Ensberg a Lock

He was added to the 40-man roster to avoid him opting out of his minor league deal. That means that you can expect him to be the other bench guy with Betemit and Duncan (and of course, Jose Molina). Sorry Cody Ransom fans…. HA!

St. Pedroia’s Day

I forgot to post a JibJab video in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. Here you go.

I had to do it, and this is not meant to offend any Irish folk (or leprechauns).

Wang Tabbed for Opening Day, Ensberg Decision Looming

Chien-Ming Wang will be the starter on opening day at home against the Toronto Blue Jays. Joe Girardi just announced it, saying that Wang has earned it. No surprise here.

A bigger question for Giarardi is whether or not to have Morgan Ensberg on the 25-man roster since he can escape his minor league contract with the Yankees at midnight tonight. George King states that the Rays are interested in Ensberg so that they can allow heralded prospect Evan Longoria to develop a bit more in AAA. The battle for the final utility IF spot is between Ensberg and Cody Ransom (seemingly) as Ransom is a good defensive option whereas Ensberg’s offense as a righty sets his apart from others. Also, Ensberg could play 3B and 1B while Betemit, the other utility IF, will likely see time at SS and maybe even 2B. It seems like 2B can be the deciding factor because Betemit hasn’t played too many games there (Ensberg has never played there). I guess that’s why Cody Ransom seems to be a valid option at this point. Although he’s never played 2B regularly or even that much, his defensive abilities seem to indicate to Joe Girardi and others that he can be serviceable there. I think Ensberg will get the last spot, especially if the Rays are interested. Imagine if he goes to a division rival and hits 30 bombs?

Should We Worry About Phil Hughes?

 

Ben over at River Ave Blues produced a post about Joba last night, analyzing a recent comment Joba made about starting and relieving. The comment, to Ben and to others, was somewhat troubling as it seemed to imply that Joba was over analyzing his pitches on the mound when performing as a starter, and therefore, his mentality about starting seemed to cause some of his earlier Spring Training problems. This led to the inevitable “Should Joba start or relieve?” posts in the comment section of his thread.

Well, this got me thinking about a recent comment made by Phil Hughes. Maybe we should analyze this a bit, because it seems almost or even more troubling than Joba’s comments about starting (especially since Hughes is, by design, a starter).

Here’s Phil explaining his rough outing against the Pirates:

“I have to make sure I finish the fastball and get it where I want,” said Hughes, who gave up seven runs (six earned) and seven hits in four-plus innings in which he needed 76 pitches. “I was trying to add on and I was overthrowing and over-striding. When I did that, the ball leaked back over the plate.”

“I was trying to add on and I was overthrowing and over-striding.” Does that worry any of you? Does this indicate that, when in jams or when he doesn’t have his best stuff on a particular day or even when he’s just trying to finish a guy with a nasty pitch, Hughes is going to “reach back” for a little extra something, disrupting his mechanics and forcing him into bad habits that can hurt his location? Remember, it is only Spring Training, but if Hughes is overthrowing now, what will he do when he’s facing David Ortiz, or Manny Ramirez, or Carlos Pena, or even Nick Markakis?

The last time Phil made a comment like this that sort of bothered me, but I brushed it off, was when he was explaining how he injured himself against Texas while in the middle of throwing a no-hitter. I couldn’t find the exact quote, but here’s what was said then:

The injury came when Hughes tried to throw a curveball with an 0-2 count to Mark Teixeira. Hughes told Cashman he overextended himself on the pitch, his chest reaching too far past his front foot. The force was too much for his hamstring.

Hughes has clearly done this before. Eiland will really need to work with him on his mechanics, an issue that seems to be reoccuring for him. A few months ago Hughes explained last year’s dip in velocity, citing that it was brought on by a mechanical issue that he eventully worked out before the season’s end. At this point, we know that Hughes has some trouble with his mechanics, now, we’ll just have to wait and see if he’ll move past the problem or if it’ll constantly creep back up on him, making him vulnerable and prone to a variety of injuries (or dips in his velocity, performance, etc.).

Friday’s Bits: The Early Morning Edition

Okay, with the work winding down, I’ll be posting regularly again. My apologies for the lack of posts these past few days. Let’s get right into it (no more bulletin points).

1) Well, the first bit of news for today is that Brian McNamee, Roger Clemens’ former friend and accuser, crashed his car into a NYC bus at around 12:30 pm in Queens (another car was involved as well). McNamee apparently fainted at the wheel, which ultimately caused the crash. explanation for the crash was that he has an ongoing medical problem. For some reason (call me crazy!), I feel as though this won’t be the last we hear of this accident.

2) Next up, while we’ve all been slightly worried about Phil Hughes’ recent rough outing (verse the Pirates), maybe even overly worried (it is just ST), Ian Kennedy continues to impress, as demonstrated by his performance against the Blue Jays. Joba Chamberlain also came in to the game knowing his role for the season (for now), and promptly struck out 3 Jays (I always want to say BJ’s but it sounds bad). Also, for all you Wilson Betemit fans (…), he had a big blast and a double to cap off his day.

3) Finally, Joe Girardi isn’t telling us about his bullpen or his bench, just yet. However, he has given us some decent clues and some good information to let us figure it out on our own. A few weeks ago, Joe Girardi stated that he would like to have a lefty (and a long-reliever) in the pen, but yesterday, he also stated that it is not a necessesity because he has faith in his righties. Basically, the bullpen has 3 open spots. I think Scott Patterson has earned one, I think Billy Traber will be in there (Girardi says it doesn’t matter but you get the feeling that he enjoys the matchup lefty option), and I say, give Chris Britton a shot (unless Girardi goes with Karstens as a long-man). A lot of new blood, but why not? Fill the pen up with guys who can throw strikes. Your other realistic options are Bruney, Ohlendorf, Veras, and Albaladejo and do you really have confidence in any of them to the point that you want to put them in the pen right away? Let them work on their stuff in AAA and if another guy totally impresses you, or if a reliever gets injured as the season progresses, you still have plenty of good in-house options that you can call on.

Girardi’s bench is also a mystery, as Wilson Betemit looks like the guy who’ll see the most time in the IF (SS, 3B, 2B) along with Shelley Duncan, who will only play 1B and the occasional OF. The Yankees basically have one other spot open, and I’m thinking it’ll go to Morgan Ensberg (not a utility guy like Nick Green, Ransom, etc.). Ensberg has showed his hitting abilities in the past and he’ll be a solid right-handed bat for Girardi to turn to. Girardi also called Ensberg a “strong candidate” if that even means anything. Maybe Ensberg can revitalize his career in NY. He’s still relatively young and his struggled these past few years could be attributed to an assortment of injuries.