Yankees playing it cautious with Melancon
-
- June
- 29
That no-good Tyler Kepner beat me to it on
Bats, but Brian Cashman had some interesting things to say about Mark Melancon yesterday.
The right-handed reliever has been dominating the Eastern League at Trenton. In 12 appearances, he has allowed 19 hits and eight earned runs over 32.1 innings with six walks and 30 strikeouts.
But the Yankees plan to leave him there a bit longer. Melancon, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, has not worked consecutive days all season. He also is being used for multi-inning stints with the idea of further developing his changeup.
“We’re going to be very cautious with Mark,” Cashman said. “I’m not saying he’s not (going to be in the majors) but I wouldn’t have him on your fast track, either. We just want to make sure we’re doing right by the player.”
Need often trumps desire when it comes to the Yankees. The Yankees said last season that Phil Hughes would spend a significant part of the season in Triple-A and he was called up in April.
I get the feeling the Yankees regret rushing Hughes. Perhaps this is why Melancon is being handled so carefully. The injury rehab also plays a role, of course.
Melancon is the set-up man of the future. But that future remains a bit away.
————
Our man Alfredo Aceves is having his Triple-A debut delayed by a slight groin pull. No word yet on when he’ll chuck it for Scranton.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, June 29th, 2008 at 10:24 am by Peter Abraham.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Peter Abraham
Old News. Mark Newman talked about this about five days ago.
I wonder how the Yankees then intend on covering holes in the bullpen and rotation.
Rasner is on a short leash by this point. While they were seeing good things in his early outing, lately he has stunk it up.
Hughes is possibly not coming up to the majors again this year according to Cashman.
While I agree you have to balance caution with need, it seems that Cashman tends to be one who gets real agressive, then when it bite him, he becomes too careful and timid.
I think his experience with Pavano and assorted other pitchers has brought him to the pitching from within stage. That’s fine, but it might have been the larger reason for not trying to get Santana, and it might be why he won’t go after CC.
Cashman might need to learn balance. While its great to have a plan, you also need to see how that plan is working out, and make adjustments.
It doesn’t matter who is first, you still do great work Pete.
Well, there goes the season.
Better luck next year.
Aceves was placed on the DL.
Wow – when do trolls sleep?
The bullpen did a great job yesterday and Robertson, Cox, and Melancon will all get their chances this year.
If we have to go outside the organization then there are several options including Fuentes and a bunch of others. With the increased depth of the farm we will have the chips to make a move if necessary – setting up another post-season appearance and shoving it in the trolls’ faces.
hmmmmmmmmmm, so unlike what SJ44 said, Melancon is not that good after all.
anyone have scouting info on this kid Jonathan Ortiz?
Is he a fireballer or does he have something like a gimmicky windup or something to get such nice Strike Out numbers?
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Jonathan%20Ortiz&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=467802
Jonathan Ortiz pitching very good, very good.
does anyone know if the yankees will make hughes throw in a fall league to get his innings up or what?
YES!!! I hadn’t had a chance to check the blog in few days and now that did, I’m ecstatic that Jobas lined up for tuesday. I have tickets and I’ve been wanting to see him start live for a while now.
excuse me if I’m a little late…been really busy with school and haven’t been following the games as I should.
Here is what Mark Newman had to say 3 days ago.
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.com/Blogs/SWBYankeesBlog/tabid/552/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3898/Default.aspx
Where did you hear the Yankees placed Aceves on the DL, Drew?
Or were you just deriding the Yankees for their misrepresentation of the severity of injuries?
Quite frankly, I was more irked to learn this morning to learn the Yankees now don’t project Hughes to return until the end of August.
The problem is the Yankees now lie so often about injuries I now longer believe anything that emanates from the GM’s office.
Accordingly when Cashman makes the following statements I don’t believe the latter:
1) Intimates he won’t trade for a major starter
2) Doesn’t plan to give up on the season
The two strike me as contradictory. And given the choice between the truth of the two above statements, I’m more apt to believe the former than the latter.
A rotation of Pettitte, Mussina, Joba, Rasner, and Ponson/IPK will NOT gain 5 games in the loss column on Tampa or 4 games on Boston, let alone hold off the surging Tigers.
The lineup:
Damon lf, Jeter ss, Rodriguez 3b, Posada 1b, Betemit 2b, Cabrera cf, Molina c, Christian rf, Rasner p.
Wow, what a terrible lineup today.
Cano, Giambi, and Abreu all getting the day off against Perez.
Man, had not been following Ortiz up to this point… Seems like by his numbers I should have been =)
Drew- Seriously? why and for how long?
The lineup:
Damon lf,
Jeter ss,
Rodriguez 3b,
Posada 1b,
Betemit 2b,
Cabrera cf,
Molina c,
Christian rf,
Rasner p.
Crazy lineup!!
Guiseppe
But look at our bench!
