. what’s name of your bird Jennifer?
Thanks, I am encouraged that I can get him to drink a little.
Anyway, back to some baseball. Everyone needs to make sure to tour the stadium before it closes. Also if you go, go when they are away, otherwise you can’t go in the clubhouse.
Sorry for dragging down the blog entry.
His name is Sam or Sammy.
Loved this quote from Johnny Damon
From Bob Klapisch’s column at northjersey.com
“Joe is working us hard, but he’s making sure he’s not killing us. At least I hope he won’t.”
I read that, Gotta love Johnny.
Ganador: That’s the one we watched. It was really good, though of course the audience clapped when they showed Syracuse…
Pat: I love the humor on the team this year…
One week from tommorrow at 1:15PM
Phillies @ Yankees Live on YES Network
I wish they’d show all the games
I guess some is better than none. Hopefully Pete will give us the play by play.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/slideshow
Go to #39, Dice K looks out of shape!!
Jennifer
There will be 15 ST games on TV this March.
UtilityMan
That’s not enough
TRUE TRUE
Some others will be on WCBS 880.
Look out! We have a new pitching scout in our midst (Jay):
“I’ve seen his minor-league numbers and he has shown himself to be nothing more than a generic righty starter with low velocity”
well, I guess if you’ve seen his #s and don’t approve, he has no business even being in spring training.