Sunday morning notes: Diaz released from Yankees camp
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Mar 17, 2013 
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The Yankees have their first true cut from big league camp.
Matt Diaz has been released. The veteran was in camp on a minor league deal trying to win a spot as a right-handed platoon outfielder, but he hit just .200/.250/.200. For a few weeks now, it’s seemed that Juan Rivera, Melky Mesa and possibly Thomas Neal were ahead of Diaz in the competition for a bench spot, and that was before the Yankees signed Ben Francisco and Brennan Boesch to add more outfield options.
Brian Cashman said earlier this winter that Diaz was an all or nothing minor league signing who would not be asked to actually report to minor league camp. He was either going to make the team or be released.
• Mark Teixeira has arrived in Yankees camp. He showed up today and will stay with the team through the rest of spring training. He said he still hasn’t been cleared to begin one-handed baseball activities. Perhaps most significantly, he clarified that his wrist injury is to the tendon sheath, not the tendon itself. Jose Bautista also damaged his tendon sheath last season, but Bautista tried to rush back and ultimately needed season-ending surgery. Teixeira said he’s expecting to wear a brace for a month before doing anything with his damaged right wrist.
• Although Joe Girardi remains optimistic that the Yankees will get Boone Logan back in time for Opening Day, he seems less certain about Clay Rapada who is shut down with shoulder bursitis. Rapada is playing catch but there seems to be no expectation of him getting in a game any time soon.
• Girardi said he doesn’t necessarily need to carry two lefties in the bullpen, which means Rapada could be replaced — if necessary — by one of the experienced right-handers. “You don’t (need another lefty) because you look at Chamberlain, Robertson and Mo, thye’re used to getting lefties out,” Girardi said.
• Logan’s next outing will not be a regular game. He’s scheduled to throw another simulated game on Tuesday. If you’re curious, he’s supposed to face Corban Joseph and Melky Mesa.
• Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera will pitch in a minor league game tomorrow. Phil Hughes will throw a simulated game tomorrow. Otherwise, tomorrow looks like a full day off in big league camp.
• Chamberlain and CC Sabathia were scheduled to throw sides today.
• Today’s second string: C Bobby Wilson, 1B Addison Maruszak, 2B Jose Pirela, SS Walter Ibarra, 3B Gil Velazquez, LF none, CF none, RF Neil Medchill
• Today’s scheduled relievers: Dave Robertson, Matt Tracy, Mark Montgomery, Chris Bootcheck, Chase Whitley
• Off the bench from the minors: RHP Chris Bootcheck, RHP Chase Whitley, RHP Manny Barreda, RHP Dan Mahoney, C Kyle Higashioka, UT Casey Stevenson, OF Exicardo Cayones, OF Shane Brown
Associated Press photos
Diaz, then Johnson? Then……….
Are the Yankees done with split squad games? If they are they need to shave down this 50 plus roster and get the regulars more at bars, because the Yankee offense is mostly non-existent this spring.
Maybe fewer at bars and more at bats.
Good morning Tom.
Oops. It is St. Patrick’s Day.
Georges St. Pierre beat some guy named Diaz. I heard Pierre is bigger than Gretzky in the states.
Hi, YT,
I was wondering if it were St. Pat’s Day or just sheer ennui that’s making the blog so slow.
Thinking of Yeats on ths March of seventeen, ….and Van Morrison too!
jmills,
Now’s a good time to hit me with a train story.
jmills says:
March 17, 2013 at 10:22 am
Georges St. Pierre beat some guy named Diaz. I heard Pierre is bigger than Gretzky in the states.
GSP is pretty much unbeatable at the 170 weight class….everyone wants to see him fight Anderson Silva
” But purer than a tall candle before the Holy Rood
Is Cathleen, the daughter of Houlihan. “
I answered my own question. 10 more single Grapefruit League games the rest of the month with off days the next two Mondays, and a final pre-season game at West Point.
It’s definitely time to play the regulars more-especially “Play Musty for Me.”
Sounds like Cashman is not done dumpster diving. Looking for a better option to play 2nd and third?
With regards to Teixeira. You don’t need a torn tendon sheath of the wrist to need surgery.