Yeah, I saw that too. That’s ridiculous. He’s Oliver Perez, not Randy Johnson in his prime.
why would you sit Cano and Abreu…
Both are hot right now…. this makes no sense what-so-ever..
We have to take what Newman said with a grain of salt. He doesn’t have the best track record in this area.
He essentially said the same thing about McCutchen probably not getting promoted from Trenton on May 15 and McCutchen made his first start on May 24.
Newman also said that Joba probably wasn’t going to pitch for the Yanks last season so obviously that plan went out the window.
Not calling Newman a liar, but plans can and do change.
Wilson at second scares me the most. You never know, sometimes you win even with the crazy lineup.
But lets not forget that they’ve played partial or not 4 games in 48 hours! Don’t be shocked if Alex or Jeter dh tomorrow.
“Melancon is not that good after all.”
I was going to write a lengthy post explaining the many ways in which you are an illogical yutz. Then I thought of this comic:
http://xkcd.com/386/
And I decided to go do something more productive with my time.
Girardi’s not as clever, evidently, as he thinks he is.
what is going to be funny is if we end up scoring 20 runs today and having are best offensive and defensive game of the season… ohh wait Rasner is pitching
Oliver Perez’s splits:
RHB: .281/.400/.459
LHB: .167/.298/.333
I’d say the lineup is warranted. And some of these guys need days off – they’ve only played 3 games in 2 days.
“Drew- Seriously? why and for how long?”
The minor league 7-day DL. A groin issue, just like Pete said in this post.
The funniest thing is that these guys all started against Santana but they all sit against Perez.
Today will be Robertson’s major league debut because this one is probably going to get out of hand.
Once that happens, no pressure for Robertson and it’s a chance for him to get his feet wet.
Will there ever be a lineup you guys don’t whine about? Lol.
“Girardi’s not as clever, evidently, as he thinks he is.”
Or, you know, he realizes that you can’t have everyone play 5 games in 60 hours without them falling apart.
I might have put Gonzo at 2b, but whatever.
“The funniest thing is that these guys all started against Santana but they all sit against Perez.”
Well…Perez is easier to score against. So…why is it surprising that you put your A lineup out there against their A pitcher?
LMAO @ Whozat –
Great stuff!
“The funniest thing is that these guys all started against Santana but they all sit against Perez.”
Santana’s splits:
RHB: .238/.300/.391
LHB: .263/.300/.398
You know, guys, it might be helpful if you, um, look at the numbers before whining.
Betemit also happens to be a inept hitter from the right-side, apart from his defensive inefficiencies.
As a right-hander Betemit’s career splits are .235/.279/.357.
I wouldn’t have objected to resting one of the three: Cano, Giambi, and/or Abreu. Two of the three, you may have persuaded me of the merits after some misgivings.
But resting all THREE? And by the way, Rasner hasn’t pitched the same since Moeller stopped catching him. Catching Moeller today might have been a good idea as well.
sorry whozat I read that after I posted…
Gonzo evidently cannot hit… (0-21 last 21 AB’s)
not saying that Betemit is much better..
V,
Um, the numbers also clearly illustrate that Melky sucks as a right-handed hitter and so does Wilson Betemit.
They are both switch-hitters in name only.
Anyone know the correct pronunciation of Melancon? I’ve heard two different versions- Mell-en-cone, and Muh-lawn-son….anyone know for sure?
“V,
Um, the numbers also clearly illustrate that Melky sucks as a right-handed hitter and so does Wilson Betemit.
They are both switch-hitters in name only.”
:shrug:
The regulars need their days off. This is actually a classic Tony La Russa type play – rest all of your regulars on the same day with your #5 pitcher on the mound, and hope your B team can pull it out. I’d rather rest them all at once than one at a time, and continually field a non-peak team.
Loren –
I’ve heard it as Muh lan son – rhyming with hansen. He is not latino.
Muh-lan-sun
If Matsui lands on the DL, what do you all think is the logical choice? Bring up Gardner? We’d have Damon, Melky, Abreu, Christian, and Gardner as our OF. 3 play a day, and one DH’s depending on opposing pitcher?
Or, do you keep Christian to take Matsui’s OF spot and do you bring up someone like Duncan, or another infielder with pop?
Decisions decisions?
V,
Thank you for acknowledging my point.
Chad Jennings was talking about that. He thinks they’d bring up Brett have him play left and dh Damon.
believe its something to the sound of muh-lan(plan without the p)-son
I wouldn’t think both Christian and Gardner would be on the Yanks’ roster at the same time.
Probably one or the other.
Hhhmmm. Interesting lineup
I actually have a good feeling about Rasner today. We will see if that good feeling is correct
I think if Matsui goes on the DL they will look seriously at bringing up Gardner. I think Christian has been up b/c the front office likes to keep Brett playing as much as possible and not waste away on the bench.
Christian is older and doesn’t project as high as Gardner.
