Minor Leaguer Traded For 10 Bats

The title says it all, wow. The Yankees probably couldn’t get 10 ash bats for Kei Igawa, let alone 10 maple bats.

Jorge Posada: Rehab Update

From the AP:

Yankees catcher Jorge Posada is set to take a big step in his rehabilitation program for a sore right shoulder Thursday when he is scheduled to resume throwing to the bases in an extended spring training game.

The five-time All-Star has been sidelined since April 27. Posada, batting .302 with one homer and 11 RBIs in 63 at-bats, hopes to rejoin the Yankees around June 3.

“We’ll see,” he said. “So far, so good.”

Posada played catch in the outfield and threw to the bases during a pregame workout Tuesday before he caught six innings and went 3-for-6 with a double in his second extended spring game.

“Another step forward,” Posada said. “Get some at-bats, and now have a day off tomorrow and get ready to throw Thursday. It’s just a matter of getting ready to play games.”

Nothing but good news so far. We’ll see how he does on Thursday.

Sox-Yanks Players Leading AL AS Team Voting

From TSN:

Ortiz, an All-Star in each of the last four years, has 556,567 votes in the first returns of fan balloting to easily outdistance New York’s Hideki Matsui (259,234) for the starting designated hitter. Ramirez (539,122), an 11-time All-Star, Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki (284,763) and the Angels’ Vladimir Guerrero (274,827) are the top three outfielders.

A total of five Red Sox lead in the voting at their respective positions for the contest, which will be held at Yankee Stadium on July 15. Catcher Jason Varitek (288,464) held a sizeable lead on Detroit’s Ivan Rodriguez (236,788), first baseman Kevin Youkilis (419,813) was well in front of Minnesota’s Justin Morneau (217,956) and second baseman Dustin Pedroia (384,648.) was in front of the Yankees Robinson Cano (219,778).

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (523,187), bidding for his ninth All-Star appearance, was well ahead of the Tigers Edgar Renteria (190,244).

New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez (429,238), an 11-time All-Star, was in front of Boston’s Mike Lowell (250,664).

This seems about right, although I would argue that Manny, Vlad and maybe even Ichiro don’t deserve to be in an AS Game this year (as of now). My AL ballot would look like this (based on performance and some Yankee fan bias):

1. C – Jason Varitek
2. 1B – Justin Morneau
3. 2B – Ian Kinsler
4. 3B – Alex Rodriguez
5. SS – Derek Jeter
6. OF – Josh Hamilton
7. OF – Carlos Quentin
8. OF – Magglio Ordonez
9. DH – David Ortiz

The AL balloting is sort of hazy. It’s a wash (to me) between Ortiz and Matsui. Also, Youkilis’ spot in the standings is well deserved as of now but Morneau can also take that spot. Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, and Carlos Quentin are sleepers getting no love (Quentin leads the AL in homers!).

My NL ballot was easier to figure out and it looks like this:

1. C – Geovanny Soto
2. 1B – Lance Berkman
3. 2B – Chase Utley
4. 3B – Garrett Atkins
5. SS – Hanley Ramirez
6. OF – Matt Holliday
7. OF – Jason Bay
8. OF – Ryan Braun
9. DH – NA

Honestly, I think the NL is going to utterly dominate against the AL this year. Those names are no joke and the NL has some of the best SP’s in all of baseball. It’ll be tough for the AL to win it this year. If you’re interested in voting and supporting the Yanks, go here.

MLB News: Instant Replay, Game Pace

There are 2 particular items that are currently being critiqued and debated in the baseball world. Here’s a quick rundown:

1. Instant replay in baseball — ever since a variety of HR calls were blown very recently (A-Rod’s “double” and Delgado’s “foul”), the instant replay debate has reemerged in baseball, although this time, the concept seems to be gaining a lot of support. The MLB is even looking into IR as an actual possibility that it could test in the Arizona Fall League this year. There are some alternatives, such as using an extra umpire or two, although I’m actually in favor of IR since it will serve as a definitive “view” of a contested call whereas with more umpires, you can still have errors on big plays.
2. Game pace — Bud Selig has implemented a new plan in the MLB that will keep games “crisper” and allow them to unfold at a “brisk” pace. Basically, umpires and team officials (as well as players) were told that players will be limited in terms of stepping out of the batters box, reapplying pine tar, taking too long on the mound (hi Rafael Betancourt) and so on and so forth. While it does help fidgeting fans (somewhat), I think it’s really a disservice to the players and David Ortiz seems to agree with me.

Any thoughts?

Forgettable Moments

Peter Botte has an article out on the worst regular-season losses in Yankee history (in the past 5 years, so the wounds are still fairly fresh). If you’re feeling very masochistic, feel free to give it a read.

Trot Who?

The AP has an interesting read out on Trot Nixon, a beloved figure in Red Sox Nation, who has been toiling away in the Diamondbacks’ farm system, as he attempts to make a return to the Majors (if not with Arizona, he’ll search for another opportunity). Tough stuff for a veteran (age 34) with a tremendous resume. However, I must say that I don’t miss ol’ Trot one bit (at all).

Yanks Lefty Heavy Lineup Hurting Them

It seems as though with every new day, the Yankees are facing a new left-hander. Whether it’s Garrett Olson, Brian Burres (the Yanks will face him today), or Scott Kazmir, it seems like the lefty dominant Yankee lineup is getting neutralized by an assortment of lefties. The problem has become a glaring weakness for the Yanks, especially with an extremely ineffective group of bench players.

Steven Goldman of the NY Sun writes the following:

Joe Girardi’s team hasn’t shown anything akin to the ability that could sustain that kind of pace. One small reason is their vulnerability to left-handed pitchers. Going into yesterday’s game, the Yankees were hitting just .245 AVG/.318 OBA/.354 SLG against left-handers, and three hits in seven innings against Garrett Olson didn’t help those numbers any. The return of Jorge Posada to the lineup, presumably in a couple of weeks, should help this a bit, as Posada is a career .301/.383/.500 hitter against southpaws. But he won’t solve the problem alone, as the Yankees have a number of players who need to step up to southpaws, including Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu, and, emphatically, Melky Cabrera, a supposed switch-hitter who is a career .254/.324/.340 hitter against port-siders — but is batting only .190/.262/.328 against them this season. Shelley Duncan and Morgan Ensberg were supposed to be part of the solution here as well, but neither has performed to date, one reason why the Yankees are just 8-10 when the opposing starter is left-handed.

It appears as though the Yankees could use another big right-handed bat, or at least they could use a good platoon-mate for Jason Giambi. This weakness has been exposed as it is now a glaring problem and, outside of Posada’s return, there’s no definitive way for the Yankees to address it without a trade of some sort, unless Shelley Duncan or Morgan Ensberg finally demonstrate some level of reliability. It’ll be up to Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi to think of a solution, but what could they possibly do?

There are some interesting rumors out there about the Indians and how they are supposedly talking to the Colorado Rockies about Matt Holliday (who could become available), so maybe the Yanks should jump headfirst into those talks, or is that too extreme at this point in time? What would you do if you were Brian Cashman?