Drive-by to say: HAPPY ST. PADDY’S DAY TO ALL YOU WEARERS OF THE GREEN!
Tom, I have a brass HO model ( one of 33 made ) of the M640, a one off prototype in the early seventies and the most powerful diesel ever made at the time. I think it was just over 4000 hp. It was out of MLW ( Montreal locomotive works ) and ran under the CP colours. In the eighties it also had the distinction for being the experimental unit when traction motors were changed from I think DC to AC commutators which of course allow for more hp to be delivered in our present age. MLW was at one time, Alco, and that M640 had big flared radiators.
Boesch needs some time w k Long to try and help with his swing and strike zone discipline.
I have an Irish flag constantly on display out front which of course gets all the passers by thinking I’m from there, I’m not ( half Scottish, half German ). My step dad was from Northern Ireland and a typical monarchist at that.I explain the flag this way, for such a small nation, they sure do have a lot of music and literature. A lot of people who pass by don’t even know what nation the orange, white and green is for!
By the way, even Tony Blair admitted there was no potato blight disaster between roughly 1845 and 1852 in Ireland as it was a pathetic case of genocide.
MTU
Also,Hoping Long can “fix” Boesch.
Still to many questions regarding the Yankee offense with 10 ST games to go before opening day vs Boston
Man pretty iffy report on Tex. Only thing clear is they can’t rush it. Anyone else thinking this could go longer than May? Looking like Rivera at first then or maybe they go Youk/Mustelier.
YT, the lack of/inconsistent offense is a concern, but then I watch Gardner and feel silly to think it. I think Hafner is going to disappoint, but Youk will surprise us. Will be interesting to watch this play out.
Chad
Yanks will not need 6 starters to start season.
They can pitch CC on 5 days on 4/7 and leave the other 4 on regular turns or
pitch him on 4 days rest on 4/6, then the #5 on 4/7 and Kuroda on 4/8.
” Play Musty for me ” don’t get all Misty, YT, or else something called Diana Ross shall step your way. Don’t worry, it won’t be something wicked!
They almost have to keep Musty as a BU/1B and 3B and RH bat if Rivera isn’t hitting.
Either one is also OF depth.
I’m not sure what we can expect from Tex now…..these things can really linger and given how much he uses his bottom hand when he hits lefty I could see this thing recurring an ending in surgery anyway…..hope not but its worrisome….much more so than Grandys injury.
It’s gonna be a very tough first 6 weeks or so to the season….they have to find a way to stay close because they just don’t have the firepower to dig out of a deep hole IMO
MTU,
Don’t you bet other hitting coaches have suggested to Boesch not to swing at everything?
Big Sloppy tried to deal with a torn tendon sheath and was pretty ineffective.
He would up needing surgery I think.
Bautista is another recent example.
Bad luck. Tricky injury.
Edit: “wound” not “would”.
If Tex went ahead and had the surgery then at least the return timetable woukd be more predictable
Austin, even if you get your tube amp nordmende radio fixed, someone is likely just playing a digital cd on the other end
Bautista seems ok now
We’ll see.
Mac-
Probably. But each Coach is different in their teaching and communications skills.
I’d say that the Pupil is probably the single most important part of the equation.
I’m not sure Long has any magic bullets for Boesch. Boesch is what he is and hopefully he will provide something. I still like the signing though as it cost only a little money and isn’t really killing any other prospect’s chances. Let’s admit Almonte is not ready and may never be if he can’t field a position and Flores is probably a year out. So good stop gap move.
I also don’t think Long is anything special to begin with so another reason not to expect much.
Too bad Mesa cannot hit. A great opportunity for him if he could.
Texeira injury update is the biggest news for me. This is something that will haunt NY for a couple of months. Not sure what NY can do at this point other than run Youk&Rivera out there and hope they can hold the fort down either till Tex comes back or they find some garbage that has been discarded by another team.
Now if Tex could only miss the playoffs, maybe the new 1B will actually get a hit with runners on.
I disagree 21.
A player should always be capable of learning, adjusting, and improving.
And I also disagree that Long is nothing special. IMO he’s one of the better hitting coaches in baseball.
