Rasner Ready

Who knew Darrell Rasner would have the chance to solidify his spot in the Yankee rotation just a month or so into the season. Rasner has been one of the best pitchers on the entire staff and he’s willing to prove himself yet again when he faces Baltimore at Camden Yards tomorrow. Kit Stier has a short but solid read on Rasner and his steadfast approach on the mound, which he attributes to his father. He knows what he’s capable of and doesn’t try to do much, which has made him especially effective for the Yankees. He throws strikes and doesn’t come with the bells and whistles that are inherently linked to a Phil Hughes or an Ian Kennedy, but he also doesn’t come with the burdensome baggage of being a “top prospect” either.

The guy just does his job, which is to compete and give the team a chance to win. The spotlight doesn’t shine too bright on him, but if he keeps picking up wins for the NY Yankees, thats definitely going to change.

A Good Day

The Yankees showed some life today and fans got their money’s worth, as the team rallied in the 8th to sweep the Seattle Mariners (talk about a long plane ride home). Chien-Ming Wang was shaky through 6.1 innings and just didn’t have his stuff today. With 2 consecutive bad outings, one has to wonder how Wang’s injured calf comes into play. I’ll chalk today’s ineffectiveness up to him babying that calf a bit (or he’s still feeling it and the injury is causing him to overcompensate on his delivery) and an extra day off.

Either way, when your ace doesn’t have it and the offense comes around to pick him up, it’s a good day. The Yanks have won 5 straight after facing what feels like an endless slew of lefty pitchers and the team ends the day with even more good news, as Jorge Posada’s return is getting closer and closer. Posada is headed to Tampa to partake in an extended ST game (starting tomorrow) and Girardi thinks there’s a possibility that he could be back with the club in 2 weeks.

So, the Yankees rally for a victory, Jorge Posada is nearing a return, and the team is back at the .500 mark and headed to Baltimore. I’m happy to say that all is well in Yankeeland.

Game 50: Yanks VS. Mariners

Here’s the lineup (via PA):

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi DH
Duncan 1B
Cano 2B
Molina C
Cabrera CF
Wang RHP

Matsui is getting a day off and Shelley Duncan’s bat has come alive as of late, so he’s in there at first (allowing Giambi to rest up a bit at DH). The Yankees are going for the jugular and will sweep Seattle with a victory today.

Chien-Ming Wang faces Jarrod Washburn. Wang has had an achy calf and I’m sure we’ll all be watching him to see if it’s hindering his ability to throw at all. In 7 games against Seattle, Wang has 7 wins and a sparkling 2.39 ERA.

No Regrets?

From MLBTR on Ken Rosenthal:

Rosenthal doesn’t think there’s a lot of regret in the Yankee organization for not acquiring Johan Santana. One executive notes Santana’s throwing with increased effort this season yet without increased results.

Johan Santana’s (5-3) numbers are solid, so don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that he’s not delivering for the Mets. However, his numbers aren’t nearly as dominant as everyone thought they would be (that’s the burden of high expectations). Santana may also be showing some signs of wear and tear, as he has given up 11 HR already this season and lefties are hitting .286 off of him (last year they hit .197).

He’ll certainly get better though, there’s a lot of life left in that arm.

The Draft: Red Sox VS. Yankees

Bill Madden of the Daily News has a nice read out about the Yanks and the Red Sox and how the Yankees have essentially lost to the Red Sox when it comes to scouting players and picking players in the draft. The Yankees have used top picks on guys like C.J. Henry (bust) while the Sox have picked up players like Dustin Pedroia (boom). The Red Sox simply have more of their young draftees making big impacts now, whereas, with the Yankees, they have some top prospects but that’s all they are as of now, prospects.

In defense of the Yankees, the draft is a tough game to win. Some say that it’s a crapshoot, but I definitely wouldn’t go that far. There is a bit of luck there in terms of a prospect becoming a full fledged impact player in the Majors, however, the scouting element of it is obviously the most important part of that process.

Damon Oppenheimer has grabbed the scouting reigns for the Yanks and he’s been going the high-risk and high-reward route when picking up players and hopefully this strategy will pan out (we’ve already seen that happen with guys like Joba Chamberlain). Oppenheimer’s scouting strategy is comprehensive, meaning that he’ll have scouts talk to the families, friends, coworkers, whoever, of the guy they’re scouting in order to get a feel for his “makeup” and whether or not he can be a big player (they already have a sense about his baseball talent if they’re being scouted). They’ve done this for IPK, Joba, etc.

While the Yankees still have a long way to go with their minor league system after it was essentially gutted through big trades and bad choices (I’d like to see the Yanks produce some more position players), they’re making some solid moves (thanks to Cashman and Oppenheimer) and are taking the small steps needed before they can flat-out run with the big boys of the draft.

The Giambi-Cano Tandem

From Newsday:

Giambi was linked in his early-season struggles with Robinson Cano, his neighbor to the right in the Yankees’ infield. Cano, who was hitting .160 on May 7, went 4-for-4 yesterday with three doubles, an RBI and an intentional walk and is hitting .404 (21-for- 52) in his last 14 games.

“I’m doing the same thing I was doing the first six weeks of the season,” said Cano, whose average is at .232. “I feel the same now that I’m getting more hits.”

Cano hit his doubles to left-center, the rightfield line and the leftfield corner. His eighth-inning single went to left-center. It’s what he does when he’s going well. His walk-off single in the ninth Thursday went to left.

Cano is finally starting to get around on those high and inside fastballs. He’s slapping them to left-center, as stated in the article, and he’s on quite the streak. Giambi has also turned it around, hitting .386 in his last 14 games. The team looks poised to sweep the struggling Seattle Mariners and head to Baltimore on a high note (the schedule is really working out well for the Yanks).