I really hope that Giambi remains healthy enough to play 1b (or whatever you call what he does on the field). If that continues it gives the team a lot of flexibility.
Actually Chad Jennings beat both of you. He got this new from Newman a while back.
Aerofanatic, the Yankees placed Matsui on the DL on Friday.
And they, evidently, don’t intend to promote Gardner unless they can play him every day at an outfield position.
When the Yankees resume playing baseball as it should be played and have a DH, they’ll probably use a rotation of Damon and Giambi as the DH and Betemit/Christian as their defensive replacements, with the occasional half-day off for Posada and Abreu.
I realize Moeller is only there in case Posada gets hurt but when Rasner is struggling and Moeller is the catcher that brought success, this would be a good time to let him catch and then bring Molina maybe after Rasner settles himself or when Rasner is out of the game
They DL’d Matsui to add Ponson to the roster.
TKinDC,
To tell you the truth, Gardner doesn’t project past a 4th OF like Melky. The thing is, his speed fascinates people but really, he doesn’t project past backup.
Okay question: Is Joba a definite for Tuesday? I want to go see him pitch up close but MLB.com has him as the probable for Monday, and Mussina for Tuesday. What’s the deal?
Wow, crazy lineup today. Righties against Perez is a good idea though.
Damon lf, Jeter ss, Rodriguez 3b, Posada 1b, Betemit 2b, Cabrera cf, Molina c, Christian rf, Rasner p.
aj he swapped Mussina and Joba. Mussina had a low pitch count and Joba a high.
Mussina on Monday
Joba on Tuesday.
Jennifer – thanks. Now if I buy these tixx and it’s Moose, then it’s on you.
UPCOMING ROTATION
Monday vs. Texas: Mike Mussina
Tuesday vs. Texas: Joba Chamberlain
Wednesday vs. Texas: Sidney Ponson
Thursday vs. Boston: Andy Pettitte
Friday vs. Boston: Darrell Rasner
Saturday vs. Boston: Mike Mussina
Sunday vs. Boston: Joba Chamberlain
Nice little article on Justin Christian from a Bay Area perspective (if you can get past the pointless digs at Joba and NY):
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/28/SPQJ11G1GH.DTL
This lineup isn’t so bad guys. I mean, we have a guy with a 1.000% OBP hitting 9th.
The bullpen’s doing its job.
The Yankees are an AL best 36-1 when leading after 7 innings.
Of course you can always improve it, but it’s not as dire a situation as everyone thinks it is. As Cashman said, there’s a “million guys” down there to help us out.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/sports/baseball/29yankees.html?ref=baseball
*36-1 when leading after 6 innings.
Guess who blew the lone game? Click on the link to find out. No, it’s not the man from Atlantis.
“hmmmmmmmmmm, so unlike what SJ44 said, Melancon is not that good after all.”
Wow. What a dumb statement.
27 –
I was saying Gardner’s ceiling is forecasted to be higher than JC, not the Melk man.
mel –
My jaw dropped when I saw that stat – can you please send that along to Mad Dog?
And this is for the guy that was trying to argue that the NL is the dominant league this season:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/28/SPQJ11G1FQ.DTL
is it not weird that pete hasn’t posted the lineup yet? yes I realize that people have i’m not curious as to what it is more why he hasn’t?
xkcd is an awesome comic
5 games in under 72 hours? Modern man is not designed for such!
The placement of switch hitters Posada and Melky in the lineup means it is still going to have some balance if a righty relief pitcher comes in. Not so bad after all maybe?
Bring him up, we need all the help we can get!
POOR YANKEES, THE TEAM IS A COMPLETELY FAILURE, TALKING ABOUT THE TEAM, NOT FOR THE GREAT INSTITUTION, NOT FOR THE AWESOME HISTORY, MAYBE THE PROBLEM IS SO SIMPLE, THE TEAM BUILDING, THE YANKEES’ INSTITUTION NEEDS, REAL PLAYERS WITH A DEEPEST COMPROMISE, NOT PLASTIC ATTITUDE PLAYERS, A REAL PLAYER WITH THE AMBITION TO WIN, NOT FOR SIMPLE FACT OF JUICY CONTRACT, REMEMBER THE LAST WINNER ERA WITH JOE TORRE, AVERAGE PLAYERS, NOT BOMBASTIC OR CIRCUS’ PLAYERS LIKE A-ROD OR JASON GIAMBI, REMENBER DARRYL STAWBERRY, OR DAVID JUSTICE, INCLUSIVE BERNIE WILLIAMS, REMEMBER FANS PLAYERS WITH HUNGER TO WIN, NOT CIRCUS’ PLAYERS, THE TEAM BUILDING IS ESSENTIAL TO WIN, AND THE COACH MUST BE A SUPREME COMMANDER, NOT A PLAYER WITH DAD’S TRAUMA, A LEADER, WE NEED A LEADER IS SO SIMPLE…!