His pupils ? Well that’s another story.
Mick
I hope Mustelier makes the parent club, but I think this could very well be the bench at the moment with Boesch the starter in RF, Ichiro to left.
Stewart, Francisco, Rivera, Nix and Nunez.
Blake-
The bullpen doesn’t look ready either to help put close games in the win column, Kelley was awful yesterday. Aardsma still needs some velocity. Robertson still refining the curve. No Logan yet. Rapada might need DL. His mirror image, Eppley is meh. Mo is going to be limited in his pitch count, and might not be available to close on successive nights.
The two keys for me offensively are Hafner and Youk. If they stay healthy and provide 80% of what they could do in their prime, NY should have a league-average offense, middle of the pack spot, even without TEX and A-rod. If either of these guys go down for any length of time and/or they produce like their last two years, NY will parade out there a bottom 25% offense and fans will not pay a premium price to watch an inferior product.
NY has a good pitching staff but it is not great and IMO not good enough to compensate for a bottom 25% offense.
If Cashman and company are not on the phones and watching the waiver wires 24/7 they are in a state of denial about this team. The Yankees look extremely vulnerable.
I remember the trickster, John Mayberry. After a pick off attempt, big John would hold onto the ball after not tossing it back to whatever crappy Jays pitcher was out there at the time. He would then ask the doped out runner to take his foot off first base so that his big self could better deal with tying his shoes. Said runner naively obliged and Mayberry tapped him on the thigh.
Yankee21,
No doubt they are checking the waiver wire. Guess what? Released players are released for a reason. How many more times do we need to see released players come and fail?
MTU; no problem disagreeing on Kevin Long, IMO I think he is average and should have been the fall guy for their dismal playoff showing. But hey, NY is not paying me a dollar for this opinion!
I think Mayberry was latter dealt to you people for Chris Chambliss who was immediately flipped to Atlanta for Barry Bonnel and Joey ( I can’t put out the fire for Stieb ) McGlauglin.
80% is 4/5′s of a season.
IMO neither Youlikis nor Hafner are likely to stay healthy for that long.
Particularly if Youkilis stays at 3rd when he should be at 1st.
A good hitting coach can catch swing flaws. He. Can not help with pitch recognition. See Melky for example. Likely the same issue for Boesch. Still, he may be as good or better than the rest.
The team is foolish if they expect Tex to return in May.
“How many more times do we need to see released players come and fail?”
Lightning in a bottle don’t ya know.
From today’s NY Post:
“I’m open,” Cashman said following the Yankees’ 7-0 split-squad loss to the Phillies at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “Opening Day’s not till a ways down the line. I’m keeping my eyes open elsewhere. Our guys are competing for a spot, and there are other guys not even wearing this Yankee uniform right now that might be competing for a spot that we’re watching elsewhere.”
mac-
Who says Boesch’s problem is pitch recognition ?
Maybe it’s something else that can be fixed ?
Like lack of strike zone discipline.
Thinking of Barry Bonnel gets me a’ thinking ’bout Dave Collins who was Barry’s alternative in LF. Dave came to me from you via Dale Murray who I think was pretty disappointing in nyc.
My latin teacher was a big yankees fan; I recall his unfortunate decimation in ’81.
“This is one of those things you can’t come back too early [from],” Teixeira said Sunday when he arrived back in camp with his wrist still in a splint. “I tried to play too early last year and we saw what happened. If I try to play too early I could miss the whole season. I don’t know if it will be the middle of May, the beginning of May or the beginning of June. I know there’s a whole bunch of season left and the time really matters is the playoffs.”
Tex-
Hopefully, the longer you linger on the sidelines, doesn’t effect the Yankee chances of making the playoffs! Is it lingering or malingering?
Yt, either way as I think lingering, like it or not, insinuates, mal.
You know who would be a great fit for the Yanks??
Eric Chavez!!
And Nick Swisher.
“You know who would be a great fit for the Yanks??
Eric Chavez!!”
Don’t worry he’s on Cashman’s to do list.
Oh wait!
Teixeira = soft
I expect a setback in rehab and a new eta of after the All Star break
Tom, I wrote my crappy train story for you at 10:36. I think most of the parts are right
you of Irish heritage?
Have a great day everyone.
YT, right back at ya’!
Scottish, Dutch, Bohemian, and a dash of French. Thought your story would be about real trains. HO is a great hobby. My stepson invests all his time and most of his money on it.
I see how it’s going to be. Another situation where players who are “out of favor” can do no right.
If Teixeira comes back within the 8-10 weeks time frame, after getting clearance (I’ll assume) from the doctors, and reinjures himself, he and the Yankees will be raked across the coals for rushing him back; if he takes more than the 8-10 weeks to make sure that he doesn’t reinjure himself (or to better the odds), he is a malingerer.
This is the guy who plays through a lot of stuff throughout the course of a season; the guy who played when he couldn’t breath. He may be having issues with his swing, the shift, and a shrinking BA, but I don’t really think it’s fair to question his desire to play.
Doreen,
Hear, hear.
Tom, I was never into layouts, just collecting interesting units like the M640. Diaramas are intriguing though ( like in that Michael Cain, Sir Oliver movie, ” Sleuth ” ).
Doreen
I also agree. I can understand questioning his results, but not his desire or heart, low blow.
mick March 17th, 2013 at 11:03 am e
Chad
Yanks will not need 6 starters to start season.
They can pitch CC on 5 days on 4/7 and leave the other 4 on regular turns or
pitch him on 4 days rest on 4/6, then the #5 on 4/7 and Kuroda on 4/8.
—
They need a fifth starter either the 6th or the 7th, pick your poison. That’s either going to be Hughes if he’s healthy, or they’ll need Phelps if Hughes can’t go.
4-1 — CC
4-2 — off
4-3 — HK
4-4 — AP
4-5 — IN
4-6 — CC (or fifth starter)
4-7 — PH/DP (or CC)
The off day comes too early for the entire rotation to get an extra day. That’s why I’m saying, if Hughes isn’t ready, they’ll need a sixth starter that first turn. They’ll need someone to take that one turn.
PIRATES
Starling Marte LF
Russell Martin C
Andrew McCutchen CF
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Garrett Jones 1B
Gaby Sanchez DH
Travis Snider RF
Josh Harrison 2B
Clint Barmes SS
Phil Irwin RHP
____
No television?
I don’t think anyone needs to question Teix’s heart/ability to play through pain. In this case, however, Teix needs to stay out of the lineup until he is healed.
Yankee Trader March 17th, 2013 at 11:20 am
Mick
I hope Mustelier makes the parent club, but I think this could very well be the bench at the moment with Boesch the starter in RF, Ichiro to left.
Stewart, Francisco, Rivera, Nix and Nunez.
===========================
YT
If Rivera stinks at 1st and you have to put Youk there then it’s Musty or Nix at 3rd.
If they don’t give him his shot , they never know. They do know Nix is not an everyday 3B and is better off the utility guy.
By your formula, yes there is no room for Musty, for now as I don’t see them cutting any of that bench. Perhaps his injury will be the convenient excuse in cutting him.
Phelps has overwhelmed and he is still the favorite for 6th starter.
Musty has slowed down a little and I doubt they look at him as much more than a utility guy anyway, not an answer to any major problem.
If Rivera gets hurt, they can always bring Musty up from AAA.
I see Russell Martin is batting .158.
The Yankees couldn’t hit a lick this past week and in most of spring training. If this is what we are going to get in the regular season then it will not be pretty to watch. Maybe Hal will realize that watering down the product is not the way to financial or on-field success.
“They need a fifth starter either the 6th or the 7th, pick your poison. That’s either going to be Hughes if he’s healthy, or they’ll need Phelps if Hughes can’t go.”
==================
Chad
I thought you said they might need 6 starters to start the season and still don’t understand that.
———————————–
“That’s why I’m saying, if Hughes isn’t ready, they’ll need a sixth starter that first turn. They’ll need someone to take that one turn.”
————————————-
As you said, if PH isn’t ready then DP will go as the #5.
Maybe it is just a nice way to say Phelps is the #6 starter/swing man or need not be on the roster if Hughes is healthy and they want him to get his innings in AAA.